{"id":211197,"date":"2019-12-23T08:20:29","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T13:20:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=211197"},"modified":"2019-12-23T08:20:29","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T13:20:29","slug":"cuba-to-study-withdrawing-subsidized-food-to-residents-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuba-to-study-withdrawing-subsidized-food-to-residents-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba to study withdrawing subsidized food to residents abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cuban government will study the possibility of withdrawing the right to receive the monthly quota of subsidized food of citizens who remain outside the country for long periods, in an effort to save the State expenses.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Cuban family food basket sells basic products such as rice, oil, bread and eggs at symbolic prices and is distributed through a ration book, an anachronism that has become one of the biggest headaches for the authorities due to its high cost.<\/span><\/p>\n

This subsidy is still essential for the lower income sectors in Cuba and in the persistent crises of shortages it becomes the only way of having a constant supply of some food products.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the thousands of Cuban immigrants leave their \u201cration book\u201d to their relatives or friends on the island, who continue to collect the products for people who are no longer in the country, and consume them or sell them to increase their income.<\/span><\/p>\n

Case by case<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposal was approved this Friday at the last plenary meeting of the <\/span>National Assembly<\/span><\/a>, when a deputy from Havana asked that \u201cthe possibility that people who leave the country for a long time do not continue to receive the standardized family basic food basket, since it implies large expenses (to the State),\u201d be studied<\/span><\/p>\n

Minister of Domestic Trade Betsy D\u00edaz responded that they have already assessed similar proposals and agreed that they should issue new regulations that define the minimum term to terminate the \u201cconsumer registry,\u201d a list that controls family households and their composition.<\/span><\/p>\n

D\u00edaz insisted, however, that the procedure must be updated taking into account the reasons for extended stays outside the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are those who leave on a mission and it is not always for recreational reasons,\u201d she said referring to the professionals that Cuba sends to work in other nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Each family receives a \u201cration book,\u201d where their members and the food they receive are recorded. The head of the household is the one who has so far the power to decide to insert or take out persons in the document.<\/span><\/p>\n

This procedure has allowed thousands of Cubans who have immigrated or spend long periods outside the island to continue receiving the subsidy, with the consequent expense for the coffers of the government, which seeks ways to save in the middle of one of the worst crisis in recent decades<\/span><\/p>\n

La \u201clibreta\u201d \u00bf50 a\u00f1os m\u00e1s?<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n