The official singer-songwriter Raúl Torres proposed this Monday, in an extensive text published on his Facebook account, that the solution to the Cuban food crisis lies in "organizing our perspective" towards natural resources that, according to him, already exist on the island: tortoises, plantains, water buffalos, tilapia, catfish, river crabs, hutias, and deer.
The proposal from the troubadour— a deputy to the National Assembly of People's Power since 2018 and the author of tribute songs to Fidel Castro such as "Riding with Fidel"— comes at the worst moment of the Cuban food crisis in decades, when 97.65% of households report difficulties accessing essential products, according to the Food Monitor Program.
"Cuba has a pantry in its own home that we have not yet fully opened. The jicotea is not just a little lagoon creature for a photo; it is a fine, firm meat that, when properly raised, yields more than many imports," wrote Torres, who quickly clarified that "I am a guajiro, but being a guajiro does not mean being an agronomist or a statistician."
The phrase that summarizes his diagnosis is as lyrical as it is detached from reality: "It's not that there is a lack of food; it's that sometimes we lack the organization of our perspective."
While the troubadour invites Cubans to look towards the wetlands, a pound of rice hovers around 330 Cuban pesos in the informal market—and it can exceed 400—and the Minister of Food Industry himself admitted in June that so far this year, oil, chicken, and yogurt have not been distributed through the standardized basket.
Torres, who last week published another text admitting that "the people are there, taking their last breath," is not unaware of the contradiction. In July, he asked the leaders to "get off the air conditioning" and come closer to everyday reality, although he did not question at any moment the foundations of the system that generates that reality.
In his post this Monday, the singer-songwriter blames the U.S. embargo—referred to as a "criminal blockade"—and calls on the spirit of Fidel Castro as a spiritual guide for the solution: "When we say 'I am Fidel,' we are not just repeating a slogan for the audience; we are embracing a way of life."
The text concludes with a reference to the song "Vamos a andar" by Silvio Rodríguez and a phrase that encapsulates the tone of the message: "Let's move forward, my brother, for the pantry is full, and the people who carry Fidel in their hearts have the strength, the knowledge, and the love to open it wide."
The proposal by Torres reflects the official discourse of "food sovereignty" that the regime has been promoting for years while the food crisis has only worsened, as Cubans search for food in the trash or pay exorbitant prices for basic products that the State can no longer guarantee.
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