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Cuba: No More Cooking Gas for the Poor?

HAVANA TIMES – That used to be the cry that would spread through Cuban neighborhoods when people heard the sound of gas cylinders and popularly known as “balitas” being unloaded from the truck delivering them to the local gas distribution point.

Those of us with contracts with the Gas Company could receive an allotted amount at certain intervals by presenting our ration book (the family ration card) and the ID card of a family member. Exchanging an empty cylinder for a full one has cost relatively little, but in recent weeks, rumors have been circulating that this familiar part of Cuban life is about to disappear, if it hasn’t already.

In recent years, the supply of liquefied gas in Cuban neighborhoods has gone through several crises. There were periods when each family could purchase gas only once or twice a year. My closest friends haven’t been able to get gas since February, when Trump’s oil blockade measures went into effect.

The lines outside the gas distribution points were legendary. People usually had to spend the entire day there, keeping their family’s cylinder company. Many would get in line before dawn, and there was a time when numbered lists of........

© Havana Times