Video shows what a grocery store looks like in Cuba: "Food is what is needed!"

A video circulating on social media showed the conditions of a Cuban store amidst severe shortages of basic staple products and the progressive dismantling of the state rationing system initiated by the government of the so-called "continuity."

The recording, whose date, location, and authorship could not be determined by this editorial team, was shared by the user identified on Facebook as Omar Rensoli, who noted that the image was typical of the "communist paradise" in Cuba, a country that has been "65 years with empty storehouses."

"I am going to show this in Spain. This is a pantry in Cuba. The warehouse is empty. These are the products provided by the government through the ration book... A bit tough, but here we are in Cuba, surviving," said the author of the recording, apparently a Spanish citizen visiting the island.

After touring the counters and warehouse of the warehouse, and verifying that they were practically out of stock (only a few scarce hygiene and grooming products), the author of the publication said goodbye to the two elderly women and the man who were in the establishment. "Lots of luck and good health," said one of the women.

"Health and luck is what there is in Cuba... Not food," said the user jokingly, to which one of the elderly women responded, "Food is what is needed!"

The image of the nearly empty pantry is common in Cuba, where food shortages are worsening and already affecting a large number of families. Food insecurity is threatening hundreds of thousands of Cubans, and it particularly affects vulnerable people such as children, the elderly, pregnant women, and the sick.

Recently, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) published a report that includes Cuba in its assessment of child nutrition, revealing that 9% of children in Cuba suffer from severe food poverty.

This condition implies that minors only have access to a maximum of two out of the eight essential foods for a healthy life. Cuban civil society activists considered that the percentage of minors in this situation is higher and focused on the conditioning of UNICEF to carry out its work in Cuba, for which they use official data from the Cuban regime.

Despite being understocked, Cuba's warehouses are frequently targeted by thefts. In early June, authorities in Las Tunas reported that in 2023, 97 thefts were recorded in these units, and so far in 2024, 18 similar incidents have been reported.

In the midst of this scenario, in mid-May, the Minister of Internal Trade (MINCIN), Betsy Díaz Velázquez, visited a grocery store in the municipality of San Antonio de los Baños in Artemisa, where there was an abundance of eggs and powdered milk.

The fact was striking in the current moments, when the Cuban population is being affected by the greatest food scarcity in its history, by the slow extinction of the state rationing system and the supply booklet, and by the increased risk of food insecurity.

In addition to cartons of eggs and packages of powdered milk, the warehouse visited by the minister had a variety of regulated products that Cubans often find missing month after month, that are received late, or that are not received and remain "pending" until further notice.

Among the regulated products, there was imported rice (7 pesos per pound), sugar (5), coffee (11), peas (5), compote (0.30), and even a kilo of "free rice," possibly from received donations. There were also cleaning products and other illegible blackboards, full of notes.

"Power and food!" has become one of the most common demands heard from desperate Cubans who have taken to the streets in recent times, overwhelmed by blackouts, food shortages, and the high prices in the market.

In March, several Cubans gathered in front of a store in Santiago de Cuba, demanding answers to the absence of regulated basic food items. The events took place in the José Martí District of that city, due to the shortage of basic products.

"They have not delivered the groceries, nor has the milk or baby food arrived for the children, where a town is going through difficulties and in need," stated the complainant, who preferred to remain anonymous.

In the video that accompanied the publication, a warehouse worker could be seen asking for patience and calling for help from the neighbors in response to "the situation of the country."