Cuba - a Refreshingly Different Experience in Latin America!
After travelling in Latin America for so long, experiencing more than once virtually every kind of beautiful landscape, fauna, climate, etc., you eventually find yourself slightly underawed by “yet another” jungle, lake or mountain or yet another Caribbean coral reef. However, Cuba, one of the world's few bastions of communism, would definitely offer me a fresh experience, demanding all of the experience and skills acquired over the last 2 years in Latin America.
Before I write specific posts on Cuba, here's a quick introduction to the country:
Cuba has survived manifold crippling US embargos over the years and near-to famine in the early 90s, caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former saviour trading partner. However, the communist ideology has been harder to enforce and is indeed harder to recognise in society these days, given Fidel Castro's essential emergency concessions over the years, such as permitting selected workers (builders, mechanics, tourist B&B owners) to offer private, freelance services, the opening of Cuba to tourism and the introduction of a second currency, the convertible – or 'tourist' - peso (24 times stronger than the national peso and roughly equivalent to one US Dollar). The state pays fixed salaries equivalent to approx. US$20-25/month to professionals and US$10-15/month to non-professionals. A mechanic or B&B owner can easily earn US$200/month after (heavy) tax. Whereas the non-professional has the possibility to earn tips (and in the very fortunate cases of those getting tips in convertible pesos they can multiply their monthly salary by up to 10 times!) the professional is truly restricted to their monthly salary. So in a country where the fantastic free healthcare and education cause a state-school-educated Brit like me to turn green with envy, you have professionals struggling to provide clothing and food for their family.
Given the above-mentioned salaries I was shocked to discover that certain necessities such as deodorant, clothing, oil, washing powder respectively cost around 20% of a monthly state salary. So, as you can imagine, Cubans' best bet to avoid starvation is their own chicanery and the thriving black market. And the tourist, spending per day what a Cuban earns in 2-6 months, is constantly subject to and wearied by the begging for money, clothes, plastic bags (scarce), pens, basically anything at all. And both young men and women see tourists as an opportunity to get a quick tip for 'help' (usually unwanted help), or an opportunity to be treated to the luxury of a free drink, a night out, or a way to leave the country (by marriage). You'll often see a middle-aged or elderly tourist out with an attractive young Cuban.
Apart from the constant struggle to get by financially, young people in Cuba are ambitious, curious about the outside world, they want the standard commodities and gadgets that their fellow Latinos enjoy, such as mobile phones, computers. Raul Castro has now made it legal to buy such equipment, but who in Cuba can afford such luxuries, and what's the point of a computer if you can't legally access the internet, can't afford its maintenance, etc. The only Cubans that own such items, wear brand-named clothes or get to leave the country are those with relatives living abroad, relatives that are classed as traitors by the Cuban government and are only allowed to return to Cuba on a limited-stay tourist visa.
So what do Cubans think about Fidel, Raul, communism and the state of their country? Well the opinions are quite forthcoming and varied....... well, as long as there are no police nearby! They could be arrested for speaking to foreigners! All Cubans agree that life is hard in their country, some feel that it is because of communism and Fidel, others think it is because of the US and the fall of communism internationally. Most seem to view Fidel's Revolution as positive, as the overthrow of a murderous tyrant. They are proud of the standard of education in Cuba, the healthcare and expect to be compared to the most developed of Latin American countries, not the poorest. It is mainly the younger generations that want change, they are fed up with the propaganda (endless documentaries, news stories about the Revolution, Che Guevara and Fidel), they want more freedoms, although cannot legally demand it, they have high ambitions that they want to be able to live out. Raul Castro is generally viewed as more liberal than Fidel, and I sensed some hope in Cubans, but they do not believe things will change any time soon.
See my next blogs specific to La Havana and other Cuban towns and villages.
Before I write specific posts on Cuba, here's a quick introduction to the country:
Cuba has survived manifold crippling US embargos over the years and near-to famine in the early 90s, caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union, its former saviour trading partner. However, the communist ideology has been harder to enforce and is indeed harder to recognise in society these days, given Fidel Castro's essential emergency concessions over the years, such as permitting selected workers (builders, mechanics, tourist B&B owners) to offer private, freelance services, the opening of Cuba to tourism and the introduction of a second currency, the convertible – or 'tourist' - peso (24 times stronger than the national peso and roughly equivalent to one US Dollar). The state pays fixed salaries equivalent to approx. US$20-25/month to professionals and US$10-15/month to non-professionals. A mechanic or B&B owner can easily earn US$200/month after (heavy) tax. Whereas the non-professional has the possibility to earn tips (and in the very fortunate cases of those getting tips in convertible pesos they can multiply their monthly salary by up to 10 times!) the professional is truly restricted to their monthly salary. So in a country where the fantastic free healthcare and education cause a state-school-educated Brit like me to turn green with envy, you have professionals struggling to provide clothing and food for their family.
Given the above-mentioned salaries I was shocked to discover that certain necessities such as deodorant, clothing, oil, washing powder respectively cost around 20% of a monthly state salary. So, as you can imagine, Cubans' best bet to avoid starvation is their own chicanery and the thriving black market. And the tourist, spending per day what a Cuban earns in 2-6 months, is constantly subject to and wearied by the begging for money, clothes, plastic bags (scarce), pens, basically anything at all. And both young men and women see tourists as an opportunity to get a quick tip for 'help' (usually unwanted help), or an opportunity to be treated to the luxury of a free drink, a night out, or a way to leave the country (by marriage). You'll often see a middle-aged or elderly tourist out with an attractive young Cuban.
Apart from the constant struggle to get by financially, young people in Cuba are ambitious, curious about the outside world, they want the standard commodities and gadgets that their fellow Latinos enjoy, such as mobile phones, computers. Raul Castro has now made it legal to buy such equipment, but who in Cuba can afford such luxuries, and what's the point of a computer if you can't legally access the internet, can't afford its maintenance, etc. The only Cubans that own such items, wear brand-named clothes or get to leave the country are those with relatives living abroad, relatives that are classed as traitors by the Cuban government and are only allowed to return to Cuba on a limited-stay tourist visa.
So what do Cubans think about Fidel, Raul, communism and the state of their country? Well the opinions are quite forthcoming and varied....... well, as long as there are no police nearby! They could be arrested for speaking to foreigners! All Cubans agree that life is hard in their country, some feel that it is because of communism and Fidel, others think it is because of the US and the fall of communism internationally. Most seem to view Fidel's Revolution as positive, as the overthrow of a murderous tyrant. They are proud of the standard of education in Cuba, the healthcare and expect to be compared to the most developed of Latin American countries, not the poorest. It is mainly the younger generations that want change, they are fed up with the propaganda (endless documentaries, news stories about the Revolution, Che Guevara and Fidel), they want more freedoms, although cannot legally demand it, they have high ambitions that they want to be able to live out. Raul Castro is generally viewed as more liberal than Fidel, and I sensed some hope in Cubans, but they do not believe things will change any time soon.
See my next blogs specific to La Havana and other Cuban towns and villages.
posted by Louise Parmenter at 11:35 pm
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