The president of the Tabacuba business group, Manuel Marino Murillo Jorge, stated in a recent report by the National Television News (NTV) that his organization "is working to improve the living conditions of tobacco producers and workers."
However, at no point did he refer to the need to ensure fair and adequate wages in a sector that generates more than 100 million dollars annually in exports.
The current tobacco campaign covers around 15,000 hectares planted, with an estimated 17,000 tons of leaves harvested, according to data released by Murillo Jorge.
Projections indicate the production of over 80 million cigars, of which more than 70 million are intended for export, particularly from the province of Pinar del Río, which accounts for over 65% of the national crop.
Despite these impressive volumes and contributions in foreign currency, workers in the sector continue to face a harsh reality, characterized by the high prices imposed by the State on their supplies.
According to the executive, many producers have to get up at dawn to take advantage of the few hours of electricity available to irrigate their fields, while the company improvises solutions such as the hasty purchase of generators, whose fuel must be purchased in foreign currency.
Amid the energy crisis and production delays caused by weather events, Murillo Jorge insisted that Tabacuba has had to "understand" the farmers who refuse to plant unless they have basic resources like wood to build curing houses. However, the institutional response has yet to result in structural salary improvements.
Beyond vague promises of "improving living conditions", the official discourse avoids mentioning any concrete policies that would dignify the income of workers, despite the high value of their production in the international market.
The rhetoric focuses on palliative measures and investments in renewable energy or equipment, while the added value generated by tobacco growers continues to flow into the "central liquidity of the country."
The contrast between the millions generated by Cuban tobacco abroad and the precarious conditions faced by those who cultivate and process it on the island is becoming increasingly difficult to justify.
The words of the president of the state-owned Tabacuba seem to confirm that, in the Cuban business model, the actual well-being of the worker remains secondary to the macroeconomic interests of the State.
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