A teacher from the Urbano Noris municipality in Holguín directly reported to Miguel Díaz-Canel that the educators in that area have not received their salaries for over three months, since last May.
The complaint was posted as a comment on the wall of Facebook of the leader, where he shared a message about the preparations for the school year.
Díaz-Canel wrote on his profile: "Enormous efforts are being made to ensure that classrooms open on September 1st, despite the #GenocidalBlockade. My gratitude to teachers, administrators, families, and all the institutions that have joined this endeavor. We will not give up."
In response, María Luisa Casal Castillo, who identifies herself as a teacher from Urbano Noris, expressed a complaint: “President, among all the things you are grateful for... the teachers of Urbano Noris municipality, Holguín, Oriente, would greatly appreciate it if we were paid, because you might be unaware that we have not been paid since May... At times, there are actions that make the humble population feel nostalgic.”
The contradiction between the official discourse and the reality of months without pay sums up a crisis that is not limited to the teachers in Holguín.
In July, teachers from the Vicente Chávez Mixed School in Vertientes, Camagüey, reported that they had gone two months without pay, with the only official response being that "there's no money." Despite this, teachers and other staff continued to work under "terrible" conditions, so as not to abandon their students.
"A school so large, with so many teachers, and the same number of teachers do not have a meal today. But 'there’s no money' is always the same response... There’s no money, no shame, no dignity, no respect," said Yerenis Cabrera León, daughter of one of the workers at the center.
The regime approved Resolution 18/2026 from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security at the end of July, which established new base salaries for teachers ranging from 6,130 to 7,735 CUP per month, effective from July 1 and payable in August.
However, that increase is irrelevant for those who have not even received the previous wages.
On the other hand, at the informal exchange rate of approximately 673 Cuban pesos per dollar, the new maximum salary of 7,735 CUP equates to only 11.5 dollars monthly, far below an estimated basic basket between 25,000 and 50,000 CUP. Cubans responded to the announcement with mockery that circulated on social media and was summed up in one phrase: "Now they can buy the carton of eggs and oil in the same month."
The Cuban education system also suffers from a structural deficit of at least 24,000 teachers nationwide—12.5% of teaching positions—due to migration, the shift to the private sector, and historically low salaries.
Ahead of the start of the 2026-2027 school year, scheduled for September first, Cubans responded to Díaz-Canel's message with criticism, describing the situation as "a lot of will and few resources," highlighting power outages, water shortages, lack of uniforms, and difficulties in ensuring children’s nutrition.
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