Like many Americans, I was overjoyed upon hearing President Obama announce his plan to normalize diplomatic relations with Cuba. Although there has been some question (especially from the conservative end of the American political spectrum) around the negotiation strategy used by the President to strike a deal with the Cuban government to exchange prisoners and reopen embassies, lawmakers and citizens from both sides of the aisle have expressed sentiment that this was a necessary and overdue shift in US foreign policy. That said, upon reflecting on my experiences and observations having traveled to the country twice in the last year as the wife of a Cuban citizen, my excitement was quickly overpowered by strong feelings of concern and uncertainty for my family there with regard to how this policy change could impact their lives.
If Congress decides to lift the embargo and the US begins trading with Cuba, it seems to me that the Cuban government will need to rework some aspects of the rhetoric of the Castro regime, which has historically placed blame for much of the country's economic hardships due to lack of resources (food, materials, technology, etc.) on the U.S. embargo. I have to wonder if the Cuban government will either shift the blame and maintain the status quo, or be forced to change the system. I hope it's the latter, and that there will be an increase in economic opportunity for the citizens. My concerns arise from the fact that the Castro regime has framed this as a victory for the revolution, hailed the released prisoners as national heroes, and emphasized in recent speeches that Cuba will remain communist and that the US should respect the Cuban system.
So, what will this mean for the average Cuban moving forward? Cuba's system has some things that work really well - education and healthcare, for instance. But, the average Cuban's day-to-day life, really, no es fácil.
One of the biggest sources of the problems I have observed for the Cubans is the combination of low salary, the inability to find ways to [legally] increase your income, and the two-currency economic system. Salaries are extremely low (equivalent to $10-20 monthly, on average), no matter what career a person has. It is possible to start a business now (if you have the money to invest, of course), but the government takes a huge cut (i.e. taxes). Many people sell items and services on the black market to get by. On top of that, everything in stores is sold in "chavitos" (Cuban Convertible Peso, CUC), but the people get paid in Cuban pesos (this is part of the two-sided economic system they have there). So, they have to convert their paychecks to another currency (for a fee) before they can make any purchases. However, items in stores are outrageously expensive even by America standards. I should write a separate blog post on "shopping in Cuba." Then, there is the food ration card issue. I think I'll write a separate blog post on that, too.
In any event, only people who have money are either lucky to have a job where they can get extra money from tourists or if they have relatives who send remittances from abroad. Then, there is also this constant frustration of sometimes having the money, but not being able to get the things you need (or vice versa) - if you have money and things are available to buy at the same time, it is really your lucky day. Luckily, in the big cities they usually have things, but in the smaller cities and towns, it is very common to go to the store and repeatedly hear customers ask for things and then have the store workers respond with "No hay, mi amor" ("There isn't any, my love").
I am afraid if things open up and the economy doesn't change, things will actually get worse for the Cuban people before it gets better. Just as an example: Regarding travel, if there is a sudden influx of American tourists, and the government doesn't prepare with improvements in the food supply and other necessary goods or improve the infrastructure, it's going to be a mess. It is already to hard to find things, what will happen when more of the products get funneled to the tourist area? There won't be anything available in stores and black market prices will probably skyrocket.
Also, selfishly, I am afraid the price of tickets to fly to Cuba are going to increase dramatically as well, and it will be harder for us to get down there and see the family.
There are soooo many things. I have been holding out on blogging about Cuba for a year now. More to come...
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