Overview

• Cuba’s ruling Communist Party and government authorities accepted Feito’s resignation on July 15, citing her lack of objectivity and sensitivity
• During a televised parliamentary session on July 14, Feito claimed that those begging were merely disguised as beggars and denied any true paupers existed
• Her comments provoked widespread social media outcry, prompting top party and state bodies to swiftly review her statements
• President Miguel Díaz-Canel publicly condemned her remarks on X; during a parliamentary address he underscored that street begging exposes concrete social inequalities
• The economy contracted 1.1% in 2024 in its steepest downturn since the 1990s Special Period; state welfare programs served roughly 189,000 families and 350,000 individuals that year