American nations today, in Cuba there are no starving children begging and

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living on the streets; no schools, daycare centers, or healthcare facilities have been shut down..." 20 SOCIALIST ACTION SEPTEMBER 1992 search for new trading partners and terms of trade in the capitalist world. And for the second time in 30 years, Cuba will have to completely transfer its entire industrial and consumer technology (from U.S. to Soviet to God knows what) at a tremendous cost and dislocation.

This is in the context of a "Third World" country without oil reserves or a self-sufficient industrial or agricultural base, and whose principal exports (sugar, nickel, copper) have world market prices actually below or only marginally above the costs of production.

The impact of all this on daily Cuban life has been severe, to say the least. Food is in very short supply and is now almost completely rationed, which ensures equitable distribution but requires endless hours waiting in lines.

Many factories have closed or hours have been cut back, creating the first unemployment in 30 years. Thousands of tractors and farm machines have been idled for lack of fuel. Urban bus services have been reduced by at least two-thirds, and the buses themselves resemble sardine cans when they arrive. Cultural supplies such as newsprint, film, and other imported goods have almost disappeared altogether.

It is a very, very difficult situation, made all the worse by the fact that Cubans had become accustomed to a steadily rising standard of living, and held similar expectations for the future.

Confronting the shortages

There have been several immediate responses to meet the crisis. Family or community "victory" gardens have sprung up in the backyards and unused spaces of urban areas. A million bicycles have been imported from China and the Soviet Union, and Cuba is building its own bicycle factories.

Some 100,000 oxen are currently being trained to replace diesel tractors in the upcoming harvests. And there is the resourcefulness of a people who have managed to keep fleets of 1957 Chevys running without any U.S. spare parts for 35 years.

Moreover, the Cuban government's commitment to equality and social justice remains firm, as does the legacy of 30 years of revolutionary achievements.

In contrast to numerous other Latin American nations today, in Cuba there are no starving children begging and living on the streets; no schools, daycare centers, healthcare facilities have been shut down; the war wounded from El Salvador and the thousands of foreign students on the Isle of Youth have not been sent packing despite the economic crisis.

The leadership's hope is that the economy will bottom out in 1992 and a combination of factors will, in the next three to five years, produce both the immediate hard currency needed to survive and the long term capital needed to transform and develop the economy.

Betting on tourism

The areas Cuba hopes to develop are: increased food production leading to self-sufficiency; expansion of Cuba's lucrative biotechnology exports; new joint ventures