A Cuban woman published a video on Instagram this Sunday, where she denounced the dramatic rise in prices at a local fair and described the situation in the country as a "curfew" due to economic paralysis and the despair of the population.
"I just got back from the fair, sir, you won't believe it, how in just two days the prices can rise so much," said the woman in the video, which is circulating on the account of the user identified as Irma Lidia Broek.
The prices reported reflect the inflationary spiral that crushes the purchasing power of Cubans: a sack of coal for 3,500 Cuban pesos (CUP), the local rice —"which is not of first quality"— for 250 CUP, and one liter of oil of 950 milliliters for 1,800 CUP, although other vendors offered it for 2,000 CUP.
"I don't know what will happen to the Cuban people when more than 90% of the population is unemployed," the woman said with visible distress.
The situation you described is not an isolated case. Previous reports from June 2026 documented coal prices between 2,800 and 5,000 CUP per sack depending on the region, and oil prices between 1,150 and 2,000 CUP, in a context where prices are rising every week while salaries are not.
Coal has become a basic necessity due to the lack of gas and electricity, which explains its rising price. Cuba imported only about 7,200 barrels of fuel daily between January and April 2026, while the demand is 60,000, which drives up the cost of transportation, production, and distribution of food.
The official average salary is around 6,930 CUP per month, but a family would need at least 96,060 CUP per month to cover basic needs, of which 70,070 CUP would be solely for food. With that gap, what can be bought with the average salary in Cuba is barely enough.
The official year-on-year inflation reached 15.89% in May 2026, with food and beverages being the category that contributed most to the increase. However, independent estimates place the actual inflation at around 70% annually, with a cumulative rate between 2024 and 2026 exceeding 200%.
The monetary crisis worsens the situation: this Saturday, the dollar was trading at 655 CUP in the informal market, against a non-existent official exchange rate, a gap that reflects the depth of the economic collapse. Currencies hit historic highs again this week.
In April 2026, more than 1,100 protests were recorded in Cuba, reflecting the accumulated social unrest following years of sustained decline.
Everything seems to be under curfew. There is nothing here, nothing is functioning at the moment, the woman in the video concluded. If you have a relative, send them a photo because I think that when they come, they will say, no, that's not you.
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