Julio César Contreras – Translating Cuba

The Soaring Rise of the Dollar Complicates Cubans’ Arithmetic of Survival

Families are reducing their purchases as the national currency loses value, while small businesses struggle to avoid bankruptcy.

From a conventional business perspective, changing prices so frequently is a mistake. In Cuba, it is survival. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, San José de Las Lajas (Mayabeque), Julio César Contreras, June 16, 2026 – By mid-morning, activity in the small private shops of San José de Las Lajas increasingly resembles a scene of shared uncertainty. Customers come in, ask the price of a product, do the math in their heads, and often leave empty-handed. On the other side of the counter, vendors do not have definitive answers either: they know how much the merchandise cost a week ago, but they cannot say for sure how much it will be worth in a few days.

The dizzying rise of the dollar in Cuba’s informal market has turned even the simplest purchase into a daily exercise in household arithmetic. In a municipality where, as in the rest of the country, salaries are paid in pesos while many products are imported and paid for in foreign currency, every jump in the exchange rate triggers a new wave of price increases in national currency.

At a cafeteria near the main park, a young woman checks the contents of her wallet several times before deciding what to buy. Behind the counter, beneath a chalkboard with hand-written prices, pastries and candies wait for customers who are buying less and less.

Behind the counter, beneath a chalkboard with hand-written prices, pastries and candies wait for customers who are buying less and less. / 14ymedio

“The tube of mortadella that cost 500 pesos less than a month ago was 600 last week and today it’s 650. I used to rely on that a lot for my children’s snacks. However, everything has become so expensive that I’m only giving them a small piece of bread with continue reading

whatever I can find. It breaks my heart,” laments Yaritza, as she tries to manage the money she has available to buy the most urgent necessities.

A single mother and teaching assistant, she says she no longer knows which small private business to turn to for cooking oil or meat products that have not increased by at least 50 pesos over the last month.

“At the current exchange rate, my salary doesn’t even reach 10 dollars a month. I say this because, while it’s true that the most basic things are still priced in pesos, the real value of food and essential goods has to be measured in dollars, since that is how private merchants pay for them.”

Although she describes herself as bad at math, Yaritza has mastered an operation that millions of Cubans perform every day: mentally converting the price of every product into its dollar value and comparing it to a salary that is rapidly losing purchasing power.

The situation is also hitting those who run businesses. A few meters from an elementary school, Abel manages a cafeteria whose regular customers are children and their relatives. For years, candies and sweets were a safe bet. Now, the constant rise in prices threatens the stability of his venture.

“Until now I’ve always had good profitability, but things are getting complicated because there is nothing worse for commerce than constantly changing product prices,” he explains to 14ymedio.

One of his star products was María cookies. “The kids used to run out of school and buy two or three packages each. Now a box of 24 units lasts me five days or more. What happened? I’ve been forced to raise the price because my suppliers have raised it on me too.”

Abel recalls that at the beginning of this year, with 500 pesos a customer could buy two packages. Today, it is barely enough for one, with some change left over that can hardly be spent on anything else. “I’m trying to find more affordable options so I don’t keep losing customers. My family’s livelihood depends on this cafeteria.”

In other businesses around the municipality, the concern is the same. Some owners have chosen to review their prices weekly to avoid losses caused by the depreciation of the Cuban peso.

“I restock my kiosk once a week. Then, depending on how the dollar is behaving, I raise the prices of certain products I sell to guarantee in advance a cost structure that allows me to remain profitable,” explains Delvys.

The merchant acknowledges that, from a conventional business perspective, changing prices so frequently is a mistake. “But in the harsh Cuban reality, it’s a way to avoid going bankrupt.” With a calculator always within reach, Delvys tries to stay ahead of fluctuations in the informal market.

At the entrance of some businesses, customers wait their turn leaning against freshly varnished wooden counters. / 14ymedio

“Putting myself in the customer’s position, I understand it’s difficult to buy a bottle of oil today for 1,300 pesos and see it cost 1,500 next week. People complain, and they are absolutely right.” He gives a recent example: Cristal beer, which a few days ago sold for 350 pesos and is now around 420. “If I don’t raise the price, with what money do I buy it again? How do I pay my employees, and where is my profit?”

At the entrance of some businesses, customers wait their turn leaning against freshly varnished wooden counters. Others talk about the latest dollar exchange rate, which has become as common a topic as the weather forecast or the blackouts.

“In this roller coaster where we all buy from someone else, we’re constantly on the verge of losing money,” Delvys sums up. “There are no winners here.”

In San José de Las Lajas, the price of the dollar is no longer just an economic indicator. It is the exact measure of how much a family can eat, how long merchandise remains on a shelf, and how many times someone must think before taking any product home.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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University Admissions Without Entrance Exams Raises More Questions Than Opportunities in Matanzas, Cuba

The elimination of these tests has left thousands of students who spent years preparing feeling frustrated and has fueled fears of favoritism and declining academic standards.

José Luis Dubrocq Pre-University School in Matanzas. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, June 15, 2026 — In the mornings, small groups of students still gather in front of the old Secondary Education Institute of Matanzas on 2 de Mayo Street. On a marble wall, two teenagers chat without much enthusiasm, while a few yards away several pre-university students walk down the sidewalk with backpacks slung over their shoulders. The scene looks like any other end of the school year, but this year there is something different: for the first time in a long while, students finishing twelfth grade will not have to take the traditional university entrance exams.

The news surprised some and confirmed the predictions of others. The Ministry of Higher Education announced that the Mathematics, Spanish, and Cuban History exams had been suspended and that admission to higher education would be determined by students’ cumulative academic averages throughout their pre-university years.

For Betty, a twelfth-grade student at José Luis Dubrocq Pre-University School, the decision came too late and in the worst possible way.

“The way to earn a place in a good degree program was to get high scores on the exams. Now they’re changing the rules when we’re already at the finish line”

“I’ve been preparing for these tests since ninth grade. My parents have spent money on tutors, books, and study materials. Everyone knew that the way to get into a good degree program was to earn high marks on the entrance exams. Now they’re changing the rules when we’re already at the finish line,” she continue reading

complains.

She hopes to study Psychology. She has a grade-point average of 98.9 but fears that may not be enough.

“They say they’re going to take ‘overall development’ into account. I was never very involved in political events or extracurricular activities. Now I see classmates with lower grades ranked above me. That raises a lot of questions.”

The concerns are precisely the topic most frequently discussed in family conversations. For years, the entrance exams served as a kind of final referee. People could debate the quality of the tests or the inequalities between students who could afford tutors and those who could not, but in the end there was a common national evaluation for everyone.

Now, many parents believe the process will be more difficult to understand and, above all, harder to oversee.

Around the pre-university school on 2 de Mayo Street, where generations of Matanzas residents prepared for university admission, opinions are sharply divided.

“The best degree programs always end up in the hands of those with the most influence. That’s not just me saying it, everyone says it”

“My aunt has important connections in the Education Ministry and is already finding out how all of this works,” admits Magdiel, another senior-year student. “For me, it’s a good thing they got rid of the exams. What matters now is having the right contacts and being well positioned when it comes time to assign university places.”

The young man hopes to enter medical school and speaks with a frankness that makes some uncomfortable. “The best degree programs always end up in the hands of those with the most influence. That’s not just me saying it, everyone says it.”

Although some consider that perception exaggerated, it has spread among students and their families. The elimination of the exams has fueled suspicions that subjective factors may now carry greater weight in the allocation of university places.

A mathematics teacher, who prefers to remain anonymous, acknowledges that the change has caused dissatisfaction among many educators.

“I have outstanding students who spent years training for those exams. Some saw the tests as an opportunity to demonstrate what they knew regardless of their academic record or level of participation in school activities.”

The teacher believes the problem is not only the elimination of the exams. “What worries me is the message it sends. Tenth- and eleventh-grade students are seeing that the rules can change overnight. That affects academic motivation.”

Many teachers fear that the decision will deepen problems already affecting Cuban higher education

Authorities defend the measure by arguing that systematic evaluation over several years can reflect a student’s true performance better than an exam taken over a few hours. They also assure students that everyone will be guaranteed a university place, although not necessarily in the degree program of their choice.

