This is nothing more than another chronicle of a death foretold. Once again, the Cuban regime boasted about implementing a "price cap" to control the cost of food, and – just like in the past – the measure failed in no time at all after it was announced.
According to a recent report from the government-affiliated Canal Habana, the governor of the capital has set regulated prices for agricultural products with the alleged purpose of "stabilizing the market and promoting local production."
However, the interviews conducted by that state media confirm that reality is far removed from the official narrative.
During a tour of the Santa Catalina and Juan Delgado fair in the Diez de Octubre municipality, the channel showed some residents claiming that prices "seemed to remain stable," although most of those interviewed acknowledged increases and shortages of basic food items.
"Each fair is increasing in price; chicken picadillo is now at 320 pesos, when just a month ago it was 280," commented a neighbor.
Another shopper was more straightforward: “Fish is extremely expensive, and the rice is terrible; the line is unbearable.”
While the official report attempts to emphasize the "compliance" with the new prices, citizens' statements expose the same old pattern: price caps do not curb inflation, products vanish, and the black market strengthens.
The lack of supply and the disparity in prices between markets reflect a structural problem that the government is attempting to mask with controls and resolutions that are neither enforced nor monitored.
In the neighborhoods of Arroyo Naranjo, Centro Habana, and Marianao, the prices of sweet potatoes, plantains, and pork significantly exceed the official limits. The same situation is seen in other provinces.
The "new economic experiment" in Havana confirms what Cubans have been warning for years: without market freedom, incentives for production, or minimum conditions for producers, no price cap will be able to stop the rise in the cost of living in the capital.
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