Cubans over 13 years old and under 65 are left without bread in Guantánamo

The economic crisis that worsens in Cuba motivated the decision of the governors of the Guantánamo province ofeliminate rationed bread that its inhabitants receive through the regulated family basket, for those between the ages of 13 and 65.

This was reported by the director of the Provincial Food Company,Eneldis Matos Romero, in a note distributed through thesocial networks of theSolvision Telecenter, in which he referred to the “difficulties” with “the regulated quota of bread in the month of April.”

"Based on the existing wheat flour deficit in the country, with its impact on our province, the Guantanamo population is informed that starting Monday, April 1, several population segments will be affected, in whole or in part, with the planned daily bread quota,” the information note stated.

Given this scenario, "only children from zero to 13 years of age and people aged 65 and over will receive bread," the manager explained, indicating that other social groups will receive standardized bread, such as "patients admitted to hospitals, maternal and nursing homes, and grandparents' homes.”

“Students in internal educational centers of all education, including higher education, day care centers, homes for children without family protection and primary school semi-boarding schools and penitentiary establishments” will also “receive bread” intended for social consumption.

Likewise, the state company reported that "the stability in the supply of the regulated quota of bread will depend on the entry of flour into the country, which is expected to be from the second half of April."

The measure affects almost 350 thousand Guantanamo residents who will not receive bread from the regulated family basket.

Of the 511,093 inhabitants of the province (according to data from ONEI, 2018), more than 97,000 are between 0 and 14 years of age. Those over 60 years of age are estimated at more than 90,000 people.

The Guantanamo population represents 4.5% of the Cuban population. The measure adopted by the authorities of that province will affectmore than 3% of the Cuban population who will not receive therationed bread and of terrible quality that the Cuban rulers include inthe regulated family basket.

Regarding daily substitutes for this food, the Guantanamo authorities did not report anything, nor did they offer data on the experiments of making bread with sweet potato,pumpkin, cassava and other extenders that the Cuban regime has been using toalleviate flour shortage which is allocated for the consumption of bread rationed by the State.

Meanwhile, the production and sale of bread and other products that require flour grows in theMSMEs, andThey are sold at unbeatable prices for a majority of the population, without access to foreign currency or family abroad.

According to the officialWe will winGuantánamo needs more than 32 thousand tons of flour daily to guarantee the basic basket and cover the needs of prioritized organizations such as day care centers, hospitals, and educational centers.

At the end of last December,The province ran out of flour to produce bread for the basic basket. As he stated thenDargis Serret Bairut, Commercial Director of the Food Industry, the government was negotiating with MSMEs to provide employment to workers in state bakeries.

In April 2023, the Food Industry ofGuantánamo stopped producing more than 60 thousand loaves a day of the basic basket due to thefrequent blackouts, another of the "incidents" that, together with the flour shortage, have been exacerbated by the current energy crisis.

At the end of February, authorities from the Ministry of the Food Industry (MINAL) announced that until the end of Marchthere would be severe effects on the delivery of bread of the family basket regulated by delays in the arrival of wheat shipments.In Las Tunas, the government announced that it would only guarantee regulated bread for the urban area of the province on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

However, at the gates of April, the shortage of flour, fuel and blackouts continue to aggravate the food insecurity that the country suffers under the government of the "continuity" ofMiguel Diaz-Canel.