What Can a Cuban Lawyer's Salary Actually Buy? Viral Video Exposes Price Reality in Cuba

A TikTok video by user kary_y_jonyyoutuber has sparked widespread reactions, shedding light on the dire economic conditions in Cuba. The clip, created by Kary Sánchez, highlights how her husband, a lawyer, earns a monthly salary of 4,700 Cuban pesos (CUP), roughly equivalent to 14 dollars on the informal exchange market. She demonstrates how this entire income is consumed by basic groceries, insufficient to last an entire month.

In the video, Sánchez (@kary_y_jony) states, "My husband is a law graduate and earns 4,700 Cuban pesos a month, which is about 14 dollars. With this money, we bought 2 kg of rice for 1,400 pesos, 1 kg of sugar for 600 pesos, 1 liter of oil for 990 pesos, and since the vegetables weren't great, we opted for chicken mince at 360 pesos, 1 kg of chicken liver for 850 pesos, 4 garlic heads for 280 pesos, 2 pounds of tomatoes for 120 pesos, and a jar of sweet peppers for 150 pesos, leaving us 50 pesos overdrawn. Tell me, do you think you can survive a whole month with these? Did you know this is a lawyer's salary in Cuba?"

The video quickly went viral, amassing over 22,000 likes, 1,200 comments, and 1,000 shares within days. Reactions ranged from outrage to disbelief, with comparisons to other countries' situations. One user remarked, "I spend 14 dollars on breakfast." Another added, "In Peru, a single meal costs 14 dollars." From Venezuela, someone noted, "He earns more than here in Venezuela; I'm a doctor earning 3 dollars biweekly." Skepticism also emerged: "And how do they survive? No anemia, good physical condition, how do they do it?" A comment from the Dominican Republic stated, "14 dollars in the Dominican Republic are spent in one day."

There were also questions about currency conversion. One user claimed, "That's a lie; 4,700 CUP is 195 dollars, not 14." Another questioned, "If they don’t have money, how do they afford clothes, glasses, and phones?" Criticism of the government was evident: "Keep voting for communism," one user commented. Another suggested, "We need to end the communism that's making an entire nation live undignified lives." Conversely, some defended the official policy and shifted blame to the U.S.: "Is it the fault of Cuban authorities or the embargo they have?"

The video aligns with recent economic analyses, such as a study by economist Omar Everleny Pérez Villanueva, which revealed that the monthly cost of basic food for two people in Havana reached 24,351 CUP (202 dollars) in December 2024, twelve times the Cuban minimum wage of 2,100 CUP. In contrast, in 2020, when the Cuban government set that minimum wage, the Cuban peso was valued at 24 CUP per U.S. dollar. However, inflation and the peso's devaluation in the informal market have drastically reduced its real value.

Additionally, the Cuban regime itself has acknowledged the unfeasibility of current wage levels. In February 2025, Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa publicly admitted that "one cannot live on a salary of 6,000 CUP," yet failed to propose concrete solutions to the crisis. This adds to the healthcare and education sectors' crises, where the government attempted to stem the professional exodus with salary increases in 2024, allocating over 25 billion CUP to these sectors. However, experts warn these raises are insufficient to offset inflation or improve workers' quality of life.

Complaints about the precarious state salaries in Cuba have been ongoing. Healthcare professionals, teachers, and others have voiced on social media that months of wages are needed to purchase a single basic item like powdered milk or fresh produce. For instance, a physician with over 30 years of experience barely earns over 6,000 CUP, an amount inadequate against the current cost of living. The wage increase announced in 2020 set the minimum salary at 2,100 Cuban pesos and established a scale system for various sectors. However, this measure couldn't contain the CUP's devaluation or inflation, leading to an even more severe purchasing power crisis.

Despite recent attempts to boost income in key sectors like education and health, the Cuban regime has allocated funds for salary hikes without translating these into real improvements in workers' purchasing power.

The viral video underscores the growing discontent within Cuban society in light of the economic crisis. The inability to subsist on state salaries has become a stark reality, reflected in economic studies and acknowledged even by the government. As prices continue to rise and wages remain stagnant, Cubans face a daily struggle for survival in a system that offers no immediate solutions.