Alarm Bells on the Route of the Illegal Market

Alarm Bells on the Route of the Illegal Market / 14ymedio, Orlando Palma
Posted on November 28, 2015

14ymedio, Orlando Palma, Havana, 27 November 2015 – Children's clothes
and sneakers were a part of the goods being called out by an illegal
vendor this Thursday on Galiano Street in Havana. Although it is just
four days until the migratory restrictions on Cubans announced by
Ecuador take effect, alarm has already spread among merchants and "mules."

The news of the new visa requirement for Cubans, starting on December 1,
has fallen like a bucket of cold water, and not just among those who
were planning to leave with Quito being the first step to their final
destination: the United States. The bad news also affects a wide network
in importing, distribution and sale of illegal goods that range from
cleaning supplies to sophisticated appliances.

This Friday, when there are still no tangible effects of the change, the
vendors already anticipate a drastic fall in their merchandise and
customers fear the loss of variety in clothing and footwear now
available on the illegal market. On the street, many speculate that the
probability that prices will rise in the coming days and will trigger
sales, especially so close to Christmas.

The mules who arrive in Havana on the Taca flight that landed shortly
after five in the afternoon on Thursday felt fortunate. Coming from
Quito, after a stop in San Salvador, the Cubans felt like shipwreck
survivors and were received with relief by their families outside the
airport.

The luggage belt was full of the so-called bolas – suitcases full of
clothes, shoes and home appliances, wrapped in nylon in the airport of
origin. The customs dispatch the bolas first and the passengers with
suitcases have to wait behind the priority of the obvious freight
traffic. Despite strict legislation approved in September 2014 on
non-commercial imports, a whole network of corruption guarantees that
the merchandise passes through the controls without major incidents.

A young man of 32, who asked to remain anonymous, was one of the
fortunate ones who ended his trip to Ecuador without legal holdups. "We
arrived just in time," he told 14ymedio on his arrival at Terminal 3 at
Havana's José Martí International Airport, where he heard about the
announcement of the new restrictions on Cuban nationals entering
Ecuador. "There was a rumor there that they were going to close the door
soon, but we never imagined it would be so soon," he added.

The boy's luggage contained everything from Christmas wreaths to a
carpenter's saw. "I should have risked bringing more stuff, because now
I don't know when I'll be able to travel," he lamented while his cousin
helped him to push two carts full of bolas and boxes between which a
flat screen TV also peeked out.

From now on Ecuador will apply the same restrictions as Panama, Mexico
and the other nearby nations, which already require Cubans to have a
visa to enter the country. Instead, holders of Spanish passports or
Cubans with five-year visas to the United States will be able to travel
freely, as before, to all those countries, including Ecuador. For
informal traders, this path was a safe route despite the high ticket
prices, which in the high season can exceed $1,000 US.

The buyers have also benefited from the use of this Ecuadorian trade
route. The high prices of products in state sores push many families to
buy their clothes and shoes in the illegal market, following an
unwritten maxim often shared on this island: priority to individuals,
rather than the State.

A pair of sneakers, which in the hard currency stores cost around 45
convertible pesos (roughly $45 US), can but got for half the price and
of better quality. "You see these Adidas? You can't find them here,"
says Victor Manuel, a high school student who says he lives for clothes.
"That's what matters most to me," he says.

The official press published a note this Friday on the new immigration
rules for Cubans going to Ecuador. In the same issue, an article
criticized the preference for foreign products among Cuban children and
youth. The main reproach is directed directly to backpacks and
accessories with the faces of Barbie dolls which are some of the
products the mules import from Ecuador.

Despite the fears, some traders seem confident that the situation will
be resolved. "We'll find another way, we always have done," assured the
young man who arrived on the Taca flight. The bolas that he brought on
his last trip from Ecuador barely fit in the family car that came to
pick him up at the airport.

Source: Alarm Bells on the Route of the Illegal Market / 14ymedio,
Orlando Palma | Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/alarm-bells-on-the-route-of-the-illegal-market-14ymedio-orlando-palma/