The Utopia of Living on a Salary in Cuba

[El Presidente]

The Utopia of Living on a Salary in Cuba

March 4, 2026

“I didn’t even notice when I got paid”

Cuban workers. File Photo: cubaencuentro.com

By Amado Viera

HAVANA TIMES – Each month, Yunaika sets aside between 200 and 300 pesos (around 50 cents in US dollars) to contribute to small collections organized at the school where her nine-year-old son studies.

The most recent one, in February, aimed to buy a new lock for the boy’s classroom and pay a carpenter to install it and fix the door. Earlier collections had been used to purchase new lights for the room, cleaning supplies, and to repair chairs and desks.

Many years ago, the Cuban government stopped taking responsibility for those small improvements, which became the responsibility of the students’ families. Some schools still have a caretaker to handle maintenance, but even in those cases the materials they work with must be provided by the parents, who also often give them payments or gifts as a form of encouragement.

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