A Cuban identified as Sheyla Reyes posted a video on Facebook denouncing the exorbitant prices charged by the street vendors - private sector vendors - in Cuba, where an onion can cost up to 900 Cuban pesos and a hand of bananas, 300 pesos.
In the recording, Reyes shows what he purchased with 1,700 Cuban pesos: a bunch of plantains, a small jar of ají cachucha, and four pounds of tomatoes.
"What we are experiencing in Cuba is indescribable. The small markets are empty, forcing us to buy from the street vendors, where an onion can cost up to 900 Cuban pesos, a bunch of bananas 300 pesos, and so on," he denounced.
The woman explained that those wheelbarrows are private businesses that have become the last resort to put some food on the table.
But even that option is not within the reach of the people, because despite the limited supply, purchasing something consumes an entire salary.
"Unfortunately, every day many families go without food, and elderly people are eating banana peels. Here, most people are counting their pesos, measuring portions, and enduring hunger with water and coffee," she emphasized.
According to official data, the average salary in Cuba was around 6,830 Cuban pesos per month, a figure that is completely insufficient compared to the prices recorded in informal markets.
Various analyses have documented that a Cuban family needs up to ten average salaries to survive, highlighting the vast gap between the actual income of the population and the cost of the basic basket of goods.
Other reports indicate that Cuban households require between 30,000 and 60,000 pesos per month to minimally survive, a figure that is several times higher than the official average salary.
In response to the uncontrolled rise in prices, Cuban authorities have attempted to implement punitive measures. In Guantánamo, for instance, 1,538 fines for speculation were issued in February, although these actions have not succeeded in curbing the sustained increase in prices in informal markets.
The public's perception of the severity of the situation is clear: 80% of Cubans believe the current crisis is worse than the Special Period, highlighting the level of desperation experienced by the population due to shortages and unaffordable prices.
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