A resident of the Isle of Youth took to social media to express her frustration after spending 700 Cuban pesos on a tube of ground meat from a street vendor, only to find it had an unpleasant odor, a greenish hue, and was completely spoiled. This incident sheds light on the ongoing food and energy crisis plaguing Cuba.
"Living in Cuba means buying food that often turns out to be spoiled," confessed the woman in a video posted on her Instagram account, @Yanet_diary, last Friday.
She lamented the dismal state of public markets where food is sold in such poor conditions, attributing the problem not only to the vendors but largely to the lack of electricity. "The main issue is the electricity outages," she added.
The woman further explained that in the special municipality, "we only have power for two hours every eight hours," which disrupts the cold chain and spoils food before it even reaches consumers.
The isolation of the region exacerbates the issue. "What has happened to our Isle of Youth? We're now dependent on a ferry that operates once a week for people to meet their needs, and currently, even that ferry isn't running," she noted.
The Perseverancia ferry, the sole maritime link between the Isle of Youth and Batabanó, is currently out of service due to an electric motor failure.
Comments on her video reflect widespread public outrage. "No one can cope with so many problems; it's heartbreaking," a viewer commented.
Another commenter was more direct: "Cuba has the potential to produce its own resources, but it's easier to blame another country rather than confronting the failures of the communist regime."
A third viewer highlighted the systemic nature of the issues: "It's unfortunate that the government does nothing in Cuba. After the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the government enacted land reforms, seizing private lands, which robbed Cubans of the freedom to farm or fish."
Just a day earlier, another Cuban woman expressed her despair in a video after losing chicken and other groceries due to power outages.
The 2025 National Food Security Survey by the Food Monitor Program revealed that 47.59% of Cuban households have lost refrigerated food due to blackouts, with numbers exceeding 80% in Granma, Matanzas, Pinar del Río, and Sancti Spíritus.
On Saturday, the national electric crisis left the country with a mere 1,270 MW available against a demand of 3,050 MW, with eight out of 16 thermoelectric units offline and 106 distributed generation plants halted due to fuel shortages.
Reports of spoiled food are not uncommon. In April, a ration store provided only a pound of sugar and three pounds of rice "infested with bugs," and the government in Las Tunas sold eggs at 60 pesos each, limiting purchases to five per person.
By 2026, 96.91% of the Cuban population is expected to lack adequate food, according to the Food Monitor Program, while the Island's economy is forecasted to shrink by an additional 7.2% this year.
Understanding Cuba's Food and Energy Crisis
What are the main causes of food spoilage in Cuba?
The primary causes of food spoilage in Cuba include frequent electricity outages, which disrupt the cold chain necessary for preserving food, and the poor infrastructure that fails to support consistent refrigeration.
How does the electricity crisis affect daily life in Cuba?
The electricity crisis in Cuba severely impacts daily life by causing blackouts that lead to food spoilage, hinder economic activities, and disrupt communication and transportation, affecting the overall quality of life.
What historical events have contributed to Cuba’s current economic challenges?
Cuba's economic challenges can be traced back to the land reforms after the 1959 Cuban Revolution, where the government nationalized private lands, limiting freedom and productivity in agriculture and contributing to the country's economic stagnation.