A truck of eggs arrived escorted by police to a sales point in Guanabacoa, Havana, this Saturday, drawing long lines of desperate buyers amid shortages. Cartons of 30 eggs sold for 900 pesos as officers managed chaos to prevent fights. More than half of those waiting left empty-handed.
In Havana's Guanabacoa municipality, a government truck unloaded eggs at the Amphitheater corner, near a garbage dump, music school, and elementary school. The line already wound around the wall before the vehicle arrived, with papers and marks from previous days scattered on the asphalt.
Two uniformed officers monitored the queue next to the truck to stop line-cutting, preventing escalation into disputes as seen in prior deliveries with arguments and shoving. Such tensions arise from necessity, as buying or not directly impacts family meals.
Each 30-egg carton sold for 900 pesos, far below the 2,800 pesos on the informal market. Sales are now limited to one per person to curb reselling, yet demand exceeded supply.
"People mark their place in line before the truck arrives. If it didn’t show up that weekend, tough luck. If it arrived and you found out too late, even worse," Mercedes told 14ymedio, recalling going home empty-handed last week. Another neighbor quipped: "This is the real made marvelous."
