I recent visitors to Cuba

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The Soviet ships no longer steam into Havana Harbor laden with petroleum and food. The cops are legion. Armed with clubs and guns, they stand sullenly on street corners. The popular militias still muster, but no longer do they keep their arms.

A Malecón street dance is monitored strictly. Cops drag out many disorderly young men from the crowd and shove them into Ministry of Interior paddy wagons. A youth says something smart and within a second he's rubbing his jaw and the cop is holstering his club.

A Black youth sits next to me at a bus stop. He says, "I'm not afraid to talk to you. Many people are. They (plainclothes cops) watch our moves. We must be careful. It's bad here. I want to leave."

The youth and I stare at the overcrowded buses sputtering black clouds of smoke as they roar by. The Cubans call the buses "wahs-wahs" because they sound like crying babies. Many of the Cubans I saw in Havana never smiled; their faces were gaunt, as if they were enduring some kind of never-ending irritation-long lines and hunger.

The Cubans resent tourists eating their food and buying their commodities. Cuban homes are going to hell. The bureaucracy involved in obtaining even a nail is aggravating. Consequently, many Cubans are blaming both the blockade and Castro for their misery.

Can Cuba survive alone?

The Cuban Communist Party (CCP) theoreticians are trying to sell the line that the Cuban Revolution, in and of itself, can solve Cuba's problems. But cold reality is pushing a counter-line that says otherwise.

Let us examine the conditions that make Cuba so vulnerable to the U.S. blockade. First of all, Cuba lacks a domestic source of oil—this poses the greatest threat to Cuba's independence and its socialist revolution. Cuba is forced to barter on the world market for this essential commodity. The world's capitalists demand U.S. dollars for their oil.

And now, so does the Soviet Union.

The capitalist press leaves this important fact out of their articles condemning the Cuban revolution, just as they omit mentioning the 30-year U.S. economic embargo. The United States government is directly responsible for the shortages plaguing Cuba.

Most of the commodities produced by Cuban industry and agriculture are shipped abroad for U.S. dollars. Commodities not exported abroad are placed in tourist and technicians' stores. These stores accept only U.S. dollars.

Cuba needs oil. Without it, there would be no industrial civilization. Without fueled trucks, agricultural products would never reach the cities from the countryside. If there is hunger in Cuba today, then without oil, there would be starvation.

Communist Party Congress

The Cuban Communist Party held its 4th Congress in mid-October. The slogan and political line of the congress was: "Our most sacred duty is to save the country, the revolution, and socialism." The slogan and political line is anti-Stalinist and revolutionary. A Stalinist communist party, at this historical juncture, would place their industries and working class in the clutches of the New World Order. The Cuban CP wants to protect the gains of the revolution and safeguard Cuba's independence.

But there were some grim aspects to this congress, which took place while I was there. All journalists and foreign socialists were barred from attending. Reports coming out of the congress were censored. We couldn't discer whether or not there was a debate. Socialists the world over have speculated about the emergence of a Gorbachevite wing in the CCP. Whether or not this is so remains to be seen.

Castro's inability to identify positively with working class struggles in the degenerated workers' states was demonstrated again at the 4th Congress. Castro called the mass movement-like the one that successfully foiled the Soviet Communist Party's coup in August—an example of the said that the collapse of the former socialist camp hadn't been fully analyzed and that its collapse couldn't be discussed at the congress.

The Castro leadership is desperate to fill the hole left behind by the collapse of the Soviet Union. They hope to convince oil-rich countries like Mexico and Venezuela to defy U.S. imperialism and trade with But any serious breaching of the blockade by these countries could be thwarted by the United States raising the interest rates on loans owed by these comprador states. The United States, using its leverage in international finance institutions (like the IMF), could cripple the ability of these countries to do business in the world markets.

Castro and the CCP are forced to take a pragmatic approach to Cuba's isolated situation for a number of reasons-the main reason being that for over 40 years the U.S. working class has been quiescent. Furthermore, out of the seething chaos in today's Soviet Union, a conscious working class leadership hasn't emerged as a contender for state power. The international struggle for socialism is weakened tremendously without the powerful American and Soviet working class in motion.

In the past the Castro leadership heroically embraced the concept of international assistance to other countries. Cuba was the only workers' state to call for a united front defense of Vietnam when it was fighting against U.S. aggression. The Cubans have unselfishly donated their scant resources to Third World countries. Thousands of Cubans gave their lives in Angola fighting South African imperialism. But today, Cuba is standing alone.

