By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA, Jun 20 (IPS) - Cuba is paradoxically the same, yet not the same,
under President Raúl Castro, who said he would change "everything that
should be changed" to perfect the socialist path taken by the revolution
nearly half a century ago.
While most of the expected or predicted transformations have yet to
materialise, the stage is being set by ending some of the prohibitions
that particularly irritated a society educated for decades to be
egalitarian.
Digna María likes to say that she now feels like other Latin Americans,
because she can have a mobile phone, spend a night at a five-star hotel,
or buy a computer.
"I may never be able to afford to do any of those things, but I have
been given back my right to do them," she said with conviction.
She disagrees with those who argue that lifting the restrictions
preventing Cubans from staying at hotels reserved for international
tourists was merely a "cosmetic" change.
"I could never understand the reason for that ban," Digna María told
IPS, on condition that her surname be withheld.
Her remarks reflect the reception of some of these unaccustomed
novelties in Cuban society, where hope is mingled with uncertainty and
contradictions, together with frustration in some sectors aspiring to
more radical changes, either for or against socialism.
Government decisions taken in March and April granted Cubans access to
mobile phones, computers, motorcycles, DVD players and other household
appliances, sold in the network of shops accepting only hard currency.
"They were particularly irksome prohibitions. The fact that Raúl
(Castro) eliminated them was understood by many people here as a
liberalisation or a vindication," a veteran of the rebel army commanded
by Fidel Castro which took power on Jan. 1, 1959 told IPS from Santiago
de Cuba, 847 kilometres east of Havana.
FUTURE CHANGES
Many people are hoping that other restrictions will soon be cancelled,
such as limitations on foreign travel, the right to own homes and cars,
and broader freedom for self-employment, which has been permitted for an
increasingly narrow range of occupations and subject to rules that
sometimes make it impracticable, according to economic sources.
Cubans wishing to travel for personal reasons need a letter of
invitation from a friend or relative abroad, and an exit permit from the
authorities, among other requirements that hinder and, in some cases,
prevent them from making the trip.
In April there were persistent rumours that a reform measure eliminating
both these restrictions was about to enter into force, although it was
said to exclude doctors, military personnel, and recent university
graduates who had not completed their obligatory two years of social
service.
According to sources knowledgeable on migration issues, these exceptions
have complicated the adoption of the new measures. But the very fact
that flexibilisation of rules that have been in force for decades is
being discussed is seen as another important change. "People feel that
they are finally being listened to," a researcher said.
These and other changes, regarded as necessary by the majority of Cuba's
11.2 million people, are part of 1.3 million proposals that emerged from
debates convened by the government itself to discuss a critical speech
by Raúl Castro on Jul. 26, 2007, when he was still acting president.
Among the concerns expressed was the fall in the quality of public
education, once an untouchable subject, which was debated at the Seventh
Congress of the Cuban Writers and Artists Union (UNEAC), held in early
April.
Then Education Minister Luis Ignacio Gómez was dismissed before the end
of the month.
Another sign of the times was the Jun. 4 approval by Public Health
Minister José Balaguer of standards for comprehensive medical care for
transsexuals, including free sex change operations.
RAÚL CASTRO'S PRIORITIES
A discreet man known for his outstanding organisational skills, Raúl
Castro announced in July 2007 the main planks of his government
programme. At that time he was provisionally replacing his 81-year-old
brother Fidel, who is still convalescing from the illness that prompted
him not to seek another presidential term in February.
This week, which featured an official visit to Havana by Uruguayan
President Tabaré Vázquez starting on Wednesday, the historic leader of
the Cuban Revolution showed that while he has to rest, he has not fully
retired from the national political scene.
Vázquez held official talks with Raúl Castro and visited the Latin
American School of Medicine (ELAM) in Havana, where he thanked Cuban
doctors who carried out free eye operations on 2,000 Uruguayans. He also
spent two hours and 20 minutes in conversation with Fidel.
"Fidel is alive and kicking, thinking, writing and creating important
strategic guidelines for Cuba and Latin America. And Raúl has taken up
the reins," Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said during a lightning
visit to his ailing friend on Tuesday.
Official video images and photographs of the meeting showed the Castro
brothers and Chávez talking about the impact of soaring world food
prices, which they called "a strategic issue and a national security
problem."
The issue is of the highest priority for Raúl Castro, a military
strategist who had already taken measures to guarantee food for the
Cuban people in the economic crisis of the 1990s, arguing that at that
time "beans were more important than guns."
In his speech last July, Castro admitted that salaries were too low and
that farming did not produce enough to supply the food needs of a
country where the cost of food imports this year will rise to between
1.9 and two billion dollars.
In keeping with his promise "to introduce whatever structural and
conceptual changes are necessary" to increase productivity in the Cuban
countryside, the agricultural and livestock sector is being
restructured, beginning with an increase in the prices paid by the state
to farmers for milk and meat.
The restructuring is ongoing, and its full extent is still uncertain. As
far as is known, it will include giving more decision-making power to
the municipalities, establishing new forms of marketing, and even
distributing idle land to small farmers.
STRAIGHT TO THE POCKETBOOK
In regard to wages, a February Labour Ministry resolution widened the
system of performance-based payment (with productivity bonuses) to the
entire state enterprise system, in order to stimulate production.
It was explained that the purpose of the resolution is to "increase
productivity, reduce expenses and costs, and decrease energy
consumption," as well as improve the quality of goods and services,
replace imports, and increase exports and state revenues.
As for workers not covered by the performance-based wage system, in May
a wage increase of up to 55 percent came into effect for the judicial
sector, as well as a general raise in pensions and assistance to
low-income families, of up to 20 percent.
The Sixth Congress of the governing Communist Party, to be held in late
2009, is regarded as a key milestone in the process of change,
especially for determining a forward-looking economic strategy that will
supercede solutions improvised on the spur of the moment.
The Congress may open up new channels for diversity, in a society that
is learning to be more tolerant of difference, and to discuss frankly
and without fear of disagreements. "Never before have people talked so
openly about their reality in the streets of Cuba," said one local
writer. (END/2008)
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