Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Cuban Capitalists
The besieging of the wives of 75 dissidents by a mob on Palm Sunday was a strong political statement by Fidel. Yet this attack was carried out by a mere 200 members of a government-backed organisation clearly orchestrated by Fidel. And it may be true that the economy is looking better after economic assistance from Venezuela and China, but despite food shortages, frequent blackouts, and crumbling infrastructure, the vast majority of Cubans are patiently waiting for change.
Last year´s May Day speech was a lackluster affair, with little revolutionary fervour beyond uninspired flag-waving among a crowd of one million, many of whom were bussed in from the neighbouring countryside by their state employers. For a growing number of Cubans, however, that patience may be waning. Cubans increasingly have access to the hard currency revenues of tourism, and are using their newfound wealth to acquire cable television and to access the internet. The hours spent by unemployed youths watching graphic displays of gun violence on HBO and seeing the latest ultra-rich lifestyles of gansta-rap on MTV are not cathartic, and it won´t be long before envy for Western lifestyles and consumerism rises to a dangerous level. Indeed, this is already happening, with Cubans increasingly frequenting dollar stores (which open and close according to the whims of Castro) to purchase portable stereo systems and the streets of Havana filling with hustlers hawking cigars, hostels, restaurants, and women.
The economic woes of the Soviet bloc forced Castro to open the island to Western tourists and influences, occasionally reversing reforms, yet he can´t turn back the clock on an enterprising people who have voraciously embraced the temptations of American-style consumerism. In the past, Cuba's president has cleverly outwitted American officials in the past, notably the Mariel exodus in 1980, when Fidel released 125,000 discontents, criminals, and mentally ill upon the shores of Florida.
So how should the Bush Adminstration handle this thorn in their side? When I was 16 and licensed to drive, I would shuffle back and forth from one parent to the other, asking for permission to take either of their cars out on a Friday night. Sometimes I would succeed, other times I was denied and had to rely on friends who would pick me up at my house. I believed the only way out of this quandry was to purchase my own vehicle, yet that was prohibited by my parents. The pressures within me to buy a car did not go away, and only increased over time. Eventually these pressures reached boiling point, and I went against my parents wishes and purchased a 1969 Volkwagen Bug for $75, in effect declaring my freedom from their tyranny. If the Bush Administration were truely serious about regime change they would borrow a page from Castro´s book and encourage consumerism by lifting the trade embargo - building upon the desire of Cubans to better their position in life and creating an exodus of capitalist consumers within Cuba. Of course, once the floodgates are open, Cuba will have changed forever, and in many ways for the worse. Pity the tourist who waits to travel to Cuba, only to find another Cancun...
Last year´s May Day speech was a lackluster affair, with little revolutionary fervour beyond uninspired flag-waving among a crowd of one million, many of whom were bussed in from the neighbouring countryside by their state employers. For a growing number of Cubans, however, that patience may be waning. Cubans increasingly have access to the hard currency revenues of tourism, and are using their newfound wealth to acquire cable television and to access the internet. The hours spent by unemployed youths watching graphic displays of gun violence on HBO and seeing the latest ultra-rich lifestyles of gansta-rap on MTV are not cathartic, and it won´t be long before envy for Western lifestyles and consumerism rises to a dangerous level. Indeed, this is already happening, with Cubans increasingly frequenting dollar stores (which open and close according to the whims of Castro) to purchase portable stereo systems and the streets of Havana filling with hustlers hawking cigars, hostels, restaurants, and women.
The economic woes of the Soviet bloc forced Castro to open the island to Western tourists and influences, occasionally reversing reforms, yet he can´t turn back the clock on an enterprising people who have voraciously embraced the temptations of American-style consumerism. In the past, Cuba's president has cleverly outwitted American officials in the past, notably the Mariel exodus in 1980, when Fidel released 125,000 discontents, criminals, and mentally ill upon the shores of Florida.
So how should the Bush Adminstration handle this thorn in their side? When I was 16 and licensed to drive, I would shuffle back and forth from one parent to the other, asking for permission to take either of their cars out on a Friday night. Sometimes I would succeed, other times I was denied and had to rely on friends who would pick me up at my house. I believed the only way out of this quandry was to purchase my own vehicle, yet that was prohibited by my parents. The pressures within me to buy a car did not go away, and only increased over time. Eventually these pressures reached boiling point, and I went against my parents wishes and purchased a 1969 Volkwagen Bug for $75, in effect declaring my freedom from their tyranny. If the Bush Administration were truely serious about regime change they would borrow a page from Castro´s book and encourage consumerism by lifting the trade embargo - building upon the desire of Cubans to better their position in life and creating an exodus of capitalist consumers within Cuba. Of course, once the floodgates are open, Cuba will have changed forever, and in many ways for the worse. Pity the tourist who waits to travel to Cuba, only to find another Cancun...
