A Cuban doctor laid out in a simple and striking manner the salary misery that affects healthcare professionals on the island: his monthly salary as a first-degree specialist is not enough to buy a ten-pound package of chicken, a bottle of oil, and a carton of eggs.
Daniel Del Toro González, a doctor at the Pediatric Hospital of Las Tunas, made the comparison in a Facebook post highlighting inflation and its harmful consequences on people.
"Specialist doctor at first level: base salary of 8,500—I believe, because they raised it, my mom told me—. A 10-pound package of chicken: 6,500, a bottle of oil: 4,000 pesos, a dozen eggs: oh no... I ran out of salary and ended up in debt," he wrote.
The doctor also questioned the requirement to use electronic payments in a market characterized by scarcity, informality, and the preference of many vendors for cash. "Transfer? Where is that paid?" he asked.
Del Toro González concluded his reflection with a phrase that encapsulates the failure of decades of official promises regarding the value of work in Cuba: "The utopia has always been to think that we could live on our salaries."
The physician's arithmetic reflects the loss of purchasing power: the chicken and oil amount to 10,500 Cuban pesos, about 2,000 CUP more than the salary mentioned by the doctor.
That account still doesn't include the eggs, in addition to rice, beans, root vegetables, transportation, toiletries, and other monthly expenses. Simply put, the budget doesn't even cover a specialist doctor, a profession that is well-paid internationally in many parts of the world.
The figure of 8,500 CUP aligns with the new official scale for a first-degree specialist doctor working under a regime of 44 hours per week.
The Resolution 17/2026 of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security places this position in salary group XXI, corresponding to 8,500 CUP for 44 hours or 7,730 CUP for 40 hours per week.
The new salary regulations came into effect on July 1st and were reflected in the payments made in August. The increase raised the base salary of first-grade specialists from 5,560 to 8,500 CUP, but it was quickly outpaced by food prices.
The price of chicken mentioned by Del Toro González aligns with recent offers for ten-pound packages at 6,500 CUP when paid through the cash register and 6,700 CUP in cash in Isla de la Juventud. The product even reached prices exceeding 7,000 pesos in that area.
Oil has also seen a spike. A recent report from Havana indicated the price of a liter at 4,000 CUP, with testimonies citing prices as high as 5,000 in other areas of the country.
Eggs also do not provide relief. Reports published after the salary increase placed the carton of 30 units between 3,000 and 4,000 CUP, and even at 5,000 in certain locations.
Buying chicken, oil, and eggs could cost more than the entire base salary of a specialist.
The complaint adds to the testimonies of other professionals who have left the medical field because their earnings do not meet their families' needs.
A Cuban specialist with teaching credentials revealed in May that she had stopped practicing after finding that, even by working more than five shifts a month, her salary did not reach 10,000 CUP.
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