Latest news with #MartaElenaFeitóCabrera
New York Times
18-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Cuban Minister Ousted After Accusing Beggars of Faking Poverty
Cuba's communist government has long prided itself on its ability to meet the basic needs of the island's population, despite persistent evidence to the contrary. The contrast between the official government line and reality was brought into sharp relief this week when a government minister went on television and addressed the issue of people begging on the streets. The minister, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, who oversaw labor and social security, said on Monday that the island's beggars were faking poverty to make 'easy' money. The backlash was swift in a country mired in economic misery, where many struggle to afford food. Barely 24 hours later Ms. Feitó was out of a job. The government said she had resigned because of her lack of 'objectivity and sensitivity.' While the Communist Party remains firmly in charge, Cuba's government has faced intensifying anger among ordinary Cubans who have lost patience with the six-decade old socialist system imposed by the revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Ms Feitó's ouster was usually fast by the standards of Cuba's often glacial bureaucracy. 'In the past, other ministers have said very unpopular things and have not been forced to resign,' said Carlos Alzugaray, a political analyst and retired Cuban diplomat who lives in Havana. 'What is unexpected in this case is the rapid popular reaction and the very quick reaction of the president.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Independent
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Cuban minister resigns after saying beggars in the country were all fakes
A Cuban minister who denied the existence of beggars in the country has resigned on Tuesday after facing a fierce backlash. Cuba's Presidency said in a post on X that Minister of Labor and Social Security Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera 'acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation.' Feitó made the comments Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. The comments went viral, prompting calls for Feitó's impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years. 'We have seen people, apparently beggars, (but) when you look at their hands, look at the clothes these people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars, they are not beggars,' Feitó said before the National Assembly committee. 'In Cuba there are no beggars.' She added that people cleaning windshields use the money to 'drink alcohol.' Feitó also lashed out against those who search through the garbage dumps, saying they are recovering materials 'to resell and not pay tax.' Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel was critical of the comments. Without mentioning her by name, but referring to the meeting at the National Assembly committee where Feitó participated, Díaz-Canel said on his X account: 'The lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind; that is our motto, our militant responsibility.' The economic crisis in Cuba has increased social vulnerability and led to unusual scenes for the island, such as people — especially the elderly — begging or scavenging through garbage, or some cleaning windshields at corners. Until a few years ago, despite the poverty, there were no signs of begging or homelessness on the island thanks to benefits that have now been greatly reduced. The pension of a retiree is about 2,000 Cuban pesos per month, roughly $5 on the informal market, and just under the cost of a carton of eggs. For those who don't receive remittances from family abroad, it means going hungry. Self-employed Enrique Guillén believes the minister is wrong and that some people do not see the situation clearly, and hopes the government will take action. 'They are elderly people who count on a pension that does not exist. They cannot even buy a carton of eggs. It is the reality we are living in Cuba,' Guillén said. On Monday, island authorities reported that Cuba's gross domestic product fell by 1.1% in 2024, accumulating a decline of 11% over the past five years.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuban minister resigns after saying country has no beggars
Cuban Minister for Labour Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera has been forced to resign after she made comments denying the existence of beggars on the Communist-run island. The minister had said there was no such thing as "beggars" in Cuba and people going through rubbish were, in essence, doing so out of choice to make "easy money", as she put it. Her comments, made in a parliamentary session, were widely criticised by Cubans at home and abroad, and prompted a response from the island's president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. She resigned soon after. Poverty levels and food shortages have worsened in Cuba as it continues to grapple with a severe economic crisis. Both the public criticism her comments triggered and the public rebuke the minister received are unusual in Cuba, a country where anti-government protests are banned by law and open dissent can land critics in jail. Feitó Cabrera made the comments earlier this week at a session of the National Assembly. "There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money," she said. Furthermore, Feitó Cabrera accused people searching through the rubbish of being "illegal participants in the recycling service". The minister clearly misjudged the outrage and anger her comments would cause and the extent to which they portrayed the country's leadership as unfeeling, authoritarian and deeply removed from the dire economic struggles of ordinary Cubans. President Díaz-Canel criticised Feitó Cabrera at the