Discomfort can breed cynicism It was awkward to sit with some Cubans around the TV set listening to Castro's lengthy 4th Congress speechesespecially when Castro warned that prostitution and other social ills would return if capitalism was restored in Cuba. The Cubans I was with heckled him and shifted uneasily in their seats.

Unfortunately, prostitution has retumed to Cuba. These women are called "jineteras," deriving from the Spanish word "jinete," meaning rider. "Jineteras" work Havana's 5th Ave., flagging down tourist cars. The novice "jineteras" , under 20 I visited in Cuba had three to four generations living in each apartment and home. Cubans are plagued by housing shortages.

The people of this Havana suburb were professionals, musicians, independent tradesmen, and even black marketeers. They worked at professions and trades that didn't foster a spirit of discipline and cooperation.

Historically, when rations and material conditions are deteriorating, these people inadvertently become pawns of counter-revolution in an isolated workers' state.

One of Alfredo's neighbors, a musician, came running upstairs while I was taking a nap. His first words to me were: "Alfredo tells me you are a socialist! You like what you see here? Well, I don't. I want to leave Cuba. There is no freedom here."

I rose from the bed and told him that socialism can't function without an abundance of wealth and democracy. I could have just as well said these words in Chinese. To many Cubans, "socialism" has always been ration cards and shoddy Soviet goods. Many young Cubans have no idea what it was like before the revolution: They don't remember the rampant poverty, racism, illiteracy, and secret-police terror that were the norms under all the previous U.S.-backed regimes.

The queues in Cuba are called "colas. There are colas for many things in Cuba: Dance halls, newspapers, Zas burgers, and pizza squares. The only thing more depressing than the cola is when these places are closed down. A hamburger stand open one day will be closed the next. At least standing in a cola means you have a chance to get something.

The food rations distributed by the state apparatus keep starvation at bay. But hunger is an annoying guest at the Cuban dinner table. Coffee, rice, eggs, and an occasional chicken is standard fare for Cubans.

Alfredo's family foraged for food in the black market. During my 8-day stay with Alfredo's family we had chicken three times and-sorry I asked-pig entrails with rice. Alfredo's brother was a diver, so we ate a turtle he had harpooned. Bananas grew in Alfredo's yard; his aunt made sure we had fried bananas every day.

For breakfast we had a palm-sized bread ration with a coffee-milk beverage. There (continued on page 12)

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This is a critical moment for Cuba. On Sept. 22, President Bush signaled his aggressive intentions against Cuba in a UN speech. Invasion exercises have been conducted at Ft. Chafee, Ark. Over 45 illegal overflights were carried out recently in Cuban airspace. More Marines have been sent to Guantanamo Naval Base, despite the departure of the Soviet Union's training brigade. New legislation to tighten the 30-year economic blockade of Cuba has been introduced thal Whatever your view of Cuba's social system, their progress in health[care], education, literacy, nutrition, arts, equality for African-Cubans and women is respected throughout the world. The destruction of these benefits is viewed by many as inevitable if the U.S. invades or starves Cuba... The Bush administration must see significant opposition in the U.S. to its hostile policies against Cuba We have initiated a worldwide Peace for Cuba International Appeal. On Jan. 25, 1992, thousands of people will attend an international rally at the Javits Convention Center in New York. On Feb. 1, 1992, a similar event will take place in (continued from page 10: “Two perspectives from r”) high-protein 5400-calorie-a-day diet to those in the sanatorium. And, in a country that is desperately poor, Cuba has allocated $40,000 a year to everyone who is HIV positive.

In Cuba, whether you have dark skin or light skin makes about as much difference as having dark hair or light hair in the U.S. Fifty-eight percent of the doctors are women, as are 60 percent of the technicians. So obviously, great strides have been made in overcoming racism and sexism.

But homophobia is deeply ingrained, and At CDR meetings everyone within a twoblock area gets together to discuss how things are going, what needs to be done, and what they're going to do.

At one CDR meeting we attended in Sancti Spiritus, we pestered the Cubans for 30 minutes about how democracy really works in Cuba. Finally, we asked them if there was anything they wanted to say to us. One old woman made her way to the front, and she said forthrightly, "Get your goverment to lift the blockade!"

The U.S. government is using a policy of siow strangulation on Cuba, like it did in Nicaragua. Through the economic embargo, they are forcing down the standard of living of everyone, hoping it will lead to dissatisfaction with the goverment.

After Panama and Nicaragua, State Dept. will inflict severe suffering on the Cuban people.

now, before there is an escalation.

San Francisco, Calif. (See ads below.)