A Cuba Without Disguise

“Disguised as hunger.” That’s how the government would define this scene, but no disguise can hide the emptiness in the stomach. / 14ymedio

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 15 July 2025 —  “Disguised.” This is how Labor Minister Marta Elena Feitó described the real beggars who, every day, are multiplying on the streets trying to survive. The images taken by this newspaper in Havana speak for themselves.

In this crisis, even the right to be recognized as vulnerable is denied. / 14ymedio
Every night, hundreds of Cubans set up improvised shelters. But for Minister Marta Elena Feitó, they’re simply “illegals.” / 14ymedio
Amidst ruins and garbage, there are people who endure. Even though the State denies them even the name of their pain. / 14ymedio
This isn’t a “drill.” It’s the daily life of hundreds of people who have no roof over their heads, no voice, and no minister to represent them. / 14ymedio
Dehumanizing is a strategy. If you don’t see them as people, you don’t have to give them answers. / 14ymedio
The minister offered no figures, plans, nor solutions to address the precariousness affecting millions of Cubans. / 14ymedio
The minister, far from proposing concrete measures or admitting mistakes, chose to discredit the victims. / 14ymedio
Many Cubans reacted with disbelief and anger at what they consider a complete lack of empathy. / 14ymedio
Feitó even denied that hunger exists on the island. / 14ymedio
She called those who roam the streets “drunks, deceivers, and illegals.” / 14ymedio
The minister denies poverty, but these images name it. / 14ymedio
Living on the streets isn’t a choice. It’s the result of a system that doesn’t support, but rather pushes away. / 14ymedio
According to the minister, the social deterioration the country is experiencing cannot be explained by failures of the economic system. / 14ymedio
A few hours after the minister’s remarks, President Diaz-Canel  wrote on X, without mentioning Feitó: “The lack of sensitivity in the approach to vulnerability is highly questionable.” / 14ymedio

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