Elderly Cubans left to fend for themselves as Cuba crisis deepens

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Elderly residents in Havana are leaning more heavily on church meals and state rations as Cuba’s economic crisis deepens, with older people describing shrinking purchasing power, long lines for staples, and increased isolation as younger relatives leave the island. In Old Havana, the elderly gather three times a week at the Church of the Holy Spirit for lunch—ground meat with rice and red beans, crackers topped with mayonnaise, and Cuban coffee—before returning to manage day-to-day life with little margin.

Carmen Casado, an 84-year-old retired chemical engineer, said her pension of 2,000 Cuban pesos a month is too small for the cost of living, and she described her household as dependent on supplementation from outside what she can obtain from state-run stores. Casado, who lives alone and said she has no children and receives no remittances, said the church meals are a “lifeline” and that what she can get from the bodegas alone is “not enough.”

Casado said the food she receives from the state includes rations such as bread, rice and beans from government stores, but she described those supplies as meager. She spoke during the church’s lunchtime ritual, a repeated prayer-like chant the group recites before eating. “May the Lord bless from his height, the meal our belly will take with delight,” they chanted in unison.

The crisis is affecting many elderly people who spent their working years in government roles including teachers, doctors, nurses, technicians, custodians and lawyers, retirees described as receiving pensions that are usually under $10 a month. They said the worsening conditions are forcing them to sell cigarettes in the streets, line up for basic foods under the ration system, and seek free meals offered by churches and some state institutions.

The economic strain has accelerated since the beginning of the year, older residents said, following an oil embargo imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. Casado and others described the U.S. as the main external cause of Cuba’s difficulties, while also depicting the broader erosion of subsidized goods that their pensions once helped them stretch further.

Beyond food insecurity, the story also points to a demographic challenge that older residents said is intensifying their isolation: emigration over the past five years has reduced the island’s population and left some retirees managing alone. Casado described how, after lunch, she still walked home to care for household chores without assistance, including navigating a building she said is falling apart.

Cuba already had one of the oldest populations in Latin America before the latest economic worsening, data from the National Bureau of Statistics and regional research cited in the report show. The National Bureau of Statistics said that by the end of 2024, almost 26% of Cuba’s population was aged 60 or older—nearly twice the regional average of 14.2% for the same year, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

The report also said Cuba has experienced a population decline of nearly 1.5 million over the past five years, primarily due to migration, and that the number of Cubans living on the island fell from 11.1 million to 9.7 million. It said the impact of the crisis and youth exodus is visible in the streets, where elderly people are often seen alone—sometimes rummaging through trash or standing in long lines for bread and rice provided through ration books.

Cuba’s government has made some changes it described as departures from the country’s previous approach, the report said, including authorizing private entrepreneurs to operate elder care services and residential facilities. Casado said she considers herself still privileged, describing herself as mentally sharp, without physical impairments and managing her medication needs through state-run pharmacies. Despite her circumstances, Casado said the government remains trying to move the country forward—and she pointed back to the United States as a central obstacle. “We’re doing everything we can here to move the country forward,” she said. “But the thing is, we have a very powerful enemy, and he’s right there, right on our doorstep.”