Cubans on new freedoms: 'We'll see how far we go'

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/02/cuba.freedoms/index.html

Cuba progresses at the speed of light. soon they will reach the 1980s I predict.


HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- For the first time since Fidel Castro's official resignation, Cubans are talking more about what the government is doing than what it's not doing.


Cubans, like this woman at home in Havana, until now had been denied cell phones. Now they are allowed.

1 of 3 In the past week, President Raúl Castro has legalized cell phone use for ordinary Cubans; granted Cubans access to previously off-limits tourist hotels; and legalized the sale within Cuba of microwaves, DVD players and personal computers. Cubans are welcoming the change, even if the costs are out of their reach.

Georgina Garcia, a retired sound technician, was among those lined up at Dita, a store in Havana's Vedado neighborhood.

"I can't afford to go to the hotels," she said. "But I think it's good anyway. I have the right to go, and I feel the same as the tourists who come here."

Heriberto Gonzalez, a civil worker, said of the new freedoms, "Now that the prohibition has been lifted, we'll see how far we go from here." Watch Cubans react to the loosened rules »

Jorge, who has a small business, didn't want to give his last name. He said, "I think the Cuban people deserved this a while ago. So Cubans look more like the rest of the world, like normal people."

"Now we have to work on the workers' salaries, which aren't enough to meet the prices of a DVD player or a computer."

Cuba's government had previously forbidden the sale of consumer products under the argument that they consumed too much electricity.

And although computers hadn't yet been seen on the shelves Wednesday, Yamile Batista, the commercial director of La Puntilla department store, said they were among various products that would appear this week.

"We're talking about complete computer systems, 21-inch televisions, DVD players, home theater systems," she said.

Georgina Garcia voiced a sentiment echoed by many in the stores this week.

"I think it's good that I can have a computer and not overpay for it, have to hide it when they come to fumigate my house, worried that they'll see the computer and I'll be sent of to prison for the computer that I overpaid for from somebody who stole it," she said.

Most Cubans can't afford to rent cell phones, stay in hotels or buy any of the new products available to them. The average monthly salary is just under $20.


Those in the stores this week were primarily those with access to hard currency, either from relatives abroad or through jobs in the tourist industry.

Cuba has a two-tiered currency system; Cuban state workers are paid in the Cuban peso, but many products are only sold in the convertible peso, worth 24 times as much

19-04-2008
Changes in Cuba?

Salim Lamrani
Rebelión
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66234

The Western press has been untiring with respect to the changes
happening in Cuba after Raúl Castro's election as president of the
Republic and celebrated a possible liberalization of the island's
economy. (1) But, as always when Cuba is talked about, this reality is
treated superficially and erroneously. Whether it is about acquiring
electric devices, hotels, or cell phones, the restrictions which were
valid until recently had rational explanations, but the information
multinationals have not touched upon them. In reality, an intense
debate was launched at the beginning of 2008, shortly before Fidel
Castro's decision not to run for reelection, with the objective to
improve Cuban socialism. This debate involved the entire population
and generated 1.3 million proposals.

Electric devices

The media announced with great fanfare that Cubans were now free to
acquire electric devices and household appliances, making it seem that
before they were completely forbidden to be sold. (2) However, the
reality is clearly different. The sale of these items has never been
prohibited in Cuba, aside from some computing and other products which
consume large quantities of energy such as electric stoves or
microwave ovens, in a period in which energy production in Cuba was
insufficient to meet the population's needs.

In fact, during the special period which began in 1991, after the
disintegration of the Soviet block, Cuba remained alone against the
international market and had to face the disappearance of more than
80% of its foreign trade and, additionally, the worsening of the
relentless economic aggression by the United States. In this extremely
difficult context, the Caribbean island was hit by great shortages,
particularly with regards to energy, which caused long blackouts. In
this period, authorities limited the sale of energy hogging electric
devices. Those restrictions were completely justified. In fact, it
would have been irresponsible to proceed in any other way since the
tremendously subsidized energy system could have collapsed.