In Matanzas, however, the debate has gone beyond the admissions process itself. Many teachers fear that the decision will aggravate existing problems in Cuban higher education: declining standards, a weakening culture of effort, and difficulties in selecting the best-prepared students.

Meanwhile, the school year is heading toward an early end. Classes will conclude several weeks ahead of schedule because of the energy and transportation difficulties facing the country.

In front of the old Secondary Education Institute building, now converted into a pre-university school, students continue to come and go on fragmented schedules. Some talk about university degree programs, others about blackouts, transportation, or emigration. Yet they all seem to share the same feeling: that they are living through a period of transition in which no one knows exactly what the rules of the game will be.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Night-time Hunt for Megabytes in Matanzas Cuba

Near the telecommunications tower, the seafront promenade has become a kind of public video-call room

For months, this stretch of the Matanzas seafront promenade has become a kind of public video-call room / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Matanzas, Julio César Contreras, May 17, 2026 / At seven in the evening, when the sky over Matanzas Bay begins to turn grey and the cars thin out on the Vía Blanca, the Martí promenade fills with passers-by staring at their phone screens with the same intensity with which people once stared at the horizon. Some arrive alone, others as couples, others with small children running around near the granite benches while the adults try to catch an internet signal that appears and disappears like a mirage.

For months, this stretch of the Matanzas seafront promenade has become a kind of public video-call room, makeshift office and digital meeting point for those who, amid the blackouts and poor coverage, cannot get connected from home. The telecommunications tower in that part of the city is one of the few that still works, badly, when the connection goes down in the rest of the neighbourhoods.

When the browser on her phone starts going round and round in endless circles, Anays understands that, if she wants to speak to her sister, she will have to walk to the Martí promenade, about twelve blocks from where she lives, in the Versalles neighbourhood. “I have to do this every day at nightfall. If there’s no power, the coverage in my house drops almost completely. The problem is that at this time there is never any electricity,” complains the Matanzas resident, as she adjusts her mobile phone, looking for the exact angle where the video call will not freeze.

If there’s no power, the coverage in my house drops almost completely. The problem is that at this time there is never any electricity

The scene is repeated bench after bench. A woman in a pink dress anxiously checks the screen while a man beside her raises his head in resignation, as if expecting to find the signal floating among the clouds heavy with humidity. Farther on, beneath a flamboyant tree with spreading branches, a young man bent over his phone barely moves. His posture recalls the old fishermen of the shoreline, except that now no one is casting hooks into the sea, but trying to catch megabytes in the air.

As midnight approaches, dozens of people fight off mosquitoes around the antenna installed near the headquarters of the Municipal Committee of the Communist Party. “Even in this area the connection is sometimes terrible. Suddenly the call cuts off, the image freezes and, meanwhile, the minutes keep passing and the megabytes are being used up,” explains Anays, who still has not cooked the evening meal but gives priority continue reading

to the family conversation, even if that means going down and back up the hill in the dark every day.

In Matanzas, speaking over the internet has become a mixture of patience, strategy and physical endurance / 14ymedio

In Matanzas, speaking over the internet has become a mixture of patience, strategy and physical endurance. Some people leave home as soon as the power comes back in order to take advantage of the brief moment when the antennas work; others wait until the early hours because they say that “at that time you can browse a little better.” The younger ones know the exact spots where one extra bar of coverage comes in. “Here, close to the wall,” “under that palm tree,” “beside the bench,” are instructions heard as if they were coordinates.

“This country is getting worse all the time and now hepatitis is back,” says Tomás from another bench on the promenade while making a video call to his son, who has emigrated. “You sent me the top-up on Sunday and I only managed to receive it today, Monday. Now I’m going to try to save data as much as I can, because last month’s bonus was gone in less than a week.”

“This country is getting worse all the time and now hepatitis is back’

The man speaks loudly because there is a delay in the communication and he fears the call may drop at any moment. Near him, a dog sleeps on the cement while its owner stares fixedly at the phone connected to a pair of earphones. A few metres away, a young woman lights up her face with her mobile-phone screen in the growing gloom. The whole promenade seems to breathe to the rhythm of the intermittent connections.

“The truth is, I don’t know whether Etecsa has technical problems or is messing with us, but I get the impression that the amount of the top-up doesn’t match how long the mobile data is actually lasting,” Tomás insists. He then explains to his son that his wife could not come because it is her turn to look after the sick grandmother. “Don’t waste time calling me at home. Even if I climb onto the roof, I can’t hear you. Things are bad all over the city.”

The crisis makes no distinction between ages. “Your niece, to do a school assignment, spent more than an hour in Liberty Park downloading what she needed,” the man says, before again thanking him for the top-up sent from abroad. “If it weren’t for you, we’d be cut off.”

Getting connected on the Martí promenade is not a fashion, nor is it an excuse to look at the sea. Most people arrive exhausted after a day marked by blackouts, queues and heat. Yet, as night falls, the benches fill up again. The faces lit by the screens look like little modern bonfires in the middle of the darkness.

“I get the impression that the amount of the top-up doesn’t match how long the mobile data is actually lasting”

“My wife nearly fell the other day because of a pile of rubbish across the street after finishing the video call with our grandson,” says Eriberto, while making sure that his wife does not wander too far away with the phone in her hand. “The image freezes here too and you have to move around. But if we stay at home, we have no connection until after midnight.”

The old man looks around. There are already very few lights and the city begins to turn into one huge shadow. “Everything gets pitch black, and everywhere there’s a hole or a ditch full of rotten water,” he murmurs before getting up from the bench. Then he slowly puts away the phone, like someone protecting something too expensive and too fragile in a country where communicating with family has ended up looking more and more like a night-time expedition.

Translated by GH

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A Mother’s Day Without Flowers or Gifts

“This year, the only thing I can buy for the mothers in my family is a bar of bath soap for each of them,” Dianet admits with a mixture of shame and resignation.

Mother’s Day seems to have become more of an exercise in economic survival than a celebration. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque), May 9, 2026 / Gone are the days of making the bed with the best sheets available and placing gifts for Mom on it every second Sunday of May: perfume, a housecoat, new slippers, or a box of chocolates that remained untouched until after the family lunch. In San José de las Lajas, just days before the second Sunday of May, Mother’s Day seems to have become more of an exercise in economic survival than a celebration.

“This is what we have left of the little money my son sent from abroad,” says 74-year-old Georgina, clutching a debit card with barely nine dollars remaining. In front of her, the shelves of the La Época store display the same familiar scene: packages of detergent, bottles of shampoo, napkins, spaghetti, and a few imported soaps with prices that seem out of this world. The retiree scans the shelves again and again as if, by persisting, a miraculous sale might appear. But no. “It’s vanished like smoke, and we’ve barely bought anything, and there’s a holiday coming up that we should be celebrating.”

Inside the store, the air conditioning is only partially working, offering little resistance to the humid heat that seeps in from the street. Leaning against the cash registers, the clerks chat about the power outages, the price of rice, and the latest blackout in Jamaica, the outlying neighborhood where many have built makeshift homes of concrete and asbestos cement. No one mentions Mother’s Day promotions. There are no plastic flowers, no pink ribbons, not even a hastily written sign with a marker saying “Happy Mother’s Day.” Everything feels as cold as a government office.

“All the stores have the same old things, with the same exorbitant prices.”

“All the stores have the same old things, with the same exorbitant prices,” Georgina complains. She does mental calculations as she looks at a product priced at $2.50. If she buys that for a granddaughter who just gave birth, then her daughter and niece will be left with nothing. “Pensions are around five or six dollars a month, and here any little thing costs half of that,” she laments. continue reading

Inflation has blurred the lines between necessity and sentimentality. / 14ymedio

Among the customers is Dianet, recently arrived from Palma Soriano and now living in a llega y pon [‘shanty town’] on the outskirts of town. She walks with a small child in tow and an impossible list running through her head: soap, deodorant, something for her mother in Oriente, and, if she can afford it, a little something for her cousins and sisters who live nearby. “This year, the only thing I can buy for the mothers in my family is a bar of soap each,” she admits with a mixture of shame and resignation.

