Mary Luz Borrego, one of the most critical voices in the state press, tried to buy eggs and ended up with “discreet” bruises.
14ymedio, Havana, 4 July 2025 — La Época, a dollar store located in the city of Sancti Spíritus, was the protagonist, according to an article in the official press this Friday, of a scenario that has been repeated for years on the island: the long and tumultuous lines with resellers lying in wait, and with stratospheric prices. The cause, says an official reporter stunned by the crowd, was the sale of eggs at $5.25 fulas (American dollars) per carton.
Relatively cheap – at least compared to meat – and rich in protein, eggs are a coveted food on the island that in recent years has seen a scandalous collapse in production. Usually chaos is unleashed when they are for sale, but Mary Luz Borrego, a journalist for Escambray and one of the most critical voices of government authorities, seems to have experienced it for the first time.
“I endured more than three and a half hours of battle in a kind of Roman coliseum, being shoved and bumped into, which not only bruises the body but also the spirit of those who were there,” complains the woman. She is most indignant about the “mobs of resellers who bought one, two, three, four or more times because they took several turns; they stood in line for each other, strategized, disguised themselves, blocked the door to only let in their allies, and fought with shouts and obscenities to get what they could before leaving.”
At the end of the day, she regrets, the resellers won: “they took as many cartons as possible to get their share”
At the end of the day, she regrets, the resellers won: “they took as many cartons as possible to get their share,” but they weren’t the only ones. The workers and owners of private businesses, “who apparently never have enough of their usual profits,” were also successful.
Contrary to the usual official discourse, which blames the “unscrupulous” for worsening the country’s economic situation, Borrego recognizes that “this sad reality is not based on the backs of a few scoundrels, but on the economic situation of the country, the productive-financial deficit that has turned the scarcity of everything or almost everything into fodder for the informal market with science fiction prices.”
The situation forces citizens to choose a cheaper product – even if that means lining up for several hours in the hot sun – and one that is easier to buy on the informal market, but at prohibitive prices. The eggs of La Época are not “given away,” but the price is up to 1,300 pesos cheaper, changing the dollar at street price, than if they were purchased on the black market, where even spoiled eggs are sold, she admits.
“When the wait was beyond funny, this reporter asked for permission and went to talk with the manager of La Época, who argued that they only had the responsibility to guard the goods of the store and the hard money in their cash registers but could not organize the line, that this was the business of the customers outside,” says the journalist, and she gives an eloquent example of the “questionable” methods of the sellers in these shops.
The manager not only refused to call the police – claiming that on other occasions they had not responded to the request to restore order – but also at one point, “when one of the most successful coleros [line standers] was about to enter for the umpteenth time, she poked her face out, stopped him and asked if we were going to allow it. Faced with the shocked silence because of what seemed to be an incitement to violence, she made an eloquent gesture – something like ‘if you don’t solve it, I will’ – and let him pass.”
Throughout the day, the employees were limited to “taking care of the products and the dollars collected”
After gaining several “discreet” bruises, the journalist managed to acquire the last carton of eggs. In the purchase she noticed the presence of several “close friends” of the store, “who managed to enter and waited furtively, perhaps to collect their own eggs, which remained safe and well guarded in the shade of some shelf.”
After the sale, the “mess” ended and most people went home empty-handed. Throughout the day, the employees were limited to “taking care of the products and the dollars collected,” as they are ordered to do from above.
Borrego, however, is reluctant to overlook the “impotence” and “shame” felt on that day. “Is it logical that a public institution like La Época should allow such arbitrariness in front of its nose?” she asked, appealing to a decorum that was lost long ago by the authorities.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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