Misery Exposed: Hurricane Melissa Uncovers Six Decades of Structural Poverty in Cuba

When we see Cubans living in dilapidated shacks that have stood for over six decades, in the same huts that were used as examples of poverty before 1959, we cannot help but ask ourselves: what has the Revolution done for that people all this time? How has it improved their lives? Beyond the slogans and empty speeches, the people who today drag their old mattresses out to air them on the street live worse than they did back then.

Cubans should not have to live in unhealthy huts after 60 years of "revolution for the humble."

The continuation of Díaz-Canel has only brought more misery to the people of Cuba. If there is anything to be seen in the east of the country after the passing of Hurricane Melissa, it is a population in total misery. Unable to recover from the hurricane, not only due to the destruction it has caused, but because that destruction comes on top of more than 60 years of continued impoverishment from policies focused solely on maintaining power and perpetuating the socialist dogma, the same dogma that has only brought misery worldwide.

When the images show the cotton mattresses scattered on a road, one cannot help but feel pity not only for the destroyed mattress but also because that mattress, before the hurricane, already represented infinite poverty. A mattress worthy of a military barracks from World War I, but that should not be part of any home in the twenty-first century.

In those huts live doctors, professors, engineers, workers, and farmers who in any country in the world could have a decent life, a salary sufficient to meet their basic needs, a safe and clean home, with a modern healthcare system. Cubans should not be living in unhealthy huts after 60 years of "revolution for the humble."

Even so, after so many years of slogans and empty phrases, part of the Cuban people still hopes that the government will help them out of the crisis caused by the latest hurricane. They have forgotten that those affected by previous hurricanes are still waiting for assistance. They still do not understand that they cannot expect anything from the Cuban government.

It only gives me hope that a part of the Cubans has awakened and, among them, organized a humanitarian aid effort never seen before. An aid that is not for sale, that is completely free, a selfless assistance from thousands of Cubans abroad and on the island, from churches, small and medium-sized enterprises, companies, and NGOs that the government does not legalize. An aid that has reached where the government has not been able to, that has delivered thousands of boxes of food when the government talks about "selling a little bit of produce", which has been done despite the opposition from the government itself and the blockade by its authorities.

Thanks to that assistance, today Cubans in the affected areas are sleeping on a new mattress after receiving a hot meal. This just shows that what we Cubans need from the government is for them to step aside, to leave, and to stop being an obstacle. Without them, we will be more prosperous and able to develop the full potential they have silenced for far too long.