What's your experience in Cuba?

[Nolan]

For those who've been to Cuba, what was your impression? Did you stay in tourist groups or mingle with ordinary Cubans? How was food, transportation, lodging, etc.? Did you see any homeless or beggars? Police?

Just tell anything that is relevant.

[RedStarOverChina]

I didn't see any beggars, but clearly many of the folks I saw were not that well off. The saddest thing were the kids who cant afford pens. There were a whole bunch of them asking for my ball-pen. They said they can't go to school without it.

I only brought one with me, so after I gave that one away I had to buy pencils at an extortionate price in one of those shops open to tourists.

The kids could have been lying so that they'd get an extra pen or two from a dumb tourist, but it still illustrates the kind of shortage that exists there.

In the 90s, I think, Vietnam donated paper to Cuba so that there's enough paper in the schools. :blink:

You know something's not right when you have to rely on Vietnam for assistance.


I can't complain about the lodging, but I really didn't like Cuban food.

[Kléber]

Interesting about the pens, my girlfriend said she gave some fun markers to her little cousins there to draw with, and they wouldn't even use them, a writing utensil was way too expensive to waste.

[the last donut of the night]

well, seeing that the US embargo is still on, it's not too surprising

[R_P_A_S]

I didn't really go to the tourist areas. I was more around regular Cubans. It's really hard to blend in. Despite being totally dressed down.

I saw a couple of beggars and a handful of prostitutes at a small hotel across the University of Havana. The food does suck! The restaurants are a joke. I had some nice home made beans and rice from the people I stayed with. The fruit is amazing! The tastiest mangos I ever had in my life. Beer and liquor is really cheap. They have beer vending machines.

Cubans are loud and hard working. I hated going into the convenient stores. everything is behind glass counters, toothpaste and combs.. It made me feel like I was at a diamond jewelry store.

I got discriminated a couple of times because I also carried regular cuban pesos and tried to buy cookies, glass of mango, tamarind or peach juice for 1 pesos (3 cents) I was really broke I only had a couple hundred bucks to my self for a whole week. They see a tourist and they want you to spend the convertible peso which is like dollars. I can understand though.

The women are just gorgeous! Now I know why most mexican women have no hips.. those cubans ration it out to theirs! ;)

[Orange Juche]

well, seeing that the US embargo is still on, it's not too surprising

Though to what degree would the standard of living increase without the embargo? How much better off do you think they would be?

[the last donut of the night]

Though to what degree would the standard of living increase without the embargo? How much better off do you think they would be?

i would think much better, because as i recall, the embargo prevents around 33 billion to going to cuba every year. however, not too sure...

[Nolan]

i would think much better, because as i recall, the embargo prevents around 33 billion to going to cuba every year. however, not too sure...

Well I dropped some articles about the embargo's effects on the health system in OI. here's one. (http://www.revleft.com/vb/impact-economic-crisis-t129830/index.html?t=129830)

[Invincible Summer]

I got discriminated a couple of times because I also carried regular cuban pesos and tried to buy cookies, glass of mango, tamarind or peach juice for 1 pesos (3 cents) I was really broke I only had a couple hundred bucks to my self for a whole week. They see a tourist and they want you to spend the convertible peso which is like dollars. I can understand though.


Could you elaborate on the convertible pesos vs regular pesos thing?

[red cat]

well, seeing that the US embargo is still on, it's not too surprising

How much can an embargo affect a socialist nation ? Shouldn't it be self-sufficient up to a certain degree ?

[Tablo]

How much can an embargo affect a socialist nation ? Shouldn't it be self-sufficient up to a certain degree ?
It is hard for a bureaucratic state to run efficiently. Especially when it is an island nation with limited resources.

[red cat]

It is hard for a bureaucratic state to run efficiently. Especially when it is an island nation with limited resources.

Can a socialist state be bureaucratic even half a century after the revolution and yet not infiltrated by revisionists ?

[manic expression]

Can a socialist state be bureaucratic even half a century after the revolution and yet not infiltrated by revisionists ?
Yes, all modern states demand bureaucracies. The only question is how much bureaucracy and how it works.

[R_P_A_S]

Could you elaborate on the convertible pesos vs regular pesos thing?

CUC is the currency thats worth just as much as a US dollar. It's what tourist spend in Cuba. If you are a foreigner in Cuba everyone is in CUC. Locals can use CUC too but it's very difficult to come by.

Cubans buy their goods with the Cuban Peso. You can't check into a hotel with Cuban Pesos or try to buy a beer or food in a restaurant with cuban pesos.. they tell you to leave. You need CUCs.

I was on a very very very small budget and I had CUC and Cuban Pesos. I tried to stretch my Cuban Pesos but people got really offended when I stood in line to buy a glass of juice for 1 peso or cookies.

I ate so much pizza there. I got a personal cheese pizza for 1 CUC. The pizzas are pretty mediocre. Frozen and they throw them in a lil conventional oven for 5 mins and ding! =D

[Invincible Summer]

CUC is the currency thats worth just as much as a US dollar. It's what tourist spend in Cuba. If you are a foreigner in Cuba everyone is in CUC. Locals can use CUC too but it's very difficult to come by.

Cubans buy their goods with the Cuban Peso. You can't check into a hotel with Cuban Pesos or try to buy a beer or food in a restaurant with cuban pesos.. they tell you to leave. You need CUCs.

