‘Cubadebate’ Removes the Ordering Task Survey From its Website

The survey data was devastating, as 94% of Cubans cannot meet their needs with their salary. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 4 March 2021 — Cubans interested in the survey carried out by the State website Cubadebate, which garnered much success among readers, should consult the independent media to find out what the people of the island really think about the “Ordering Task*” (Tarea ordenamiento) and the dramatic economic situation in the country.

The survey, activated this Monday by the official media, found that the majority of Cubans consider that the Ordering Task “was necessary” for the country’s economy but that it has unquestionably damaged their lives.

The data were devastating. For example, 94% of people on the island say they cannot satisfy their needs through their salary (67% outright and 29% partially), and 78% judge the increase in all prices excessive.

Only 4% of of those surveyed claimed to have their needs covered with the salary they receive and only 1% agree with the new salaries. In addition, 92% of the survey takers insisted that the quality of life has not improved with the raises. The remaining 8% thought that they did see improvements in some cases, but no survey taker chose the option “Yes, in everything.”

“What happened to the Cubadebate survey on the Ordering Task?” the playwright Yunior García Aguilera asked in a tweet. “You can’t see it. Did they eliminate it?” the artist asked in a response to a tweet from the official media.

Also the user Monik (@ m0n1kfs) pointed out the survey’s absence in the publication, sharing some of the screen captures that she had published on March 1 with the results. “They don’t know how to live in a democracy!” replied Miguel Alejandro (@ miguel940521), another Internet user.

Since January, the Cubans’ ridicule in the street and at home has focused on the Ordering Task, which was clearly reflected in the results of the survey now eliminated.

The currency reform began on January 1 and since then the prices of many basic products have risen excessively, especially food, some basic services, medicines and cleaning products.

It is not the first time that the official pages have eliminated an article that provokes comments or reactions adverse to the Government. Last August, for example, after reporting the launch of the controversial Portero application to control the lines, the Havana Citizen Portal deleted the corresponding note.

*Translator’s note: Tarea ordenamiento = the [so-called] ‘Ordering Task’ which is a collection of measures that includes eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and others. 

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