“They didn’t even wait for 15 days to remove my son from the notebook.” “The same thing happened with my niece, my sister didn’t have work for a month and the game became even more difficult.” Testimony of Moura and Miguel, relatives of young people living in Havana who recently emigrated, some call for express clearance from the Consumer Registry (OFICODA), whose office is in charge of controlling the ration book in Cuba .
It’s no secret that the food included in the regulated distribution is not enough even for ten days of the month, but the deprivation of this document adds more discomfort to the table and pocket of Cubans. Prices are prohibitive amid acute shortages on the black market, and on a regular basis as well. Following the 11J protests, in an attempt to quell the discontent, the government handed out “extraordinary notebooks” to more than 60,000 families who did not have them.
With the most recent immigration law, the authorities waited one year, 11 months and 29 days to notify OFICODA and proceed with the discharge, but this began to change following the publication of Resolution 47/2021 of the Ministry of Commerce and Interior , which established “the ex officio cancellation of the supply book for residents in Cuba who die, leave the country for more than three months or enter prison or a nursing home.”
In this sense, the authorities have complained of “frauds and illegalities”. Also that the same person was in two notebooks. Now, it does not matter whether it is someone who travels with the intention of emigration or a professional whose services the government exports, the order for cancellation of account is there.
In theory, Cuban citizens and foreigners permanently living on the island are beneficiaries of the Supply Book.
According to official statistics, OFICODAs process about three million procedures annually. In late December 2020 and early 2021, when rumors of fines of up to 5,000 pesos worried Cubans, state offices unsubscribed more than 220,000 users who had been out of the country for periods of more than 90 days. were out This was reported by Francisco Silva Herrera, MINCIN’s general director of merchandise sales.
Even though the largest percentage of these casualties occurred after the summons issued by OFICODA, the official observed that “more than 18,500 people came, to fulfill their duty as citizens, to one of their nuclei without obtaining prior information”. to discharge the member.” Silva himself denied the existence of a rule that imposes economic sanctions on the heads of the nucleus leaving what is established.
Consumer obligations were already established in MINCIN Resolution 78/91, prior to the one signed by Minister Betsy Diaz Velazquez. In the current Resolution 47/2021, Article 15 establishes that the withdrawal from the control book for the sale of food products of the members of the nucleus is carried out according to the following terms and conditions:
“In case of dead persons, the discharge is processed within 15 business days after death; If the person is imprisoned in prisons, the discharge is processed within ten working days after three months of imprisonment; When the person located in the nursing home permanently, the discharge process is carried out before entering the home; when people leave the national territory temporarily for more than three months for reasons of work, study, cooperation or personal matters Let’s give”.
Finally, “when the removal or abandonment of housing is due to non-compliance with the resolution or final sentence issued by the competent authorities, the eviction is processed from ten working days after the eviction”.
However, the resolution has not been fully followed by the authorities that established it.
“I traveled with my parents in Madrid on Jan 25, 2023 for 20 days and it was mentioned in the visa that was granted to me, but on Feb 3 the messenger informed my brother that they have sent me sick, that information had reached the warehouse that nothing more than what was assigned to me could be shipped,” a man who identified himself as MJD told Diario de Cuba.
“He went to OFICODA and there they explained to him that as soon as you leave the airport, a notification is sent to OFICODA for the holiday, but this does not happen in all municipalities or all provinces,” he said. Added.
“Not even ten days have passed of the three months according to the resolution, nor has the quota for February reached me. Besides, I do not intend to stay anywhere for more than three months. When I return to Cuba, the signature Another process for me above and all because the laws are not followed,” he lamented.
However, another person said the situation at home is different: “I’ve been living in Russia for over a year, I’m from Villa Clara and my mother still gets my quota.”
“In Ciego de Avila they didn’t find out, my parents have been in the US for six months and they still get the quota, unless a neighbor bothers them,” said another person identified by the initials AO. .
The notebook celebrates its 60th anniversary in March 2022, after being created based on Law 1015 of 1962 by the Fidel Castro regime.
On that occasion, Sergio Angel, director of the Food Monitor program, which documents and denounces food insecurity in Cuba, told Diario de Cuba how difficult it is to talk about the celebration “when what is actually celebrated is the population.” Not the supply, but the control of it.”
In the words of the expert, “What began as a measure to ‘improve the distribution of supplies’ ended up becoming a policy of the State, which controls the population in the most intimate way through food.”
Despite the fact that through rationing the government today distributes to Cubans less than half of the products originally sold, and that most of these are not subsidized as a result of the ordering task’s economic package, the controls were increasingly tightened. is clear from
OFICODA digitization process started last year. With this the authorities promised “more effective control over the people entered in the ration book”.
According to Zahidi Alvarez Amador’s statements, the Oragi software—developed in partnership with the company Exteid—”digitizes the nuclei and the movements of consumers, a process that will eliminate mismanagement”.
The implementation of Oragi covers 80% of the 3,944,084 household units that have ration books across the country. Despite this data, some of the provinces showing the greatest progress in the digitization of this registry are: Havana, Pinar del Río, Artemisa, Camagüey, Guantanamo and the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud.
The process of digitization has become another headache for the residents of Havana. More than 5,000 Havana nuclei stopped receiving five products corresponding to the second cycle for the month of February. Affected Cubans did not appear in the digitized lists, an essential requirement for obtaining products in the notebook.
