| In a country without official poverty statistics, sociologists estimate that up to 45% of the population lives in precarious conditions. Homelessness is now a visible part of the urban landscape. |
July 28.– On the streets of Havana, the sight of people rummaging through garbage for food has become commonplace. William Abel Photo), 62, is one of them. Since his home collapsed two years ago, he's been sleeping outdoors and surviving by scavenging in dumpsters. "I've been rummaging through garbage dumpsters for two years to eat," he said.
Abel is not an isolated case. The increasingly common presence of homeless people reflects the profound deterioration of the Cuban economy, considered by analysts to be the worst crisis in more than three decades. Food shortages, rampant inflation, and the collapse of social services have forced thousands of Cubans into poverty.
On an island where the regime avoids acknowledging the existence of poverty with precise figures or terms, the phenomenon is worsening as authorities insist on using euphemisms like “vulnerable people .”
Officially, 350,000 people receive social assistance in Cuba, according to data from the dictatorship itself. However, experts say this figure falls far short of the true magnitude of the crisis.
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