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While the price of pork skyrockets and becomes increasingly unattainable for Cuban families, a new statistic highlights the total collapse of agricultural production on the Island: pork production fell by 95.2% between 2017 and 2023, a figure that economist Pedro Monreal described as a true "national tragedy."
In a thread published on the social network X, Monreal denounced that the collapse reflects the "evaporation" of an essential activity for popular nutrition, in a country where pork has historically been the primary source of animal protein for domestic consumption.
"Between 2017 and 2023, production fell by 95.2%, a 'national tragedy' among many others," wrote the economist, also emphasizing the "agricultural statistical blackout" imposed by the regime, which restricts access to updated official data.
Impossible meat in an impoverished country
The pork crisis has direct consequences on daily life. Today, pork has become a luxury, increasingly absent from Cuban tables due to prices that rise week after week in the informal market, while salaries remain stagnant and dollarization progresses.
For many families, accessing a piece of meat has become practically impossible, even during traditional occasions when pork symbolized gathering and sustenance. The decline in production, far from being an isolated phenomenon, adds to the general collapse of the Cuban food system, which is increasingly reliant on imports and foreign donations.
Monreal: the current management is worse than during the Special Period
Monreal also compared the current situation to the crisis of the 1990s, noting that while the Special Period experienced a more severe economic contraction, agricultural management at that time was more effective than it is today.
"Although the crisis of the 'Special Period' was more severe than the current one in terms of GDP contraction, the effectiveness of agricultural management at that time (more market and denationalization) contrasts sharply with the incompetent management of today," he stated.
The economist attributed part of the disaster to the programs implemented following the failed "reorganization," and to the persistence of a centralized model that has proven incapable of ensuring basic food supplies.
An immobile regime in the face of disaster
While production collapses, the government does not offer structural solutions or allow deep reforms that would encourage private production and the internal market. Instead of promoting real changes, the authorities remain trapped in propagandistic speeches, failing to address a crisis that directly impacts the survival of the people.
The collapse of the pork industry is not just an economic statistic: it is the confirmation of a daily reality marked by scarcity, hunger, and neglect.
In Cuba, even the most basic things — like a plate of meat — have become a symbol of the failure of a system unable to feed its own people.
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