This is what the coupons looked like for buying clothing and essential items in Cuba.

In Cuba during the 60s, 70s, and 80s, the scarcity of basic goods led the government to implement a distribution system using coupons, which operated alongside the well-known ration book.

These coupons were used to purchase clothing, footwear, and other essential items. The regime's idea was to ensure that, despite the limited supply, all Cubans had access to the basics.

The coupon booklet worked simply; each family received a sheet with a certain number of coupons to buy clothing according to the number of people making up the family and their needs.

The Cuban YouTuber Soy Klaudia interviewed her grandmother and detailed how these coupons worked.

The coupons were printed on special paper and were exchanged in state stores for specific products that had been pre-assigned. There weren't many options to choose from. The items were almost always of national production and were marked by the austerity that characterized the time.

There were situations where people received a piece of clothing that did not fit their taste or size, but there were no alternatives. This system significantly limited freedom of choice.

It was a macabre mechanism that was part of the daily life of Cubans and also a topic of conflict in the stores, where despite the supposed order and state control, long lines, informal businesses, exchanges, and other conflicts arose, leaving many family anecdotes.

As the years went by, the coupon system began to include other essential items such as towels, sheets, or even personal hygiene products. The quantity of these products became increasingly limited, and after the collapse of the socialist bloc in the 1990s, the coupon booklet disappeared.

What do people say about the old coupons in Cuba?

A few weeks ago, a Cuban shared a video on his social media, and people have left numerous messages about this topic.

"Some people still say that in the 80s there was everything in Cuba. To hell with that!" said a person on Facebook.

"Since 1959, Cuba fell into the misfortune of misery and shortages began forever until what we are today, thanks to the communist dictators: The most miserable country on the continent," said another Cuban.

The comments show that, for many Cubans, the difficulties of those times remain a vivid memory, a testimony to a reality that has not changed for the better, but rather left a country with a more acute crisis, greater scarcity, more poverty, and without coupons.