Authorities in Cuba are reportedly threatening to fine mothers in Guamuta, a locality near the El Cobre Sanctuary in Santiago de Cuba, for not sending their children to school. This alarming situation was highlighted by opposition leader Jose Daniel Ferrer.
The families' rationale is clear: children leave home without having eaten, and schools are unable to provide adequate meals.
Jose Daniel Ferrer, an activist and leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), documented this issue in a Facebook video featuring several affected mothers.
"Mothers are being threatened with fines if they don't send their children to school. This is happening in Guamuta, in El Cobre, Santiago de Cuba, and in many other places across the country," Ferrer stated in the recording.
In the video, one woman explained she didn't send her child to preschool because he hadn't eaten the day before and there was no bread at home. "If I have nothing... no bread... tomorrow you won't go, and I won't tell the teacher. You can't tell me at home... if you want him to go, bring food," she said.
Another mother recounted how the bread from the store arrived black and she was certain it was harming her child's stomach. "I'm sure I'm causing him an ulcer with that bread," she summarized.
"Everyone is staying silent. We're falling into the same vicious circle. Fear is overcoming us, and we're letting them do whatever they want with us," remarked someone present at the meeting.
This complaint emerges amidst a national educational and food crisis, exacerbated at the start of the 2026-2027 school year. The World Food Program estimated that 48.5% of Cuban children aged six to eleven do not receive meals or snacks at school, and providing just breakfast and snacks for a child can cost over 10,000 Cuban pesos monthly.
Education Minister Naima Trujillo acknowledged in October that around 11,000 students were not attending classes regularly in the current school year, without mentioning hunger as a cause. The school system also faces a shortage of approximately 24,000 teachers and began the academic year without reliable access to drinking water or stable electricity in many schools.
In response to this institutional neglect, local activist Yoel Alejandro Pérez Serrano is leading the "Save Cuba" campaign in Guamuta, with support from UNPACU and the Assembly of the Resistance. The initiative ensures at least one meal from Monday to Friday for elderly, sick individuals, children, and mothers who lack the means to feed their families.
As of now, there is no verifiable national directive imposing fines on parents for school absenteeism; the documented threats appear to stem from local authorities' actions. However, this pattern is observed across various provinces, indicating a systematic pressure from the regime to maintain attendance figures while ignoring the root cause of absences: hunger.
Understanding the Crisis of School Absenteeism in Cuba
What is causing Cuban children to stay home from school?
Many Cuban children are staying home from school because they leave their homes without having eaten and receive inadequate meals at school, contributing to the crisis of absenteeism.
How are Cuban authorities responding to school absenteeism?
Local authorities are reportedly threatening mothers with fines if they do not send their children to school, although there is no official national policy mandating such fines.
What is the "Save Cuba" campaign?
The "Save Cuba" campaign, led by local activist Yoel Alejandro Pérez Serrano, aims to provide at least one meal a day from Monday to Friday for vulnerable groups in Guamuta, including the elderly, sick, children, and mothers without resources.