In order to collect their pensions, Cuban retirees gathered at a bank in the municipality of Bayamo, Granma province, but the shortage of cash turned what should have been a straightforward process into an ordeal.
Since 5 in the morning, the pensioners lined up in front of a branch, and the limited availability of bills complicated the process amid the desperation of the elderly.
In a video published on the social network Facebook by journalist Mario Vallejo, a woman recounts the ordeal of people from early on, while a "bank worker talks with her husband" on a street surrounded by garbage and a depressing appearance.
In March, an elderly man suffered a hypoglycemic episode while waiting in line at a bank in Santiago de Cuba, standing in the sun, poorly nourished and ill, without a seat available despite his advanced age.
The man, 90 years old and identified as Eleutelio Simón Bueno, collapsed during the exhausting wait to collect his pension at the "La Comercial" bank, located near the Roundabout of the José Martí District.
The lack of financial resources is generating increasing desperation among retirees, who, due to the low payments they receive, also have to struggle to obtain extra money to cover their basic needs.
The problem is national, but the regime has not managed to find a solution, or rather, turns its back despite the urgent need for solutions for the citizens of an island in total decline.
Thousands of people queue every day for a long time to withdraw cash at offices or ATMs, even with delivery cuts imposed by the Central Bank of Cuba (BCC).
In fact, in August 2023, the BBC began strict control over cash money through measures aimed at the banking of transactions for collections and payments among all actors in the economy.
In April, a group of people expressed their dissatisfaction in Havana, facing wait times of up to three days to access an enabled and functioning ATM.
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