A video shared on TikTok has sparked debate about work, hunger, and reliance on remittances in Cuba, after a Cuban woman claimed that many people on the island prefer not to work despite the economic hardships they face.
In the recording, published on the account @shark.jewelry.loc, a woman identified as Luisa bluntly states: “People in Cuba are dying of hunger but don’t want to work.”
Her conversation partner quickly contradicts her: "No, Luisa, don’t talk nonsense, it’s just that there are no jobs."
However, Luisa insists that there are job opportunities that many Cubans do not take advantage of. To support her argument, she mentions the case of her brother-in-law Lisandro, the owner of a café, who, she says, has posted several job offers on Facebook without attracting any interest.
"I don't know how many times my brother-in-law Lisandro has posted an advertisement on Facebook looking for someone serious who wants to work in his café, and I don't see anyone responding to him," he states.
In his opinion, one of the reasons for this lack of interest is the economic dependence on family members living abroad.
"Yes, sometimes there are, and they don’t want to work because they’re waiting for things to be sent from here to there to live comfortably, just relaxing," he states.
The other woman rejects her explanation and believes that the lack of opportunities and the difficulties of making a living have been persistent issues in Cuba.
Luisa, for her part, recalls that she started working as a teenager to help her family. She shares that when she was 16 years old, she would leave the Juan George Soto Cuesta pre-university at four in the afternoon and then go to work at a paladar.
"My mom was raising us three girls all by herself without anyone giving her anything," she recalls.
The Cuban concludes her speech with a message directed at those who, according to her, rely on financial assistance from their relatives: "Get to work, get to work."
Why are so many Cubans outside the labor market?
The debate takes place in a country where formal employment has lost much of its economic appeal due to low wages and the high cost of living.
According to the National Occupation Survey by the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), released in July 2025, 50.1% of Cubans aged 15 and older were not part of the labor force, meaning they were neither working nor actively seeking employment.
Of the more than 8.4 million people in that age group, approximately 4.13 million were employed, and about 69,333 were officially registered as unemployed.
These figures show that the low official unemployment rate, around 1.7%, does not alone reflect the extent of labor inactivity. The latter includes individuals who are not seeking work for various reasons.
The deterioration of purchasing power represents another significant issue. According to official data collected in a report from the Independent Trade Union Association of Cuba published by Infobae, the average monthly salary in 2025 was 6,930 Cuban pesos, equivalent to about 13 dollars at the informal exchange rate used in the study.
The insufficiency of income also forces many families to seek alternative means of subsistence. A survey by Cubadata conducted between February and March 2026 revealed that 86.6% of the 1,788 participants resorted to informal economic activities to obtain food.
Remittances, another point of controversy
The reliance on foreign economic aid is another issue faced by the protagonists of the video.
Although remittances provide significant support for many Cuban families, not all households have that option. The same survey by Cubadata found that only 5.4% of participants received money from abroad monthly, while 64.2% had not received any financial assistance from outside in the previous 30 days.
Economic demands from emigrated relatives have also sparked discussions on social media. In September, the Cuban Yeisla Colina publicly reprimanded her relatives in Cuba for constantly asking her for money, while she worked as a delivery person in the rain in the United States.
"Don't ask me for anything more," he said then, in a post that brought to light the economic difficulties faced by those who emigrate and support their families from abroad.
The economic precariousness on the island is also reflected in a study by the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights, released in August 2026, which estimated that 94% of Cubans were living in extreme poverty.
Among those who urge Cubans to seek employment and those who question whether a salary can cover basic needs, the discussion reflects two concerns faced by many families: the lack of job opportunities and the difficulties of surviving on available income.
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