As she speaks, an elderly woman examines packages of toilet paper as if appraising fine jewelry. In another corner, two young women argue about whether it’s worth spending seven dollars on shampoo or buying better cooking oil. Inflation has blurred the lines between necessity and sentimentality. A bottle of cologne can cost several days’ worth of food; a simple postcard, if it were to appear, would be almost a luxury.

“A one-way ticket costs 5,000 pesos. Instead of celebrating Mother’s Day, we’re living in times of hardship.”

For Dianet, going into a dollar store is reminiscent of the story of Martina the Cockroach: choosing between too many necessities with barely a few coins in her purse. “Before Friday, I plan to send my mom a money order for 200 or 300 pesos,” she explains. A trip to the East is out of the question. “A one-way ticket costs 5,000 pesos. Instead of celebrating Mother’s Day, we’re living in times of hardship.”

In the private shops downtown, the scene isn’t much different. The shop windows display bottles of rum, packets of coffee, a few imported sweets, and small perfumes that look like relics. The prices, however, are shocking. Twelve dollars for a modest fragrance, almost ten for a body cream, more than 1,000 pesos for a mug decorated with artificial flowers.

Aimé, a worker at the Banco Popular de Ahorro and a new grandmother, has spent days visiting state-run stores and micro-enterprises without making a decision. “I can’t spend $12 on perfume for my daughter, and besides, giving her spaghetti or condensed milk seems tacky for this occasion,” she says. She’s looking for something “that she’ll like and that will be useful,” a combination that has become almost impossible in today’s Cuba.

“A picture postcard accompanied by another item would be a decent gift,” she adds, while looking at some patterned napkins that she might end up buying for lack of alternatives. “But there aren’t even any postcards. Sometimes it’s better not to go into these places, because you leave empty-handed and disappointed.”

Outside, in the central park, a few artisans are trying to salvage the season by selling crocheted flowers, inexpensive jewelry, and varnished wooden frames. Several women stop, ask prices, and continue walking. Most are silently calculating their cash.

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Old Age Without Rest at the La Micro Market in San José de las Lajas, Cuba

Elderly people sell nylon bags, guard their turns in line, and hope for opportunities in the doorways of this municipality in Mayabeque.

Every morning, retirees go to the La Micro market to try and make a living. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque), May 3, 2026 / Under the peeling roof of the arcades at La Micro market in San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque), the morning unfolds with a leisurely pace that seems tailor-made for those who are no longer in a hurry, but neither are they restful. Seated on empty crates, on pieces of cardboard, or leaning against the peeling blue wall, several elderly men while away the time while they wait for a customer, an opportunity, or at least someone willing to offer them a cup of coffee. The market, which once bustled from early morning, is now more of an improvised refuge for retirees who have traded the tranquility of old age for the uncertainty of daily survival.

Away from the hustle and bustle of the town center, but within easy reach of those living in the microbrigade buildings, Rodrigo and his companions have found a fixed place in these doorways where they spend eight to nine hours a day. There they sell whatever they can get their hands on: plastic bags, recycled bottles, chili peppers, loose cigarettes, or any merchandise that can be exchanged for a few pesos. The scene repeats itself every morning. Some arrive before seven, shuffling along, carrying a worn-out bag or pushing a rusty wheelbarrow. Others appear later, when the sun has already warmed the cement and the shadows begin to dwindle.

Our presence here is an open secret. Everyone knows it, but they leave us alone so we can ‘escape’ however we can.

“Here, we’re not trying to avoid the inspectors, just pretending. This isn’t about getting rich,” Rodrigo says, carefully checking the contents of a plastic crate where he keeps his merchandise. His voice is measured, as if weighing each word. “We have plastic bags for 20 pesos and jars of chili peppers for 120. I keep the cheap cigarettes hidden, because if they catch me selling the cartons for 340 pesos, I could be in trouble.” Around him, other men nod silently, used to this tightrope walk between necessity and illegality. “Our presence here is an open secret. Everyone knows it, but they leave us alone so we can slip away however we can. That’s how the system works: on one side, they tighten the gasket, and on the other, they release pressure so it doesn’t explode,” he adds.

At the La Micro market it has been more than a month since anything for the regular ‘family basket’ has arrived / 14ymedio

A few meters away, a dog stretches out on a piece of cardboard, indifferent to the comings and goings of people. The animal seems like just another resident of the doorway, another survivor of the daily grind. Nearby, Andrés intently watches the street, alert to any movement. For decades he worked continue reading

as a locksmith in a state-run workshop and still keeps a master key, which he guards like a talisman. “People come to us to take out their trash, unclog a drain, or, in my case, to open their front door,” he explains, proud of the skills that allowed him to earn a living for years.

“We have a single checkbook worth 3,000 pesos. We are diabetic and are not on any social security benefits list.”

The market popularly known as La Micro hasn’t received any food rations for over a month. The empty stalls and dusty shelves are the best testament to this neglect. “A clerk told me they’re going to start giving out two pounds of rice to vulnerable people tomorrow,” Rodrigo says, shrugging his shoulders. “Of course, that concept of ‘vulnerable’ is convenient for the government. My wife and I live alone in a crumbling tile house. We have a single checkbook worth 3,000 pesos. We’re diabetic and we’re not on any social security coverage list.”

As he speaks, the old man nods his chin toward the street, where another man is slowly pushing a wheelbarrow loaded with crushed cans and dirty sacks. The effort is evident in the stoop of his back and the sweat trickling down his forehead. Each step seems like a battle against exhaustion. Behind him, a little girl pedals a small bicycle, oblivious to the scene, as if time had two different speeds in that very place: one for the old who endure and another for the children who still play.

As if time had two different speeds in that same place: one for the old who endure and another for the children who still play. / 14ymedio

As former day laborers, the elderly men gather every morning at their “command post,” as they call it, to try and make a living. Sitting on the ground, they share stories of times when work was hard but secure; they complain about current needs and remain alert for any opportunity to earn a few pesos. When someone appears seeking help carrying a sack, cleaning a yard, or holding a place in line, the group springs into action immediately.

According to Andrés, when liquefied gas is available in the area, business is usually a little better. “It’s true that we go two or three nights without sleep, but we pocket 1,000 pesos for each person who requests our gas cylinder delivery service,” he says. “We divide the numbers among ourselves so that everyone wins. The problem is that there’s almost never any gas, and while the gas is coming and going, we struggle to make three or four pesos, which isn’t enough for anything.”

My father taught me that things don’t fall from the sky and that, being a poor black man, I would have to work very hard so I wouldn’t go to bed on an empty stomach.

The hours in the market’s doorways drag on with agonizing slowness. Sometimes they share a sliver of stale bread to stave off hunger; other times, a shot of rum that appears suddenly, passed from hand to hand. Conversation is punctuated by long silences, vacant stares, and resigned sighs.

“My father taught me that things don’t fall from the sky and that, being a poor Black man, I’d have to work very hard to avoid going to bed hungry,” says Andrés, his gaze fixed on the horizon. “At 72 years old, I’ve chosen not to give up. As long as I have a master key and my hands still work, I’ll keep opening doors and selling whatever needs selling.”

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Cuba: Three Wheels and a Lot of Bills To Pay

Electric tricycle drivers in San José de las Lajas face long waiting times, few passengers, and rising costs that threaten their daily sustenance.

Tricycles at their starting point at the old train station in San José de las Lajas. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque), April 29, 2026 / The taxi stand at the old train station in San José de las Lajas wakes up before the rest of the city. At that early hour, when the sun is just beginning to warm the asphalt and the first bicycles listlessly cross the avenue, several electric tricycles are already lined up as if waiting for the order to leave. Under the green, blue, or red tarpaulins, the drivers converse in hushed tones, drink coffee from small plastic cups, and anxiously watch the road, waiting for the first customer of the day to appear.

“Most people have no idea how much time and money it takes to earn four pesos on these three-wheeled critters,” says Alexander, a tricycle driver who arrives early every day at the taxi stand without a fixed route. His vehicle, painted a bright blue and with a freshly charged battery, sits alongside others like it, forming an irregular line, like a small, makeshift parking lot.

