The popular actor described the spokespersons of the restriction speech as the “ICE of the jama, Cuban style.”
LIMA, Peru – The Cuban actor Luis Alberto García He joined the debate after the controversy generated in the official program Cuadrando la Caja, where a regime official censored the consumption of rice and potatoes by Cubans, calling them non-native foods of the Island.
With a tone of mockery and various criticisms, the artist shared on Facebook a broad text in which he disagreed with “calling into question the nationalities and/or belongings of some members of the Creole community.”
Regarding the serious shortages and deep shortages that exist on the Island, García denounced that until now Cubans had become “accustomed to the partial or total disappearance” of many foods. “But suggesting that you take away their identity card, passport and remove them from the table seems to me to be a crime against culture and a very dangerous precedent,” he added.
The actor described the spokespeople of the restriction speech as “ICE de la jama, a la Cubana” and questioned whether they were also going to denature corn, tamales, coffee, guava, bread or, for that matter, bread with timba.
“I fear now that they will end up taking away the citizenship of the cattle, pigs, sheep, horses and chickens (THE EGGS!!!) because they did not live in the national territory when Rodrigo de Triana let out the famous cry,” the publication states.
Luis Alberto García acknowledged that he is recovering from chikungunya and highlighted that many popular products in Cuba are not native, among them Italian pizza, German beer, dogs and sausages from Europe, Mesoamerican avocado, or “high quality oil.”
“There should be good fish and native seafood, but there is no longer a fishing fleet like before and the little that is caught is not for the needy and vulnerable population but for visitors and solvents,” the artist stressed.
The origin of the controversy
The statements issued in the program Squaring the boxbroadcast by Cuban Television (state), have caused a strong controversy by questioning the place of central foods in the Cuban diet, such as potatoes and rice, in the midst of a prolonged production and supply crisis.
During an edition dedicated to food production in Cuba, officials and invited experts recognized that the country is unable to cover domestic demand and attributed this situation to structural, energy, financial and management factors, while defending a shift towards so-called “sustainable agriculture” and food sovereignty.
Among the guests were the engineer José Carlos Cordovés Urquiza, general director of industrial policy of the Ministry of the Food Industry, and the doctor of Sciences Roberto Caballero Grande, member of the National Executive Committee of the Cuban Association of Agricultural and Forestry Technicians.
The most controversial moment of the program came when addressing the Food Sovereignty and Nutrition Education Law and the consumption habits of the population. Caballero maintained that one of the problems is that in Cuba “we get used to eating things that are not typical of our country.” In that context he stated categorically: “The potato is not a product of Cuba.”
As he explained, it is a crop native to the Andes that requires high levels of inputs and imported seeds, which made producing it on the Island more expensive than its real cost. “More than half of what was stored in the refrigerator could not reach the consumer,” he said, alluding to losses due to lack of adequate infrastructure.
The specialist even related an anecdote to reinforce his argument: “An Italian once told me this, quite rightly. He told me, why do you spend so much money on potatoes if you have sweet potatoes, cassava, yams, taro?” he noted, adding that with the money invested in potatoes the country could be “flooded” with these traditional crops.
The criticism also extended to rice, another pillar of the Cuban diet. Caballero described the levels of consumption as “disproportionate” and stated: “We are not Asians. That is not a Cuban habit.” Although the presenter recalled that rice is part of current traditions, the guest responded that “that changes” and suggested that scarcity makes it easier to adapt to other foods.
Squaring the box It has been consolidated in recent years as a space on state television destined to debate sensitive economic and social issues, under the discourse of “constructive criticism” within Cuban socialism. In previous broadcasts, the program has addressed problems such as inflation, the foreign exchange market and price distortions, generally with the participation of officials and experts aligned with official policies.
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