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A Trade, Agricultural, and Culinary Fair organized this Saturday in Camagüey in celebration of Mother's Day sparked a wave of citizen criticism on social media, where comments denounced unreachable prices, power outages, and the perception that quality products do not reach the people.
The event took place from 7:00 a.m. at the Cándido González stadium, the Trocha of INRA, Avenida de La Libertad, and the surrounding areas of CopaCabana, with over 240 participating establishments, specified the official radio station's Facebook page Radio Cadena Agramonte.
According to Reinaldo Aguilar Cruz, coordinator of Programs and Objectives of the Provincial Government, 22 commercial establishments, 27 economic actors, and 143 production bases participated, offering meals, vegetables, grains, charcoal, and meat products.
Walter Simón Noris, the first secretary of the Provincial Committee of the Communist Party, and Jorge Enrique Sutil Sarabia, the governor of the province, toured the facilities and acknowledged that "the needs of the people are still not being met," although they highlighted the effort made amid economic and fuel constraints, the source reported.
The public reaction in the comments on the official publications was decisive and stood in stark contrast to the regime's narrative.
Alfredo Pozo captured the sentiment of many with a phrase that became the most shared: "And it's just food for the people, the meat is for the bosses."
Idalberto Olivares questioned the notion of affordable prices that the organizers presented. "What do they mean by affordable prices, three sweet potatoes for 60 pesos a pound, and sometimes they turn out to be bad?" he asked.
Milka Milanés Saldaña described the situation of Cuban mothers starkly. "Today, during a total blackout, there is nowhere to store food, refrigerators are unplugged, there is not a working or retired mother whose salary or pension is enough to buy a gift, food, or other basic necessities... the banks have no cash," she said.
Ángel Luis Gracia Gonzales was more direct. "What party are you talking about when they are killing all the mothers and other human beings with the prices, the shortages, and especially the massive blackouts that only the people suffer?" he argued.
For his part, Oscar Gamboa sarcastically added that "the people's joy is evident behind four burro bananas; they should be ashamed to publish that."
Loraine Borroto summed up the fair in two words that many Cubans agreed with: "The circus."
The fair in Camagüey is not an isolated case. This week, the fair Arte para Mamá in Sancti Spíritus also faced criticism for unaffordable prices, being labeled as "art for the rich moms."
In April, a Cuban from Cienfuegos documented that with 2,500 pesos she was unable to buy meat at an agricultural fair, where steak was priced at 1,000 pesos per pound.
The situation in Camagüey further exacerbates the outlook. In February, the province suspended interprovincial transportation and the sale of gasoline due to a diesel shortage, maintaining only one bus per day to Havana.
In addition, the second secretary of the provincial PCC was dismissed for diverting fuel intended for hospitals and polyclinics, in a corruption scandal that shook the local party leadership.
At the national level, the average salary is around 6,930 pesos (about 15 dollars at the informal exchange rate), while surviving requires more than 50,000 pesos per month. The survey "En Cuba Hay Hambre 2025" revealed that nearly 34% of households have at least one member who goes to bed hungry.
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