English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
A few months after the much talked-about new licenses for self-employment, what has spread the most are small businesses selling food, some new paladares — small private restaurants — and small snack bars. These last, according to the regulations, cannot have tables or chairs, and do have been renamed by ordinary people as quick-stops. Cubans, … Continue reading “Odors and Colors of My City / Rebeca Monzo”
The half-empty pockets, the threat of unemployment and lack of a future don’t prevent Cubans from celebrating “sacred” events on the national calendar, like Mother’s Day, the second Sunday of May. Or the Day of Lovers, on February 14. “You always ‘invent’ (find a solution), even though you have little money. You have only one … Continue reading “Love in Times of Crisis / Iván García”
You already see hundreds of stalls selling CDs and videos. Good-natured, calm señoras who offer a wide range of religious articles and, in any Havana doorway, from one day to the next, a snack bar with fast food emerges. When in October 2010 they authorized the expansion of self-employment, people took their time. There were … Continue reading “Private Businesses and Suspicions Flourish in Cuba / Iván García”
By Dagoberto Valdés There can be no economic development without freedoms and human rights. As we gather statements from Cuban men and women who are trying to develop their private initiative through their own small businesses—those that have been included in the list of medieval trades that the Cuban government, in a false overture, has … Continue reading “Bureaucratic Obstacles and Obsolete Protectionism Regarding the Self-Employed / IntraMuros”
Let it be known that I am one of those who are pleased with the changes in Cuba. I even think that some minor things are already starting to change. That said, what I’m not convinced about is the pace, because, while it isn’t fitting to rush to immediate solutions in a fragile socioeconomic situation … Continue reading “Changing at the Pace of a Bolero / Miriam Celaya”
It was a lucky day for Ernesto. After 10:00 last night, a neighbor told him that the number he had bet 250 pesos (10 dollars) on had come out first in the local (illegal) lottery. He won 24,000 pesos (1,000 dollars). The money arrived just when he needed it most. His daughter, Yenima, was turning 15. And his … Continue reading “A Stroke of Luck / Iván García”
Once again this year, our friend, who does not like to go backwards nor drive long distances, invited us to take her in her car to El Rincon and back again, to lunch in a very good paladar – private restaurant – in Santiago de las Vegas, as a gift for my birthday We left … Continue reading “The Road to El Rincon / Rebeca Monzo”
Sixty-ninth place. That is what Cuba is on the 2010 Index of Perception of Corruption, recently released by Transparency International. It shares the same score, 3.7, with Brazil, Montenegro and Romania. The island fell eight steps: from its standing in 2009, when it ranked 61st with 4.4 points. When I tell this to Daniel, 39 … Continue reading “Cuba, A Little More Corrupt / Iván García”
Working for the state is an ordeal: the wages are not nearly enough, productivity is zero, accountability is chaotic and worst of all you have to put up with the torpid meetings of a union which represents anyone but the worker. There are, however, those who have accepted all these conditions stoically and have endured … Continue reading “Layoffs and Privitization / Claudia Cadelo”
Recently the talk on my planet is the imminent dismissal of half a million workers who are on staff performing work which, in reality, could be done by half as many people. In the seventies, there was a large decrease in the staffing at some of the central agencies. At that time it was given … Continue reading “Giving the Wheel Another Turn / Rebeca Monzo”
General Raul Castro is trying to give shape to the land he’s promised. El Dorado, the “Cuban socialist paradise,” requires time and patience. And confidence in the old leaders who have ruled the destinies of Cubans for 51 years. The Castros want to dance the old-style danzón. No reggaeton. Farewell to emergencies and haste. The … Continue reading “Raul Castro, On the Fence / Iván García”