An old man walked around and around with his notebook in his hand this Wednesday in front of the state store on Melones street, in the Havana neighborhood of Luyanó. “I don’t understand when I have to buy,” he lamented, resigned, when he saw the ten numbers that could buy chicken that day: from 1,037 to 1,047. He hasn’t taken a turn yet.
Chicken is the only meat offered by the establishment, famous not only for the death of an elderly who uncovered a network of thieves last month, but because corruption is patent and it has not stopped.
The customers are raised, because in other shops in the capital they have distributed modules with chicken, mincemeat, oil and even detergent, as in the one on Fábrica street, in the same neighborhood. On Monday, says Mary, they exploded. “It occurred to them to extract a little oil and what was formed there was the debacle, because since they bring so little merchandise, very few can buy.” The neighbors, says this neighbor, stood in front of the store, insulting each other, waiting for some municipal authorities who never arrived. “In the end they had to suspend the sale and left it for the next day.”
The next day, they offered two more products of dubious nutritional value: Pellys ( extrudes puffed corn) and mayonnaise.
“Since they established the ticket system for the winery, they have only brought chicken and little else,” emphasizes Mary, who, when asking for explanations in the store, was told that it was because the Factory store is managed by “the chain of competing stores “. “But that can’t be, because we are not to blame for being located in the territory where Melones is. What kind of citizens are we? The others are fourth class and we are fifth class?” she cries annoyed.
“We are not to blame for being located in the territory where Melones is. What kind of citizens are we? The others are fourth class and we are fifth class?”
Indeed, the Factory trade is managed by TRD Caribe and the Melon trade is managed by Tiendas Panamericanas, of the Cimex corporation. The paradox is that the second is famous on the Island for being much better stocked than the first and, in any case, both are state companies and people are forced to buy in a certain store, so there is no room for talking about “competition”. .
“It is also true that Melones is smaller than Fábrica,” intercedes another neighbor. “It’s a mistake put so many people from various wineriesin the middle of Luyanó, to buy there in such a small store”.
In any case, the panorama of Melones is not unique. In Santa Amalia, for example, they say that they have not even started to sell the combos, promised by the authorities every 21 days. “Look, my brother, don’t fight with that, you will have to buy it for January or February,” they advised a neighbor in a store.
The situation in state establishments has reached such a point that the official press has been forced to tell about it. The newspaper Havana Tribune echoed on Tuesday dispute between those who hoped to buy in the TRD Caribe store on Calzada de Vento and Avenida de Acosta, in the municipality of Cerro. “Bad information, disorder, disgust, etc., occurred in the place. Poor distribution and organization of the queue, numbering changes without the previous ones having acquired their products, etc., led to this unfortunate event,” he says, vaguely, the note published in the provincial newspaper, which asks “how is it possible that the provisions have not been complied with from the beginning”.
The responsibility, according to Grandstandis in “the bad control existing in that place”, which has had the consequence that “what was supposed to be an improvement has become a nightmare”.
The responsibility, according to ‘Tribuna’, lies in “the poor control existing in that place”, which has had the consequence that “what was supposed to be an improvement has turned into a nightmare”
Based on this information and numerous complaints online, the journalist from the Noticiero Nacional Lázaro Manuel Alonso approached the place. “Customers expressed their disagreement with the decision of the local authorities to carry out a recovery sale, when what is established is to do so on Sunday. Yesterday, the business was active until 10 at night, to respond to the citizen demand to respect the order established for purchases”, he wrote this Wednesday in his Facebook wall the announcer.
In the same way, Alonso published on his networks his visit to other state establishments, such as his pilgrimage through different businesses in the capital, such as the monacoin the municipality of Diez de Octubre, where, he acknowledges, “the lack of supplies in the store that sells in CUP forces residents to go again and again”, or Mantilla, in Arroyo Naranjo, where “the sausages to serve the purpose”.
“According to the clients, with the previous system organized by the LCC (fight against choleros), it was impossible to access these products. They talk about corruption and even business with the choleros. For the new distribution mechanism to work, organization is essential from the start commerce and the community, aspects that in various places continue to cause discomfort in the population”, the official journalist elaborates.
The real possibilities of completing the sale of controlled products in Cuban pesos before the end of the year and those pending in the organization of marketing were the essence of the debate.
This same Friday, Alonso interviewed Diana Rosa Rodríguez Pérez, vice president of Cimex, as well as two other officials of the entity, Yusleydi Lezcano Palmero and Kenia Rodríguez.
“The dissatisfaction of the population with the supplies in the shops, the real possibilities to complete the sale of controlled products in Cuban pesos before the end of the year and the pending in the organization of the commercialization were the essence of the debate”, indicated the announcer.
In their publications, various citizens do not hesitate to make their complaints heard. “The fundamental thing, in my opinion, is that all these managers are receptive to so much dissatisfaction because so many people cannot be wrong. Let’s wait for solutions, but justifications are plenty so far,” says a user, who reports that with the number she has, she will have to buy “for February or March of next year.”
Mary, from Luyanó, has more than 2,000 to buy chicken. She can’t find peace of mind: “When am I going to buy, next year? Maybe then the Revolution doesn’t exist anymore and I won’t be able to buy either.”
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