Obama opened Cuba and tourism is flourishing. Now Fidel is dead, it’s a new day in Cuba, so it’s all good, right?
Not so fast.
Those 3.5 million tourists flooding Cuba need to eat while visiting. As a result, the goods that average Cubans need to sustain their lives are fulfilling the needs of wealthy tourists and private restaurants. Whatever goods remain for poor Cubans are becoming unaffordable.
President Raul Castro has gone into a knee-jerk Communist response by capping agricultural prices and blaming vendors for “price gouging.” So what have these sellers done? Naturally, they have moved to the commercial market, where they can get better prices.
So while tourists to Havana and other Cuban playgrounds enjoy the variety of goods the island nation has to offer, poor Cubans find simple foods like onions and tomatoes prohibitive. A pound of each could cost a Cuban 10% of the government-allotted salary of $25 per month.
Twenty-five dollars per month. Let that sink in.
When a growing economy that benefits only a few collides with poor people who cannot survive on a pittance, what happens?
An economist at the University of Havana warns, “We don’t just have to feed 11 million people anymore. We have to feed more than 14 million. In the next five years, if we don’t do something about it, food will become a national security issue here.”
Can you say Revolution? Isn’t this what Castro railed against in the 1950’s — the rich were enjoying life and the poor were suffering? Ironic, isn’t it?
I know it sounds harsh, but once Raul joins his big brother in Hell, Cuba and her people can finally blossom.
Maybe – depends on who takes over next.
Merle
It’s just bad luck, you know. Just like Venezuela.
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