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Cuba’s Minister of Labour, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, has been compelled to resign following controversial remarks denying the existence of beggars on the Communist-led island.
The minister asserted that “beggars” did not exist in Cuba, suggesting that individuals sifting through refuse were doing so by choice for “easy money,” as she stated.
Her statements, made during a parliamentary session, drew widespread criticism from Cubans both domestically and abroad, prompting a response from President Miguel Díaz-Canel. Her resignation followed shortly thereafter.
Poverty levels and food shortages have been exacerbated in Cuba amidst a severe ongoing economic crisis.
The public outcry elicited by her comments, as well as the subsequent public rebuke, are noteworthy in Cuba, where anti-government protests are prohibited by law and dissent can result in imprisonment.
Feitó Cabrera’s remarks were delivered earlier this week during a session of the National Assembly.
“There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money,” she stated.
Furthermore, Feitó Cabrera accused individuals scavenging through refuse of being “illegal participants in the recycling service.”
The minister evidently miscalculated the extent of outrage her comments would generate and the degree to which they portrayed the nation’s leadership as insensitive, authoritarian, and detached from the harsh economic realities faced by ordinary Cubans.
President Díaz-Canel criticized Feitó Cabrera during the parliamentary session – albeit without explicitly naming her – stating that the leadership could not “act with condescension” or be “disconnected from the realities” of the people.
With food and housing scarcity intensifying in Cuba’s current economic climate, the sight of individuals foraging for food in refuse containers and sleeping in doorways has become increasingly prevalent.
Daily life is further complicated by fuel shortages and frequent power outages.
Many Cubans also face the challenge of locating essential medicines, visiting multiple pharmacies in hopes of finding necessary prescriptions.
In response to her assertion that there were no beggars in Cuba, but rather individuals disguised as beggars, Cuban economist Pedro Monreal posted on X: “It must be that there are also people disguised as ‘ministers’.”
Numerous Cuban activists and intellectuals also issued a letter calling for her removal, deeming the comments “an insult to the Cuban people.”
Feitó Cabrera’s resignation has been accepted by the Cuban Communist Party and the government.
President Trump says a statutory ban on tourism to Cuba will be enforced more strictly.
People from Haiti, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela who had temporary permission to stay in the country are receiving emails telling them to go.
Some 175 tents raised as part of an expansion to the base’s migrant detention centre have been removed.
Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans who entered the US under a Biden-era programme face deportation.
It is unclear why the migrants have been removed from the US military base.
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