Cuban government ration stores in the province of Matanzas have not had a single tube of toothpaste for the last four months, another illustration of the Cuban people’s ongoing misery and the massive failure of socialism.
Via Periodico Cubano (my translation):
Alarming scarcity: More than four months without toothpaste in Cuban stores
Cuban citizens are facing an alarming shortage of basic everyday products. In addition to the food crisis, there is a shortage of personal hygiene items, particularly toothpaste, an essential element in oral hygiene.
As acknowledged in an official announcement by the Matanzas government, it has been over four months since the province’s rationing stores received toothpaste for distribution via the ration book.
“Update on some products in the family basket. Coffee production continues as raw materials have started to come in, toothpaste has not entered the province of Matanzas in the four-month period,” explain the government authorities through their official channel on Telegram.
The Ministry of Internal Trade (Mincin), in a recent official note, admitted persistent difficulties in purchasing raw materials abroad to manufacture toothpaste intended for the basic basket.
The usual delays in delivery and the lack of products that have been removed from the rationing system generate constant uncertainty and stress for Cubans, especially for those who do not have access to foreign currency to buy in the Convertible Currency Stores (MLC) or cannot acquire these hygiene products on the black market and in the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Mipymes) that sell them at high prices.
The toothpaste problem is national, so it is not limited to Matanzas alone. Faced with this reality, an unsettling question arises: What are Cubans who lack alternatives to obtain toothpaste using to clean their mouths, and how long will this situation continue?
Other delays in distribution relate to products such as rice and sugar, which have not reached 17 rationing stores in Matanzas. Authorities promise to fulfill the first delivery before the end of April.
An economist estimates that Cubans need more than 20,000 pesos per month to survive
The cost of living is a measure of the money required to maintain a certain standard of well-being, covering basic needs such as housing, food, clothing, health, and taxes. A crucial aspect of this cost is the basic food basket (CBA), which refers to the expenditure necessary to acquire food that meets the energy and nutritional needs of the population, respecting their eating habits.
The composition of the CBA varies according to the customs and purchasing power of each country, including products such as dairy, eggs, meats, legumes, cereals, sugars, fats, vegetables, fruits, and miscellaneous foods such as dehydrated soups and fast food.
Economist Omar Everleny determined in early 2024 that a Cuban needs 19,975 CUP pesos per month to buy a basic selection of products, a figure that considerably exceeds the average income, which is just over four thousand pesos.
There are considerably more pressing needs than toothpaste which are not being met in Cuba, so this is beyond inconsequential to the ruling elite–which has no shortage of toothpaste for its members.