The inauguration of a new dairy farm in the Avilés municipality of Chambas triggered a wave of ironic and skeptical comments among Cubans on social media, who quickly linked the announcement to Raúl Castro's promise of a “glass of milk” made nearly 20 years ago, which was never fulfilled.
The official media outlet Televisión Avileña reported this Friday that in Chambas, the Vaquería 1 of the UEB Ganadera has been inaugurated, dedicated to the production of milk, yogurt, and cheese, along with a facility for producing croquettes, sausages, and minced meat.
The regime presented the initiative as part of the verification of 176 measures of the so-called Economic and Social Transformations implemented in agricultural entities in Ciego de Ávila, without publishing figures on installed capacity, number of animals, or production volume.
The reaction of the Cubans was immediate. "Is that AI, right?" asked one user. Another pointed directly to the cost of the products: "Will it have an adjustable price for workers?" A third questioned, "What will the croquettes be made of when the people's hemoglobin drops?"
The sanitary conditions also generated criticism: "When will hygiene be addressed, when bacteria are being spread by hand?"
Among the comments, there were also complaints about electrical issues and the situation with the sugar mills. "And when will the electricity come, and when will the mills be ready?" wrote another person.
One of the comments that stood out the most says: "Now they're really going to give the promised glass of milk."
What happened to the glass of milk that Raúl Castro promised?
On July 26, 2007, Raúl Castro promised in Camagüey: “We must produce milk so that everyone who wants a glass can have one.”
The censors edited that part of the speech in the television broadcast, and Granma removed it from the transcript. Almost two decades later, the promise remains unfulfilled and has become a cultural symbol of governmental failure.
The national milk production dropped 58% between 2018 and 2023 and has not recovered since then. The cattle herd lost more than 900,000 heads of cattle from 2019 to 2025.
In June 2026, Minister Alberto López Díaz acknowledged that more than 100,000 children were not receiving their daily milk ration and that the state plan for children's supply was impossible to fulfill.
In Ciego de Ávila, the provincial dairy industry received only 15% of the planned milk —between 4,800 and 5,000 liters daily compared to the expected 33,700— and accumulated a debt of 13 million pesos with producers and cooperatives.
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