A 16-pound pumpkin sold for 150 pesos per pound in Placetas, Villa Clara, became a symbol of the food crisis suffocating Cubans on Monday: the total price, 2,400 Cuban pesos, represents 80% of a retiree's monthly pension.
The image was shared on Facebook by Ruben Carrillo, who received the photograph from Placetas and published it with a question that captures the bewilderment of thousands: “How far have we come in Cuba, that even the simplest things have become so difficult to obtain?”
The calculations are staggering: a retiree with a pension of 3,056 pesos a month who buys that pumpkin would be left with only 656 pesos to get through the rest of the month.
"And what about rice, beans, oil, medication, and other necessities? We're talking about a simple pumpkin, not a luxury item or an imported product," wrote Carrillo.
What makes the fact even more bitter is the memory of what it once was: the author recalls that when he lived in Placetas, it was enough to throw some seeds on the ground in the yard for the pumpkins to grow on their own, at no cost.
The comments on the post reveal that the price of 150 pesos per pound recorded in that sale is even lower than what is charged in other parts of the island.
Users reported 240 pesos per pound in Placetas, 300 pesos in Havana, Las Tunas, and Camagüey, and even up to 350 pesos in some areas of the capital. "Here in Esmeralda, Camagüey, the pumpkin is at 300 pesos per pound, and you could say that this is in the countryside," wrote one of the commenters.
"As a retiree, I can't afford the luxury of eating pumpkin; that's just for people with money," commented a Cuban.
At the beginning of November, another Cuban reported having paid 2,700 pesos for an entire pumpkin, an amount equivalent to 84% of the monthly minimum wage of 3,210 pesos. A resident of Cienfuegos paid 1,300 pesos for a piece of pumpkin along with three sweet potatoes.
The economist Javier Pérez Capdevila estimated in July that covering the basic needs of a single person in Cuba requires around 96,000 pesos per month, which is about 30 times the minimum wage.
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