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MAKING CONTACT

Transcript: #41-98 The Last Domino? Cuba and Its New Economy
October 14, 1998

Program description at http://www.radioproject.org/archive/1998/9841.html

Phillip Babich: Welcome to Making Contact, an international radio program seeking to create connections between people, vital ideas, and important information. This week on Making Contact:-

Delvis Fernandez Levy: People pretty much want to preserve the gains of the revolution, the gains in terms of at least education and health care.

Esther Perez: Socialism in Cuba always meant the continued distribution and redistribution of social wealth.

Phillip Babich: Faced with a slumping economy, the Caribbean nation of Cuba has been forced to adopt reforms, opening up that country to foreign investment. Now, this socialist country is trying to balance operating in the global economy with still maintaining its revolutionary ideals. On this program, we’ll hear what Cubans in Havana are saying about their government’s new economic phase known as the "Special Period." We’ll also talk with an American activist about the U.S. government’s policy toward Cuba. And, she’ll tell us about Cuba’s projects for sustainability in agriculture. I’m Phillip Babich, your host this week on Making Contact.

After a string of leaders and revolutions first against Spain then against the United States -- Cuba came under control of Fidel Castro. Castro assumed power after waging a guerrilla campaign and drumming up popular support to overthrow the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista. Since then, the Castro government has withstood a failed U.S. invasion in 1961, the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, the fall of its longtime supporter and financial contributor the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s, and nearly 40 years of a U.S.-backed economic embargo. Now, Cuba is in what its government calls the "Special Period." After suffering a major economic downturn in 1993, Cuba eased its restrictions on foreign investment, allowed U.S. currency, and permitted private enterprises. According to some observers, these changes have created a dilemma for many Cubans who want to hold on to their socialist values. From Havana, correspondent Travis Lea has more.

Travis Lea: Since Cuba lost preferential trade agreements with Soviet Bloc countries beginning in 1989, many believed the Caribbean nation would be the next to abandon its social programs for liberal reforms. But Cuba has demonstrated time and again its ability to adapt to new challenges. Esther Perez does social work at the Martin Luther King Center and the Ministry of Culture in Havana. On the porch of a guest house in the city’s quiet Verado district, she discusses modern Cuba with a handful of visitors.

Esther Perez: You remember the Domino Theory? -That "when is Cuba coming after the last domino?" Mmm-hmm. Well, I think one of the reasons that explains why Cuba did not become the last domino has to do with some characteristics of Cuban socialism that differed from Eastern European socialism and also with the Rectification Period. The two characteristics that I think were uppermost in this difference were the fact that socialism in Cuba always meant, even during the period of closest association with the socialist countries, the continued distribution and redistribution of social wealth. The other thing that I think was uppermost in this fact was Cuban internationalism. The fact that hundreds of thousands of Cubans in the 70’s and the 80’s went to tens of countries throughout the world -underdeveloped countries, Third World countries- as soldiers or as civilian workers, as doctors, nurses, teachers -to countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, etceteras- did not just help those countries, it helps --it helped us above all. It helped a new generation -that did not have the experience of living under the conditions of underdeveloped capitalism in Cuba- to see the facts of life. To see what life was like outside.

Travis Lea: More than a generation of Cubans have grown up under the current revolutionary government. They have come to expect a certain level of guarantees from the State, like free health care, education, housing, food, and jobs. But Cuba has been faced with the difficult task of maintaining these social gains while operating internationally as a capitalist entity, making trade deals and engaging in joint ventures with foreign companies. Cuba is in what it calls the "Special Period."

The "Special Period" is a contingency plan that had been invented to deal with the possibility of a loss of trade -although leaders thought the program would be needed in the event of a military naval blockade by the U.S. and not the fall of European socialism. When the country’s economy declined by fully one-third between 1989 and 1993, Cuba implemented a broad array of reforms. The dollar was legalized as an official currency and cash remittances were allowed from the United States. Self-employment was permitted for the first time and some small family-run businesses were allowed to operate. But Perez says Cuba always knew where to draw the line.

