Cuba's Ration Book System Collapses

0:00It's May 3rd, I'm Cory with the story, and this is US News Today, your AI-powered national briefing. Cuba's rationed book system, the lifeline set up by Fidel Castro back in the 1960s, is basically dead now. State-run bodegas in places like Havana sit empty, with shells missing basics like milk, meat, eggs, and soap. Folks line up for whatever scraps show up, like rice or sugar, but it's not enough to feed families anymore. In late April, one store hadn't sold anything to customers in nearly two weeks. This hits harder than the special period in the 1990s, when Soviet A dried up and people lost serious weight from hunger. Back then, bodegas still had some stock, but today their dusty rooms with posters for goods that vanished years ago. Even birthday rations for 15-year-olds or seniors turning 65 are pathetic, just ground beef or a bit of fish if you're lucky. Cubans are scraping by on tiny salaries and pensions. Around 8,000 pesos a month, which is about 16 bucks.

1:00Private stores charge dollars for eggs at 125 bucks a carton, or meat at 37 bucks for two pounds. Many skit meals, rotating rice and corn meal, or go hungry. One woman said they're living off air in memories of real food, like pork and beans. The root? Cuba imports 80% of its food, but cash shortages and a botched currency merge in 2021, sparked wild inflation. The government's printing money came back, overspending on health, welfare, and failed tourism bets, while blackouts and fuel crises pile on. Remittances keep 60% afloat with extras like avocados, but millions without them face impossible choices, beans or sugar. Comedians are bearing the ration book in skits, and as shortage is deep in, families wonder how much worse it gets before something breaks.