I have personal experience. I lived in Cuba for three and a half years. In the last year, I worked in Havana, so I lived in the Chinese community with those old Chinese. Cubans buy basic necessities through rationing, that is, shopping books (Cubans call them libreta). The most basic rice, oil, beans (Cubans' main courses), soap, eggs, salt, sugar, milk for minors and so on are supplied with this book, so we foreigners in Cuba don't have this book. With this book, everything you buy in a designated store (bodega) is very cheap. For example, eggs are less than 50 cents each, which is almost equal to no money, but it is limited. If you want to buy a book in the free market (farmer's market) after buying it, the price will be much more expensive than this store, but it is still affordable. Similarly, taking eggs as an example, the farmer's market is about 56 cents each. Objectively speaking, I feel that the living standard of Cubans is not as good as that of China (average). According to the supply system, the basic life of Cubans can be guaranteed, that is, they can eat enough. If anyone says that Cubans don't even have enough to eat and are starving, they either don't know the situation or have ulterior motives. But Cubans are very sad to live a good life, because most industrial products are imported, and it is very expensive to buy foreign exchange certificates in foreign exchange stores. For example, a Panda 2 1 inch remote control color TV made in China and Cuba costs nearly 3,000 RMB in Cuba, and an electric bicycle made in China and Cuba costs nearly 6,000 RMB. Many Cubans try their best to make money, such as opening snack bars, driving private taxis and renting houses, including those with overseas Chinese. However, the mentality of Cubans is relatively peaceful, because the gap between the rich and the poor in Cuba is not that big. In terms of salary, the low salary is about five or six yuan a month, the high salary is only about twenty yuan a month, and the average salary is ten yuan a month. Because of the supply system, this income can guarantee a basic life. Moreover, the welfare in Cuba is indeed better than that in China. Education and public health are big investments. Cubans really don't need money to go to school to see a doctor. I'm not exaggerating. The fact is that my Cuban classmates who studied in Cuba not only don't need to give money to the school, but the state also gives them pocket money every month. Although it is small (less than one dollar), it has always been there. Cuba is so poor. Foreign students studying in Cuba can also enjoy free medical care. I saw a doctor in Cuba, and China's classmates had surgery there and were hospitalized. It is really free. And buying medicine is also very cheap, and ordinary people can afford it. It is also a fact that government agencies are poor. I once accompanied China's Ministry of Education to Cuba's Ministry of Education as an interpreter, but the power went out during the talks between the leaders of the two countries (deputy ministers)! Moreover, the official cars of their general civil servants are broken ladas.
As for overseas Chinese, some live well, and Cuba has a special policy towards overseas Chinese. There is a "China Promotion Association" in the Chinese community in Havana (the unit of the school where I used to work). It is a Cuban institution with many Chinese restaurants. Officially owned by the Cuban government, but in fact, the restaurants under the promotion association are all owned by old Chinese or their families, and the old Chinese who run restaurants are relatively rich. For example, I have a friend who is an old Chinese there. He has a "Dongpo Memorial Hall" restaurant, a mobile phone and an old car (1959 Old Ford). Chinese communities in Cuba (such as the People's Democratic Party and the churches to which all surnames belong) generally have their own restaurants, and their economic situation is better than that of ordinary Cubans. The life of some lonely old people is even worse, but the Association will still give them a nursing home, where I used to live with them. Compared with overseas Chinese in other American countries, the life of overseas Chinese in Cuba is really not very good.