It was defined primarily by extreme reductions of rationed foods at state-subsidized prices, the severe shortages of
hydrocarbon energy resources in the form of
gasoline,
diesel, and other
petroleum derivatives that occurred upon the implosion of economic agreements between the petroleum-rich
Soviet Union and Cuba, and the shrinking of an economy overdependent of Soviet imports.The period radically transformed Cuban society and the economy, as it necessitated the introduction of
organic agriculture, decreased use of
automobiles, and overhauled industry, health, and diet countrywide. People were forced to live without many goods and services that were available since the beginning of the 20th century.