Empty shelves and dwindling supplies are the stark reality for many Cubans, as the country's long-standing ration book system struggles to provide basic necessities. José Luis Amate López, who works at a state-run bodega in central Havana, has seen barely any customers in almost two weeks, a testament to the deepening economic crisis.
The shelves, once abundant during his childhood, now stand largely bare, offering little to the 5,000 clients who rely on the store for subsidised food. Government ration books, historically a lifeline for a healthy diet, are shrinking dramatically. With the economy in freefall and prices skyrocketing, a growing number of Cubans find themselves unable to afford alternatives to state-run provisions.
'No Cuban can truly survive on the products from the ration book anymore,' Mr Amate López stated, reflecting the widespread despair. The 'libreta', as it is known, was established by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro in the early 1960s. It was designed to offer heavily subsidised items, from milk and fish to cigarettes, ensuring assigned bodegas were fully stocked by the start of each month.
The ration book shrank during the 'Special Period', when Soviet aid plummeted in the 1990s and deprivation hit Cuba. Even so, many Cubans who lived through that period say the current situation is worse. Amate López recalled that his assigned bodega was so full decades ago 'you could barely walk.' It’s now an empty room with dusty old posters detailing the prices and amounts of nearly two dozen goods no longer available, including yogurt, pasta and bars of soap.
Havana resident Ana Enamorado, 68, said she only was able to buy split chickpeas and 2 pounds of sugar at her assigned bodega in April. She struggles to buy the remaining basic goods at small, privately owned stores known as 'mipymes' with her salary and pension totalling some 8,000 Cuban pesos a month. A carton of 30 eggs costs roughly 3,000 pesos, 2 pounds of meat hash are nearly 900 pesos and 1 pound of cornmeal is roughly 200 pesos.
'There’s hardly anything in the ration book,' she said. 'We’re practically living off air.' Her lunches and dinners are a rotation of rice, seasoned ground meat and cornmeal, or sometimes nothing at all. She recalled once upon a time being able to eat pork, lamb, fricassee, fried plantain slices and red beans and rice. 'Now we have to cut back, have one meal a day and live on memories,' Enamorado said.
