The Cuban ration book does not guarantee the right to food

According to the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, for 6 out of 10 families the food in the ration book only covers between 5 and 10 days, and in addition, 70% of the surveyed families indicated that there was a shortage of basic foods in the last three months.

In his speech before the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stated that “despite the obstacles, the Cuban Government, with extraordinary efforts and despite shortcomings and difficulties, guarantees the universal right to freedom. food through the standardized basic family basket, which all Cubans receive, and which includes 19 basic food products at affordable prices ”. However, the reality of ordinary Cubans is far from that enunciated by the president. The book is not enough to cover the 19 products and the ones it includes are not enough, neither in variety nor in quantity, to cover the needs of a whole month.

In practical terms, a notebook is given to each family nucleus, which includes the names, ages and sexes of the people who make it up, and with this they remove the food. There are products that arrive once a month, but it is common that not all arrive on time, so people wait until the middle or end of the month for all the products to accumulate in the warehouse and thus avoid going more than once.

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What does the basket include?

Although not all people claim to receive the same products, the most common to find are rice, white sugar, brown sugar, grains — usually peas — coffee, spaghetti, beans, salt, and matches. And in relation to meat, although there are variations, they refer to chicken or fish, mortadella, soy hash and eggs. Children and the elderly have a special diet and receive other additional products.

If the products in the basket are not enough to complete the month, Cubans can go to the stores in national currency, however, these sell only one or two products and to get them they must make long lines. But doing the lines does not guarantee that they can be obtained, since it is common for these to sell out and people have to return again. In addition, the products are often rationed and sold in limited quantities.

Given these circumstances, in October 2019 the government decided to open stores in freely convertible currency (MLC) so that people can access certain appliances and spare parts. But as of 2020, the instruction was given to also sell basic necessities under the argument of attracting foreign exchange and with these supply the stores in national currency. The reality in the last year is that stores in national currency remain unsupplied and the promise was never fulfilled, but also an even greater inequality in access to food was generated because not all Cubans can access MLC. According to the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights, for 6 out of 10 families the food in the ration book only covers between 5 and 10 days, and in addition, 70% of the surveyed families indicated that there was a shortage of basic foods in the last three months. This means that the book is insufficient to meet the population's food needs and the supply alternatives are insufficient.

The most serious aspect of the situation is that 67% of those surveyed classify the family diet as deficient, while 38% state that they have had to stop eating a meal due to lack of money or resources. And although there are no records on the food consumed, it is to be expected that these do not comply with the required diet given the circumstances of the island.

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Blame for the blockade? The government blames the blockade for the shortage situation, but the alternatives devised by the government itself, such as the stores in MLC, have ended up aggravating the situation. The right to food is understood not only as access to food, but also as regular, permanent and unrestricted access to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate and sufficient food.

For this reason, Díaz-Canel's speech, in addition to being full of falsehoods, is presented as an affront to the international commitments of Cuba, a country that is far from fulfilling its international responsibility in terms of guaranteeing Human Rights and, particularly, the right to food.

Although the president mentioned his commitment to food security and the right to food, the island has not yet ratified, among others, two of the most important human rights instruments, which together with the Universal Declaration make up the International Bill of Human Rights and which are also part of the pillars of the mandate of the Office of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

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However, it is necessary to remember that the obligations that States have to comply with international Human Rights standards, is given by the simple fact of being a member of this organization and other sources of Public International Law, and not only with the ratification of international treaties. So Cuba is obliged to comply beyond the words without content uttered by its president.

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Thus, Díaz-Canel's speech is not only alien to the reality of Cubans, but is also contrary to the instruments effectively ratified by the Cuban State. The ration book, rather than guaranteeing permanent and unrestricted access to food, is a prohibited form of blackmail that generates dependence on the State to guarantee sustenance and a form of social control due to impoverishment and waiting.

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www.latinoamerica21.com, a plural medium committed to the dissemination of critical and truthful information about Latin America. Follow us @ Latinoamerica21

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Sergio Angel is a professor and researcher at the Cuba Program at the Sergio Arboleda University (Bogotá). Candidate for a PhD in Political Studies and International Relations, National University of Colombia. Coordinator of the Observatory of Academic Freedom of Cuba (OLA).

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Nastassja Rojas is a professor at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia) and a candidate for a Doctor of Law from the National University of Colombia. Principal researcher at Food Monito and specialized in migratory movements, gender studies and Venezuelan politics.

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