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14 intervene

The sugar arrived this Wednesday at the warehouses of some municipalities of Havana, the luckiest ones, since others were left without the two pounds of the product, which is arriving this February “in fractions,” according to information released by the Ministry of Internal Trade that rather resembles a war report, with a list of fallen and missing people included.

The January quota of this product, historically linked to Cuba’s economic strength, as reflected in the extensive obituary-like article dedicated to it today Cubadebatehas reached eleven of the island’s provinces, but Pinar del Río, Guantánamo, Matanzas, Villa Clara and Holguín were left without it, which only cited those who received it and left the rest at the mercy of “the production and delivery of the industry”.

The worst thing is that for the current month, February, the delivery of the four pounds planned has begun in one more province, Guantánamo. The rest of the territories are not there and are not expected.

[[QUOTE:El Ministerio ha atribuido al mal tiempo los retrasos en la entrega de una larga lista de productos en su nota, a pesar de que el temporal solo afectó a una pequeña parte de la Isla]]The Ministry has attributed the delays in the delivery of a long list of products to bad weather in its note, despite the fact that the storm only affected a small part of the Island. The other cause – apparently more logical – is the ” delays in the timely availability of inventories”.

Another of the major products affected, due to its weight in the usual Cuban diet, is rice. The seven pounds corresponding to January were delivered, but it was not – always according to the list – until February 6 and 7 that they arrived in Pinar del Río, Matanzas and Las Tunas, while in Holguín, Guantánamo and Granma they will still have to wait for on the 10th and 12th.

The authorities affirm that the February distribution is assured, since two ships will arrive with the imported product, but delivery – also “fractionated” – has only begun in part of Artemisa, Mayabeque, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila, two municipalities from Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba and Isla de la Juventud.

Another product that arrives at the port is the pea, supposedly leaving distribution “assured” for February, while January, although it is already behind us, is still half done, since delivery has only been completed in Havana, Mayabeque, Ciego de Ávila, Holguín , Guantánamo and Isla de la Juventud; The rest will have to hope to receive everything in February.

Coffee, oil and salt are missing more than they arrive. The first two, in fact, have not been seen in Las Tunas since December. “At any moment they start writing things down with an updated date and eat the month they owe,” a source in the province ironically tells this newspaper. The Ministry explains that there is salt to cover the distribution of the last three months and that the distribution has just begun throughout the Island.

As for oil, the one corresponding to January is now being distributed in all the provinces except Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila, Santiago de Cuba and Isla de la Juventud, where it has already concluded. In Havana, delivery has begun directly for the first two months of the year. The rest have to wait and trust that “it will be secured within the month.”

As for coffee, another of the once purely Cuban products and currently made up of a mixture of the grain and the pea – undrinkable for many – the only thing that is known is that production has been concluded to “recover the delays from December.” In Mayabeque, Cienfuegos, Ciego de Ávila, Holguín, Guantánamo and Isla de la Juventud the delivery has already concluded and in Havana something nice happened yesterday, when the wineries began to distribute the product in spaghetti bags, according to what was circulated on social networks.

[[QUOTE:”En cualquier momento empiezan a anotar las cosas con fecha actualizada y se comen el mes que deben”, ironiza una fuente]]Milk, another of the products whose absence raises blisters after decades of insistence that the Revolution would guarantee a glass to each child, continues to be in powder form for citizens in general, except in some territories. Deliveries, the note states, are “insured” for children from 1 to 2 years old in Pinar del Río and Havana and those for babies between 0 and 6 months are being distributed, which is guaranteed until the 25th.

There are also delays in compote, in some areas of the Island, and cleaning products, and only beans are being delivered, of which 20 ounces for February and March will begin distribution. However, the animal protein block does not raise its head, with the exception of eggs. Both the chicken and the beef for children corresponding to January have yet to be delivered and talking about the February one – presumably assured – sounds like science fiction, as can be seen in the many reactions that the note generated.

To the dozens of comments that deny deliveries to its warehouses, the Ministry responds – whenever it does – that the delivery is in progress and that we must wait. Regarding others, he remains silent, as in the case of one of the harshest that has been published.

“In other words, milk up to 7 years old is history. I remember that in 93-94 we could boast that, despite the regrets, that was certain.”

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