Cuba’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó-Cabrera, has stepped down following a wave of public outrage over her controversial remarks denying the existence of beggars in Cuba—comments made as the country grapples with a deepening economic crisis.
Feitó-Cabrera sparked fury during a National Assembly session earlier this week when she dismissed visible signs of growing poverty. “There are no beggars in Cuba,” she claimed, further suggesting that people searching through trash were “pretending to be beggars to make easy money.” She went on to label them “illegal participants in the recycling service.”
Her remarks triggered an immediate backlash, with critics across Cuban society condemning them as tone-deaf and detached from the daily struggles of ordinary citizens. Inflation, food shortages, power outages, and a wave of emigration have placed mounting pressure on Cuban households—realities that many said her comments blatantly ignored.
In response, Cuban activists and intellectuals issued an open letter demanding her dismissal, calling her words “an insult to the Cuban people.” Prominent economist Pedro Monreal joined the criticism on social media, writing, “There are people disguised as ministers,” in a pointed rebuke of her statements.
President Miguel Díaz-Canel indirectly addressed the controversy during the same parliamentary session, warning that officials must not “act with condescension” or appear “disconnected from the realities” of citizens. While he did not name Feitó-Cabrera directly, the message was widely interpreted as a public reprimand.
Her resignation was announced shortly thereafter and has since been accepted by both the Cuban Communist Party and the government.
Cuba does not release official data on homelessness or street begging, but the visible presence of individuals asking for food or money has grown in recent years—becoming a stark indicator of the country’s worsening socio-economic conditions. For many Cubans, Feitó-Cabrera’s remarks symbolized a broader disconnect between the political leadership and the everyday hardships faced by the population.
Her departure marks the latest high-profile resignation in a government struggling to maintain public trust as it confronts one of the most severe economic downturns in decades.
