The crisis in Cuba has seen its government approach the United Nations for aid to address its food shortage, as residents take to the streets in a rare sign of social unrest
Cuba is “on the verge of total collapse” as the country has been hit by blackouts with residents taking to the streets calling for “food and power”.
The crisis has seen the Cuban government approach the United Nations for aid to address its food shortage. As the Caribbean island goes through its harshest economic crisis in three decades, the communist regime is resorting to hitherto unseen cries for help to other countries.
The country has been hit by US restrictions, a weak tourism industry, and a decaying domestic product which has left the proud independent nation on it’s knees. In an article for Bloomberg, author Juan Pablo Spinetto writes that the situation has brought about a rare display of social unrest.
Spinetto writes that the economic situation is a huge challenge for the Communist Party of Cuba that has controlled the nation’s life since Fidel Castro’s revolution in 1959.
He says that despite the archaic embargo posted on the nation by the US during the Cold War, it is not responsible for the food shortage, since Cuba has been able to import more than $7 billion worth of agricultural produce since 2001.
Spinetto adds that the embargo is also not responsible for the departure of 5% of Cuba’s population (more than half a million residents) between 2021 and 2023. He says: “These are young, educated Cubans escaping hunger, economic mismanagement and political repression.”
Spinetto writes that the crisis can’t be fixed “without fundamentally changing the country’s centralized, state-controlled model where bureaucrats rule over every aspect of public life.”
Source : https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/us-news/cuba-on-verge-total-collapse-32389680