"Resolving" food, water, and fuel: this is how daily life in Cuba is being reorganized

Daily life in Cuba is increasingly reorganizing around a basic priority: securing food, water, and fuel amid the economic and energy crisis the country is experiencing.

A report from the Food Monitor Program (FMP) warns that the return of measures associated with the so-called "Option Zero" is directly impacting the dynamics of Cuban households, forcing them to adjust their routines to cope with shortages and blackouts.

According to the report, the domestic economy is reorganizing to take advantage of any opportunity to cook, preserve food, or store water when electricity or fuel is available.

The study indicates that this situation is not recent and that for at least four years citizens have been facing significant physical and mental exhaustion linked to the constant need to "figure out" how to obtain food.

The vulnerability of the Cuban food system is also due to structural factors.

More than 80 percent of the food consumed on the island depends on imports, while domestic production of staple products like rice meets less than 11 percent of the annual demand.

The report warns that food availability largely depends on family remittances, state political agreements for fuel acquisition, and internal logistics that face serious limitations amid the current multifaceted crisis.

This is compounded by the impact of inflation. Although official figures placed the consumer price index at 14.07 percent at the end of 2025, economists like Pavel Vidal estimate that the real inflation rate could be around 70 percent, with food being the component that weighs the most.

In parallel, the regime prioritizes the allocation of resources to sectors deemed strategic, such as tourism, while much of the daily supply relies on private networks and the ability of citizens to find informal solutions.

The FMP warns that the combination of dependence on imports, inflation, logistical collapse, and political decisions is reinforcing a structure of food insecurity that increasingly affects daily life on the island.