Cuba, Misconceptions and Realities
By Alexander Dennis
Modern Cuba, depending on who you talk to is often described in black on white terms. To some it is a perfect tropical socialist utopia, where inequality has been eliminated, the most vulnerable members of society are looked after, and a benevolent government promises jobs, healthcare, and education in equal measure to all members of society. To others, Cuba is an oppressed and closed society run by a brutal totalitarian dictatorship, which has systematically driven away capital, repressed political dissent and strangled the economy to a point where the basic needs of the Cuban citizenry can no longer be met. The reality is somewhere in between.
Cuba does indeed excel at providing both high quality universal education, and healthcare to its population. The country is in fact famous for its doctors and for its skilled labor force, a feat made all the more impressive by its general lack of resources. Cuba’s healthcare system in particular, is noteworthy for having attained nearly identical health outcomes as that of the United States for only a fraction of the cost.
Of further note, social and economic inequality, a severe problem in many Latin American and Carribean countries, is almost non-existent in Cuba. Homelessness is illegal and significant efforts are made by the Cuban government to ensure that the most marginal members of society are taken care of.
Despite this, the economic realities on the ground in Cuba are harsh. Cuban economic growth, despite Soviet aid programs and subsidies, slowed significantly from 1959 until 1991, when the collapse of the Soviet Union caused a severe economic depression in Cuba. This depression, referred to as “the special period” by the government was characterized by severe shortages of just about every type, and an inability of the country to feed its own people. It has been estimated that during this period the average Cuban adult lost 15 pounds due to insufficient caloric intake. While Cuba has now emerged from this period, largely by establishing new trading partners, diversifying its economy, and partially privatizing the tourism and food production sectors of its economy, the economy is still heavily stagnant. A lack of wholesalers, government price and wage ceilings, rationing, and poorly designed incentive systems have kept income low. This has led to further, quality control and supply chain problems which are pervasive throughout the economy. Poor management of institutions that provide consumer goods and services is fairly ubiquitous, and even as a tourist coming from a position of privilege, you will come across this phenomenon in the many state run hotels and restaurants in Havana or elsewhere on the island. All of these problems of course are only exacerbated by the embargo, which has only served to impoverish the Cuban people further without changing the political reality on the island.
This political reality, of course, is complicated. Cuba only has one recognized political party and as the only political party, they have near complete power to shape the official historical narrative of the country, which they do heavily through the use of propaganda posters and the aggrandizement of token political figures such as the Cuban five and Che Guevara when it suits their interests. Speaking out against the government can definitely get you in trouble if you antagonize the government enough. From anecdotal conversations with locals, I learned that retribution seldom comes in the form of jail time. Instead the government, which controls most of the economy, simply makes life difficult for you by removing subsidies to you and your family.
Despite this however, the government does not appear to use these powers liberally. To varying degrees, many individuals came forward and were quite candid about the failures of government to both me and my group. In contrast to countries such as China, there was often little or no government police and military presence in the streets. Complaints about the economy were particularly common. The combination of excellent schooling coupled with lack of economic opportunity has created a large class of intelligent people who are very much aware of the situation in which they live and would like to see significant increases in their standard of living, particularly given their skill levels. Many of these individuals have either left the country to attain higher incomes or work full or part time in the partially privatized tourism sector, where a bartender can made many times as much income as a doctor.
Regardless of what your perceptions of it are, Cuba is a beautiful, contradictory, complex country filled with intelligent, fun-loving and caring people. Their culture and history runs deep, and regardless of where you are in the country you cannot help but be astounded by the music, food, architecture (excluding soviet development projects) and hospitality of the country. Regardless of their political views Cubans have one universal thing in common, pride of their country. Its not something you’ll fully understand until you go there, but once you do you won’t want to leave.
Alexander Dennis
Monterey Institute of International Studies Graduate
MA/MBA in International Environmental Policy, December 2014
