KEY POINTS:
• Cuban Labour and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera resigned after claiming “there are no beggars in Cuba” according to Al Jazeera on July 16, 2025 • President Miguel DÃaz-Canel criticized the minister’s “lack of sensitivity” without naming her directly, as reported by ABC News on July 16, 2025
• According to CiberCuba on July 14, 2025, nearly 40% of Cuban retirees survive on minimum pensions of 1,528 pesos monthly, equivalent to roughly $5 at informal exchange rates
Cuban Minister of Labor and Social Security Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera resigned Tuesday following widespread criticism of her comments denying the existence of beggars in Cuba, a nation grappling with severe economic hardship.
According to the Associated Press on July 16, 2025, Feitó made the controversial remarks Monday before deputies in a National Assembly committee. Al Jazeera reported on July 16, 2025 that the minister stated: “They are disguised as beggars. They are not beggars,” adding that “In Cuba there are no beggars” as quoted by the Associated Press.
Cuba’s presidency announced the resignation on social media Wednesday, with Al Jazeera reporting on July 16, 2025 that Feito had “acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation” over her “lack of objectivity and sensitivity.”
The minister’s comments sparked immediate backlash from Cubans both on the island and abroad. Cuban economist Pedro Monreal responded sarcastically on X, writing “Perhaps there are also people disguised as ‘ministers'” according to Cuba Headlines on July 14, 2025.
Even President Miguel DÃaz-Canel weighed in with criticism. ABC News reported on July 16, 2025 that without mentioning her by name, DÃaz-Canel said on his X account: “the lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The revolution cannot leave anyone behind; that is our motto, our militant responsibility.”
The controversy unfolds against the backdrop of Cuba’s deepening economic crisis. According to CiberCuba on July 14, 2025, nearly 40% of retirees in Cuba receive the minimum pension of 1,528 pesos per month. ABC News reported on July 16, 2025 that this pension amounts to roughly $5 on the informal market, insufficient to cover basic necessities.
The economic situation has deteriorated significantly in recent years. ABC News reported on July 16, 2025 that Cuban authorities announced the country’s gross domestic product fell by 1.1% in 2024, accumulating a decline of 11% over the past five years.
According to Cuba Headlines on July 14, 2025, the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights found that 89% of Cuban families live in extreme poverty. The University of Navarra’s Global Affairs analysis stated that Cuba is experiencing “the worst crisis in the history of independent Cuba,” with extreme poverty having reached 88% in 2023.
The dire economic conditions have made scenes of people searching through garbage and sleeping in doorways increasingly common across the island. Havana Times reported on March 14, 2024 that the minimum retirement pension of 1,528 pesos is equivalent to $12.70 at the official exchange rate but worth less than $5 at informal rates used for most goods and services.
CiberCuba documented on July 14, 2025 how a young Cuban demonstrated on TikTok that the minimum pension could only purchase “a small bag of noodles and a bottle of oil,” highlighting the severe limitations retirees face in meeting basic nutritional needs.
The resignation represents an unusual instance of public accountability in Cuba’s one-party system, where anti-government protests are banned by law and open dissent can result in imprisonment. The swift response to public criticism and the president’s rebuke of a sitting minister demonstrate the sensitivity of poverty issues as the economic crisis deepens.
Feitó had served as Minister of Labor and Social Security since 2019, according to Cuba Headlines. Her departure comes as Cuba continues to face food shortages, frequent power outages, and a scarcity of basic medicines, conditions that have driven record numbers of Cubans to emigrate in search of better economic opportunities.
