Díaz-Canel Limits Basic Food Rations to Retirees and Vulnerable Groups

On Wednesday, Miguel Díaz-Canel announced a significant shift in Cuba's historical distribution of the basic food basket. Previously available to the entire population, it will now be limited to retirees, families with chronically ill children, and individuals in vulnerable situations. This marks the most substantial cut to the rationing system since its inception in 1962.

The announcement was made during the closing session of the Extraordinary Plenum of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, held at the Palace of the Revolution in Havana. Here, the regime unveiled a package of over 20 economic and social reforms.

“The basic food basket (almost vanished) will be ensured for retirees, families with chronically ill children, and the vulnerable,” stated Díaz-Canel, emphasizing a shift towards "targeted social protection" and moving away from the generalized subsidy model.

The leader justified the change by acknowledging a truth the regime has long avoided admitting: “Social justice is built on real foundations, incomes with purchasing power, direct protection for those in greatest need, and a national economy capable of producing more.”

However, the announcement comes with nuances, as retirees—ironically, the only group retaining the benefit—receive a minimum pension of just 3,056 Cuban pesos per month, which is less than nine dollars at the informal exchange rate. Meanwhile, the cost of a minimal basic food basket for two people in Havana reached 41,735 pesos in 2025, according to journalistic estimates.

Díaz-Canel also acknowledged that part of the crisis stems from internal regime issues: “There are obstacles not from outside or blockades. There is slowness, bureaucracy, rules that hinder those who want to produce, and decisions we have delayed. What depends on us, we must change ourselves, and we must change it now.”

Moreover, he admitted the reforms aren't groundbreaking: “These aren’t new ideas; they are decisions the country discussed and approved years ago. The mistake wasn’t in proposing them, but in delaying them. That period of postponement has to end.”

The additional measures in the package include removing general price caps—which Díaz-Canel himself admitted “did not effectively contain inflation”—opening up to direct foreign investment in the private sector, allowing Cubans residing abroad to invest on equal terms, and reducing the number of ministries from 27 to between 20 and 21.

The establishment of the National Institute of Business Assets was also announced, aimed at separating state and business functions.

The National Assembly has been called to a special session this Thursday to formally ratify the reforms approved by the Communist Party, in what Díaz-Canel described as the beginning of an “emergency economic and social agenda.”