14ymedio, Julio César Contreras, Cienfuegos 24 August 24, 2024 — Upon entering Plaza del Mercado (Market Square), located on Santa Cruz Street in Cienfuegos, one is confronted with a sad, neglected space. In addition to the usual unsanitary conditions, which extend even to the way food is handled, there are the often empty shelves. This is not due to a scarcity of food, though that is indeed in short supply, but because of constant inspections and government actions that have scared away vendors.
“The truth is that what little there is here is of very poor quality,” says Anselmo, a 73-year-old retiree from Cienfuegos. He points to bruised avocados arranged haphazardly on a counter. “They’re asking 60, 70 and even 80 pesos for them but I am not going spend money on something I can’t use,” he says.
“I came to see if they had anything, knowing that there’s not much to buy here, but I didn’t expect it all to be so bare,” Anselmo complains. Most of what little the province gets, he points out, officials allocate to the Calzada open-air market, which is held once a week. At the moment, the only thing for sale at Market Square is rice for 170 pesos a pound and black beans for 320. “You have to be watch the scales very closely because they’re only too happy to shortchange you a few ounces,” he warns.
Anselmo does not give up. After running his finger through the bills in his wallet, one of the salesmen with whom he has “done business”