One pound of pepper at 600 Cuban pesos was the starting point of a reflection published this Sunday by José E. González Marín on the rising food prices in Cuba and the difficulties faced by those who work all month without earning enough to meet their families' basic needs.
"In Cuba, even a pepper has become a luxury," González wrote in a Facebook post, where he questioned the gap between salaries and the prices of everyday products that were once a regular part of the diet.
The author described the frustration of receiving payment after a month of work and realizing that the money barely covers food for a few days: "There is something profoundly humiliating about working an entire month and discovering that, when it comes time to put food on the table, the money barely lasts to survive a few days," he expressed.
In his reflection, he clarified that he was not talking about travel, vacations, or grand economic aspirations, but rather about a basic need: the ability to feed oneself without each purchase being a source of worry.
González chose the pepper to illustrate a situation he considers particularly painful, precisely because it is an ingredient associated with home cooking and everyday preparations like sautéing and stews.
“Let’s look at a simple yet painful example: a bell pepper for 600 pesos per pound,” he pointed out.
"A bell pepper. That humble ingredient that for generations has been part of Cuban cuisine, which accompanied a sauté, added flavor to a stew, or complemented any meal without becoming a source of worry," she recalled.
For González, the issue is not just about the price of a vegetable, but what it represents for those who depend on income in Cuban pesos.
"Today, seeing it at that price is much more than encountering an absurd figure. It is to contemplate, in a single product, the tremendous gap that has opened up between the cost of living and what a Cuban can earn working," he stated.
The reflection also focuses on the situations faced by different sectors of the population, from state workers to pensioners and families with children.
González mentioned the teachers who complete their work shifts and then have to calculate how much money they can allocate to buying food, as well as the workers who return home not knowing how they will manage to provide for the next day's meal.
It also described retirees who compare prices before deciding whether they can purchase a certain product, aware that doing so may mean giving up on another necessity.
“And there are mothers and fathers who learn to conceal their worries in front of their children, even though inside they are desperate because they wish they could give them much more than they can,” he wrote.
The author questioned whether these difficulties have become part of daily routine and whether families end up considering sacrifices that were previously unnecessary as normal.
In one of the most striking passages of his publication, he summarized his critique of the loss of purchasing power for those who live off their labor: “But there is nothing normal about a person working and being unable to feed themselves with dignity,” he stated.
González insisted that earning a salary does not guarantee economic security when prices force individuals to constantly choose between food and other essential expenses.
In that regard, she stated: "There is no dignity in having to constantly choose which need to leave unmet. There is no peace in coming home with a paycheck and feeling that it is already insufficient."
González concluded his post by insisting that the price of peppers represents a much broader economic challenge than the purchase of a specific product.
The problem is not just that a pepper costs 600 pesos. The problem is everything that price reveals about the lives of those who have to pay it," he wrote.
His reflection concluded with a phrase about the consequences of rising basic products: “When working is no longer enough to eat, what has become more expensive is not just food: it is the cost of living.”
The rising cost of food that González highlights is also evident in other testimonies shared over the past few months.
At the beginning of October, architect and entrepreneur Yulieta Hernández Díaz showcased a small onion that cost 610 pesos in Havana.
The woman specified that a pound of that product was sold for 1,700 CUP, a figure that sparked numerous reactions among Facebook users.
Days before, a Cuban living abroad showcased what she had spent on food during a visit to the island.
The purchase included root vegetables, bread, avocados, detergent, bananas, and meat products, with a total cost of approximately 8,750 pesos.
Another testimony, published in August, showed that the problem of obtaining food does not necessarily end when a family manages to pay for it.
Content creator Sisi Aguilera highlighted the price of products such as sugar and rice, as well as the difficulties in preserving food during prolonged blackouts.
Official statistics also reflect the erosion of purchasing power. According to the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI), Cuba's year-on-year inflation reached 28.44% in September 2026, while prices recorded an increase of 24.85% since the beginning of the year.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages were the category with the largest contribution to the monthly increase in the Consumer Price Index, accounting for 73.39% of that variation.
Related videos:
Filed under: