A carton of eggs, five packs of detergent, and a bottle of oil. That's all a Cuban could buy with 11,000 pesos in the informal market, according to a video posted on Thursday on TikTok by content creator @yanelasinfiltro, who regularly documents the real purchasing power of Cubans on the Island.
In the clip, the TikToker breaks down each expense precisely: the carton of eggs cost 3,600 pesos; the five packages of detergent at 500 grams each, priced at 600 pesos each, totaled 3,000 pesos; and the bottle of oil cost another 2,500 pesos. "Folks, it's already at 2,500 pesos," she warns in the video, pointing out that the same product was 2,000 pesos when she last bought it. With that, the 11,000 pesos were exhausted, leaving not a cent for rice, meat, root vegetables, or any other food.
The 11,000 pesos from the video equate to just about 16 dollars at the informal exchange rate, which on July 7, 2026, was 670 pesos per dollar, according to unofficial market data. That same amount represents approximately 3.4 minimum monthly wages: the government approved a 53% increase in July that raised the minimum wage from 2,100 to 3,210 pesos, although the actual payment will not be made until August.
The most revealing aspect of the video is that a carton of eggs alone exceeds the entire monthly minimum wage of the country. A Cuban worker earning the minimum wage would not be able to afford even that single product with their full monthly salary.
The economist Javier Pérez Capdevila estimated that a Cuban family needs at least 96,060 pesos per month to meet their basic needs, a figure 30 times higher than the current minimum wage. The food component of that basket alone amounts to 70,070 pesos, which is 22 times the minimum wage.
The video by @yanelasinfiltro falls into a recurring trend on TikTok: Cubans showcasing their purchases to highlight the gap between prices and incomes. In May, the same creator published what she bought with 10,500 pesos: only cleaning products and seasonings, with no protein. In June, another viral video revealed that with 11,100 pesos, it was possible to buy some basic meats, but without rice or root vegetables.
The Cuban peso has rapidly lost value: the dollar went from 435 pesos in December 2025 to 670 pesos in July 2026. The official year-on-year inflation rate as of May 2026 was 15.89%, but the estimated rate in the informal market hovers around 70%, a gap that highlights the disparity between the regime's figures and the reality faced by Cubans every time they go shopping.
The new minimum wage of 3,210 pesos has been in effect since July 1, but no worker will receive it until next month, which means the increase comes too late for those who are already facing prices that rise weekly.
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