A Cuban resident in Limonar, a municipality in Matanzas, documented in a video published on Facebook the exorbitant cost of taking her mother to a medical appointment at the Faustino Pérez Provincial Hospital, in the capital city: 5,200 Cuban pesos spent in one day, solely on transportation.
The author of the video, identified as Yaima, recounted each segment of the approximately 23-kilometer journey from her locality to the hospital. The outbound trip required three transfers: a train from Limonar to Peñas Altas for 800 pesos per person, an electric cart from Peñas Altas to the pre-university for 250 pesos, and a truck to the hospital for an additional 150 pesos.
The return was no cheaper. "We took a car to Peñas Altas that cost us 400 pesos each. In Peñas Altas, the sun was blazing, I thought I was melting, until a machine appeared that charged us a thousand pesos per person," the young woman recounted in the video, which garnered nearly 177,000 views.
"In total, we spent 5,200 pesos just on transportation," he summarized at the end of the journey.
The figure is devastating when compared to the actual income of Cubans. The average monthly salary in Cuba is around 6,930 pesos, equivalent to just 12 or 13 dollars at the unofficial exchange rate, which means that this single medical trip consumed 75% of an average worker's monthly income.
The minimum wage, raised to 3,210 pesos, would not even be enough to cover the cost of this single trip. A Cuban economist estimated last month that meeting basic needs requires about 96,060 pesos per month, roughly 14 times the average salary.
The collapse of public transportation explains why Cubans rely on private transport at any cost. In September 2025, public transportation in Matanzas was operating at less than half of its capacity: only 63 out of 129 buses were active.
In June of this year, the private electric tricycles in the province doubled their rates, driven by the price of fuel in the black market, which reached 6,000 pesos per liter.
The reason for the trip was an eye examination: Yaima's mother suffers from severe myopia with very blurred vision and needs to have surgery, the young woman reported, praising the care received: "The doctors who attended to us today were all amazing, tremendous care."
The paradox is stark: the Cuban healthcare system offers free consultations, but the collapse of public transportation turns each visit to the doctor into an expense that can represent an entire month’s salary.
The regime, far from alleviating the situation, announced in June 2026 the gradual elimination of transportation subsidies as part of a package of 176 economic measures, which indicates that prices will continue to rise for those who have no other choice but to pay.
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