Labour Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera’s comments dismissing poverty in the Caribbean island nation trigger angry backlash.Cuban Labour and Social Security Minister Marta Elena Feito Cabrera has resigned after saying there are no beggars in Cuba, only people pretending to be.
Cuba’s presidency said in a post on social media on Wednesday that Feito had “acknowledged her errors and submitted her resignation” over her “lack of objectivity and sensitivity” in addressing issues that are “at the centre of political and governmental management”.
The news came a day after Feito made the comments about poverty in the island nation to deputies in a National Assembly committee.
“We have seen people, apparently beggars, [but] when you look at their hands, look at the clothes these people are wearing, they are disguised as beggars. They are not beggars,” Feito said.
“In Cuba, there are no beggars,” she said.
The minister added that people cleaning car windscreens live “easy” lives and they use the money they make to “drink alcohol”.
A woman sells goods on a pavement in Havana, Cuba, on July 15, 2025 [Norlys Perez/Reuters]
Feito also lashed out against those who search through rubbish dumps, saying they are recovering materials “to resell and not pay tax”.
The remarks quickly went viral, prompting calls for Feito’s impeachment and a wave of criticism in a country experiencing a tough economic situation in recent years.
Even Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel was critical.
Without mentioning her by name but referring to the meeting at the National Assembly committee in which Fe …