Alexander explains that he always tries to arrive before 6:00 a.m. so the line of drivers isn’t too long and he has enough time to make a few trips before noon, when passenger numbers drop considerably. At that early hour, there’s still some activity: workers heading to their jobs, students with backpacks, and elderly people walking slowly to the pharmacy or clinic. But after nine or ten, the scene changes, and the taxi stand falls into a kind of lethargy. continue reading

“Although there are very few cars on the road, people can’t afford the luxury of spending 300 or 400 pesos either.”

His daily route can take him anywhere from Cotorro to Catalina de Güines, or even as far as Madruga, if he can find enough customers willing to pay the fare. Sometimes, these longer trips are the only way to make ends meet, because within the city itself, the rides are short and customers haggle over every peso. “Even though you see very few cars on the road, people can’t afford to spend 300 or 400 pesos to go from the farmers market to the Pastorita neighborhood,” he says. “We can’t ask for less than that either, because then it doesn’t add up. It’s a vicious cycle where everyone, in some way, loses out.”

The everyday scene around the terminal confirms his words. By mid-morning, several tricycles are parked in the shade of a leafy tree while their drivers seek refuge from the sun. Some check their battery cables, others discuss the price of spare parts. A young man gets out of his vehicle, stretches his legs, and observes the almost empty road with resignation.

The tricycles parked at the taxi stand confirm, indeed, that passengers are scarce. The line of vehicles seems frozen in a prolonged wait that can last for hours. “Giving rides is getting worse and worse, because the number of tricycles keeps increasing and the number of passengers is decreasing day by day,” says Ismael, sitting under the tarp of his motorcycle, shielding himself from the blazing sun. “It doesn’t matter if it’s Wednesday or Sunday anymore, the taxi stand is empty, and you have to be a magician to have a few bills in your pocket at the end of the day, because they disappear like water.”

The daily wage I’m earning is barely enough to buy the essentials for the house.”

The driver explains that he is seriously considering giving up passenger transport and dedicating himself to hauling goods for a local small business. He says his current earnings barely cover basic expenses. “What I make each day is barely enough to buy the essentials for the house,” he says. “If the tricycle happens to break down, I don’t have the money to fix it right now.”

This uncertainty is echoed by many drivers who see how the business, which seemed promising just a few years ago, has become increasingly unstable. The proliferation of electric tricycles has saturated the market, while passengers’ purchasing power continues to decline. The result is fierce competition for every customer that appears on the street corner.

On the other side of the coin are those who approach the tricycles, sweating, trying to negotiate a price that will give them some breathing room. At the side of the road, a man stops in front of one of the vehicles to ask how much the ride to his neighborhood costs. The answer elicits a gesture of displeasure and a brief exchange before the customer decides to continue on foot.

“I don’t understand why electric tricycles are as expensive as those that run on gasoline or diesel,” says Mario, a self-employed worker who makes the daily commute from his home in Tapaste to San José de las Lajas. He explains that he has to use this mode of transportation two or three times a week out of necessity, and the cost, which started at 200 pesos, has been rising rapidly, reaching 800 or 1,000 pesos at certain times and days. “There’s no stopping this,” he complains.

“I don’t understand why electric tricycles cost as much as those that run on gasoline or oil.”

For Mario, the solution to the problem doesn’t necessarily lie in stabilizing fuel prices or increasing the presence of state inspectors who control the prices of fares. In his view, the key is to restore a public transportation system that offers real alternatives to citizens. “As long as transportation is in crisis, anyone with three or four wheels will think they have the right to charge whatever they want,” he emphasizes.

Meanwhile, daily life in San José de las Lajas remains marked by waiting. The electric tricycles sit lined up at the taxi stand as if they were part of the urban landscape, silent witnesses to an economy that barely moves. Under the relentless midday sun, the drivers gaze at the horizon with patience and resignation, hoping that the next passenger will appear at any moment and allow them to set off again.

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Madruga, a Cuban Town Stalled at the Bus Stop

The lack of transportation turns every trip into an odyssey of hours and money in the Mayabeque municipality

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Madruga (Mayabeque), April 12, 2026 – The traffic sign next to the bus stop has blank boxes. There could be no better symbol to define the lack of public transportation, the void that stretches along the central highway for those who have to travel. In Madruga, Mayabeque, the stop has become a place of waiting without promises, a point where time stretches and patience is tested under the clear sky and the dust kicked up by the few vehicles that manage to pass.

“The route that used to go to San José de las Lajas twice a day no longer exists. Now you have to go segment by segment, getting on whatever stops,” explains Ignacio, a self-employed worker who comes to the town frequently. The man, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and rubber boots still stained with dirt, watches the road as if salvation might appear at any moment in the form of a truck, scooter, or improvised pickup.

According to Ignacio, speaking to 14ymedio, he managed to get on an electric tricycle that charged him 500 pesos to Catalina de Güines, from where he managed to climb onto a cargo truck for another 600 pesos. “To get here I was lucky, but the return is very complicated. I’ve been here at the stop for four hours and not even flies are passing. My only hope is that by holding out a 1,000-peso bill, some driver will want to take me,” he laments, pacing restlessly back and forth along the sidewalk.

Only a woman with a small child shelters under the yellow roof of the terminal, trying to protect themselves from the heat and exhaustion. / 14ymedio

Next to the stop, the taxi stand from which private taxis used to depart is also deserted, leaving no way to travel to Ceiba Mocha or Matanzas. The metal bench, once contested by passengers, remains empty for long stretches of time. Only a woman with a small child shelters under the yellow roof of the terminal, trying to protect themselves from the heat and the fatigue accumulated after hours of waiting.

“It’s already past 2:00 in the afternoon and not a single car has come through today. Now things are really bad, because even with money in your pocket you can’t get out of here,” says a young man, for whom the municipality of Unión de Reyes feels farther away than ever. The man checks his phone frequently, although he knows the battery will run out continue reading

before a vehicle willing to pick up passengers appears. “The few that are circulating are from the same town. No private driver will go to Matanzas for less than 40,000 pesos. Honestly, it’s an abuse,” he complains.

Worried that night will fall without being able to leave, the man from Matanzas has gone several times with his four-year-old son to a nearby cafeteria, where tractor-trailers stop to eat. The child, sitting on the edge of a bench, plays with an empty cup while curiously watching the road. “Only two or three big trucks have passed. All the drivers tell me they’re loaded, that they can’t take me. My child keeps asking when we’re leaving. He asks for water, food, and we’re stuck in the middle of the road. We left San Nicolás de Bari before dawn and we’re still wandering around. Hopefully we won’t have to sleep on a bench,” says the young father, visibly exhausted.

“No official is concerned about the hardships the people go through, because they all have ways to get around.” / 14ymedio

You could cross the road without looking both ways, if not for the occasional electric scooter breaking the silence of the roadway. The sounds of combustion engines have practically disappeared from the central highway. There is little movement in the surroundings: a street vendor pushes a cart with agricultural products, a cyclist passes slowly, and occasionally a truck raises a cloud of dust that forces those present to cover their faces.

“I need to take medication to my mother who lives in Aguacate, just a few kilometers from here. A trip that can be done in minutes takes a whole day because there are no intermunicipal buses running,” says a woman, sitting in the same spot since mid-morning, without even leaving to get a coffee for fear of missing a vehicle that might stop. She grips her bag tightly and anxiously watches every point that appears on the horizon.

“The traffic sign is there for nothing. I got tired of raising in accountability meetings that this stop needs an inspector, but no official cares about the hardships people go through, because they all have ways to get around,” the woman argues, unable to hide her frustration.

As the afternoon goes on, the sun beats down on the sidewalk and the shadow of the yellow roof becomes the only refuge for travelers trapped in the wait. Time seems to stand still in Madruga. Only the young man with his son and four other people persist in trying to embark on a journey whose wait becomes unbearable due to the heat and uncertainty.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba: In the Bank Line, Customers Live With the Fear That the Power Will Go Out or That the Cash Will Run Out

When retirees collect their monthly pension, the services of the Popular Savings Bank of San José de las Lajas collapse.

Line at the Popular Savings Bank in San José de las Lajas / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mayabeque, Julio César Contreras, March 29, 2026 – At seven in the morning there is already activity in front of the Popular Savings Bank of San José de las Lajas. The line begins to form long before the doors open, and as the minutes pass, it turns into a compact row of tired bodies, canes leaning against the wall, and eyes fixed on the entrance. Some retirees sit on the metal chairs in the entryway; others remain standing, holding their checkbooks as if they were a lifeline amid uncertainty.

