A video posted on social media by user Sisi Aguilera starkly demonstrates the dual reality of commerce in Cuba: two stores in Havana, located right next to each other, separated by just a few meters, showcasing radically different worlds depending on the currency they accept.
"This is going to surprise you, two stores in Havana, one next to the other, and they look like two different countries," Aguilera says in the video as he visits both establishments.
On the side of the store in Cuban pesos, the picture is one of scarcity: a dark shop, with few options, low-quality products, and prices that, despite everything, are still high for the salaries of most Cuban workers.
On the other side, the dollar store offers shelves full of a variety of food, cleaning supplies, beverages, and treats for children. "Practically everything," summarizes the author.
But Aguilera points to the core of the issue: "The hardest part is not that this store exists; the hardest part is that the majority of Cubans earn their salary in Cuban pesos and do not have an accessible way to regularly shop in dollars, a currency whose value is becoming increasingly difficult to reach."
The figures confirm this gap. The average monthly salary in Cuba was 6,930 Cuban pesos in 2025, according to the National Office of Statistics and Information. With the informal dollar trading at 685 pesos this Thursday, that salary amounts to barely between 10 and 12 dollars per month.
The gap between income and actual needs is even greater. A study by economist Javier Pérez Capdevila estimates that covering the monthly basic basket requires about 96,060 pesos, around 14 times the average salary. It is estimated that between 80% and 90% of the population does not have real access to stores selling in foreign currency.
This business model originated in July 2020, when the regime of Miguel Díaz-Canel opened 72 stores in freely convertible currency to attract foreign currency amid supply shortages. By May 2025, at least 85 establishments operated exclusively in dollars, while stores accepting pesos gradually emptied. In June of this year, Cubans reported chaos in MLC stores where only those with foreign currency could make purchases.
Aguilera also highlights the overall deterioration: "The economy is in shambles, many businesses are closing, more and more Cubans feel exhausted, both physically and emotionally, illnesses threaten us, stress consumes us, and uncertainty has become part of our routine."
And it dismantles the official discourse of "resistance": "The resistance does not fill a plate with food, the resistance does not buy medicine, the resistance does not provide a glass of milk to a child."
The video has garnered almost 28,000 views and over 1,000 reactions, with dozens of comments from Cubans who see their own daily experiences reflected in those images.
"Cuba belongs to Cubans, and it is painful to see that many of the products a family needs are out of reach for those who live and work here," Aguilera concludes. "No matter how hard I try to understand it, I feel that something is upside down, and that invokes not just anger but profound sadness, a sadness that is increasingly visible on the faces of our people each day."
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