Former Cuban Teacher Turns to Pot Scrubbing to Survive: "I Must Choose Between Food and Medicine"

Marco Antonio Morán, once a proud educator in the classrooms of Guantánamo, now spends his days from dawn until dusk scrubbing pots, pans, and other cookware by hand to make ends meet.

This poignant narrative, covered by the independent outlet CubaNet, highlights the stark decline in living standards for many Cubans, including those with university degrees.

A Career Abandoned by Necessity

Holding a degree in Sociocultural Studies and having a strong background in education, Morán chose to leave teaching out of principle: "I left the classroom because I no longer identified with the educational system; it had changed completely from what I was taught in pedagogical school," he explained.

Survival Through Manual Labor

In recent years, Morán has roamed from house to house, offering his cleaning services for cooking vessels. "From the largest to the smallest, that's how I'm earning my living, with basic tools," he narrated.

"I don't use any electrical machinery. Everything is done by hand," he stated.

The Daily Struggle for Basic Needs

Morán admits that some days the work piles up, but the income is meager. He often earns only between 300 and 400 Cuban pesos per day, forcing him to decide between purchasing food or much-needed medication, which he must buy on the black market due to the lack of availability in traditional pharmacies.

This difficult choice is compounded by serious health issues. Morán suffers from nodules in his liver and pancreas, a digestive condition, and works through his pain daily. Additionally, he believes his job has led to increased levels of lead in his blood.

The Broader Crisis

The scarcity of medicine Morán describes is not unique: only about 30% of essential medicines are available in state-run Cuban pharmacies, with 461 out of 651 essential drugs either entirely unavailable or in short supply, pushing people to the black market where prices are exorbitant.

These hardships extend to his kitchen as well. Unable to afford coal—which has skyrocketed to between 3,200 and 5,000 pesos per sack in different provinces—Morán cooks with wood on an improvised stove in his home's entrance.

To fuel this stove, he resorts to whatever materials he can find: door frames, shutter slats, wood scraps from the street, and even his own furniture. "I've cooked with books," he shared.

In 2025, the official average monthly salary in Cuba was 6,930 pesos, roughly equivalent to 13 dollars at the informal exchange rate. Independent studies suggest a person needs at least 96,000 pesos a month to meet basic needs, about 14 times the official salary.

A survey conducted between February and March 2026 with nearly 1,800 respondents found that 86.6% of Cubans turn to the informal economy to avoid starvation.

The Exodus of Educators

The teaching exodus Morán mentions is backed by statistics: Cuba faces a shortfall of about 24,000 teachers, driven away by insufficient wages and rampant inflation.

Morán does not see his story as a personal tragedy but as a reflection of a shared reality. "This is the reality I live as a Cuban, and many live like I do. Instead of a positive transformation, it's a reversed metamorphosis: I was well-off, and now I'm struggling," he concluded.