The days set for paying pensions to retirees turn into a true ordeal for people who go to the bank in search of other services. Service no longer depends only on there being electricity but on there being employees available to handle the different operations. At any moment the power can go out and paralyze everything: the computers shut down, the fans stop turning, and a murmur of discontent runs through the line like a hot wind.

“The first problem is that it’s the same line for all procedures and, as expected, pensioners are the majority. I have no choice but to come back later,” comments Mayra, who practically has no cash left and therefore urgently needs to make a withdrawal. The woman looks at the door anxiously, aware that time is running against her and that, if she cannot withdraw money, she will have to postpone basic purchases such as bread or medicine. continue reading

Receiving her salary on a card keeps her enslaved to the bank, because on the street no one is accepting payment by transfer

According to the worker from the Commerce Company, receiving her salary on a card keeps her enslaved to the banking institution, because on the street no one is accepting payment by transfer. “Here at the bank the most I can withdraw is 1,000 pesos a day, but not even that small amount is guaranteed. Today, for example, all the money is earmarked for paying out the pensions. That means that until that is finished, the rest of us customers will have to look for other solutions, such as buying things through Transfermóvil at 10 or 20% above their original price,” the woman says.

At a glance, impatience is evident among those who ask who is last, peek toward the door, or leave frustrated at being unable to complete a transaction. An elderly man with a red cap and denim jacket moves forward with short steps toward the entrance, while a woman with white hair rests in a chair and fans herself with a folded sheet. No one wants to lose their place, because everyone knows that the money may run out before noon.

“There are only two tellers working, so they are forbidden from making deposits. All banking activity is concentrated in a single operation, as if they were just learning how to work now,” complains Mario, who urgently needs to deposit 20,000 pesos on his daughter’s card. “It’s true that the elderly deserve priority. However, concentrating the work in a single area goes against all logic,” he emphasizes.

For the accounting professor, his most difficult days of the month are precisely when the bank is paying out pensions. “I have to regularly send money to my daughter, who is studying in Havana. Sometimes when I leave here I have to take a pill because my blood pressure has shot up,” says Mario, after having a brief argument with an employee over the inefficiency of the banking institution.

It is incredible how time is wasted on a procedure that could be resolved with a bit of interest on the part of the bank. Anything in this country costs a lot of effort

Although it has nothing to do with the payment of pensions, Yesenia has been leaning against a column in the entryway for an hour and a half, waiting for her turn to go in. “I am in the process of applying for a loan to finish my house. In the line there is no one for that kind of thing, but they informed me that today only one commercial officer came to work and he is currently busy with other tasks. I don’t understand anything,” says the employee of a private cafeteria who can dedicate herself to these procedures twice a week. “It is incredible how time is wasted on a procedure that could be resolved with a little interest on the part of the bank. Anything one wants to do in this country costs a lot of effort,” she insists.

The atmosphere grows more tense as the morning goes on. Some retirees check their watches with concern. There are those who leave resigned, promising to return the next day, even though that means starting over from scratch.

Pressed by the time, Yasenia feels she is losing the morning without achieving her goal. The discomfort is shared by some people in the line who, sitting on a doorstep or with their hands resting against the wall, channel their frustration by talking. “The bank closes at 12:00 noon, even when there are still customers out here. It doesn’t matter who is left without collecting their money or who has to spend a month just to get a form filled out. I know the bank employees want to leave early to deal with their personal matters, but then, who takes care of ours?” the young woman asks.

In San José de las Lajas, collecting a pension is no longer a monthly procedure but a daily battle. For many retirees, the money they are waiting for is not just income, but the difference between eating or not, between buying medicine or staying home enduring the pain. That is why they return to the bank again and again, wake up before dawn, and endure hours of waiting amid uncertainty, hoping that this time there will be enough cash.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Small Businesses in Matanzas, Cuba, Are Closing Due to Falling Sales: People Look, but They No Longer Buy

“For Cuban pockets, the priority is food. Everything else has to wait.”

“Those who sell food are the ones most likely to survive.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras,. Matanzas, March 22, 2026 / Taking stock of sales around noon, Yunia reviews a notebook where the numbers are written halfheartedly. The total doesn’t add up: barely 2,200 pesos all morning. Behind her, necklaces, bracelets, and keychains shine under a dim light that fails to attract customers. “No matter how much I try to promote the products, people come, look, and leave,” she says, without taking her eyes off the table.

At that small stand, a few blocks from Plaza de la Vigía, two eras intersect: that of a city that once lived off commercial bustle, and that of a present where every peso counts and is almost never enough. Yunia knows it. She also knows her stand is hanging by a thread. “It’s not my fault that a plastic broom costs 1,500 pesos, but in the end I’ll be the one who pays the consequences of these crazy prices,” she says. The business owner has already hinted that, if sales don’t improve, she herself will sit behind the table. For Yunia, that would mean losing her job.

Inflation, which gives no respite, has been pushing these small merchants into a kind of daily survival. Money loses value as quickly as prices rise, and what used to be a minor expense — a handbag, a decoration, a perfume — today competes directly with food. “For Cuban pockets, the priority is food. Everything else has to wait,” sums up Idael, an entrepreneur who recently closed her shop on Medio Street.

“Not even on dates like February 14 were there big profits.” / 14ymedio

Her story is not unique. For years she sold women’s clothing and men’s shoes in one of those spaces where constant foot traffic ensured customers. Today, that same flow has turned into a parade of glances that calculate, compare, and leave empty-handed. “There was a lot of money going out and very little coming in. Between rent, taxes, and merchandise, the numbers didn’t work,” she explains. The decision was drastic: she gave up continue reading

the license and left the premises.

Inside another store, not far away, a young woman rests her chin on her hand while watching the door. Around her, backpacks, underwear, and hygiene products share space on shelves that are full but motionless. The scene repeats itself: merchandise comes in but doesn’t go out. “Since the end of last year there’s been no need to restock anything,” Yunia comments. “Not even on dates like February 14 were there big profits.”

The city, meanwhile, seems to be slowing down. On streets like Milanés or Calzada de Tirry, activity drops sharply after midday. “Here, the little that gets sold happens at 1:00 in the afternoon . After that hour, this place is empty,” says another shopkeeper, who shares space in a large room with other trades that have been disappearing one by one. First it was the cellphone repairman, affected by blackouts that prevented him from working. Then the watchmaker. Then the jewelry seller. All of them closed.

She has held on, but only halfway. She has negotiated to pay only half a day’s rent for the space and has diversified her offerings over the limit of what is permitted. “My license doesn’t include selling hygiene products, but if I don’t take the risk, I’ll starve,” she admits. Thus, among handbags and wallets, she offers soap, toothpaste, and razors that end up being the most sought-after products.

The crisis has pushed many to reinvent themselves outside physical spaces. Idael, for example, now sells through social media. “I have a manager who posts on Facebook and Instagram. I pay her a commission for each sale,” she explains. Without a storefront, without fixed employees, and without the associated costs, she has managed to stay afloat. But she acknowledges that not everyone is as lucky. “Those who sell food are the ones most likely to survive.”

On a porch with brick columns, a young man scans a table full of perfumes, costume jewelry, and small imported items. He stops, picks up a bottle, asks the price, and puts it back. The gesture repeats at every counter. The walk is not for buying, it is for recognizing limits. Outside, the city continues at its slow pace, with fewer cars, fewer people, and less money circulating.

Yunia closes her notebook and puts away the pen. She looks again at the table, adjusts a bracelet, lines up some earrings. The gesture is almost automatic, a routine that tries to maintain order amid imbalance. “This used to guarantee sales,” she says, referring to the location of the shop. Today, it barely guarantees anything else than the certainty that, in an economy where the peso is worth less and less and prices keep rising, there is no one to buy what is not absolutely necessary.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Ghost Gas Station of Peñas Altas in Matanzas, Cuba

Without fuel since February, rumors are circulating that this service station will soon switch to dollars, as is happening throughout the country.

