This past December, we went on a Friendly Planet cruise to Cuba. The cruise included lectures on Cuban history and culture, and visits to Santiago de Cuba, Havana, and Cienfuegos. It was fascinating.
The average Cuban earns about $50 a month. It almost doesn’t matter what job he or she does, virtually all jobs in the official Cuban economy earn roughly the same. But Cubans have free basic housing, basic food, education, and healthcare. Basic food means primarily rice and beans; for example, each Cuban is entitled to 5 eggs a month. Women and children get about 2.5 pounds a month of meat; men get none. If you want more, you pay; an egg in the free market is about 75 cents. So if you want more, you have to work an extra job that is outside of the normal economy, and since Cubans themselves have very little money, your best chances are to do something that tourists pay for. For example, a tour guide can earn $40 or more a day during season, or a cab driver who drives one of the old 1950’s cars can earn $50 for a couple of hours.
However, when Trump reinstated the embargo to Cuba, and blocked US general tourists from being able to travel to Cuba, tourism dropped significantly. This is really hurting the common people.
Because virtually all jobs pay the same, there are no economic disincentives to pursuing what you want. There are incredible musicians, dancers, and artists.
Every Cuban serves 3 years in public service. For men, it’s primarily 2 years in the military and 1 year of general public service, and women have a choice of military or just 3 years of service.
Cubans talk primarily about two wars. The war for independence lasted for about 10 years, during the 1880’s and 1890’s. The US did not get involved until just about the last battle. At the time of independence, there was a huge debate about whether to be truly independent or to become part of the US. When the US joined in the final battle, they made Cuba a territory of the US. In 1905, Cuba became truly an independent country, except the treaty with the US gave the US the right to intervene whenever they felt that it was in their best interest and also the perpetual right to Guantanamo bay. The hero of the war of independence was José Martí, who is buried in Santiago. Martí laid out the strategy for the war of independence and was able to marshal international support, but he was killed in his first battle.
The revolution was the fight of Fidel Castro (he is not called Castro in Cuba, he is called Fidel) against the US-backed corrupt government of Batista in the 1950s. Fidel was a master at publicity. His first battle was a disaster, when he attacked the army barracks in Santiago. Many of his fighters were killed, tortured (and then killed) and Castro was jailed (he was married to the daughter of Batista’s right hand man, otherwise he would likely have been tortured and killed as well), and then exiled to Mexico. He was able to get worldwide attention for his small band of revolutionaries. In fact, most of his men were killed in the first battle on his return to Cuba, but he was able to win the press wars and the battle was labeled a success for the revolution. Fidel managed to convince the US that he was was going to be pro-US, and so just over a year after Fidel’s return to Cuba, the US ordered Batista to surrender before the battle of Havana was even fought. When Batista left, he took over $500 million with him.
Once Fidel was successful, the US put a lot of pressure on Fidel to allow American companies to run the economy, while the Soviet Union was content to just provide aid. To a certain extent, the US drove Castro to have to choose: US or Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union actually offered greater autonomy and aid.
Except for Raul Castro, virtually all of Fidel’s senior leaders of the revolution met mysterious deaths or were imprisoned after the revolution.
Cuba used the US dollar as a form of currency until the 1990’s, but this was prohibited by the US. In fact the US will not allow any electronic funds transfer with Cuba, so this means no withdrawals and no US credit cards are usable. In other words, you have to bring as much cash to Cuba as you intend to spend because you will have no access to other funds. Also, because of the restrictions, Cuba places a 13% penalty on conversions to and from US dollars. So if you exchange $100, you only receive $87 in Cuban money. And then if you want to convert that back to dollars, you’ll only get $75 back. There is no penalty on Euros, so you are best bringing Euros in and converting them into Cuban currency when you need it.
Because Cuba has no access to US products, and little access to any outside goods, Cubans have had a hard time doing normal repair. You’ll find older cars might be refitted with boat engines, or lights that are built out of old bottles. Anything is fair game if it will work.
The number one source of outside currency is tourism. Second is money sent back by family members who left Cuba, and third is medical and pharmaceutical revenues. Cuba provides physicians to other countries, and has started producing some very effective drugs against forms of cancer and diabetes that are now being used internationally, although not in the US. With the expectation of increased tourism, cities are slowly being upgraded. You can really see the progress, as one block has building that look brand new, and the next is totally in disrepair.
Raul Castro will be leaving the government in April (plus or minus a few months). Elections will be held in February, and the next leader will be from a younger generation. Cubans do not vote directly for the president; they vote for local representatives who then vote for the president. There is really only one party, but often more than one person who initially seeks office. There is talk that the next leader will continue to open up the economy.
Until Obama opened up the US Internet to Cuba, Cuba only had a line to the Internet through Venezuela. Not even tourists really had access. Now, most universities have high speed access to the Web, the Internet, and apps like WhatsApp. We’ve been able to maintain contact with a few of the artists and university professors we met in Cuba. High speed access is beyond the economic means of most Cubans, but it’s expanding and the price is getting lower every few months.
Cuba has a reputation for their great medical care. Every community has a local doctor, who is responsible for about 120 families. The doctor is responsible for making sure everyone get checkups and stays on whatever regimen they need, and they will make house calls when needed. For this, Doctors get a free residence/office, a free car, and a slightly higher salary than most citizens.
It’s a fascinating country going through a lot of change.
If you're interested, here is a link to our Cuba photos.