“If I die, it’s the government’s fault”

Reynier Hidalgo GonzalezCuban resident in Báguano, Holguinmade a desperate plea for help on Wednesday due to his critical health condition and lack of medical care. His situation is aggravated by the shortage of basic foodstuffs, which has caused a serious deterioration in his health.

On Facebook, Hidalgo blamed the Cuban government for his current state of health: “If I die of anemia it will be the government’s fault because they provide good food to hotels and tourists, but for those of us who depend on social assistance there is practically nothing,” he complained.

The 30-year-old said that with the 2,600 pesos he receives monthly he can only buy the few items available in the local store, which he compared to a desert due to its lack of essential products.

In a comment, Hidalgo explained that she suffers from arthritis, psoriasis and now lupus, which she has developed due to the adverse effects of the medications she takes for the other two conditions.

Hidalgo described the suffering she endures not only because of her illness but also because of the desperation of seeing how the lack of food and medicine worsens her condition: “The government cannot even stock the store with the basics for adequate nutrition, which worsens my ordeal,” she lamented.

He said that since leaving military service at age 21, his life has been filled with suffering and chronic pain that only painkillers can alleviate a little. “And now, the government leaves us with the lowest salaries in the face of the high cost of food,” the young man lamented.

Despite her dire situation, Hidalgo promised to fight for her survival: “I will not give up until my last breath. I will continue trying to make sure that one of my publications reaches someone who can help us, because I repeat, I do not want to die.”

Her story highlights the harsh reality faced by many Cubans amid the country’s economic and social crisis, where basic needs such as health and nutrition seem inaccessible to the most vulnerable.

Recently, the farmer Delio Ramirez Rosales He took to social media to denounce the poor diet suffered by Cubans, using as an example the plate of food he “enjoyed” and for which he thanked God.

Rice scrapings, that burnt rice from the bottom of the pot (which many hungry Cubans have become fond of), was the “delicacy” that Ramírez Rosales ate before going to bed early to wake up again for a day in the country.

“I work like an animal from dawn to dusk and sometimes it’s hard. Today I had to eat leftover rice alone. I wanted to have sugar water with it, but when I checked, there was no sugar… And I thanked God for the leftovers,” the farmer said on Facebook.

Amid this grim scenario, the regime announced that shortages of rationed products will continue into September. Betsy Diaz VelazquezCuba’s Minister of Domestic Trade told official media that “we do not expect to have oil or coffee in September, just as there was none in August.”