Esther Perez: One of the measures that we’re taking in Cuba was to liberalize investment laws, but there are areas that are out of the question for investment, that cannot -you cannot -I mean all investments in Cuba have to go through government ventures. They have to be analyzed in terms of the requirements of the country. And there are areas that are absolutely protected; one of them is education. Health care is also absolutely protected. Infrastructural development is protected. So there are a number of areas that have been considered crucial to the development and to the- not just economic but spiritual development of the country, that are absolutely protected from either investment or credit.

Travis Lea: The reforms have brought with them a slew of problems that Cuba’s revolution had eliminated, like strong class distinctions and a disconnect between the value of one’s work and the reward. The common irony is that doctors make far less than cab drivers since anyone working in the dollar economy makes more money than other Cubans. Tourism has presented material images that are hard for some Cubans to resist, despite support of the revolution. Marta Munoz is a graduate student studying and teaching sustainable development at the University of Havana. She says sometimes it’s hard for her to maintain faith in the revolution when confronted with the opportunities in the dollar economy.

Marta Munoz (via translator): I’m a professional. I ride my bicycle to go to university or I just walk to university. And at my lunch time, I go the cafeteria of the university where in which we eat -the students, the professors- and we all eat the same. And maybe we have rice and beans, but at least we have that, and for everybody the same. And I walk a lot. And sometimes I’m waiting two hours for the bus. And sometimes it’s difficult to have a notebook to take my notes. And sometimes it’s difficult to have the money to buy some clothes, because I am a young person, I like to dress well. But I do think there’s something in people that’s called dignity, and those are principles. And some people say, "I’m going to give you the principle and the dignity, and you can eat them." But we have to live with that type of thing; I can’t say, "No, no, no, no, I don’t want to deal with this. I’m leaving." But I’m a professional that maybe the United States would make a lot of money. I do think we’re several people -we’re many people who have some sort of commitment, commitment with our people, commitment with the revolution. The revolution prepared us. They gave us a career; we were able to study.

Delvis Fernandez Levy: Well, there it’s obvious that there are people, now in Cuba, who want to find solutions to their problems.

Travis Lea: Delvis Fernandez Levy is a Cuban American who directs the Cuban American Alliance and Education Fund, based in Washington.

Delvis Fernandez Levy: Remember that during the "Special Period," the worst times of the "Special Period," there was a tremendous lack of goods, of food, for example. And imagine yourself in a situation where you, you know, you didn’t have food on your table or you couldn’t find a pair of shoes. That type of situation would create a mentality of, you know, perhaps of, "All for me and nothing for anyone else," you know. And so there are Cubans today that probably feel that laissez-faire is a system just a... you talk to some Cubans and you find that they’ve gone to the other extreme of trying to find a free enterprise system where the word "free" is emphasized to a level that it’s, "All for myself and nothing for anyone else." Now, I don’t think that this is a dominant class, representative of Cuban society as a whole. I was in Cuba during the Pope’s visit and I was in Cuba recently to take a humanitarian cargo, and what I see is that people pretty much want to preserve the gains of the revolution, the gains at least in terms of education and health care. I think that there are many people who also want to find a formula or a way of doing business that won’t erode that which people, in general, have access to; you know, being able, for example, to practice sports or to have a school in their neighborhood or a doctor nearby. That type of thing, I think, is so ingrained in the Cuban people that I don’t think that there are too many who want to change that; but, of course, there are some who do want to do away with public education and have, you know, only private schools. Or that want to have restaurants anywhere they want. That does exist in this society.

Esther Perez: One of the problems is the appearance, in Cuba, of a character that is omnipresent in the world today, which is the market.

Travis Lea: Esther Perez worries that romanticism about capitalism is a potential threat to revolutionary ideals.

