Cuba Suffering Major Food Shortage
HAVANA (CBS4) ― In the wake of several powerful hurricanes Cuba is
experiencing a major food crisis.
It was a sight many Cubans thought they'd left behind. These days
they're seeing more and more empty shelves at markets and stores that a
little more than a month ago were filled with fruits and vegetables. But
the one-two punch of hurricanes Gustav and Ike devastated farm
production and once again Cubans are facing the specter of hunger.
"Just look at how things are after the hurricanes" said a frustrated
woman in a market looking for food for her family, "I've been to 3
markets today looking for food."
Cubans still receive a monthly food ration, but there is much less food
to go around. Cuban government officials have said the severe shortages
could last for another 6 months. In an effort to manage the situation,
government officials have set price limits on food stuff and set harsh
penalties for those caught breaking those limits. This just weeks after
they raised the price of gas by 70-cents to $5.50 a gallon, making it
more expensive for farmers to get their crops to market.
In Granma, Cuba's state run newspaper, cartoonists portray the island's
vendors as the enemy of the people which profit from the food shortage.
Dissident economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe says the government shares part
of the blame for the crisis.
"There's nothing for sale. The government has adopted fixed prices for
farmers at a time when the government price for gasoline has gone up,"
said Chepe.
Chepe says many of Cuba's most productive farmers, who receive a part of
the profit from their wares, can no longer afford to sell their goods.
The situation has many Cubans thinking of the budget tightening crisis
of the 1990s, a time most thought they had left behind.
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