Cuba's Labor Minister, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, has been forced to resign after a wave of backlash caused by her statements during a session of the National Assembly, where she denied the existence of beggars on the communist-run island.
Feitó Cabrera stated that there were no beggars in Cuba and that people seen scavenging in garbage actually do so knowingly to earn “easy money.” She also added that they are “illegal participants in the recycling service.”
These comments provoked great anger at home and abroad, seen as an arrogant display and disconnected from the difficult economic reality experienced by Cuban citizens, writes A2 CNN. Images of people begging for food in garbage cans or sleeping on the streets have become commonplace, while the country faces shortages of food, medicine, fuel and frequent power outages.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel reacted to the minister's comments, without mentioning her by name, stressing that the leadership should not behave with "contempt" towards the people or be "detached from reality."
A group of Cuban intellectuals and activists signed a public letter demanding her dismissal and calling the statement "an insult to the Cuban people."
In an unusual act for a country where public protests and criticism of the government are prohibited by law and often punishable by imprisonment, the swift and open reaction to Feitó Cabrera testified to the shock she caused in public opinion. Her resignation was immediately accepted by the Communist Party and the Cuban government. (A2 Televizion)
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