Overview

• On July 14, Labor Minister Marta Elena Feitó told a parliamentary commission that “in Cuba, there are no beggars” and blamed apparent poverty on people disguising themselves to avoid work.
• President Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly rejected Feitó’s assertion on July 15, labeling her remarks arrogant and describing begging as a concrete expression of social inequality.
• Cuba’s economy has contracted for two straight years, with GDP falling 1.9 percent in 2023 and 1.1 percent in 2024, fueling severe shortages of food, medicine and fuel and daily power blackouts.
• Official figures show 189,000 families and 350,000 individuals out of 9.7 million residents are classified as vulnerable and receiving social assistance.
• Feitó’s remarks went viral on social media, triggering calls for her impeachment and widespread criticism from citizens and economists over the government’s handling of the crisis.