An improvised chain surrounds the pumps, and the place is dominated by silence. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, March 11, 2026 – Under a cloudless sky, the two fuel pumps at the Cupet station in Peñas Altas, Matanzas, look more like an abandoned facility than a functioning service station. An improvised chain surrounds the pumps and silence dominates the place. No lines, no impatient drivers, no usual smell of gasoline in the air.

The lack of fuel keeps the service station’s equipment practically unused, and the employees pass the time chatting while waiting for the end of their workday.

“Since last month I haven’t seen the tanker truck unload fuel here,” a motorcyclist watching the scene from a nearby cafe tells 14ymedio. His motorcycle rests against the curb while he keeps an eye on the Cupet station with a mixture of resignation and distrust.

According to the young man, this gas station was for years a mandatory refueling point for buses carrying workers to and from Varadero. The Yutong buses of the National Bus Company, whose repair workshop is located just a few meters away, also refueled here.

Today, however, the place remains almost empty. The province of Matanzas has the largest number of gas stations open in the country, but they sell fuel in dollars, operate with only a few shifts per day, and have strict orders not to dispense more than 20 liters per person.

“Until now, this Cupet sold in national currency,” the motorcyclist adds. Then he lowers his voice, as if sharing a secret everyone already knows. “But they say that very soon they will dispense only in dollars.” The dollarization of fuel has been spreading across the Island, but even paying in foreign currency does not guarantee getting any gasoline. continue reading

The motorcyclist has had to look for alternative solutions due to the shortages in the state service station network: buying gasoline at inflated prices at a house in Reparto Iglesias, one of the many informal points that have proliferated amid the scarcity.

Located between the Central Highway and the Vía Blanca, for decades it was a strategic stop for those entering or leaving the city of Matanzas. / 14ymedio

The privileged location of this Cupet explains why its decline is so visible. Located between the Central Highway and the Vía Blanca, for decades it was a strategic stop for those entering or leaving the city of Matanzas.

In the 1950s, older residents say, the place operated day and night. “My father used to tell me it had fuel 365 days a year, 24 hours a day,” recalls Felipe, a 61-year-old driver who has pulled his Chevrolet over to the side of the station.

Felipe looks at the inactive pumps with a frustrated expression.

“Now it’s completely bankrupt,” he regrets. For the driver, the decline of the place is not only a consequence of the energy crisis hitting the country but also of years of poor management.

The most recent episode happened just a few days ago. “When I tried to enter the service station, an employee stopped me saying they were closed,” he recounts. Up to that point, nothing surprising in these times of shortage.

But what happened afterward left him outraged. “I asked if they knew when fuel would arrive, and he told me he could let me know… if I gave him 2,000 pesos for the favor.” Felipe shakes his head while recalling the scene. “I’m too old for them to make money off me in such a dirty way.”

Now, the cars passing along the Central Highway no longer stop at the Peñas Altas gas station. They simply drive past, as if the place had ceased to exist.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Most Difficult Trip: Getting to the Maternal Hospital in Matanzas, Cuba

Without buses or state taxis, pregnant women and relatives depend on motorcycles and tricycles to reach the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital.

Entrance to the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Matanzas. / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Matanzas, Julio César Contreras, March 10, 2026 – Getting to or leaving the José Ramón López Tabrane Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital, in the Versalles neighborhood, has become a daily ordeal for patients and their relatives in the city of Matanzas. In front of the main entrance of the well-known Maternal Hospital, pregnant women, companions carrying bags, and young people persistently searching for transportation that rarely appears all mingle together.

At the building’s entrance, several people sit waiting on the edge of the steps. Some check their phones with resignation, others speak quietly while looking toward the street as if a lifesaving taxi might turn the corner at any moment. But the asphalt remains almost empty. From time to time a motorcycle or an electric tricycle passes by and is immediately surrounded by people trying to negotiate a seat.

“Local buses are not coming to this part of the city,” says Sandra, a young pregnant woman who has just gotten off a red motorcycle taxi. The driver has not even started the engine again when she is already mentally calculating the money she will have to spend to return home.

From time to time a motorcycle or an electric tricycle passes by and is immediately surrounded by people trying to negotiate a seat. / 14ymedio

“I just paid 1,000 pesos to bring me from my house, which is about three kilometers from here. If I don’t make that sacrifice I miss the genetics appointment,” she explains while adjusting her bag on her shoulder.

Sandra is in her third month of pregnancy and has already had to go to the hospital several times for checkups with the obstetrician. During none of those visits has she been able to find public transportation or any official vehicle associated with the Maternal Hospital taxi stand.

“I haven’t seen a state taxi parked in front of the emergency entrance even by chance,” she says. According to what she has been told, there is a car available 24 hours a day to assist with transporting patients, but it almost never appears. “They always say it’s on the road or attending an emergency.” continue reading

The scene surrounding the hospital entrance reflects the energy crisis the country is experiencing. The fuel shortage has reduced the circulation of buses and state taxis to a minimum, forcing people in Matanzas to rely on motorcycles, electric tricycles, or any vehicle that does not require fuel to move.

In one corner of the doorway, several women talk while waiting for news about possible transportation. One of them is Idania, who holds a bag full of baby clothes. Her niece has just been discharged after giving birth.

“There’s no ambulance here, no taxi, and no shame from the Public Health bosses. They go around in cars everywhere.” / 14ymedio

“She gave birth the day before yesterday and today she’s going home,” she explains. “The question is how we’re going to get there.” The woman looks toward the street with clear frustration. “There’s no ambulance here, no taxi, and no shame from the Public Health bosses. They go around in cars everywhere.”

Sitting on a concrete bench, Idania says she has spent the morning trying to avoid a solution she considers excessive: paying 50 dollars for a private taxi to take the mother and the newborn to Santa Marta.

“When it was time for the birth a neighbor did us the favor of bringing us,” she recalls. “At least in our case, the guarantee of institutional transport has been completely absent. We came on our own and we will leave on our own.”

For her the problem goes beyond the lack of fuel. “Here the answer is always that there isn’t any,” she complains. “But what there also isn’t is sensitivity.”

A few meters away, Lizandra watches the scene with concern. The young university student studies psychology and is going through her first pregnancy. While waiting to be called for an appointment, she calculates what each visit to the hospital costs her.

“Just to get here and then return home you need at least 2,000 pesos,” she explains. That is if you are lucky and a motorcycle or tricycle appears with space available.

The uncertainty about transportation adds to the normal fears of pregnancy. / 14ymedio

The uncertainty about transportation adds to the normal fears of pregnancy. “You already are nervous, as with any medical appointment, and on top of that you have to think about how you are going to get here and how you will get back home,” she says.

For pregnant women who live outside the provincial capital the situation is even more complicated.

“I have friends who have practically gone through their entire pregnancy at home because they have no way to come from Ceiba Mocha or from Pedro Betancourt,” Lizandra says. Getting to the hospital means organizing an uncertain trip, and, many times, one that is too expensive.

Meanwhile, in front of the Maternal Hospital the small group of people waiting for transportation continues to grow. A green tricycle stops for a few seconds and immediately several relatives approach to ask if there is space.

The driver shakes his head and starts moving again.

A motorcyclist stops shortly afterward, with his helmet raised and the engine still running. Two women approach to negotiate the price. The driver raises three fingers.

“1,500 pesos,” he says.

The women look at each other. One sighs and finally nods.

In the hospital no one seems surprised by these scenes. State taxis, recognizable by their yellow color, are nowhere to be seen. Ambulances only appear when there is a medical emergency. The rest of the time, patients and companions must manage on their own.

In the hospital doorway, Sandra looks at her phone again before entering her appointment. In a few hours she will have to repeat the same process: go out to the street, raise her hand, and wait for some motorcycle or tricycle to agree to take her.

In today’s Matanzas, even getting to the hospital can become an uncertain journey. And returning home often simply depends on having enough money to pay for the trip.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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In Matanzas, Cuba, No One Asks Anymore Why the Power Went Out

The collapse of the National Electric Power System adds to months of endless blackouts that have forced residents to reorganize their lives around darkness.

14ymedio, Matanzas, Julio César Contreras, March 5, 2026 – The blackout came again without warning, like a visitor who no longer even needs to knock on the door. This Wednesday, a new disconnection of the National Electric Power System (SEN) left much of the country without electricity and once again pushed Matanzas into the gloom in which it has learned to live for months. However, during the first hours, many residents did not even notice that it was a general collapse of the system. In this city accustomed to long blackouts, darkness has become part of the landscape.

