The state-run ration book, once a pillar of Cuban self-sufficiency, has shrunk to the point where citizens can no longer survive on its provisions, forcing a growing number of Cubans into a dollar-dependent economy. José Luis Amate López, who works at a central Havana bodega, reported no customers in nearly two weeks in late April, with shelves that once held abundant goods now nearly empty. The store, which serves 5,000 clients, had only rice, sugar, and split chickpeas available in April. Amate López stated, “No Cuban can truly survive on the products from the ration book anymore.”
This collapse of the state-controlled food system directly impacts the native working class, who struggle to subsist on meager salaries while basic goods are increasingly sold in U.S. dollars. The ration book, known as “la libreta,” was established by revolutionary leader Fidel Castro more than six decades ago, providing heavily subsidized goods from milk to fish. Cubans expected their assigned bodega to be fully stocked by the first of each month.
The Managed Decline of a Nation
The current deprivation is described by many who lived through it as worse than the “Special Period” about three decades ago, when Soviet aid plummeted. During that time, Cubans lost an average of 5% to 25% of their body weight, and goods like bread, milk, eggs, and chicken were scarce. Amate López recalled his bodega being so full decades ago “you could barely walk,” but it is now an empty room displaying dusty posters of nearly two dozen unavailable goods, including yogurt, pasta, and bars of soap. Industrial freezers once packed with meat and chicken now only keep his water bottle cold.
Traditional cultural markers are also eroding. Cuban teens turning 15, a landmark birthday, once received cake and several cases of beer; now they get only 3 kilograms of ground beef. The regime recently opted to celebrate those turning 65 by awarding sardines, a bar of soap, and a package of toilet paper, items Amate López does not even have.
Havana resident Ana Enamorado, 68, could only buy split chickpeas and 2 pounds of sugar at her bodega in April. Her salary and pension total some 8,000 Cuban pesos ($16) a month, while a carton of 30 eggs costs roughly 3,000 pesos ($125), 2 pounds of meat hash are nearly 900 pesos ($37), and 1 pound of cornmeal is roughly 200 pesos ($8). Enamorado stated, “There’s hardly anything in the ration book. We’re practically living off air,” and recalled a time when she could eat pork, lamb, fricassee, fried plantain slices, and red beans and rice. She concluded, “Now we have to cut back, have one meal a day and live on memories.”
Elite Mismanagement and External Dependence
Cuba imports up to 80% of its food, including goods for state stores, which are increasingly unavailable due to a lack of government resources. William LeoGrande, a professor at American University, noted that the regime “bungled” the merging of two Cuban currencies in its fifth year, leading to persistent inflation because the state spends far more than it takes in. LeoGrande explained that the regime must stop printing money and balance its budget without drastically cutting social services, a challenge given that the bulk of state funds is spent on health, education, social welfare, and food imports. He added that the regime’s investment in tourism is “way higher” than the demand, which has plummeted.
Lázaro Cuesta, 56, reported that the daily allowance of bread rolls for him and his wife has shrunk from 80 grams costing 5 Cuban cents to 40 grams costing 75 cents, with worse quality. Cuesta, who earns 6,000 Cuban pesos ($250) a month, and his wife, a retired nurse receiving 4,800 pesos, rely on $200 a month from her brother and daughter abroad. Cuesta indicated that without these remittances, they would face dire consequences, stating, “hang yourself.” Roughly 60% of Cubans on the island receive remittances, highlighting a systemic reliance on external funds.
Rosa Rodríguez, 54, who does not receive remittances, earns 4,000 Cuban pesos ($8) a month. She stated, “Everything is scarce here — everything — even that wretched bread they give us.” Rodríguez noted that if she buys beans, she cannot buy sugar, and most of her salary is spent on a large carton of eggs. She concluded, “If I retire, I die.”
The Cost to the People
The regime has discussed subsidizing people in need instead of goods, a policy shift that LeoGrande said would free up money for fuel, medicine, and other imports. However, the island’s crises deepen with severe power outages, petroleum shortages, and a U.S. energy blockade. This systemic failure has led to popular cultural resistance, with Cuban comedians spoofing the ration book through a character named “Pánfilo,” who sings a rhyming chorus in a recent online video: “Place the notebook in a cemetery, because it’s ready to be buried.” The native population faces cultural dispossession and economic displacement as their traditional means of sustenance collapses under elite mismanagement and a creeping dollarization of their economy.