Death wounds, MLC stores denied official discourse on their extension

Havana/“They took fans in Rosaland, Sign up,” writes a user in a WhatsApp group where hundreds of customers who monitor freely convertible currency stores (MLC) in Havana gather. Following the trace of products in these state businesses has become a full -time task due to shortage that keeps its refrigerators and practically empty shelves.

After touring several markets of that type in the Cuban capital, this Wednesday Yusimí, 43, came to one quite far from his house: the large shopping center, located in the corner of streets 26 and 51. “Years ago years ago That I did not come to this place and I have been cold, “he said at the entrance when he ran into the holes on the floor in front of the door. The damage to the soil was just part of the deterioration that he found inside.

Practically empty of customers and products, the huge ship that once belonged to the Telva towel factory barely had on display some can tomato sauce, some shirt flip flops and, in the appliance area, a few devices with expensive prices with expensive prices and doubtful quality. “This was a high -end store and now what is afraid to enter; not even the lamps work well,” said Yusimí, which, finally, “not to lose the trip” ended up buying a pair of canned beets.

The premises was inaugurated as a shopping center in 2014 under the management of the Cimex Military Corporation. “The tails were constant because it was very well assorted,” recalls a former employee, who evokes those first years with nostalgia. “People came from all over Havana because we had a very good perfume and food supply, the hardware store also attracted a lot of clientele but the best we offer were the appliances that were, of a great variety.”

At that time, the authorities even announced that the market would have a web navigation room and a Wi -Fi area that never came to settle. “We had even a gourmet assortment with good cheeses and very fine chocolates,” evokes the employee. It costs to reconcile this image of a trade of full shelves, well -dressed workers and customers who loaded with baskets full of goods, with empty refrigerators and the reluctance of the dependents this week.

“When they removed the convertible weight In 2021 The decline began, “says the woman. The suppliers began to fail,” Cimex sometimes supplied yes and sometimes no, until only a little buchito of customers came every day. “The conversion of the store to the mode of sale by MLC seemed Initially they can revive it. that remains of that splendor is the striking white paint of the facade.

The final thrust has been given to the stores in MLC the shops in dollars that through the network of Caribbean stores and Cimex have begun to open in the capitals of each of the 15 Cuban provinces. The flagship of that process is the 3rd supermarket and 70in the bass of the Gran Muthu Havana Luxury hotel, which only accepts the payment in that currency, both on card and in cash. While the offers abound, in 26 and 51 every day there are more products.

The scene is repeated in another of the sale giants in MLC in Havana. The Boyeros and Camagüey market that has followed the same route as its cousin of large bridges. Although recently several officials assured on national television that It will remain The freely convertible currency, whose disappearance has been very speculated, the owners of accounts in that virtual money have less and less options to spend it.

What three years ago was a parking lot, where a space was barely emptied for a few minutes before it was occupied by another vehicle, it is now an almost empty esplanade. On the outskirts of commerce, this Wednesday a custodian responded to a client who had no chicken or chopped in the carnage area. “They have not taken this week and we do not know if they are going to supply in the next few days,” the worker explained vaguely.

Inside, soils also have hollows in several areas and the shelves are almost empty or full of the same product. “I came to look for olives and Castilla flour, but neither,” concluded a client who finally bought a custard pack, family format, not to go empty. Away from the most central neighborhoods, Boyeros and Camagüey arrive buyers who have a vehicle, a very small number in a city where getting fuel can take several days of tail.

With many lamps off, the interior of the store not only leaves “an image of deterioration but also an unpleasant smell attached to the nose. “The light comes, the light leaves, the plant endures for a while but not much and the products are spoiled,” summarizes a worker from the storage area the situation that is going through. “There are many people who have requested the decline, because working so is not worth it.”

A couple who walks through one of the halls is finally decided by a pea packet and an imported sugar bag. The woman looks at the mobile and tells the man who in the WhatsApp group where she is registered just published a new ad. “They took sausages and gouca cheese on the tip,” he warns, and they are going at full speed to reach the Miramar neighborhood. There, another store in MLC, unbalanced, with broken floors and many lights off.