During a moderated discussion on Cuba's transition, historian Jorge L. León made a harsh assertion: the nation's living conditions have regressed over 300 years to the extent that 19th-century slaves ate better than millions of Cubans today.
"Our country has moved back over three centuries. In the 17th century, people had coffee with milk, a piece of bread, and meat. Even plantation slaves in the mid-19th century ate tasajo and meat. Even the slaves," León stated during a program hosted by Tania Costa, with contributions from historian Omar Sixto and researcher Alejandro González Acosta from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.
This comparison is not merely rhetorical. Historian Manuel Moreno Fraginals, in his seminal work "El Ingenio," documented that Cuban plantation slaves received daily rations of half a pound of tasajo or codfish, along with root vegetables and cornmeal, regulated by Cuba's 1842 regulations to ensure their work capacity.
Today, however, one in three Cuban families experiences hunger at least once in the last 30 days, according to the Food Monitor Program, which also reported that 96.91% of the population lacks adequate food access.
León dismissed common comparisons with the post-1898 war period, stating firmly: "In the aftermath of the Cuban-Spanish-American War in 1898, yes, there were diseases and yellow fever, but affecting an entire nation... that's not it."
The Stark Reality of Cuba's Current Crisis
To underscore the severity of the crisis, León provided a vivid and harsh image: "A family of four or five having to divide a small piece of tomato into four parts to eat for the day. Because they have nothing. No gas, no water, no electricity, no means to travel to a neighbor's house for food. This has never been experienced in our country."
The collapse extends beyond food access. León painted a grim picture of the healthcare system: "A hospital in Cuba is like a cemetery, it's the path to the cemetery. There's nothing there. No sheets, no bulbs, no beds, no aspirin, nothing. This never happened in Cuba before."
The historian also pointed fingers at the EU: "Europe doesn't know what's happening in Cuba. Why not? Why don't they want to know? Or do they know and prefer to maintain a position of ambiguous complicity?"
León left no room for neutrality, describing the situation as an unprecedented tragedy: "Deaths are a daily occurrence. There's no way to cushion the tragedy." He added, "The tyranny is willing to do anything. So we must be equally prepared."
A survey from March 2026 indicated that 80% of Cubans view the current crisis as worse than the Special Period of the 1990s, marking the present as the most severe time in the island's modern history.
Understanding Cuba's Historical Decline
What did historian Jorge L. León claim about Cuba's regression?
Jorge L. León claimed that Cuba has regressed over three centuries in its living conditions, suggesting that 19th-century slaves had better access to food than many Cubans today.
How does the current food situation in Cuba compare to the past?
According to historian Manuel Moreno Fraginals, slaves on Cuban plantations received regulated daily food rations in the 19th century, whereas today, a significant portion of the Cuban population lacks adequate food access.
What is the current state of the healthcare system in Cuba?
León described Cuba's healthcare system as severely lacking, with hospitals lacking basic necessities like sheets, lights, and medicine, likening them to cemeteries.