Thanks to the ingenuity of the Cubans, to the efforts supported by the
population and new commercial relations with countries like Venezuela
and China, Cuba has a stronger economy at its disposal and managed to
solve its energy problem. Thanks to the "energy revolution" launched
in 2006, which consisted of replacing light bulbs and old electric
appliances like televisions, refrigerators, fans and other electric
devices with more modern products that used less energy, millions of
Cubans have benefited from an entire range of new electric appliances
with prices subsidized by the State, in other words, less than the
market price.

Now the achieved energy savings allows meeting the needs of the
population's demand, which explains the progressive elimination of
restrictions regarding the acquisition of new electric appliances,
computers, and others, like video players. This way, Cubans have
access to a much larger selection of consumer goods. Therefore, the
limitations were explained because of only one economic factor, which
is a lack of energy production. The Western press has not bothered in
tackling these elements in coverage of the subject.

The media rushed to emphasize, with good reason, that many Cubans
would not have access to the articles on sale at market prices due to
their high cost with respect to the current, relatively modest
salaries in Cuba. Nonetheless, this reality concerns a large part of
the world's population, who live in poverty and whose main worries are
not acquiring a DVD player or a microwave, but eating three times a
day and having access to health and education, nonexistent concerns in
Cuba.

According to the last report from the United Nation's Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) on food insecurity in the world, 854
million people in the entire planet, including 9 million in industrial
countries are malnourished. (3) On the American continent only three
countries have already reached the objectives of the 2015 World Food
Summit: Cuba, Guyana and Perú. (4) According to UNESCO, currently, one
out of five adults are illiterate, in other words 774 million people
and 74 million children lack schools. (5) According to UNICEF, 26,000
children younger than five years old die from hunger or curable
diseases, in other words 9.7 million every year. (6) No Cuban makes up
part of these lists.

The information multinationals always avoid bringing up Cuban reality
with relation to Latin American and Third World problems since it is
edifying and inevitable leads to comparisons.

Cell phones

Access to cell phones has also been increased in Cuba for several
reasons. (7) The first is economic and the second is technological.
Cell phone access expanded throughout the western world in the 1990s.

During that period Cuba had other, different priorities than offering
cell phone access to the population. The challenges then concerned
food, transportation, and housing. The food problem currently is
solved in Cuba. Referring to transportation, it is being solved,
especially thanks to importing many Chinese buses. With regards to
housing, it is undoubtedly, the main difficulty facing the population.

In this case nether is it specifically Cuban. The reality is the same
in any city in the first world, such as Paris, with a difference: in
Cuba the lack of housing is due to the U.S. economic sanctions which
impede the construction of 100,000 additional dwellings per year,
while the Parisians have to confront an absurd aberration. In fact,
more than 100,000 dwellings, property of the moneyed class are empty
in Paris while 100,000 families are looking for a roof; in spite of
the fact that a requisition law exists, that authorities never apply.
In Cuba, the citizens would never accept a similar scandal. (8)

In France, according to the Ministry of Housing, 1.6 million people
live in housing without a shower or bathroom. More than a million
French are accommodated in a "stressed, overcrowded situation,"
550,000 live in boarding houses, among then 50,000 children, 146,000
in trailers and 86,000 are "without a roof" and live in the street.
(9) Nevertheless, close to 2,000,000 dwellings are empty in France, of
them 136,554 in Paris, Another aberration: only 32,000 dwellings in
Paris pay taxes on the empty dwelling that more than 136,000 would
have to pay. But the authorities prefer to close their eyes. (10)

Returning to cell phones, the second obstacle was technology (it is
still the case for Internet access since Washington prevents Cuba from
connecting to the fiber optic cable in the Straits of Florida and to
whom it belongs. Cuba has at its disposal a limited satellite
connection that, in addition, is extremely expensive. It is the reason
access to cell phones had been restricted. With improvement of the
economic situation, the offer has been increased to the entire
population, although prices continue being high. In this case also,
although the cell phone is widely used in the West, it continues being
a luxury for many habitants of the planet.

