The States of Social Right in Cuba. Report #3 (2020)

The third ODS-Cuba (Social Rights Observatory) report closes a research cycle aimed at reporting about the reality of social rights in Cuba. It provides a temporary series of unquestionable value for a variety of organizations and entities, both public and private, that are interested in monitoring the development of these rights in Cuba. The data collection has happened through meticulous efforts by our observers and collaborators on the island, who have professionally collected data, experiences, and perceptions of a vast and representative number of Cubans.

The report sheds light on the difficult Cuban socio-economic situation, which does not allow a decent standard of living and personal fulfilment; this situation has worsened over the last year according to this report.

For example, there has been a 45% increase in the number of households living on monthly incomes below 1,000 Cuban pesos ($40), more than 75% of respondents are experiencing a severe to moderate situation of scarcity and 40% even struggle to buy the most essential to survive. Another critical fact relates to the access of drinking water. Findings reveal that 83% of Cubans don’t have access to a stable service provision and households relaying on constant access dropped from 32% to only 14%. About 46% of houses in Cuba need to be repaired while another 11% are in danger of collapsing.

Many of these findings coincide across the three studies conducted on the social rights of Cubans, who also have to carry the burden of the Covid-19 situation.

Therefore, we have added a question about how Cubans believe that some of the serious problems that affect them today regarding household income, food, and access to medicine, will develop in the future.