Cuban Farmer Exposes Food Crisis: "Thank God for Burnt Rice"

Delio Ramírez Rosales, a Cuban farmer, took to social media to highlight the dire state of nutrition that many Cubans are enduring. He shared a poignant example of his meal this past Wednesday, a dish of burnt rice for which he expressed gratitude to God.

The burnt rice, the crispy leftovers at the bottom of the pot that many hungry Cubans have grown fond of, was the "delicacy" Ramírez Rosales consumed before retiring early to bed, only to rise again for another grueling day in the fields. "I work like an animal from dawn to dusk, and sometimes things get really tough. Today, I had plain burnt rice. I wanted to have it with some sugar water, but when I checked, I was out of sugar... And I thanked God for the burnt rice," he lamented on Facebook.

Ramírez Rosales is not alone; hundreds of thousands of Cubans face what international organizations term as "food insecurity," a euphemism for "hunger" or even "famine," terms frequently used to describe the plight of impoverished nations. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, an individual suffers from food insecurity when they lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth, development, and an active, healthy life. This can stem from a lack of food availability and/or the resources to obtain food.

Cuban Farmers' Struggles

"Cuban farmers deserve recognition and respect, as we've become magicians to keep producing," stated Ramírez Rosales in July 2022, criticizing the state authorities' mistreatment through the agricultural company in Ciego de Ávila. At the time, he complained about the abuse, disorganization, and obstacles in the process of buying and selling produce with the state. The state demanded he pay for the fuel used by Acopio to collect his yuca crops, which he sold for 250 Cuban pesos per quintal (100 kilograms), equating to one peso per pound, while the market price could go up to 20 pesos per pound.

The food insecurity experienced by Ramírez Rosales and others is directly linked to state abuse against farmers and ranchers, impacting their finances and resources to procure food, thereby affecting food production and availability.

However, for Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the National Assembly of People's Power, the issue of food insecurity among Cubans is due to "a loss of industriousness." During a visit to Sancti Spíritus in mid-March, Lazo remarked, "Everyone got used to saying, 'When will this come? When will that arrive? When will they give me this?' Socialism is good because it doesn't exploit man by man, but to have things, you have to work."

According to Lazo's logic, Ramírez Rosales should be thankful not to God but to the "revolution," which supposedly provides him with the burnt rice he eats. Lazo also pointed out that the farmer owns and uses Facebook, asking rhetorically, "Who would have thought people in the countryside would have cell phones?"

In June 2023, comedian Limay Blanco asked a child named Samuel during a video call, "Samuel, what are you eating? Is that burnt rice?" Blanco had previously gifted the child’s family a refrigerator. Seeing Samuel eating a piece of burnt rice broke Blanco’s heart, prompting him to end the call abruptly to hide his tears. "Samuelito having burnt rice for breakfast," Blanco tearfully shared in another live video. "I know I can't fix the world, but damn... And I have to stay silent. Today, I can't express myself. If I give them something now, Samuelito will still be eating burnt rice the day after tomorrow."