The Cuban comedian Boncó Quiñongo harshly questioned the legacy of the agrarian reform of the Cuban regime in an interview with CiberCuba, rhetorically asking: "Where are the cows? Where is the land?".
Boncó, whose real name is Conrado Coble and who has been in exile in the United States for over 20 years, noted that the agrarian reform—which involved taking land from its owners and transferring it to the state—completely destroyed Cuban agricultural production.
To illustrate the contrast, he compared the situation of the Island with that of the Dominican Republic: "I go to the Dominican Republic and see poor people, but look at the stores filled. Why? Because they cultivate."
His criticism was direct regarding the chronic shortage of basic foods in Cuba: "How can you say in Cuba that there will be no potatoes, no sweet potatoes, no rice, no malanga? What is that?"
The comedian also denounced the destruction of the entire Cuban food industry: milk factories, the company Crusellas (which has a wide range of personal care products), beverages like Jupiña, and factories producing chocolate and cold cuts.
As he recalled, the reason was always the same: "They took the businesses away from the owners and put their own people in charge, reliable people, their own people who knew nothing about the business, but they put them there to run it. And what did they do? They ruined it."
Boncó expanded his analysis to urban reform, which he bluntly described as: "Urban reform, a mess. There are no houses, there are no homes. The people have nothing."
He also pointed out that the regime prioritizes the construction of hotels over popular housing: "The only thing they build are hotels, which means money for them. It’s the only way they can earn money, through tourism, because they haven't invested."
That systematic destruction led him to a conclusion without euphemisms: "Communism is crap."
The actor also addressed the concept of "ideological diversionism," which the regime used to persecute and expel those who thought independently.
She denounced the stigma placed on those labeled as "self-sufficient": individuals with technical knowledge who were pointed out and dismissed precisely for knowing more than the bosses appointed out of political loyalty, rather than merit.
For Boncó, the result was a drain of talent that impoverished the country: "They expelled all the talents, they expelled everything that was making progress, to be left with the conformists, the repeaters, and those who wanted life to be handed to them."
This interview takes place in the context of the worst food crisis Cuba has faced in decades, with 97% of the population lacking adequate access to food, according to independent surveys, while the regime invests billions in luxury hotels with a occupancy rate of 21.5% recorded in 2025.
In another part of the interview, the comedian predicted the fall of the regime: "There’s nowhere left to turn. This year, the dictatorship will leave the park."
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