The GAE, a Lie Transformed into Reality

The GAE, a Lie Transformed into Reality / Juan Juan Almeida
Posted on October 29, 2015

Juan Juan Almeida, 26 October 2015 — Before the Special Period, the
financial capacity of the country had already been reduced to a minimum,
so reforms were being instituted that supposedly would "help" the nation
cope with the economic contingencies of the time.

And when the situation reached that almost invisible point at which
point any action or oversight could hasten the death of a terminally ill
patient, circumstances forced the Cuban military to become productive by
generating income from agriculture, transportation, tourism,
construction, finance and commerce.

The armed forces of the world are divided into three main services —
army, navy, air force — plus aerial defense.

Among the things the fall of the Communist bloc brought to Cuba was the
Special Period. No one can forget the famine, polyneuritis or dramatic
increase in illegal emigration, much less the events of 1994.

I think it is worth remembering that the crisis did not only affect the
civilian population. It also impacted the institutions of government,
especially those that were not productive, such as the Ministry of the
Interior (MININT) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), which were
preparing for a cataclysm. They had already experienced their own
catastrophe in 1989, when soldiers, officers and even a few generals
(some of out of a sense of duty, some out of convenience) left the
institution.

Even before the Special Period, the economic capacity of the country had
already been reduced to a minimum, so reforms were instituted that
would supposedly "help" the nation cope with the economic contingencies
of the time.

No crisis in the world explodes without prior warning, or at least not
without some sort of clue. If instability had arisen, MINFAR would have
been facing the prospect of being in a weak defensive position.
Therefore, at a meeting of the Military Council, a well-known advisor to
Raul Castro suggested scrapping the traditional organizational structure
of the armed forces and consolidating the troops under one roof. As a
result, air defense — a force much more expensive than any army — was
merged with the ground forces while the various military headquarters
were centralized under a single command. Contrary to appearances, this
was more than just a word game.

Due to lack of supplies and obsolete technology, military maneuvers came
to an end and a period of invention began. On orders from Raul a group
of innovators emerged who used the nation's financial resources to
develop a radar system that did not work and a grotesque Cuban-made
aircraft that did eventually fly but ultimately crashed. As might be
expected, the crew died with no funeral being held.
And when the situation had reached that almost invisible point at which
any action or oversight could hasten the death of a terminally ill
patient, circumstances forced the Cuban military to become productive by
generating income from agriculture, transportation, tourism,
construction, finance and commerce.

It was at this time that the Business Administration Group (GAE) was
created in an effort to control the corruption that resulted from this
new military-commercial hybrid. While it did not function very well, it
did at least appear to function, allowing the FAR to feign operational
efficiency, safety and solvency.

To put it simply, any given screw factory has production costs which
include workers' salaries, equipment, electricity, raw materials and a
few other things. All these contribute the final retail price. But the
GAE screw factory — to use an example — has no fuel costs because this
item is already covered in its budget. Besides getting the fuel for
free, it can also avail itself of prisoners, soldiers and recruits in
precarious employment situations to manufacture its product. On paper a
military screw costs nothing to produce and is sold for hard currency.
The never-ending story.
The Cuban government is expert at deception, using its know-how of
illegal methods and its undeniable skill at fomenting gossip. These
techniques, referred to as "active measures," generate a fiction that is
picked up by the press (both foreign and domestic), and used to sway
public opinion, including our own. We then repeatedly echo the lie until
it becomes the precarious truth. Besides being used as tool to control
companies and ministries, its purpose is not only to generate profits
but also torrents of uncertainty.

Source: The GAE, a Lie Transformed into Reality / Juan Juan Almeida |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-gae-a-lie-transformed-into-reality-juan-juan-almeida/