While the Cuban regime sold 200 million cigars last year and reported earnings of $38 million, workers in the sector continue to receive low salaries that do not exceed 30 dollars per month at the current exchange rate.
The case accurately illustrates the Marxist concept of surplus value: the value that workers generate in production but do not receive as wages.
A recent report by AFP on the Internacional Cubana de Tabacos (ICT) cigarette factory in Havana provided the aforementioned data, although the news agency presents a sanitized image of the production system on the island, omitting key aspects of job precarity and the true nature of the current economic model.
The article celebrates the rise in cigarette exports, which increased from 25 million in 2001 to 200 million in 2024, and features a young worker, Risel Bárbara Fuente, who expresses her love for the machine she operates.
She claims that at 24 years old, the woman earns 11,200 pesos a month, which AFP translates as "about 93 dollars."
However, this is a misleading figure based on the official exchange rate (120 CUP per USD), which is difficult to obtain, and is completely disconnected from reality on the street, where the dollar hovers around 370 pesos.
In the informal market, their salary amounts to 30 dollars or less.
The article mentions that workers receive subsidized food and hygiene products “worth three times their salary,” while most Cubans report that the basic basket has been practically dismantled for years.
In a context where the State is both employer, regulator, and beneficiary, the anticapitalist discourse loses legitimacy.
The workers in these factories, whose 64 machines produce 800,000 cigarettes each day, earn money through illicit means, processing tobacco from clandestine workshops for tourists.
The report states that the ICT factory operates seven days a week, with 400 employees producing 800,000 cigarettes a day, primarily destined for Europe and Asia.
"Today we have a problem, which is a good problem. Our warehouses, our finished product inventory, are at zero. Everything we produce, we sell," declared the president of ICT, Ricardo Soler.
Although it does not mention the problems in tobacco production in recent years, the article states that the growth of Cuban cigar sales has also remained strong, reaching 827 million dollars last year — a 16% increase compared to 2023, driven by Asian demand for luxury products.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Labor and Economic Situation in Cuba
What is the actual salary of the workers at the International Cuban Tobacco factory?
Although the official salary of workers at the Cuban Tobacco International factory is reported as 11,200 pesos per month (equivalent to 93 dollars at the official exchange rate), in the reality of the informal market, this salary amounts to barely 30 dollars or less, since the dollar is around 370 Cuban pesos.
How is surplus value explained in the context of tobacco production in Cuba?
In this context, surplus value refers to the value generated by workers in production that they do not receive as wages. Despite the factory reporting revenues of 38 million dollars in 2024, workers barely survive on 30 dollars a month, illustrating a form of labor exploitation masked under the Cuban socialist regime.
What contradictions exist in the Cuban economic model according to the article?
The article highlights that the Cuban economic model is criticized for applying a labor exploitation similar to what it critiques in capitalism. While the Cuban government presents itself as anti-capitalist, in practice, it maintains an opaque system that does not guarantee real wages or decent living conditions for its workers, despite the millions in revenue generated by state-owned companies such as ICT.
How does economic policy in Cuba affect the well-being of its citizens?
The economic policy in Cuba has resulted in a significant deterioration of public services and a loss of purchasing power among workers. Uncontrolled inflation, combined with an outdated production system and a lack of basic supplies, keeps the population in a state of growing precariousness, where most struggle to access essential goods and services.
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