By David Adams, Times Latin America Correspondent
In print: Tuesday, December 23, 2008
CONSOLACION DEL SUR, Cuba — The two hurricanes that laid waste to this
rural region of western Cuba this summer tested the communist government
like nothing had since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Three-quarters of homes in the municipality of Consolacion del Sur were
damaged, and 4,000 collapsed. High voltage towers were toppled, cutting
power from the capital, Havana, 80 miles away. Local industry, dairy and
chicken farms and the country's largest rice mill were put out of
action. Hundreds of thousands of acres of food crops were lost.
"I've never seen anything like it in my 58 years," said Maria Jose
Fachada, who spent the night of Aug. 30 with 50 relatives and neighbors
packed like sardines in her small single-story house. All their
belongings — TVs, fridges, sofas, mattresses, cooking stoves and
children's toys —were stuffed in four rooms. In the morning, after
Hurricane Gustav had barreled through, "It looked as though the end of
the world had come."
A few days later, Hurricane Ike tore down what Gustav had missed,
prompting widespread speculation that Cuba's communist government simply
wouldn't be able to pay for the estimated $10-billion recovery effort.
The 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, approaching on Dec. 31,
loomed as a potentially huge embarrassment if the government couldn't
muster resources to help its own citizens.
But barely three months later, life is slowly returning to normal. Cuba
has engineered a remarkable recovery that serves as a reminder of the
organizational capacity of the Communist Party system.
"The party is all about solidarity, and while it's true that we lack
many things in Cuba, the hurricanes showed we still stand together,"
said Fachada.
• • •
The timing of the hurricanes could not have been worse for Cuba's
communists. Before taking over in February from his ailing brother Fidel
Castro, Cuba's new president, armed forces chief Raul Castro, declared
food production his number one priority.
Cuba imports 80 percent of the food consumed by its 11.2-million
inhabitants, making it highly vulnerable to the commodity price shocks
and foreign currency swings in recent months. Cuba's imports this year
are estimated at $2.5-billion, up 56 percent from last year.
Even before the hurricanes hit, Raul Castro warned of the impact of the
international economic crisis. "The goals of our people in terms of
material goods cannot be very ambitious," he said in a speech July 26.
Food scarcity after the storms has led to unpopular measures. To meet
public needs, the Cuban government moved swiftly to curtail private
farmers markets, forcing producers to sell directly to the government.
Police also cracked down on the door-to-door black market upon which
many Cubans depend.
Milk, cheese and fresh fish became impossible to obtain, except in
expensive state-run stores for imported goods where a liter of milk
(roughly a quart) sells for more than 60 Cuban pesos, the equivalent of
almost one week's salary.
"It's impossible to live in Cuba without the underground economy," said
Dagoberto Valdes, 53, a civic activist in Pinar del Rio. He described
how his 22-year-old son was stopped in the central square a few days
earlier after police found five oranges in a bag he was carrying.
He was let go only after he explained that the oranges came from his
grandmother's garden.
"We are living in a virtual state of siege," Valdes said. "Everything is
centralized and controlled as never before."
• • •
Immediately after the storms, Cuban infantry soldiers were deployed to
remove hurricane debris and clear roads. "We were ready when the storms
hit, and we had a lot of roof tiles and emergency supplies in place,"
said Tania Licor, 34, the Communist Party ideological chief in
Consolacion del Sur.
Food was trucked in from other provinces. Crews from the state
electricity company restored power throughout the province within 52
days. Large railcar-sized diesel generators were brought in to provide
immediate power to some towns.
"To make repairs we have used a strategy of better use of the resources
we have," she said, describing how state-run businesses cannibalized
damaged buildings to fix up others.
"That roof is new," said Julio Silvino, 49, director of the large Bay of
Pigs Victory rice mill, pointing to patched roofing on a damaged drying
tower.
Located eight miles from the coast, the mill recorded wind speeds of 155
mph. Despite losing 1,200 exterior panels, it was back at 50 percent
capacity only 15 days after Gustav hit. By April, the mill expects its
four drying towers to be fully repaired.
Two "construction brigades," each with 200 workers, are working their
way down a list of damaged homes.
Today, new roofs cover most homes, albeit many only hastily patched with
large rectangular sheet tiles made from a rigid cement fiber. The state
supplies the 6-by-4-foot sheets at a heavily subsidized price of less
than 30 cents each.
"I am looking forward to moving back in," said paint-splattered physical
education teacher Maria Luisa Garcia, as friends and neighbors hammered
in the last roof tiles. She, her husband and their 10-year-old son have
spent the last three months living with her in-laws.
Food staples are back in markets. Towns have planted rows of vegetables
by the roadside to provide emergency food for schools and hospitals. The
tobacco fields are a resplendent green with new plants, and the harvest
this year is expected to be of a high quality. New electricity poles
line the highway from Havana, and most power has been restored.
But for some Pinar del Rio residents, this year's hurricane season could
be their last in Cuba.
"My father is applying for family reunification with relatives in the
United States," said Yovel Hernandez, 25, who lost his house to the storm.
"When he gets there then I will start planning to leave the same way,"
he said. "Hurricanes or no hurricanes, I don't see any economic hope here."
David Adams can be reached a dadams@sptimes.com.
[Last modified: Dec 26, 2008 10:07 AM]
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