Hopes of change fading in Cuba
HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters) -- Ernesto Perez takes a swig from a rum bottle
on Havana's weathered Malecon sea wall and says he cannot wait to have
the state off his back.
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Some Cubans see Raul Castro as a reformer, but little has changed since
his brother handed power to him last year.
The 19-year-old university graduate drives a battered Soviet-era
Moskovich car for a living as a cabdriver. Like many Cubans, he is
looking for more opportunity to get ahead.
"Either this changes or we will have to find a way to leave," he said
pointing to the Florida Straits that separate Cuba from the United
States by 90 miles (145 kilometers).
In Cuba, one thing is certain: Little has changed since ailing Cuban
leader Fidel Castro handed over power to his brother Raul a year ago.
Perez says he earns more as a "botero" (private cabdriver) than
university-trained professionals can earn under Cuba's state system. But
government inspectors make life difficult for him and other boteros.
When Castro was sidelined by illness last July, many Cubans hoped for
changes that would improve their economic lot. Some hoped the end of
communism was near. Others saw Raul Castro as a reformer who would
follow China and open up the economy.
Cubans long for a day when they can buy cellular phones, computers and
cars, stay at hotels reserved for foreigners, open small businesses or
travel abroad at will.
The government recently took one step in that direction by allowing
Cubans to bring DVDs and car parts through customs.
It is not certain whether further easing of controls will follow, or
indeed whether Castro, who will be 81 in August and has not appeared in
public for a year, will return to governing Cuba.
"The country is calm, though people are saying that Raul wants to fix
things and Fidel is opposed," said Jose, a travel agent and Communist
Party member, sitting under a parasol on a beach.
"Raul is a practical man. He sees something that does not work, he says
change it. The first thing they have to do is improve salaries. People
don't earn enough for food," he said.
Many Cubans hope Fidel Castro, who is recovering from life-threatening
intestinal surgery, will take a back seat as elder statesman and give
his brother room to make changes.
"Fidel is still lucid and sticks to his belief in an egalitarian
society," Jose said.
In La Corea, one of Havana's poorest communities, Dagoberto Ona keeps
the faith. The bricklayer believes "el Comandante" can still resolve
Cuba's problems, even from an armchair.
"Forget it. We are going to continue marching ahead slowly. Fidel might
be ill, but he is still calling the shots, and expressing his views," he
said, smoking his fifth cigar of the day, a low-quality stogie sold for
1 peso (5 U.S cents).
Pigs squeal and children play in the neighborhood officially considered
unfit to live in. Urban improvements are being funded by nongovernmental
organizations from Spain and Italy.
"Our party will raise salaries again soon," said Ona, 48, who earns 350
pesos ($17) a month, plus a $10 bonus.
For Pichi, an impatient odd-job man boasting a cell phone and an MP3
player, that's too late.
"They stole 40 years of my life, all my opportunities. Before there was
hope of change, now there is none," he said.
The former taxi driver, who has tried to make ends meet as a mechanic
and an electrician, said 15 acquaintances had left Cuba by sea since
May, picked up by smugglers' speed boats.
Yaima Campanat, hitching a ride to the beach to meet foreigners, spend a
night out and maybe make some money, said all she needed was a good job
to support herself and her 2-year-old boy. Focused on day-to-day
survival, she has no interest in politics anymore.
"All young Cubans think the same. If only one could work for good pay
and be able to buy clothes and shoes and things they have in other
countries, less people would leave," she said. "But where is that job?
It doesn't exist."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/07/23/cuba.castro.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest
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