A report published on Facebook by the user Alexis Torriente, within the group “Barrio de Mulgoba,” has once again highlighted a reality that affects thousands of Cuban families: the abandonment of vulnerable individuals amidst the crisis.
The testimony highlights the situation of an elderly sick woman who, despite her condition, survives with virtually no institutional support, facing scarcity with the little she manages to obtain to feed herself and her son.
“The only thing I had to eat was a little bit of beans,” recounts the woman in a video shared alongside the complaint, revealing the extreme precariousness of her living conditions.
The scene is even more heartbreaking when it describes their day-to-day life: they improvise with what they find, trying to “solve” their hunger with a bit of garlic or any ingredient that appears, clinging to the idea that, at least, something warm can ease the hunger. Rice, when available, becomes the staple food.
Beyond the scarcity, the account reveals another deep problem: the lack of attention from social services. The elderly woman claims that she approached the social worker assigned to her last year, but to this day she has not received a response.
"Still, she told me: 'I'll let you know, it just takes time to go down,'" she recounts. And the young man recording her throws out a phrase that encapsulates the despair of many: "But how long does it take? When you die?" Carmen's response is even more emphatic: "When I die, I won't need it anymore."
The author of the complaint, visibly outraged, questions the lack of sensitivity and inaction of local authorities. In his post, he directly criticizes social workers and institutions in the Boyeros municipality, pointing out that these cases are known in the neighborhoods but remain unresolved.
It also denounces irregularities in the dining facilities intended for vulnerable individuals, where —it claims— the aid has turned into a “business,” leaving those who need it most in a state of abandonment.
The testimony not only reflects this mother's individual struggle, who also faces health issues like cerebral ischemia, but it also highlights a broader crisis: that of a society where an increasing number of elderly individuals depend on neighborhood solidarity to survive.
"We, the people, can save ourselves if we learn to look sideways," writes Torriente, in a call for empathy and collective action in the face of a reality that, for many, is no longer exceptional but rather everyday.
In the meantime, the elderly woman continues to wait. Not for a definitive solution, but for something as basic as being able to eat.
According to the Cuban Human Rights Observatory, 89% of the Cuban population lives in extreme poverty, and eight out of ten people over 61 skip breakfast, lunch, or dinner due to lack of money or scarcity.
In 2026, 80% of Cubans believe that the current crisis is worse than the Special Period of the 1990s.
Torriente concluded his publication with a clear denunciation: "The government that punishes its people with hunger should be judged, but unfortunately there is no justice in Cuba. Only the people can save the people."
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