Hotel access

Regarding hotels, the media also showed their bias. Until April 1,
2008, access to luxury hotels were not prohibited, as the western
press affirmed, but limited. Here, the explanation is social and economic.

In the 1990s, the resurgence of a phenomenon which was eradicated when
the Revolution triumphed in 1959 concerned authorities a lot:
prostitution. In order to try to channel this problem which arose from
the difficulties the Cubans faced, the Cuban government decided to
limited access of the population to the tourist infrastructure. Thanks
to the work of social workers and to improvement of the economy, this
social phenomenon, if it has not yet disappeared, has been
substantially reduced.

The second explanation is the economy. In fact, with the dizzying
development of tourism from the 1990s, the Cuban hotel capacity has
developed insufficiently in order to accommodate foreigners and Cubans
at the same time. Authorities welcomed foreigners, above all in high
season, coming from an economic reasoning. A tourist, whose summer
vacation demands were not satisfied, would spend their money outside
the country, which would generate a significant business interruption
for the country's economy. On the other hand, the small category of
Cubans who have the necessary resources to pay for a luxury hotel
would spend their money on other sectors but this would remain in the
country.

The Western press also stopped at the relatively prohibitive tariffs
for the average Cuban. According to the Associated Press, there are
very few Cuban who can pay for a room that costs $173 per night at the
hotel "Ambos Mundos" (four stars) in Old Havana one of the most
prestigious tourist establishments, which was preferred by Ernest
Hemingway.(11) It's correct. But once again, it forgets to emphasize
that access to a room at a renowned hotel is a luxury for all the
habitants of the Third World and for a large category of citizens who
liven in developed countries. As a matter of comparison, how many
French, for example can pay for a room costing 730 Euros <1,164.47[br />USD, 4-24-08] (the cheapest) at the Ritz (five stars) in Paris? (12)

Economic liberalization?

Are these reforms perhaps leading towards certain liberalization of
the Cuban economy? (13) It would be mistake to think that. It is
necessary to remember that in the 1980s Cubans had abundant access to
consumer goods. It is merely about the abolition of restrictions which
no longer have any reason to exist. Other should quickly follow. In
the same way, the government decided to rent idle land to small
private producers with the goal of augmenting agricultural production,
at the time in which prices of raw materials have reached their peak. (14)

Real changes in Cuba occurred in 1959 and the island finds itself in
constant evolution since that date. There criticism is constant and
it's enough to read the national press to be convinced about it,
particularly the daily newspapers Juventud Rebelde and Trabajadores
whose tone is increasingly incisive and without concessions. There is
an undeniable political will among the high leaders, of promoting
debate. Raul Castro's own daughter Mariela Castro, a sexologist who
defends the rights of gay and lesbian minorities, defended "socialism
but with less prohibitions."(15) But the media pretends not to
perceive this reality. Contrary to what they expect—and hope—the
information multinationals, Washington and the European Union, Cubans
will not return to a market economy, but will continue making an
effort in the construction of a modern, more just, and more rational
socialism.

Notes

(1) Will Weissert, «Raul's Reforms May Strengthen Communism», 2 de
abril de 2008.

(2) Will Weissert, «Castro Reforms: Dvd's, Farms for Cubans», The
Associated Press, 2 de abril de 2008.

(3) Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et
l'agriculture, L'état de l'insécurité alimentaire dans le monde 2006
(Rome : FAO, 2006), p. 8.

(4) Ibid., p. 17.

(5) Institut de statistique de l'UNESCO, «Alphabétisme», 9 de abril de
2007.
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?URL_ID=6401&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201
(sitio consultado el 15 de abril de 2008).

(6) UNICEF, La situation des enfants dans le monde 2008. La survie de
l'enfant (New York, décembre 2007), p. 1.

(7) The Associated Press, «Cuban Restrictions Eased By Raul Castro», 2
de abril de 2008, Will Weissert, «Cubanos hacen largas filas para
comprar celulares», The Associated Press/El Nuevo Herald, 15 de abril
de 2008.