Esther Perez: The market, which by its nature is excluding and which by its own nature creates inequalities. It has to do with tourism, and just the fact of whether you work with tourists or not and then you are able to get tips or not. But also in terms of the images that tourists imprint in the minds of people. The idea that there are hosts of people around the world who can travel and have no economic concerns and can go to beautiful hotels and supposedly spend their lives in saunas and pools and etceteras, which is, of course, reinforced by the industry of entertainment. And what you find with this is the appearance in our midst of conducts and activities that change identities and change representations in sectors of the Cuban population. For example, in Cuba, up to the "Special period," the way for personal ascent, personal realization, was very closely linked to the idea of studying and education. That was almost universal. "If I study, if I go, I have the opportunities to do it and if I go and study and go to the university or a technical institute or etceteras, I’m going to be able to realize my personal goals while at the same time doing something that has a social meaning." But now new images and representations appear. If I go to work for the tourism, it doesn’t mind if I have the ninth grade or the fifth grade or whatever.

Phillip Babich: We’ll have more of Travis Lea’s report from Havana in a few moments.

Shereen Meraji: You're listening to Making Contact, a production of the National Radio Project. (This program can now be heard across the United States, in Canada, in Haiti, South Africa, and around the world on Radio for Peace International short wave. You can also hear us on the internet.)

If you want more information about the subject of this week's program, or you would like to learn how you can get involved with Making Contact, please give us a call. It's toll-free: 800-529-5736. Call that same phone number for tapes and transcript orders. That's 800-529-5736. We also welcome comments and suggestions for future programs.

Phillip Babich: A burgeoning tourist industry has sprung up in Cuba. In fact, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has backed a proposal to lower trade sanctions against Cuba so its members can develop hotels and other businesses there. Since Cuba started its "Special Period," many U.S. companies have begun setting up shop. And, valuable U.S. dollars are in circulation. We now continue with Travis Lea’s report from Havana.

Travis Lea: Cuba’s dual economy has inspired many average citizens to do what they can to get their hands on some greenbacks. With the development of tourism came an increase in prostitution.

Esther Perez: This prostitution that is happening in Cuba is a new phenomenon. Because there were prostitutes in Cuba, Cuba was - had a great rate of prostitutes among the population at the triumph of the revolution and there were programs of education, training, etceteras so that prostitution as, I think, as an institution really disappeared in the country -which doesn’t mean that you couldn’t find somebody who would go to bed with somebody for money, but as an institution it really disappeared. Now this is a new phenomenon that began with the crisis. It is mainly linked to tourism and foreigners; there is very little prostitution taking place among Cubans, very little.

Travis Lea: Cubans have taken on the challenges of the "Special Period" with intensity; attempting to create programs that allow Cubans to attain more control over their work while still keeping with revolutionary principles. The first target of reforms was Cuba’s vast farmlands. Marta Munoz.

Marta Munoz: Since 1993, in Cuba, we’re seeing a big transformation of the agricultural system. We created the basic units of a cooperative production, with the main objective to decentralize the agricultural production in the country, and to produce more food for the self-consumption for the people who work in the agricultural sector, and to offer the possibility to sell those products in the farmers’ market. Another transformation was in 1995, we opened the farmers’ market. The farmers’ market functioned on the principle of supply and demand; so, as a result, prices are high.

Travis Lea: Backers of the revolution say cooperatives offer many advantages over purely state-run businesses. Cooperatives negotiate with the State and agree to meet certain quotas, then they operate independently to grow crops for farmers’ markets. According to Cuba’s Minister of Economic Affairs in Washington, D.C., Cuba’s shift to cooperatives has been successful. Delvis Fernandez Levy:

Delvis Fernandez Levy: Success, there again, it’s a big word. But certainly there are changes, positive changes. Things are better, much better, thanks to the efforts of people in communities within Havana to create, you know, a sense of helping one another. And you see these gardens in many parts of Havana. I mean, you will be driving or walking in a place where you see tall buildings and then all of a sudden there is this garden plot, you know, fairly sizable, with lettuce and tomatoes and all kinds of things.