On San Ignacio Street, in the Pueblo Nuevo neighborhood, several people remain sitting in the doorways of their homes as if time had stopped. A woman repeatedly checks her phone, waiting for the data signal that also disappeared with the electrical collapse to return. On the sidewalk a thin stream of dirty water runs out of a house and disappears into the drain. No one seems to be in a hurry. When electricity disappears for so many hours, daily life slows down until it is almost suspended.

“How long is this going to last!” shouts Adriana from the doorway of her house so the whole neighborhood can hear her. The single mother has gone two days without being able to give her youngest child a hot meal. “There isn’t even enough time to cook the rice. Between the times they cut it off and turn it back on, we don’t even get an hour with electricity,” she laments. The little food she had in the refrigerator ended up stored in a neighbor’s freezer to keep it from spoiling.

“There isn’t even enough time to cook the rice. Between the times they cut it off and turn it back on, we don’t even get an hour with electricity.”

In recent weeks, blackouts in Matanzas have exceeded 30 continuous hours. People go out to sleep in their doorways, on balconies, or in the entrances of their homes to take advantage of the cool early-morning air, an image many believed had been buried with the hardest years of the Special Period. But now it returns like a collective déjà vu. continue reading

On a nearby block, two neighbors talk while sitting in front of a peeling facade. The man, wearing yellow shorts and flip-flops, wipes the sweat from his face while trying to guess when the electricity will return. Next to him, a woman holds a warm can of soda. Neither speaks about the blackout as something extraordinary. In Matanzas, losing electricity no longer causes surprise, only resignation.

The same thing happens a few houses away, where an elderly man sits in the doorway of his home with a bag beside him. He looks toward the almost empty street while waiting for time to pass. Without television, without a fan, and without radio, the hours become longer. The only distraction is watching the few pedestrians who cross the sidewalk under the sun.

The collapse of the SEN also left much of the mobile connectivity out of service. Hilda, a retiree who lives near Plaza de la Vigía, suddenly lost the video call she was having with her grandson in Spain. “Etecsa raised its rates, but it hasn’t been able to buy new batteries for its towers,” the woman complains. Many times she has to walk almost a kilometer to the square to find a signal.

“But I’m already retired and I don’t qualify for any of those solar panels they say they’re handing out.”

“I’m a teacher by profession, with more than 30 years of experience,” she says. “But I’m already retired and I don’t qualify for any of those solar panels they say they’re handing out,” she explains, referring to the modules that are sold on installment plans to outstanding professionals in their sector. In her home she also does not know when electricity will return or how long it will last once it does.

The instability of voltage in recent weeks has further punished household appliances. “My daughter in Cárdenas had a freezer burn out,” Hilda explains. “In half an hour they turned the power off and on five times. No appliance can withstand that.”

For Ricardo, a machinist who has a small private workshop in Pueblo Nuevo, the national outage means another day without income. “I thought today I might be able to catch up on some of the delayed orders, because lately they turn the power on for a little while in the afternoon,” he explains. But with the total shutdown of the system he cannot do anything at all.

He also hasn’t slept well for days. “My wife and I can’t get any sleep. When the power comes on in the early morning we jump out of bed to cook, run the washing machine, or charge the phones.” Then morning arrives and the exhaustion follows them like a shadow.

“My wife and I can’t get any sleep. When the power comes on in the early morning we jump out of bed to cook, run the washing machine, or charge the phones.”

In Matanzas, that scene repeats itself in hundreds of homes: families who get up at two or three in the morning when they hear the hum of the refrigerator or the sudden start of a fan. In that brief interval of electricity, food is cooked, laundry is washed, phones are charged, and any pending household task is rushed.

Meanwhile, on San Ignacio Street the silence slowly settles in. Without phone coverage or clear news, neighbors inform themselves by asking from doorway to doorway. No one knows when the power will return.

After more than a day without electricity, some have even stopped waiting. Sitting on improvised chairs or on the edge of the sidewalk, they let time pass.

“You have to stay grounded,” says Ricardo, shrugging his shoulders. “Because if you start thinking too much about this, you go crazy.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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“I Can’t Waste Time Assembling and Disassembling Old Rifles,” Complains an MTT Reservist

In Matanzas, with daily blackouts lasting 18 hours and endless lines to get a bit of cooking gas or some chicken, nobody seems willing to sign up for a mock battle against the US

“This time I really told them not to count on me anymore.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, February 22, 2026 –On a dusty street corner in Los Mangos, near the Pediatric Hospital of Matanzas, Yosvany wipes the sweat with the back of his hand and stares down the block as if expecting someone from the Military Committee to show up any second. It’s not the first time they’ve come looking for him. Every so often, when Havana announces strategic exercises, “mobilizations,” or National Defense Days, his name pops back up on the list of Territorial Troops Militia reservists.

“This time I really told them not to count on me anymore,” he says, standing in front of a faded house while a neighbor on the sidewalk fans herself with her hand and another sits watching the street from a plastic chair. “I’ve got five plates to fill every single day. I can’t waste time assembling and disassembling old rifles.”

The latest reservist call-up, announced after the worsening energy crisis and rising tensions between Havana and Washington—made worse since Nicolás Maduro’s capture in early January—has brought back memories of similar previous mobilizations. On state television they talk about “combat readiness” and “defense of sovereignty,” but in the neighborhoods the conversation mixes with 18-hour blackouts and endless lines just to get cooking gas or a little chicken.

Yosvany became surplus—unemployed—as an accountant at the Provincial Commerce Directorate two years ago. Since then he’s fished tilapia in the San Juan River, pushed a wheelbarrow of root vegetables along Calzada de Tirry, and even worked as a line-holder at the Banco Popular de Ahorro on Calle Medio. “Short of stealing, I’ll do whatever it takes,” he insists. “My war is finding money so my kids don’t go without the basics. I’m not going to be just another number so the bosses can say everybody’s ready to fight here.”

“I do resist, yeah—but during an 18-hour blackout, eating four spoonfuls of plain white rice and saving the little bread ball for breakfast.” / 14ymedio

In Pueblo Nuevo, Magalis hears these stories and nods. At 73 years old, she lives on 3,000 pesos a month that barely cover rice, some beans, and the rationed bread from the market. Sitting at the entrance of a small neighborhood pizzeria, under a faded mural continue reading

of a smiling chef holding a steaming tray, the woman looks out at the street where the sun beats down hard.

“On the news they come out with those perfectly ironed olive-green uniforms, calling for resistance,” she says. “I do resist, yeah—but during an 18-hour blackout, eating four spoonfuls of plain white rice and saving the little bread ball for breakfast.” For her, these mobilizations don’t fix the lack of fuel or the leaking roof she’s been waiting years to repair.

Daily life in the city contradicts the epic tone of official reports about military exercises. On a bridge over the river a man tries to catch something to take home; on another corner two old men chat in the shade of a peeling wall, under a sign advertising a shoemaker. Further on, a woman wearing a mask hurries by, dodging potholes and loose wires.

“I served on an internationalist mission and came back with my life dismantled.” / 14ymedio

Antonio, almost 65, has also been called up before. A veteran of five years in Angola, survivor of a landmine that damaged one eye and left him with psychological aftereffects, he looks at any new call with suspicion. “I served on an internationalist mission and came back with my life dismantled,” he says, sitting on the porch of his house. “After that nobody remembered us.”

He says a few years ago he asked to leave the Communist Party and the Association of Combatants. “They only call you to meetings and collect dues.” For him, the word “mobilization” has a bitter echo. “Thousands of us gave everything we had and more. Now that I’m old, all I want is some peace and quiet.”

The energy crisis has provided the backdrop for this new call to arms. The lack of fuel has paralyzed buses, slowed production, and multiplied blackouts. From the government they insist on the need to “prepare for any scenario,” while Washington toughens its rhetoric toward Havana and social media circulates versions of a possible domino effect after the fall of the Venezuelan leader.

But in Matanzas the conversation stays close to the ground. In front of houses, on makeshift chairs, people talk about rising prices, packages that never arrive, and children who have emigrated. The epic dissolves in the face of daily urgency.

