A Cuban shared on TikTok the cost of a small grocery purchase in stores in Havana. With 4,500 pesos —equivalent to a doctor's monthly salary on the island— she could barely buy mayonnaise, instant sodas, toothpaste, meatballs, rice, and hamburgers. Her testimony highlights the severe economic crisis affecting Cuban families.
The Cuban user @yaiespinosa posted a video on TikTok that starkly reflects the economic situation in Cuba: with 4,500 pesos—the approximate salary of a doctor—she could barely buy a few basic products in stores in Havana.
“At the first store we went to, gentlemen, there was everything: picadillo, hamburgers, hot dogs, and even some packages of breaded fish,” the young woman recounted while showing the shelves. However, she explained that her budget didn’t allow for much, and she could only afford to take home five packages of hamburgers.
In another store, she found a mayonnaise that, as she mentioned, “wasn't the one I like, but it was the cheapest one available.” She also bought rice, toothpaste, and instant drinks.
"You can't be too choosy here, gentlemen," lamented the Cuban woman, who praised the excellent service of an attendant, although she acknowledged how exhausting it is to walk from store to store to complete her shopping.
At the end of the trip, he showed the purchased items: a mayonnaise for 850 pesos, three packets of instant drink for 150, a tube of toothpaste for 850, a packet of meatballs for 400, as well as rice and several chicken burgers. "All of this cost me 4,500 pesos," he summarized.
The video quickly went viral for depicting the everyday reality of Cubans, who must spend the equivalent of a professional salary to access basic products. Many users commented that the prices are "impossible" for an average family and that "it is no longer possible to live in Cuba on what one earns."
Currently, the average salary in Cuba is around 4,200 pesos, but the cost of living has skyrocketed. In the informal market, the US dollar exceeds 350 Cuban pesos, which means a worker's monthly wage amounts to just 12 or 13 dollars.
Inflation, shortages, and the collapse of purchasing power continue to suffocate the Cuban people, while the regime fails to provide effective solutions.
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