A neighborhood market in Cárdenas, located in the former premises of "El Cerdito" at the corner of Real and Industria streets, recorded increases in four basic products in just 20 days, according to a comparison of two price boards published on Facebook by independent communicator Christian Arbolaez this Thursday.
The price of a pound of chicken breast increased from 900 to 920 Cuban pesos (CUP), rice from 390 to 400 CUP per pound, oil from 2,900 to 2,950 CUP, and mortadella from 950 to 1,000 CUP, representing increases of between 10 and 50 pesos in less than three weeks.
The only exception was tomato paste, which dropped from 1,800 to 1,350 CUP, although Arbolaez himself warned that "we do not know if it is the same packaging."
The establishment opened around October 9th in that location in Matanzas, and since then it has generated skepticism among the neighbors, who questioned from the very first day why its prices were the same or higher than those of the mipymes, in contradiction to the official promise of offering products that were 15% to 30% cheaper than other stores.
"They changed the name of the establishment, they did a tremendous advertising campaign, and now some prices are also starting to rise," Arbolaez pointed out.
The residents of Cárdenas continue to voice criticisms: "The only thing in the neighborhood was the venue; the rest is just the same old story with a different name." Another commented, "The funniest part is how they went on and on saying that everything at those locations would be cheaper." Yet another person remarked ironically, "What a bargain for retirees and employees."
With the minimum wage in Cuba being just 3,210 CUP per month since July 2026, neighborhood markets continue to fall short of solving the problem. The economist Javier Pérez Capdevila estimated in June that a person needs around 96,000 CUP per month to cover their basic needs, nearly 30 times that minimum wage. Year-on-year inflation reached 28.44% in September 2026, with food accounting for 73.39% of the monthly impact.
Neighborhood markets are an initiative of the Cuban regime regulated by Resolution 16/2026 of the Ministry of Domestic Trade, in effect since August 11, 2026. The model allows small and medium-sized enterprises (mipymes), cooperatives, and self-employed workers to manage premises within the state network. In practice, the openings in various provinces — Guantánamo, Granma, Havana, Holguín, and Ciego de Ávila — have sparked a similar reaction of citizen rejection from day one.
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