parliamentary session - albeit without mentioning her by name - saying the leadership could not "act with condescension" or be "disconnected from the realities" of the people. With food and housing shortages becoming more acute in Cuba's current economic crisis, the sight of people rummaging through rubbish bins for food and sleeping in doorways has become more common. Daily life is further disrupted by fuel shortages and frequent power cuts. Many Cubans also have to hunt for basic medicines, going from pharmacy to pharmacy in the hope of tracking down the medication they need. In response to her claim that there were no beggars in Cuba, but people disguised as beggars, Cuban economist Pedro Monreal wrote on X: "It must be that there are also people disguised as 'ministers'". A number of Cuban activists and intellectuals also published a letter calling for her removal, saying the comments were "an insult to the Cuban people". Feitó Cabrera's resignation was accepted by the Cuban Communist Party and the government. Cuba asks UN for help as food shortages worsen Cubans endure days without power as energy crisis hits hard
NBC News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Labor minister faces backlash for saying there are no beggars in Cuba
A Cuban minister sparked criticism Tuesday, including from the president, after saying that there are no beggars in the communist country, only people disguised as such, and suggesting that those who clean windshields at crossroads have an 'easy' life. Cuba's Minister of Labor and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, made the comments on Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. They went viral, prompting calls for Feitó impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years. The economic crisis in Cuba has increased social vulnerability and led to unusual scenes for the island, such as people — especially the elderly — begging or scavenging through garbage, or some cleaning windshields at corners. 'We have seen people, apparently beggars, (but) when you look at their hands, look at the clothes these people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars, they are not beggars,' Feitó said before the National Assembly committee. 'In Cuba there are no beggars.' She added that people cleaning windshields use the money to 'drink alcohol.' Feitó also lashed out against those who search through the garbage dumps. She said they are recovering materials 'to resell and not pay tax.' Without mentioning her name, but referring to the meeting at the National Assembly committee where Feitó participated, President Miguel Díaz-Canel said on his X account: 'the lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind; that is our motto, our militant responsibility.' Until a few years ago, despite the poverty, there were no signs of begging or homelessness on the island thanks to benefits that have now been greatly reduced. The pension of a retiree is about 2,000 Cuban pesos per month, roughly $5 on the informal market, and just under the cost of a carton of eggs. For those who don't receive remittances from family abroad, it means going hungry. Self-employed Enrique Guillén believes the minister is wrong and that some people do not see the situation clearly, and hopes the government will take action. 'They are elderly people who count on a pension that does not exist. They cannot even buy a carton of eggs. It is the reality we are living in Cuba,' Guillén said.
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuban minister resigns after saying country has no beggars
Cuban Minister for Labour and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó-Cabrera, has been forced to resign from her post after she made comments in a parliamentary session which denied the existence of beggars on the Communist-run island. The minister had said there was no such thing as "beggars" in Cuba and people going through rubbish were, in essence, doing so out of choice to make "easy money", as she put it. Her comments were widely criticised by Cubans at home and abroad, and prompted a response from the island's president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. She resigned soon after. Poverty levels and food shortages have worsened in Cuba as it continues to grapple with a severe economic crisis. Feitó-Cabrera made the comments earlier this week at a session of the National Assembly, in which she spoke about people begging and rummaging through dustbins in Cuba. She appeared to deny their existence saying: "There are no beggars in Cuba. There are people pretending to be beggars to make easy money." Furthermore, she accused people searching through the rubbish of being "illegal participants in the recycling service". The minister clearly misjudged the outrage and anger her comments would cause and the extent to which they portrayed the country's leadership as unfeeling, authoritarian and deeply disconnected from the dire economic struggles of ordinary Cubans. A number of Cuban activists and intellectuals published a letter calling for her removal saying the comments were "an insult to the Cuban people". The Cuban president then criticised Feitó-Cabrera at the parliamentary session - albeit without mentioning her by name - saying the leadership could not "act with condescension" or be "disconnected from the realities" of the people. Cuban economist Pedro Monreal posted on X saying that there were "people disguised as ministers" in Cuba. Feitó-Cabrera's resignation was accepted by the Cuban Communist Party and the government. While the Cuban government does not publish official figures on the number of people begging, the rise in their number has been self-evident to most Cubans amid the island's deep economic crisis. Cuba asks UN for help as food shortages worsen Cubans endure days without power as energy crisis hits hard
