Ration Book Contradicts Distribution Principles in Socialism.

Photos by Amauris Betancourt.

Raul Castro Ruz, President of the Council of State and the Council of Minister of the Cuban Republic and First Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) stated, in the Central Report to the 6th Congress of the Cuban Communist Party:

“Undoubtedly, the ration book and its removal spurred most of the contributions of the participants in the debates, and it is only natural. Two generations of Cubans have spent their lives under this rationing system that, despite its harmful egalitarian quality, has for four decades ensured every citizen access to basic food at highly subsidized derisory prices.”

“This distribution mechanism introduced in times of shortages during the 1960s, in the interest of providing equal protection to our people from those involved in speculation and hoarding with a lucrative spirit, has become in the course of the years an intolerable burden to the economy and discouraged work, in addition to eliciting various types of transgressions.”

The leaflet including the Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution passed last April 18th, states in the chapter on Social Policy:

174. The implementation of a slowly and gradual elimination of the Ration Card as a way of equal and controlled distribution at highly subsidized prices.”

Ration book store in the municipality of Rafael Freyre.

 Ration book store in the municipality of Holguín.