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An AmericasBarometer survey inside Cuba puts food insecurity at 80%

The report "Cuba in Crisis: What the 2026 AmericasBarometer Reveals", presented at Florida International University, found that eight in ten respondents experienced food insecurity in the three months before the survey, according to Martí Noticias.

The report was presented at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami by researchers from several academic institutions. According to Martí Noticias, it is the first time the survey has been conducted inside Cuba. Roughly eight in ten respondents reported food insecurity in the three months before the study, along with hardship caused by the blackouts.

José Miguel Cruz, interim director of FIU's Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center, said economic hardship is respondents' main concern: "The big challenge is, for example, that 80 percent of Cubans have faced food insecurity in the last three months", he said in remarks translated by Yamacoa. Asked about priorities, 69% chose economic recovery and 31% political reform.

Roughly seven in ten respondents named the Cuban government and its domestic policies as responsible for the country's economic and social situation. Sebastián A. Arcos, director of FIU's Cuban Research Institute, summed it up: "Seventy percent. In other words, they are perfectly clear about it", in remarks translated by Yamacoa.

Some 64% of respondents consider Cuba not very democratic or not democratic at all, while support for democracy as a form of government reaches 39%. More than half said they intend to leave the country in the coming years, a higher share than in other Latin American countries covered by the study. Households receiving remittances report relatively better material conditions and, at the same time, stronger intentions to emigrate.

Sources: Martí Noticias

Data updated: 2026-11-12T04:15:00.000Z

An AmericasBarometer survey inside Cuba puts food insecurity at 80% | Yamacoa Observatory