John AdoyiCuba’s Minister of Labour and Social Security, Marta Elena Feitó Cabrera, has resigned following widespread backlash over her claim that there are no beggars in the country.
The statement has drawn sharp criticisms from the public.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelFeitó, who was appointed to the role in October 2019, made the controversial remarks during a National Assembly committee session on Monday.
She asserted that “in Cuba there are no beggars” and described those seen begging as people “disguised as beggars” who avoid legitimate work, clean windscreens at traffic lights or scavenge through rubbish, allegedly using the proceeds to drink alcohol or sell items informally.
The comments provoked swift outrage. Images of elderly people begging or collecting waste have become increasingly common across Cuba, where inflation and economic contraction have deepened poverty, according to ABC news.
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The country’s President, Miguel Díaz-Canel appeared to rebuke Feitó in a post on social media, stating, “The lack of sensitivity in addressing vulnerability is highly questionable. The Revolution cannot leave anyone behind.” Addressing parliament later, he acknowledged that people living in such conditions were not enemies but “concrete expressions of social inequality”.
Feitó submitted her resignation on Tuesday, which was accepted the same day by the Communist Party’s Political Bureau and the Council of State. The official statement noted that she had recognised her errors and admitted her comments lacked objectivity and sensitivity.
Her resignation marks a rare moment of accountability at the highest level of Cuban governance. It comes at a time of deep economic distress: the economy contracted by 1.1 per cent in 2024 and has shrunk by 11 per cent over the past five years. Inflation has further eroded the value of pensions and wages.
Cuban retirees which form about 25 Percent of the country’s population now receive an average monthly pension of about five US dollars which is insufficient to cover basic needs.
Feitó’s departure leaves a key post vacant in a ministry central to managing social welfare, at a time when Cubans are increasingly demanding more effective responses to hardship and inequality.
