Two videos published on Facebook show a cleaning day at a Cuban pediatric hospital and have sparked a wave of criticism among internet users who describe the action as propaganda without real solutions.
The clips were shared by the doctor Jorge Pichardo, who framed them as "a revolution of love and action" and an act of "providing love where we are most useful."
In the first video, a voice expresses gratitude for "the effort of cleaning the room"; in the second, a participating father praises the presence of staff from the University of Medical Sciences and other governmental institutions, describing the task as "commendable."
The reaction from internet users was largely sarcastic and crushing.
"And what then?" one questioned. "Nothing, they did that that day to record, afterwards it just gets spoiled with grime again," wrote another, summarizing the general sentiment.
"The same hungry slaves, covered in grime and sweat, are the ones who have to clean the garbage dump called a hospital. They are not respected," stated a third person.
Others pointed directly to the structural absence of personnel: "And what about the cleaning staff? Only in Cuba is it news that a hospital is being cleaned."
A more extensive comment pointed out the root of the problem: "If hospital cleaning staff were paid a decent salary, there would be no need to post a video of cleaning a hospital as an act of civic altruism... pay wages that are consistent with prices (they can't, because the state sector is dollarized) and the dollars are for the ruling elite."
The statement is not hyperbolic. The average salary in Cuba has lost 20% of its value in the past year and is around 6,930 CUP per month, equivalent to about 12.6 dollars at the informal exchange rate. A hospital cleaning assistant may earn just 2,800 CUP, while a basic basket for two people in Havana exceeds 41,000 CUP per month.
This salary gap explains the massive exodus of workers from the state sector and leaves hospitals without sufficient cleaning staff. In November 2024, a small and medium-sized enterprise offered up to 20,000 CUP to hire hospital cleaning staff, highlighting the shortage.
The government has historically responded with targeted mobilization operations that are of propagandistic value, but do not address any structural issues.
Díaz-Canel himself acknowledged in October, after collecting more than 35,000 cubic meters of garbage in Havana during a weekend operation, that "there is no sustainable plan" to maintain hygiene.
The internet users, seasoned in that pattern, would not be convinced. "That's communist propaganda and at this point, no one believes it anymore. Tomorrow the m... will be back in the corridors," wrote another commentator. "Pure circus," declared a third.
The phrase that best summarizes the state of the Cuban hospitals in wartime conditions was bluntly stated by another user: "Hygiene has nothing to do with the blockade, and that's how all of Cuba is."
The deterioration of hygiene in Cuban pediatric centers is a documented pattern.
In May 2025, reports of cockroaches, stagnant urine, and dirty utensils were made at the Eduardo Agramonte Piña Pediatric Hospital in Camagüey. In Santiago de Cuba, mothers reported dirty bathrooms and the presence of bedbugs in November of the same year.
In February, the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital in Matanzas was highlighted for its deplorable conditions in bathrooms and floors.
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