Santiago de Cuba. – The Guantanamero Elio Durán Terrero made his first public complaint in September 2023, In the Facebook group “Guantanamo Baracoa Defensoría”. At that time, he announced the situation he lived with his mother, an old woman who is prostrated and suffers several pathologies.
Elio is 52 years old and is the only child, his caregiver and home supplier. Today, almost two years after their first complaint, their living conditions only seem worse.
In his publication, the Barrancadero neighbor, in the municipality of Baracoa, denounced the alleged poor management of the social worker in charge of his case. In response to his complaints, the Municipal Directorate of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) of Baracoa issued A document in which an aid of 1,500 pesos was approved for Mrs. Reinalda Terrero. In addition to that amount, which he has received intermittently, according to his child, they have only given toilet products once.
In the same document, the delivery of supplies and cooking modules was also stipulated when they were available. Even so, at present the family has not received that or another government donation.
On the other hand, through images provided by the interviewee, you can verify the precarious conditions in which he and his mother live. The house is of tables; The roof was improvised by himself and the floor is earthly. Inside there are two beds and a few cooking items. Now the panorama is even worse, because the photos were taken before Oscar’s pass, the hurricane that in October 2024 caused great damage in Baracoa.
Elio, on the other hand, does not have any monetary aid for being caregiver of his mother. It only has a small farm that, according to itself, is an “infertile land” located in a rocky area. In this regard, in the response issued by the MTSS in 2023, the agreement to approve an “vulnerable exceptional economic benefit” was adopted until the beneficiary decided whether or not to maintain the care of the farm. In other words: they would grant him a pension if he gave his land to the State.
“The Municipal Work Director [MTSS] It went to my home to propose a salary for caring for my mother, in addition to the pension for her. Between the two salaries they did not reach 3,000 pesos. In return I had to give my farm, so I did not accept, ”explained the man.
About work as a caregiver, in October 2024 the Council of Ministers approved the Decree 109 That, in theory, “seeks to meet the need not only of those who require care but also to those who provide them.” However, in practice, people like Elio Durán and his mother, today are more abandoned than ever by the system.
Mrs. Reinalda suffers from ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and generalized osteoarthritis, so she has completely lost her mobility. Despite his advanced age since he is blind, he has to be left alone when Elio is going to work at the farm.
“I live inventing, as the whole Cuban lives. I go to the farm for a while and so … at that time my mother is left alone, without being able to move. I don’t live thinking that maybe when she returns she can be dead,” he lamented.
Cuba is one of the most aging nations in Latin America. Two years ago, the population with 60 years or more represented 24.4% and it is expected that by 2030 30% will be in that age range, according to data from the National Office of Statistics and Information (ONEI).
In April 2022, the MTSS estimated that 17.4% of the elderly lived alone, figures that would have increased if the migratory exodus that from 2021 to September 2024 had caused A 18% population dropaccording to a study by Cuban economist and demographer Juan Carlos Albizu-Campos.
