Latest news with #MartaElenaFeito
Time of India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Cuba fires labour minister for calling all beggars fakes
A woman searches through a dumpster looking for useful items, in Havana, Cuba. (Picture credit: AP) HAVANA: The Cuban government fired its labour minister after she was publicly rebuked by the president for saying Cuba's beggars were all phonies in disguise. A brief announcement Tuesday evening said labour and social security minister Marta Elena Feito had demonstrated a lack of 'objectivity and sensitivity on topics that are currently central to political and governmental policy'. The minister's remarks on live television Monday were circulated on social media and became a lightning rod for popular frustration with years of economic crisis. 'We have seen people who appear to be beggars, but when you look at their hands, when you look at the clothes they wear, they are disguised as beggars ... In Cuba, there are no beggars,' she said. President Miguel Diaz-Canel said the comments showed a lack of understanding of the roots of poverty. 'The vulnerable are not our enemies.' REUTERS
Straits Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Cuba fires minister who said beggars were all fakes
HAVANA - The Cuban government fired its labor minister after she was publicly rebuked by the president for saying the country's beggars were all phonies in disguise. A brief announcement Tuesday evening said Labor and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito had demonstrated a lack of "objectivity and sensitivity on topics that are currently central to political and governmental policy". The minister's remarks on live television on Monday were widely circulated on social media and became a lightning rod for popular frustration with years of economic crisis. "We have seen people who appear to be beggars, but when you look at their hands, when you look at the clothes those people wear, they are disguised as beggars ... In Cuba, there are no beggars," Feito said. "They have found an easy way of life, to make money and not to work as is appropriate." President Miguel Diaz-Canel addressed the comments in his own appearance before the committee the next day, saying they showed a lack of empathy and understanding of the roots of poverty. "These people, who we sometimes describe as homeless or linked to begging, are actually concrete expressions of the social inequalities and the accumulated problems we face," the president said. "The vulnerable are not our enemies." REUTERS Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Over 600 Telegram groups in Singapore selling, advertising vapes removed by HSA Singapore 2 weeks' jail for man caught smuggling over 1,800 vapes and pods into Singapore Singapore Jail for man who fatally hit his own daughter, 2, while driving van without licence Singapore ComfortDelGro to introduce new taxi cancellation, waiting fee policy Singapore Here comes the sun: Less rain, more warm days in second half of July Singapore Strong argument for cockpit video recording, says Iata chief in wake of Air India crash report Singapore Baby died after mum took abortion pills and gave birth in toilet; coroner records an open verdict Business Tycoon Robert Kuok's daughter Kuok Hui Kwong appointed CEO of Shangri-La Asia
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuban minister resigns after downplaying poverty
The labor minister in economically depressed Cuba resigned Tuesday amid an uproar over her claim that people rummaging through garbage cans were only pretending to be poor and not truly desperate. Such scenes of acute need are common in Cuba, especially in Havana, as people in the communist run country grapple with runaway inflation, meager wages and food shortages, causing some to resort to panhandling or eating out of the trash. The labor minister who denied this, Marta Elena Feito, who also oversees the social security system, "acknowledged her mistake and tendered her resignation," Cuban state media said Tuesday, adding that she had shown a "lack of objectivity and sensitivity." On Monday, Feito told a parliamentary committee meeting about measures to address poverty that people rummaging for food in garbage bins are in fact dressed up to look like 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/dw/jgc
Int'l Business Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
Cuban Minister Resigns After Downplaying Poverty
The labor minister in economically depressed Cuba resigned Tuesday amid an uproar over her claim that people rummaging through garbage cans were only pretending to be poor and not truly desperate. Such scenes of acute need are common in Cuba, especially in Havana, as people in the communist run country grapple with runaway inflation, meager wages and food shortages, causing some to resort to panhandling or eating out of the trash. The labor minister who denied this, Marta Elena Feito, who also oversees the social security system, "acknowledged her mistake and tendered her resignation," Cuban state media said Tuesday, adding that she had shown a "lack of objectivity and sensitivity." On Monday, Feito told a parliamentary committee meeting about measures to address poverty that people rummaging for food in garbage bins are in fact dressed up to look like 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. Cuba's economy shrunk for the second consecutive year in 2024 AFP
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Cuban president addresses anger over 'there are no beggars' claim
Cuba's president was forced to step in Tuesday after a minister's assertion that "there are no beggars" caused an uproar on the economic crisis-stricken island. 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.
