Cuban president addresses anger over 'there are no beggars' claim
Labor Minister Marta Elena Feito on Monday told a parliamentary committee meeting about measures to address poverty that people rummaging for food in garbage bins are in fact "disguised as beggars."
"When you look at their hands, when you look at the clothes those people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars, they are not beggars. In Cuba, there are no beggars," she said in statements broadcast live on state television.
Social media users in the communist nation reacted with outrage, posting photos of people eating out of trash cans, while economist Pedro Monreal commented on X that there are "people disguised as 'ministers'" in Cuba.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel entered the fray on X Tuesday to lambast Feito's "lack of sensitivity."
He later told a parliamentary session that "none of us can act with arrogance, act with pretense, disconnected from the realities we live in."
Beggars, added Diaz-Canel, are "concrete expressions of social inequalities and the problems" Cuba faces.
Poverty levels have increased sharply as the Caribbean country reckons with its worst economic crisis in three decades, marked by shortages of food, medicine and fuel and daily power blackouts.
Observers blame a combination of US sanctions, domestic mismanagement of the economy, and the Covid-19 pandemic tanking the nation's vital tourist industry.
Last year, the government said there were 189,000 families and 350,000 individuals out of a population of 9.7 million living in "vulnerable" conditions and benefiting from social assistance programs.
AFP has observed a marked increase in the last two years of homeless people and beggars on the streets of a country where the average monthly salary is less than $20 at the unofficial exchange rate.
Cuba's economy shrunk for the second consecutive year in 2024, contracting 1.1 percent compared to 1.9 percent in 2023.
lp/val/mlr/jgc
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
5 takeaways from Trump's tariff tussle with Brazil
President Trump is seeking to intervene in a political fight roiling Brazil, demanding the country drop its prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro or face a 50 percent tariff on imports to the U.S. 'The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace,' Trump wrote in a letter to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!' Trump cited several other reasons for imposing the tariff, including rulings from the country's Supreme Court on American social media companies and what he claimed was a trade deficit with Brazil. The U.S. in fact has a trade surplus with Brazil. But Trump's particular focus on Bolsonaro, who is facing criminal charges over an alleged coup following claims of a stolen election, is a particularly pointed step in a months-long series of tariff threats that have sought to twist the arms of foreign countries. Bolsonaro served as Brazil's president from 2019 to 2022 until he lost to Lula in the presidential election. After he questioned the veracity of the results, thousands of his supporters stormed the country's Supreme Court, Congress and presidential headquarters. Prosecutors called it an attempted coup, and Bolsonaro is now on trial facing criminal charges. Here are five things to know about Trump's latest tariff threat. Lula pushes back Lula has vowed to retaliate if the U.S. goes ahead with the tariff, which Trump said will start Aug. 1. He issued a forceful statement Wednesday night defending the independence of Brazil's judiciary. 'Brazil is a sovereign nation with independent institutions and will not accept any form of tutelage,' Lula wrote on social media. 'The judicial proceedings against those responsible for planning the coup d'état fall exclusively under the jurisdiction of Brazil's Judicial Branch and, as such, are not subject to any interference or threats that could compromise the independence of national institutions,' he continued. Lula has no power to shape Brazil's Supreme Court proceedings against Bolsonaro. Staring down the possibility of tariffs, he has prepared a task force to analyze possible reciprocal levies against the U.S., Bloomberg reported Thursday. Several people close to the Brazilian president also said that he could use a fight with Trump to bolster his sagging approval rating ahead of the 2026 presidential election, the outlet reported. US is Brazil's No. 2 export partner The U.S. runs a trade surplus with Brazil, meaning it exports more goods than it imports. Brazil's biggest export partner is China, not the U.S., which comes in at number two. Brazil, however, is a significant supplier of coffee for the U.S., accounting for about $2.4 billion — about a quarter of America's total coffee imports — between May 2024 and April 2025. Coffee prices surged on Thursday after Trump's tariff announcement. Combined with additional tariffs on Vietnam, another top coffee producer, some industry watchers warn that coffee prices could rise for American consumers. Brazil is also among the countries impacted by Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum. Trump-Bolsonaro bromance persists Trump and Bolsonaro have enjoyed a warm relationship, especially when the two men overlapped in office. Bolsonaro has been nicknamed 'Trump of the Tropics,' and the two men effectively backed each other's bid for reelection after their first terms — and when they lost, they both called into question the validity of their respective results. Bolsonaro's son Eduardo also has close ties to several Trump advisers, including MAGA strategist Steve Bannon and Donald Trump Jr., Time reported. Bolsonaro even decamped to Florida after his supporters stormed Brazilian government buildings in an attempt to restore him to power. He largely kept a low profile, posting on TikTok and attending a smattering of events. President Trump came to Bolsonaro's defense earlier this week, comparing the former Brazilian president's legal challenges to his own stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol. 'LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday. Tariff threats to twist arms Trump's announcement is the latest of several attempts to wield the threat of a tariff with the goal of forcing a domestic policy change unrelated to trade. In January, Trump threatened tariffs and visa restrictions on Colombia after President Gustavo Petro's decision to reject two Colombia-bound airplanes carrying deportees from the U.S. Colombia eventually agreed to accept deportation flights as Trump backed down from his tariff posture. Trump's imposition of tariffs on Mexico and Canada in February were also intended to spur the two countries to crack down on illegal immigration and the flow of fentanyl and other drugs across both the northern and southern borders, although the vast majority of the drug trade comes from the south. Other more ambitious trade policies, including Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs, remain in limbo. After the White House promised '90 deals in 90 days' to implement a worldwide tariff scheme, Trump's administration has punted on issuing firm plans until at least August. Levy comes amid domestic legal challenges In ordering many of his tariffs, Trump has relied on a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the president to regulate a broad array of economic matters following a declaration of a national emergency. The administration has argued that long-standing American trade deficits qualify as such an emergency. A federal court in May struck down the tariffs based on that justification, but they have been allowed to remain in effect as the administration pursues an appeal. The Supreme Court rebuffed an effort to fast-track the case in June. Nearly 200 Democratic lawmakers signed on to a brief supporting the lawsuit after Trump hit Brazil with the tariffs, arguing that the IEEPA does not give Trump any power to issue the levies. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump: ‘I'll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro'
President Trump rallied in defense of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial in Brazil's Supreme Court on charges that he plotted a coup in 2022 after losing the election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'I'll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely. The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil — It's called an Election. LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!' Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform. Trump's 'witch hunt' reference harks back to rhetoric the president has used to characterize investigations into his own alleged misconduct in recent years. Trump nodded to the similarities in his post Monday. 'This is nothing more, or less, than an attack on a Political Opponent — Something I know much about! It happened to me, times 10, and now our Country is the 'HOTTEST' in the World! The Great People of Brazil will not stand for what they are doing to their former President,' Trump wrote. Trump defended Bolsonaro as 'a strong Leader, who truly loved his Country,' and said, 'Brazil is doing a terrible thing on their treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro.' 'I have watched, as has the World, as they have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year! He is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,' Trump added. Lula appeared to respond to Trump's remarks in a post on social platform X. 'The defense of democracy in Brazil is a matter for Brazilians. We are a sovereign country. We do not accept interference or guardianship from anyone. We have solid and independent institutions,' Lula wrote, according to a translation of the statement. 'No one is above the law. Above all, those who attack freedom and the rule of law,' he added. Bolsonaro and 33 allies are facing trial over an alleged plot to overturn the 2022 presidential election results and remain in power. They were charged with five counts related to the plan. The former president has denied the allegations; he claims he's the target of political persecution. He could face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. The far-right leader is barred from running for office until 2030. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court ruled last year that he abused his political power and made baseless claims about the country's electronic voting system. The Associated Press contributed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump slaps 50 percent tariff on Brazil, citing Bolsonaro prosecution
President Trump on Wednesday announced plans to impose a 50 percent tariff on all goods from Brazil, in part due to the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro over an alleged plot to remain in power after losing an election. Trump, who has criticized Brazil's treatment of Bolsonaro in recent days, cited the ongoing trial in a letter to current Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. 'The way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace. This Trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!' Trump wrote. The president said the U.S. would impose a 50 percent tariff on Brazil, effective Aug. 1, 'due in part to Brazil's insidious attacks on Free Elections and the fundamental Free Speech Rights of Americans.' Trump also cited Brazil's 'Tariff, and Non-Tariff, Policies and Trade Barriers.' This week, Trump announced steep tariffs against more than a dozen other nations that will go into effect on Aug. 1, following through on 'reciprocal' tariffs he first announced in April. The letter to Brazil underscores that Trump is not basing his tariffs against other nations solely on economic policy, but that it may also be influenced by personal animus. Earlier Wednesday, Trump said he was calculating tariff rates based on 'common sense, based on deficits, based on how we've been treated over the years.' Trump and Bolsonaro have expressed mutual admiration in the past, and Bolsonaro's efforts to remain in power carried echoes of Trump's refusal to concede after losing the 2020 election. Bolsonaro and dozens of allies were charged in February in connection with a plot to remain in power after the 2022 election. Bolsonaro, who has claimed he is being politically targeted, testified in the trial last month. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