Travis Lea: Advocates of cooperatives feel the ethic behind them is in line with socialist values, and are running experiments of credit based exchanges of services and labor. For "Making Contact," I’m Travis Lea reporting in Havana.

Phillip Babich: In 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Helms-Burton bill. This legislation essentially strengthened the U.S. embargo against Cuba. But its centerpiece is a provision that allows U.S. residents and corporations the right to sue foreign companies if those companies buy or sell property that was expropriated from them after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. To learn more about the U.S. government’s foreign policy toward Cuba and what Cubans are doing to promote alternative economic models, I spoke with Pam Montenero. She’s the co-coordinator of the Cuba Program at the organization called Global Exchange.

Pam Montenero: I think that the U.S. embargo of Cuba is clearly absurd. It hasn’t had any effect in terms of destabilizing the government, which is their stated goal. In fact, I think, what you find in Cuba is an increasing cohesion among the people. I mean, you know, they may have arguments with their government, in fact they do -anybody who’s been to Cuba, you know, you can talk to anybody on the street and people have wildly different opinions about what should be happening that they hold very passionately and express very freely. But you know, when they feel this huge monster ninety miles from their shore about to attack from the outside, the cohere in the way that any society would.

Phillip Babich: Despite this economic embargo, according to several independent reports a child born in Havana is twice as likely to survive to adulthood as a child born in Washington, D.C.. How’s the Cuban government managed to accomplish this despite the embargo?

Pam Montenero: Well, I mean, the Cuban revolution started back in 1959 with a program to provide universal health care, education, jobs, and a nutritious diet to all people. That was their primary goal from the beginning; it was a comprehensive program and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Infant mortality rate in Cuba today is under eight per thousand. Longevity is seventy-six. I mean, all of the quality of life indices in Cuba put them on par with the developed world; and it’s not because they’re a wealthy country and it’s not because they don’t have incredible economic problems exacerbated by the embargo, they certainly do. But it just goes to show that even a poor country that has the will and the determination to provide equitably for it’s people can do so; and in that way, it’s a model for the world.

Phillip Babich: And one of the goals of Cuba, up until their economic crisis in 1993, was to provide a liter of milk to all children under the age of fourteen. They’ve had to roll back that program some. Can you talk about what Cuba is trying to do to fill this gap?

Pam Montenero: Well, you know, as people know, I’m sure, who’re listening to this program, the Cuban economy fell between 70 and 80% in the early 1990’s when the Soviet Bloc fell apart. One of the things that happened was they had become -and they fault themselves for this today- too dependent for grain imports and herbicide and pesticide imports and everything they needed to hold their cattle and dairy industries together on the Soviet Bloc countries. And so when that happened, when the Soviet Bloc fell apart, for example, half of their cattle died in one year. So this policy of providing the liter of milk per day to all children up to the age of fourteen completely fell apart. But you know, what Cuba has going for it is this -they’re extraordinarily well-educated. I mean, they’re two percent of the population of Latin America with eleven percent of the scientists; they have 35,000 research scientists and engineers operating in over 200 institutes throughout the island. And those researchers involved in the dairy industry immediately went to work and within a year-and-a-half they had converted wings of about thirty-six dairy factories to the production of soy yogurt -which they have become now one of the expert producers of soy yogurt in the world. In this way, they’re able to supplement the diet of the children between the ages of 7 and 14 -who can’t get the milk anymore- with a good complete protein.

