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Neighbors in Guantánamo reported that the agricultural market located at 4 Oeste and 1 Norte, in the northern area/Pastorita, in Guantánamo, would cease to function as a supply space for the community and would instead operate as a center to supply charcoal mainly intended for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises and wholesale buyers.
According to a citizen complaint sent to CiberCuba, the potential change has raised concerns and indignation because, amid a food crisis, the marketplace would be one of the “few spaces” that had remained with accessible products and prices following a change in administration.
According to the testimony of a neighbor who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, the small square had been practically out of supplies for extended periods, forcing the population to face difficulties in accessing basic food items.
However, following administrative changes and under the management of Eglis Gallardo (nicknamed "Blanco"), the market would have remained stocked with products at affordable prices for residents.
Therefore, the version that he would stop fulfilling that role caused alarm among the residents of the area.
What they are denouncing: from retail supply of coal "to wholesalers"
According to the complaint, "reports have begun to circulate" that the small plaza would no longer be part of a supposed "food assistance center" and would instead become a site for distributing charcoal, but "not even" for the benefit of the local residents, rather for small and medium-sized enterprises and wholesale buyers.
The text states that Juan Manuel Limaya Gainza, identified as the head of a coal UEB, is the one who intends to take control of the establishment.
The complainants argue that the planned activity would not be aimed at retail supply to the community, but rather at wholesale sales, allegedly directed towards micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes).
The citizen submitting the complaint insists that there are other spaces that could serve this purpose without affecting the population, and mentions as examples the small square at 4 Oeste and 6 Norte, which —according to the text— is closed and has ample space and several vacant units in the El Guararey complex.
Food crisis and irregularities in the basic basket
Concern grows in a situation where many families are struggling to secure their basic food needs, and where, in the previous year, irregularities in the distribution of regulated products were reported, leaving numerous families without fully receiving the basic grocery basket.
For this reason, the residents question how a space they believe is intended for the "service of the people" could cease to fulfill its social function for a purpose oriented towards wholesale trade.
The complaint states that various local authorities would be aware of the case and mentions, among others, Paula Cisnero Roble, constituency delegate; Norkis Silva, president of the Pastorita Popular Council; Idaliena Díaz Casamayor, president of the Municipal People's Power; Alexander Cala Rodríguez, mayor of the Guantánamo municipality; and Yoel Pérez García, secretary of the PCC in the province.
According to the neighbors cited, despite having raised their concerns, they have not received clear answers or visible solutions.
The text concludes with questions that, according to the complainant, are circulating among the population: whether the "people will continue to be deprived" of supply spaces amid the food crisis; who ensures that decisions prioritize community needs; and what happens to the social function of these establishments.
Neighbors demand “transparency, clarity, and respect” for the resources allocated to the population, and conclude that, in a context of scarcity, a decision of this nature “is not just a simple administrative procedure,” but “a matter of survival.”
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