The Cuban Minister of Labor and Social Security, Martha Elena Feitó Cabrera, ignited a significant controversy during her speech at the National Assembly (July 14, 2025) by making statements that deny and stigmatize social realities:
🔴 Direct quotes from Feitó
1. On windshield cleaners:
“They are not homeless… it’s a person who has sought an easy way of life… possibly with that money they are going to drink alcoholic beverages.”
2. On beggars:
“We’ve seen people who seem to be beggars… they are disguised. There are no beggars in Cuba… It’s an easy way of life to avoid work.”
3. On garbage collectors:
“Those people… are not looking for food… they are illegal self-employeds… violating tax laws.”
⚖️ Ethical and ideological analysis: Discrimination and revolutionary contradiction
– Stigmatization of the vulnerable: By linking informal work with “illegality,” “easy life,” and “alcoholism,” Feitó criminalized survival strategies in the midst of an economic crisis acknowledged by the government.
– Denial of poverty: Claiming that “there are no beggars” and that they are “disguised” ignores the documented social deterioration in Cuban policies like the Attention to Demographic Dynamics (2022).
– Ideological contradiction: Her discourse, akin to far-right stereotypes (blaming the poor instead of the system), conflicts with the humanistic principles of the Revolution.
🚨 Government reaction: Rectification and resignation
President Miguel Díaz-Canel responded firmly:
– “The Revolution is not defended by hiding problems.”
– “The Revolution is not ashamed of its problems; we resolve them when we recognize them.”
(Official statements published in @CubaXSiempre).
Hours later, Feitó was dismissed after acknowledging her “mistakes” before the Political Bureau. The State Council criticized her “lack of objectivity and sensitivity” when addressing complex social phenomena.
💡 Conclusion
Her resignation highlights the tension between official rhetoric and Cuban reality. While the government corrected Feitó’s statements, her words reveal a dangerous habit among some parts of the ministerial elite in Cuba: denying problems instead of solving them. As Díaz-Canel stated: “We advance only when we face the truth.”