"They don't demand the cents because they don't know what it's like to earn them": Cubans react to getting change in candy

The use of candies as change in stores operating in foreign currency has generated profound discontent among Cubans living in exile, who send remittances to support their family members on the island.

This practice, which many see as a mockery and a sign of disrespect, has been interpreted as a new symptom of the improvisation and decline of the Cuban economy.

Discontent in Exile: The Sacrifice of Remittances Compared to Change in Candy

The reactions on social media highlight the dissatisfaction of emigrants, who feel that their efforts to support their families are met with what they perceive as disdain.

Next, CiberCuba offers a selection of comments left on Facebook regarding one of its news articles, reflecting the sentiments of this community:

1. "It's not fair that the money we send with so much sacrifice is returned in candies. Our family needs food, not sweets."
2. "While we work long hours in the cold or under difficult conditions, they distribute candies as if they don't know what it costs to earn each dollar."
3. "What respect can a system have that responds with sweets to the money we send for our families to eat?"
4. "It's humiliating that, after all the effort to send remittances, they turn our money into a joke. We demand respect!"
5. "My parents are elderly and depend on what I send them. How are they supposed to live when the few cents they have left from their purchases are returned in candies?"
6. "It's shameful that the government mocks the remittances we keep sending from exile. This only shows their contempt for the people."
7. "Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it to keep sending money. The effort is too great for them to treat it with such indifference."
8. "Our children grow up far from their grandparents because we had to emigrate, and yet we do the impossible to help. This is what we receive in return."
9. "It's outrageous to think that we work hard to support our families and they have to accept candies because they don't return their change properly."
10. "The government has once again shown that it doesn't even respect the money that comes from abroad. The change in candies is a sign of their disdain for all of us."

The frustration of those who support their families from abroad

These comments reflect not only the discomfort over the change in candies but also the exhaustion of a community that has made significant sacrifices to support their loved ones in a country where basic needs are becoming increasingly difficult to meet.

Many consider this practice to be yet another sign of the government's indifference to the difficulties faced by the population, which is also evident in the measures to "partially dollarize" the country's economy.

Humor and despair in the face of improvisation

Amid the indignation, there are also those who turn to humor to cope with their frustration. Jokes about candies being a "edible currency" are common: “Soon we will be able to pay with candies, but be careful with the blood sugar,” a user sarcastically remarked.

Others wonder if, by collecting enough candies, they will be able to use them as payment in the same stores.

A profound critique of the system

The use of candies as change is seen by many as a metaphor for the deterioration of the Cuban economic system, which not only fails to ensure supply but also responds with makeshift solutions that ultimately harm the citizens more.

In the case of Cubans in exile, this situation is particularly painful, as it underscores the disconnect between the sacrifices they make to send remittances and the treatment their family members receive on the island.

For them, getting change in candy is not just a symbol of the crisis, but also a sign of the lack of respect for the effort it takes to financially support a devastated nation from abroad.