Phillip Babich: And Cuba’s also made some gains in developing renewable energy projects. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Pam Montenero: Yeah, I mean, that’s one of the more exciting things that’s going on there. Every other year, they have a big international conference in Santiago de Cuba on renewable energy. There’s a large center there on renewable energy research and they’re training not only Cubans there, but also scientists from all over Latin America. There is a non-profit organization, a non-governmental organization in Cuba called Cuba Solar which is comprised of about 400 scientists who have actually been involved in renewable energy research since the beginning of the revolution. One of their pet projects is to install solar panels on the roofs of family doctor clinics in the part of Cuba that is too remote to be on the electricity grid. And they’ve now installed, like, several hundred of these and it’s really quite amazing to see these burros going up into the remote regions of the mountains with solar panels on their backs; it’s kind of surreal. Actually, the most exciting and promising source of renewable energy in Cuba is biomass conversion. Now, all of their sugar mills are powered by the biomass from the sugarcane -the refuse that’s left over once they extract what they need. Cuba could actually meet all of its electricity needs and even end up with electricity to share, if they could have access to the most sophisticated technology, in terms of the conversion of the biomass to electricity.

Phillip Babich: Are these sustainability projects a matter of mere survival tactics or is there something about the Cuban government and the vision of the Cuban people to actually implement these projects?

Pam Montenero: You know, I’ve been going to Cuba since 1992. I actually didn’t start going to Cuba until the "Special Period," was well under way and now I’ve been there 18 times in the last six years. And I think, you know, you start having these fantasies, like you start thinking there’s something in the water there. I find the Cuban people incredibly innovative, visionary, compassionate, extraordinary people -and I think it does have something to do with the fact that every Cuban child knows that his government really cares about him. You grow up in an atmosphere where it’s not just your parents or your family or your community that cares about you, but your government really cares whether you’re eating or you have food or you’re getting the education that you need and you deserve. And so there’s a certain, just beautiful quality that people have when they’re cared about.

Phillip Babich: Are you concerned that the "Special Period," Cuba’s new economic phase and opening up to foreign investment will, perhaps, effect some of the impetus to create these sustainability projects?

Pam Montenero: Very concerned. I mean, I think it’s quite clear that one of the things that’s made it possible for Cuba to fully implement the amazing projects they’re doing in organic agriculture, renewable energy, natural medicine, and other ecological projects and so forth, is that they are not subject to the rules of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions that come in and try to privatize everything and makes sure that governments are going in the way that international capitalists want them to go.

Phillip Babich: And finally, do you think that progressives here in the United States should look to Cuba and some of its alternative development models as an example of what could be accomplished in this country, here in the United States?

Pam Montenero: Oh absolutely, I mean, you know, at Global Exchange we take about two delegations a month to Cuba and, you know, we’ve taken thousands of people over the last ten years -and people are invariably incredibly inspired. I mean, they’re inspired by the original idea of the revolution, just the idea of providing universal health care free of charge and education to people and that your society would be about human development rather than the development of the capacity of a certain small percentage of people to become extremely wealthy.

Phillip Babich: Well, we’ve been speaking with Pam Montenero. She’s the co-coordinator of the Cuba program at the organization called Global Exchange. Pam, thanks for joining us at Making Contact.

Pam Montenero: Thank you, Phillip.

Phillip Babich: You can get in touch with Global Exchange by calling 800-497-1994. That’s 800-497-1994. That’s it for this edition of Making Contact... a look at Cuba’s new economy. Thanks for listening. And, special thanks this week to Shereen Meraji and Susan Celli for production assistance. I’m Phillip Babich.

If you want more information about the subject of this week's program, call the National Radio Project at 800-529-5736. Call that same phone number for tapes and transcripts, or if you'd like to make a comment or suggestion for future programs. That's 800-529-5736.

Making Contact is an independent production funded by individual contributors. We're committed to providing a forum for voices and opinions not often heard in the mass media. Our National Producer is David Barsamian. Philip Babich is our Managing Producer. Our Senior Advisor is Norman Solomon. Shereen Meraji is our Production Assistant. Peggy Law is our Executive Director. Our theme music is by the Charlie Hunter Trio. For everyone at Making Contact, thanks for listening.