CBS — The Cuban government announced Friday it is launching widespread rationing of chicken, eggs, rice, beans, soap and other basic products in the face of a grave economic crisis. Commerce Minister Betsy Díaz Velázquez told the state-run Cuban News Agency that various forms of rationing would be employed in order to deal with shortages of staple foods.
Díaz blamed the hardening of the U.S. trade embargo by the Trump administration. Economists give equal or greater blame to a plunge in aid from Venezuela, where the collapse of the state-run oil company has led to a nearly two-thirds cut in shipments of subsidized fuel that Cuba used for power and to earn hard currency on the open market.
Cuba imports roughly two-thirds of its food at an annual cost of more than $2 billion and brief shortages of individual products have been common for years. In recent months, a growing number of products have started to go missing for days or weeks at a time, and long lines have sprung up within minutes of the appearance of scarce products like chicken or flour.
History may end up recording that the actions of Obama in opening up Cuba to the US may have, however inadvertently, been the catalyst that caused the downfall of communism in that tortured island nation. They had years of freer trade, more information on how free and successful the US is then Cuba, stories from distant relatives that made it to the US and worked hard and became rich, stories of free elections and the like. When Trump put the sanctions back because of the actions of the Cuban government he may just have lit the fuse of another revolution. Raul may just have to recall the 20,000 something security troops from Venezuela to hold power in Cuba. They you may get a twofer in the region with Maduro and Castro catching the same flight.
“Díaz blamed the hardening of the U.S. trade embargo ”
They always say this like there’s no other country in the world. Canada doesn’t trade with Cuba? What about Yurrup? Why can’t they support their darling leeches?
All we’re saying is that the US isn’t trading with Cuba. There’s no one holding a gun to any other countries head and keeping them from spending dough on Cuba.
Socialism works well if you don’t mind the lack of food, shelter, water, power, medical care, clothing, daily necessities, pets, transportation, cooked meals. civilizied life.
Any moron who spouses that form of Marxism is swimming upstream.
Cuba could be a well to do nation.
If Castro hadn’t been a communist.
Yep, If soc/com was successful…they’d be embargoing Us.
Suck It Commies !
For a country that built and maintains the best health care system in the world, they sure are stupid when it comes to food and everything else.
The best health system in the world is of no use if people don’t get enough to eat.
Wouldn’t this be an example of successful socialism and not a failure? I mean, everything that’s supposed to happen in a socialist country happened.
Cuber… world class Chigger-nation parasites blame the U.S. trade embargo by the Trump administration.
Gee Wally, I think they’re saying they NEED the United States!
Yeah Beave, lets all have a Pity Party:
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwe
When will the begging start?
And just like Venezuela, it will be illegal to list “starvation” as a cause of death.
I’m surprised CUBA hasn’t already rationed EVERYTHING in Cuba.
‘CONTROL’, definitely a liberals dream come true.
Socialism ALWAYS fails. Doesn’t matter which Leftist branch it is: Communism, National Socialism (Nazis), Progressivism, Fascism.
Socialism. Always. Fails.
Jelly,
This is exactly why these horror stories leave the left unfazed.
They love it. Rationing puts them in extreme control. It’s a wet dream.
^^ BINGO ^^
Yep. Their policies aren’t what they stand for politically. What they stand for politically is dictatorship. Their policies are just their latest dictates. The dictatorship itself is what it is all about.
Are we gettin’ any decent ballplayers out of this deal or are we goin’ back to all Dominican shortstops?
In the Communist world, “Rationing” is a euphemism to explain why store shelves are empty.
The twin tits that sustained the Cuban parasite, Obama and Venezuela, have dried up.
I may be making a broad assumption here……… BUT, what viable nation/company/family… etc. requires AID on a regular basis from anyone (much less venezuela)? What viable nation IMPORTS 2/3 of their food???? That is potential suicide! While I don’t want anyone dying of starvation, those folks in the image didn’t appear to be malnourished……
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
You can’t expect a nation of people to grow their own crops in such a hostile climate can you?
He should be flogged and made to give back all the money he and his wife embezzled.
It is remarkable, funny in a grim way, and very sad that their government won’t let the people just take care of themselves. Government is always made up of people who don’t want to work for their living, but apparently there’s more to it than that. Stupid and obsessed with control of others comes to mind.
Just let the people produce what they want and need, tax the crap out of them and enjoy even greater parasitic glory! Like here in the US! You can run sham elections and rearrange the deck chairs just like us if you want, or don’t pretend, like the Chinese.
Psychopaths run our nation and every other nation in the world, some just do it better than others. In America we had for a very brief time, self rule, but at this point we just have less absolute government control over our every move. And it still works! And a lot of people want to dump the system and try Cuba”s! Are we a bag of dolts or what?