Social pressures rise in isolated Cuba

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SOCIALIST ACTION JANUARY 1992.11 Can the Cuban Revolution survive now that the Soviet Union has backed off on trade relations and joined George Bush's New World Order? This question is being asked by both enemies and friends of the Cuban Revolution. It is a question I've wrestled with since returning from Cuba after a month-long stay in October 1991.

The U.S. blockade against Cuba has been strengthened now that the Soviet Union has capitulated to the "New World Order." If Cuba remains isolated, the Cuban Communist Party (CCP) could be crushed by counter-revolutionary forces.

The effects of the U.S. blockadeboth socially and economically— are taking their toll. The dramatically increased scarcity of all goods is generating social forces that are hostile to the revolution and the Castro leadership.

In Havana there is a five-mile stretch of road along the ocean called the Malecón. It is on this stretch of road that Cuba's problems lay exposed in plain view of everyone.

Cubans will approach foreigners, calling out to them, "Hey friend, where are you from? You want to change?" Cubans are eager to trade pesos for dollars. Everyone seems to be hustling for dollars these days. It is not just the troublemakers who are changing dollars. Everyone shops the black market for items not found in the state stores.

The Malecón is a sad place at night. Thousands of hungry and bored Cubans sit atop the tide-breakers looking out to sea.

Joyce Stoller Soviet working class losing power. Castro years-old, work the Malecón.

Castro praised the democratic nature of the 4th Congress. Religious people can now join the CCP. But a youth who was watching the TV broke in saying, "We don't even know what went on there."

Democracy in Cuba? This is a ticklish question. When in the history of humanity has there been democracy in a besieged fortress? The U.S. blockade has kept Cuba in a state of war. Cuba has never known peace and prosperity, which are prime requisites for democracy. All political activity is conducted through the Cuban Communist Party. There are no vibrant debates in the streets or diverse political journals published in Cuba. As in a military fort, decisions are made at the top and then enforced through a chain of command.

Cubans, like soldiers in a fort, are obliged to work responsibly for the good of the country. People caught by the Coast Guard escaping on rafts are treated as deserters and receive an automatic year and a half in prison for the first attempt. I met quite a few people with prison time hanging over their heads.

It is difficult for a foreigner to become intimately acquainted with Cubans. But luck would have it that an English teacher by the name of Alfredo came to my aid at a bus terminal. He offered me his services as an interpreter. I was trying to catch a bus to Santiago and eavesdrop for news in the street about the 4th Congress.

But the buses were going nowhere. Families had been waiting for three days to leave Havana. "Forget Santiago," Alfredo said. "Come to my house."

Problems of everyday life Alfredo lived with his father, maternal aunt, brother and sister in a tumbledown home in an Havana suburb. Alfredo told me that it was normal for three to four generations to live under one roof. All the homes