The official newspaper Venceremos published this Friday a complaint about the terrible quality of bread distributed in Guantánamo, accompanied by a photograph of loaves that, according to the publication, do not even meet the reduced official weight and are sold for 75 cents.
The images were taken on Monday, August 17, at the former bakery La Nueva, located at Carlos Manuel de Céspedes and Aguilera, in the Centro Popular Council of the city of Guantánamo.
The article noted that the pieces weigh only 30 and 50 grams and describes them as "anemic in color, corroded." It also questions the composition of the product, stating that it lacks ingredients such as salt, sugar, and fat.
The criticism directly targets those responsible for overseeing production and marketing. The author questioned what the decision-makers and inspectors of the Food, Flour, and Comprehensive Supervision and Control departments are doing in light of a situation that, as acknowledged by the official media, directly affects consumers.
The situation is worsening in the informal market, where street vendors are selling "pan de bola" for 40 pesos each. The article describes this price difference as a blow to family economics and denounces the enrichment at the expense of people's needs and inflationary opportunism.
The complaint is particularly significant because it comes from a state media outlet and presents photographs highlighting a deficiency in a basic product that directly affects families in Guantánamo.
"Everyone is suffering from shortages of all kinds: fuels, electricity, medicines, food... but no one has the right to add to the hardships and so significantly harm the consumer," claimed Venceremos.
The denunciation of Guantánamo is not an isolated case. At the beginning of August, content creator Yordania Orduñez showed in a video the bread from her store, small and with moldy dough, after five days without supply due to power outages.
"Look at that mass from the inside. We can't take it anymore, sir, it lacks respect; it seems to have mold," he stated.
Days later, residents of the Cuabitas neighborhood in Santiago de Cuba reported deformed loaves of bread with dark spots distributed through the rationing book.
An elderly woman, 68 years old, summed up the collective sentiment: "There used to be shortages sometimes, but at least the bread was bread. Today, it’s embarrassing to collect the ration."
The Habanero Dimitri Peñate also published a video comparing the bread from the store to something "from Mars." "I've never seen bread like this. The lack of respect, I don't know how they have the audacity and shame to sell this," he lamented.
Cuba needs about 20,000 tons of flour per month to ensure the distribution of standardized bread, but in June, only one of the six wheat vessels contracted for the entire year had arrived, acknowledged the Minister of Food Industry, Alberto López Díaz, on the official television program Mesa Redonda.
The only operational mill in Cienfuegos produces about 250 tons daily, compared to the 700 tons needed, while the plant in Guantánamo remains out of service.
The shortage of flour has forced the mixing of wheat with cassava pulp, sweet potato, or corn, which affects texture, flavor, and preservation. In Villa Clara, the regulated bread has been restricted since February only to those under 13 and over 65.
Adding to all of this, since July 2, and without prior notice, the Cuban Bread Company raised the price of a 400-gram loaf of bread in Havana from 240 to 500 Cuban pesos, an increase of 108%, while the weight of subsidized bread has been decreasing for two years, from 80 grams in 2024 to 60 grams, and in some regions even to 40 grams.
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