(8) Droit au Logement, «Le logement en chiffres: exclusions et
inégalités», 2002.
http://www.globenet.org/dal/index.php3?page=SOMMSITUCHIF (sitio
consultado el 15 de abril de 2008).

(9) Ministère du Logement, de l'Equipement et des Transports,
Questionnaire de la Commission de la Production et des Echanges.
Projet de LFI pour 2001 & INSEE, enquête 2001 sur la population
«fréquentant les services d'hébergement et les distributions de repas
chauds», in Droit au Logement, op. cit.

(10) Droit au Logement, op. cit.

(11) Will Weissert, «Thanks Raul: Cubans Can Stay in Hotels», The
Associated Press, 1 de abril de 2008.

(12) Hôtel Ritz Paris, «Tarifs».

http://www.ritzparis.com/jump_to.asp?id_target=1250&id_lang=1 (sitio
consultado el 15 de abril de 2008).

(13) Reuters, «Les téléphones portables désormais autorisés à Cuba»,
14 de abril de 2008.

(14) The Associated Press, «Cuba Lends private Farmers Unused Land», 1
de abril de 2008; Andrea Rodriguez & Will Weissert, «Communiste Cuban
Solution: Private Farms», 5 de abril de 2008.

(15) Alessandra Coppola, «Socialismo, ma con meno proibizioni»,
Corriere della Sera, 27 de marzo de 2008.

Salim Lamrani is a professor, writer and French journalist
specializing in Cuba-United States relations. He has published the
following titles: Washington contre Cuba (Pantin: Le Temps des
Cerises, 2005), Cuba face à l'Empire (Genève: Timeli, 2006) y Fidel
Castro, Cuba et les Etats-Unis (Pantin: Le Temps des Cerises, 2006).
Acaba de publicar Double Morale. Cuba, l'Union européenne et les
droits de l'homme (Paris: Editions Estrella, 2008).

Contact: lamranisalim@yahoo.fr

Translated by Dana Lubow, 4-24-08

edited in Spanish by Caty R.

Caty R. belongs to the Rebelión, Tlaxcala and Cubadebate collectives.
This article may be freely reproduced upon condition of respecting its
integrity and citing the author, editor, and source.

perhaps I will later respond to each individual point although it is tempting to let this stand on its own "merits". I will make a couple of points. the recent permission to "allow" Cubans to possess pressure cookers would seem long overdue given the "energy crisis". pressure cookers cook at a fraction of the time and therefore energy which would have resulted in cosiderable savings of energy on a islandwide basis. so why then were they just recently allowed, and why were they banned in the first place? it can't be because of the energy crisis (which the article doesn't mention has been "rectified" by subsidies from Venezuela}.

"Cuba resolved power cuts in 2006 by importing hundreds of electricity generators run on fuel supplied by Venezuela, its new anti-American oil rich ally. "


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7295714.stm


well, I hate to break this to you, but societies progress, no one can live in 1959 indefinitely.

Then tell your right-wing hero to stop molesting Cuba and blocking all efforts to loosen the treacherous, vicious, sadistic burden of an extraterritorial and internationally illegal embargo, just almost every single nation has urged at the U.N. General Assembly for at least 14 years.

As usual, you vomit your Cubaphobic bullshit on DU. You just make shit up, don't you?

Your disinformation is completely ass backward (not exactly a news flash).

Cuba never ever banned pressure cookers. The Cuban government subsidized pressure cookers for every household in order to save electricity.


From the first hit on a google search...

http://havanajournal.com/politics/entry/pressure_cooker_diplomacy/

Castro hurts Bush Latin trade efforts
Published March 13, 2005

Myriam Marquez, Orlando Sentinel

For International Women’s Day, Cuban women were treated to a new revolutionary objective: A pressure cooker in every home, Fidel Castro proclaimed, and a rice cooker, too!

Jeezuz keerist, what the fuck? Why do you continue to spew such swill that is so easily disproved, time and time again?

Pathetic & puerile.



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