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In Cuba, the expression "to deny bread and salt" has ceased to be a metaphor and has become a daily reality.
The food shortage has reached extreme levels, and basic products such as bread and salt have vanished from the tables of millions of Cubans, subjected to a system that not only strips them of their livelihood but also their fundamental rights.
For decades, the ration book has been a symbol of state control over the population's food supply. What was once presented as a mechanism for food security, is now a reflection of misery and insufficiency.
Cubans are no longer receiving even the minimum provisions set by the government: the shortage of bread is constant and the distribution of salt has been stalled for months in several provinces. The situation has become so critical that many are turning to the black market to obtain food at exorbitant prices.
Rationing and shortages are not new issues in Cuba, but the current crisis has exacerbated the precariousness of food supplies to alarming levels.
In Artemisa, almost half a million people have gone three months without receiving salt through the basic food basket. Bread, when it does appear, is scarce, of poor quality, and comes in increasingly smaller portions.
In Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and other cities, reports of bakery shortages of flour have become a regular occurrence, and long lines for a simple loaf of bread are now part of the daily routine for thousands of families.
However, the scarcity of bread and salt in Cuba transcends mere food issues and becomes a reflection of the denial of deeper rights.
The regime not only restricts access to basic goods but also to information, freedom of expression, and the right to a dignified life. While the government blames the U.S. embargo for all its woes, the reality is that inefficiency, corruption, and a lack of political will to change the economic model have brought the country to collapse.
To deny bread and salt to a people is also to deny them justice and freedom. The food crisis in Cuba is merely one more symbol of the profound deterioration of a system that has failed in its promise of well-being. While the government maintains its narrative of resistance and sacrifice, Cubans continue to face a reality marked by scarcity, hopelessness, and repression.
In a country where even something as basic as daily bread cannot be guaranteed, it becomes clear that the issue is not a lack of resources, but the absolute control of a regime that has turned misery into a state policy. And in light of this reality, the question is inevitable: how much longer will Cubans endure having not only their bread and salt denied, but also the opportunity to determine their own destiny?
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