“If they want me to defend something, they should start by giving me reasons to stay,” says Yosvany before saying goodbye. The afternoon sun reflects off the blue walls and tired faces. Nobody seems willing to sign up for a mock battle; they’ve got enough just trying to survive.

Translated by GH

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Well-Placed Greenbacks Speed Up the Paperwork To Obtain an Identity Card

Those without dollars must wake up at dawn, endure long hours of waiting, and return when a blackout interrupts the work

Getting or correcting an identity document is no longer just a procedure: it’s a test of endurance. / Cubadebate

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, San José de las Lajas, February 14, 2025 — At seven in the morning, when the identity card office in San José de las Lajas should be getting into rhythm, fatigue has already spread through the waiting room. The metal chairs, lined up with a discipline that contrasts with the disorder of the procedures, are occupied by resigned bodies: men in caps, women with large handbags, elderly people staring at the floor, and young people passing the time on their phones. In one corner, two little girls swipe at a screen, unaware of the errand that brought their mothers there. The ceiling fan turns slowly, as if it too were rationing energy.

Handling any paperwork at this Ministry of the Interior office has become an exercise in endurance. Not only because of the usual bureaucracy, but because administrative collapse is now compounded by the so-called “reorganization program” the Government has imposed in response to the energy crisis. In practice, this means unexpected blackouts, interrupted schedules, computers shutting down in the middle of a procedure, and employees who frequently ask for patience as the only possible response.

Yesenia knows this well. She lives in the Jamaica neighborhood at the other end of town, and this is the third time she has repeated the same routine. “I come at five in the morning to get in line, spend three or four hours making sure no one cuts in front of me, and when I finally sit down at the computer, the power goes out or they tell me there’s no material to make the ID,” she says. She has been without identification for nearly a month after losing all her documents. Just getting to the office on 13th Avenue costs her no less than 500 pesos in transportation. “Once is complicated. Three times is disrespectful,” she sums up. continue reading

Just getting to the office on 13th Avenue costs her no less than 500 pesos in transportation.

At eleven in the morning, Yesenia finally manages to sit at the desk. The employee listens halfway and then gets up to go to another department, leaving her hanging. “It’s taking about forty minutes per procedure,” she comments, glancing at the clock. “You need infinite patience.” The official hours, from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon, are more of a theoretical reference. Blackouts, broken equipment, and lack of connectivity turn each day into a game of Russian roulette.

In this uneven game, not everyone is playing with the same cards. Sergio waits calmly in the room, with no sign of having arrived at dawn. “One of the girls here is going to help me,” he says quietly. He is applying for a passport and knows the process can take a month and a half or more, but he also knows there are shortcuts. “If you’re in a hurry, you have no choice but to pay for the stamps at whatever price they ask on the street and let something drop in here,” he explains. His son sent him dollars for that. “It’s the only way not to spend another New Year’s in Cuba.”

The gesture with which he greets the clerk when she enters the room confirms there are unwritten rules. Sergio expects to have his passport in about ten days. He doesn’t know exactly how his acquaintance speeds things up, but he is sure he’s not the only beneficiary. Meanwhile, others keep counting how many times they have come without resolving anything.

Isis carries a different story, though just as exhausting. She is trying to correct an error on her daughter’s ID card. First it was a misspelled last name. Then an accent mark missing from the first name. Now, a wrong number in the birth date. “I check the data on the screen and everything is fine, but when they print it, it comes out wrong,” she says, unable to hide her frustration. For her, the problem is not only the lack of resources but the total absence of empathy. “They don’t put any care into what they do,” she laments.

In four months she has been attended by different employees, almost all with evident difficulties handling the computer.

In four months she has been attended by different employees, almost all with evident difficulties handling the computer. “I don’t think they are properly trained,” she says. And she makes it clear that her case is not an exception. “You end up making new friends here from running into the same people so many times, all of us trapped by the bureaucracy.”

The images in the waiting room reinforce that sense of endless waiting. A television at the back plays without sound; the blinds let in a dull light that does little to ease the heat. Outside, the city continues at its slow pace, also marked by blackouts and fuel shortages.

In San José de las Lajas, getting or correcting an identity document is no longer just a procedure: it is a test of endurance. The “contingency plan,” as the authorities also call it, has added another layer of uncertainty to a system already full of obstacles. Between predawn lines, blackouts, repeated errors, and paid favors, residents learn that in order to exist on paper, they must first survive the wait.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Paying for Your Reservation in Dollars Does Not Guarantee Better Food at Hotels in Varadero Cuba

Customers complain that they have to give extra money to employees to access more food despite the “all-inclusive” offer

“To eat without so much hassle, you have to come as soon as the restaurant opens. Those who arrive late, with or without money, don’t get much.” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Matanzas, January 9, 2025 — In Varadero, paying for an “all-inclusive” hotel is no longer a guarantee of a hearty meal. Those who arrive on the Hicacos Peninsula seeking a few days free from domestic worries discover this, sometimes with bewilderment and other times with resignation. At the Barceló Solymar, one of the best-known hotels in the area, the price—$62 per night—doesn’t always translate into full plates

On the buffet trays, side dishes abound; the meats, on the other hand, seem like museum pieces, guarded by employees who react with surgical precision. “When I walked past the roast pork, the employee tossed me such tiny pieces that they were barely visible on the empty plate,” says Iván, a Cuban resident of Miami who returned to the island to give his family a worry-free New Year’s Eve.

The learning curve was quick. “With a 500-peso bill, the waiter will serve you whatever you want. There’s no need to hide giving him the money. It’s like an advance tip so you can eat without going hungry,” explains Iván, who hadn’t been to Cuba in seven years and had never stayed at this hotel. The shock of reality was twofold: even paying for the room in dollars doesn’t protect you from shortages, and the “all-inclusive” concept isn’t immune to the logic of the informal market that permeates daily life in the country today.

Before taking their first course, some diners hold a banknote in their hand to give them the impression of being at a buffet

The scene repeats itself table after table. Before taking their first course, some diners hold up a bill, hoping to give themselves the impression, at least for a little while, of being at a buffet. “The food here cost me more than if I’d gone to a restaurant on the street,” says Eddy, his desire for a variety of desserts unfulfilled. “The only thing you can eat as much as you want of without paying extra is the rice continue reading

and beans. Everything else is rationed or runs out quickly, like the chocolate ice cream that ran out and they didn’t replenish it. To eat without so much hassle, you have to come when the restaurant opens. Anyone who arrives late, with or without money, doesn’t get much.”

Among the guests, a Cuban accent predominates. Families residing on the island and emigrants who have returned to share vacations occupy most of the tables; a few Canadian tourists complete the scene. Emma, one of them, isn’t willing to pay more. “For a four-star hotel, the buffet is very limited,” she says. “The main courses only have pork, ground beef, and fried chicken. It’s paltry for what you’d expect from a place like this.” She also finds no variety in salads or seasonal dishes, and she’s already considering leaving earlier than planned. “I’ve spent two nights eating boiled tomatoes and plantains. It’s not what I expected.”

Breakfast offers no respite. “In front of me, a Russian tourist was given an omelet with only one egg. I gave the cook 200 pesos and even then I had to demand he make mine with ham,” Eddy recounts. He came hoping for a variety of yogurts; lacking them, he ended up drinking milk. “It’s the same story as lunch and dinner. To get the best, you have to pay for it. If I had known I’d be eating bread and butter here, I would have stayed home.”

During meals, some vacationers also pay to ensure they get cold beer at the table. Tipping ceases to be a voluntary gesture and becomes a requirement to avoid being left watching other dishes go by. “My two children were so excited; I’d never been able to bring them to a hotel like this before,” says Eddy. “Thanks to my father-in-law, who made the reservation from abroad, we were able to come. He paid $496 so the four of us could spend two and a half days eating whatever we wanted, not being restricted like this.”

The contradiction becomes clear when a public relations representative approaches with a survey about the hotel’s operations. While the form asks about customer satisfaction, the table waits for the waiter to return with another round of drinks, previously “arranged.” In Varadero, even under the all-inclusive label, scarcity has found its way onto the table, reminding visitors that, even now, eating well in Cuba remains exorbitantly expensive, even on vacation.

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