By Ray Sánchez
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted February 4 2007
Havana · Awaiting the birth of his first child, the headwaiter of a
popular tourist restaurant figured out a way to secure a $100 baby
stroller he couldn't afford to buy at a state-run store.
"I invited a group of Chilean tourists to a lobster dinner in return for
their stroller," said Eddie, 30, who asked that his full name not be
used. "I would have to stop eating for months to get a new one. Instead,
I gave away a few plates of food for it."
Eddie earns the equivalent of $12 a month at the restaurant in colonial
Old Havana, he said. His dinner guests consumed four plates of lobster
tails with steamed vegetables plus drinks. The check totaled $150. A
co-worker at the cash register agreed to look the other way.
"The tourists were leaving the next day, and they asked me to meet them
at the Habana Libre Hotel. They gave me the stroller, which was very
nice, almost new. It looked like a Lada," he said, referring to the
ubiquitous Russian-made sedans in the capital.
With Fidel Castro ailing and absent from the public eye, one of the
biggest challenges for his brother and political heir, Raúl, will be
dealing with the bleak living standards endured by many Cubans.
A dysfunctional economy means major problems with productivity and the
delivery of goods and services, forcing many Cubans to break some law in
order scrape out a living. Many steal from state enterprises and then
sell items -- from air conditioners to microwaves to lobster tails and
slabs of horsemeat -- "por la izquierda," or "from the left," a common
phrase used to refer the black market.
Communist authorities like to point out that all Cubans are guaranteed
employment and education, health care, housing and food. Still, many
workers who rely on their $12 to $15 a month in earnings from state-run
businesses said salaries alone are never enough to make ends meet.
"The perception is very clear among economists here that the Cuban
economy doesn't function," said Pedro Monreal, a professor at the Center
for Research on the International Economy. "In the end, it is difficult
to imagine popular support for whatever follows Fidel if that ...
government does not deliver in terms of the well-being of the people."
In the six months since Fidel Castro removed himself from power because
of what is suspected to be severe diverticulitis with complications, his
brother has promised to continue on the socialist track.
But unlike Fidel Castro, who framed the widespread corruption as a
matter of personal greed, Raúl Castro seems to recognize it as a
systemic problem.
In a speech before legislators in December, Raúl Castro complained about
the economic inefficiencies, saying there was no excuse for rampant food
production problems and other failings.
"In this Revolution we are tired of excuses," he said, signaling his
willingness to call officials to account for their actions.
For many Cubans, the problems with the system include inadequate public
transportation, crumbling housing, food shortages and soaring prices.
Monreal said he was encouraged by the government's willingness to at
least discuss economic reforms that years ago were considered taboo,
including decentralizing control in businesses, expanding the power of
managers at privately owned agriculture cooperatives and increasing
incentives to workers.
"What are people waiting for? Cheaper food," he said. "If the Cuban
government does not provide that, nothing of what it says will be
believed. If you cannot produce food at reasonable prices, you will have
no credibility."
Philip Peters, a Cuba analyst at the Lexington Institute, a think tank
in suburban Washington, said a change in economic direction would
broaden support for the government. "A little bit of economic reform
would go a long way politically," he said.
Eddie, the headwaiter who traded lobster tails for a baby stroller, agreed.
"The government calls it corruption," he said. "We call it survival,
subsistence. We're not criminals. Pay us what we deserve. Put food in
the markets. Watch the corruption disappear."
Ray Sánchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sun-sentinel.com.
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