HAVANA TIMES – Labor Minister Marta Elena Feito tried her best to defend the government’s separate reality regarding life in today’s Cuba. However, she went too far and paid the price.
On Monday, Feito had told a committee meeting of the National Assembly that “There are no beggars” in Cuba and thus the ones people see everyday on the streets are “disguised”. She labeled them “drunks, impostors, and illegal workers,” looking to take advantage of the system.
While President Miguel Díaz Canel and the Communist Party leadership maintain that “no one is left behind or abandoned” in Cuba, denying the severe crisis in the country is no longer part of their rhetoric. Blaming outside forces for failed economic policies, topped by US sanctions, is still the accepted justification, even if the credibility of that argument has been waning for a long time.
The “illegal” alternative press and social media present the on the ground reality of an impoverished population daily. The graphic proof can no longer be denied. Thus, Feito crossed a red line, even for the Cuban president, in trying to blame the destitute for the government’s failures. The reactions at home and abroad were so devastating that within 24 hours Diaz Canel had fired Feito.
In announcing Feito’s dismissal, the Communist Party government stated: “The comrade acknowledged her mistakes and submitted her resignation.”
Whether this wake-up call to insensitivity turns into real social protection for those falling through government safety net remains to be seen.
