The cost of sugar in Cuba, a nation once renowned for its sugar production, has soared to 500 pesos per pound, highlighting the severe shortage of this staple product. Kiriam Gutiérrez, a Cuban actress and activist, voiced her frustration, declaring she refuses to pay such exorbitant prices, saying, "I refuse to pay that." Gutiérrez has been on a fruitless search for both white and brown sugar at reasonable rates, while nearby micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) sell sugar at 950 CUP per kilogram, an amount unaffordable for most.
The situation took a turn when someone offered her sugar at 500 CUP per pound. Her response was firm: "No, I refuse to pay." The notion that Cuba, once a sugar powerhouse, is now grappling with a supply crisis of its iconic product is unfathomable to many. Gutiérrez lamented, "It breaks my heart when I think of the sugar mills, the workers' towns, and the cane fields."
A Nation in Crisis
Gutiérrez expressed that the Cuban people seem to be part of a "social experiment testing the resilience of the Cuban populace." She remarked, "They take away, they take away, they take away, and here we are, just surviving," pointing to the crisis as a catalyst for the country's ongoing migration wave over the past three years. She concluded that she might "have to learn to do without sugar; after all, I think it's harmful. In this experiment we're living through, the ones in charge claim to be looking out for us."
The Roots of the Sugar Shortage
The sugar crisis isn't a recent development; it began several years ago and has intensified over the past year following Cuba's worst sugar harvests in a century. In February, a mother questioned how she would sweeten her children's milk, underscoring the profound impact of this crisis on everyday life.