I was on a very very very small budget and I had CUC and Cuban Pesos. I tried to stretch my Cuban Pesos but people got really offended when I stood in line to buy a glass of juice for 1 peso or cookies.

I ate so much pizza there. I got a personal cheese pizza for 1 CUC. The pizzas are pretty mediocre. Frozen and they throw them in a lil conventional oven for 5 mins and ding! =D

Why is it so taboo to use Cuban Pesos?

[red cat]

Yes, all modern states demand bureaucracies. The only question is how much bureaucracy and how it works.

Yes, all modern states do demand bureaucracies. That is because the masses have been empowered in none.

[Kamerat]

When i was in Cuba i saw 1 homeless person lying on the curb of a busy street. Did not see any police though there was a military person who chased me away when i was walking up to the Jose Marti monument. The food is not that great, better then in England (but that's not saying much). It usually consist of yams, banana-chips, rise and beans with chicken and lots of fruit.

People seemed very positive towards their government/economic system and had most things like stove, fridge, microwave and tv as people in rich western country's have. There is lots of new cars and little older Ladas, not just old American cars from before 1959. I was staying at Julio Antonio Mella International Camp (CIJAM) with the solidarity brigade arranged by Cuban Institute of Friendship with the People (ICAP (http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=2050)) so i may have been on a propaganda tour. But i did meet many Cubans not working for ICAP (http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=2050) and i doubt Cuban government/ICAP (http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?do=discuss&group=&discussionid=2050) could stage/fake it all.


Why is it so taboo to use Cuban Pesos?
Its taboo to use Cuban Pesos when your a tourist because Cuban Pesos is ment to be reserved for Cubans, so they can buy necessary goods for symbolic prices without tourist exploiting/mooching of Cuba's economic system.

CUC is now the same as € Euro not $ USD.

[Kléber]

Cubans themselves want tourists to pay in the CUC because some commodities can not be purchased with regular pesos and convertible pesos are harder to get for people who don't work in the tourist industry, foreign companies or state offices.

[manic expression]

Yes, all modern states do demand bureaucracies. That is because the masses have been empowered in none.
I'll keep this quick because it's off-topic: what do you call an individual who carries out the will of the empowered masses? A bureaucrat. Unless you figure out a way to staff an embassy or supply a military without bureaucrats of any sort, you're going to have a bureaucracy.

[Raúl Duke]

How much can an embargo affect a socialist nation ? Shouldn't it be self-sufficient up to a certain degree ?

It's hard for a Caribbean island to be very self-sufficient without facing some lackings...

[RedStarOverChina]

Did not see any police though there was a military person who chased me away when i was walking up to the Jose Marti monument.

Yeah, I had that happen to me also. What's up with that? You'd think they're guarding nuclear warheads up there.

Also I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that, unlike the USD, the Canadian dollar is in circulation in Cuba. Because I can use Canadian dollars in most situations, I didn't have to exchange much Cuban money at all.

[Kléber]

I'll keep this quick because it's off-topic: what do you call an individual who carries out the will of the empowered masses? A bureaucrat. Unless you figure out a way to staff an embassy or supply a military without bureaucrats of any sort, you're going to have a bureaucracy.
I'll keep this quick too for the same reason. "If we pay 2,000 ... that is state capitalism."

[Kamerat]

Yeah, I had that happen to me also. What's up with that? You'd think they're guarding nuclear warheads up there.

Hope fully its nukes. But i doubt it.

[manic expression]

I'll keep this quick too for the same reason. "If we pay 2,000 ... that is state capitalism."
About as pertinent and informative as the majority of your posts, Kleber. Manipulating Lenin's words seems to be a tough habit for you to break.

[red cat]

It's hard for a Caribbean island to be very self-sufficient without facing some lackings...

Still, I think that Cuba has enough natural resources for doing so.

[red cat]

I'll keep this quick because it's off-topic: what do you call an individual who carries out the will of the empowered masses? A bureaucrat. Unless you figure out a way to staff an embassy or supply a military without bureaucrats of any sort, you're going to have a bureaucracy.

Well, after fifty years of revolution, the masses should have gained direct access to power; that is what the mass line is all about. The bureaucracy should have disappeared by now.

[red cat]

I'll keep this quick too for the same reason. "If we pay 2,000 ... that is state capitalism."

Cuba is not state capitalist. Leninism tells us that national liberation can only be complete when led by the proletariat. In the Cuban revolution the proletariat never participated as a whole in the movement, but rather supported it from outside; which is why it was a popular revolution. After the revolution the bureaucracy failed to break off with imperialism completely. This is why Cuba today is a bureaucratic comprador capitalist semi-colony, where the bureaucracy can bargain with imperialists to some extent and keep the country in a better condition than other semi-colonies.

[manic expression]

Well, after fifty years of revolution, the masses should have gained direct access to power; that is what the mass line is all about. The bureaucracy should have disappeared by now.
I can understand that, but I'm still curious: how would one go about operating a network of embassies without a bureaucracy? I can't think of any way of doing it. Someone has to review, categorize and decide upon visa requests, diplomatic issues, travel issues and a thousand other things that embassies work with, right? One way or another, you need bureaucrats for such institutions.

Lastly, it's been fifty years of revolution, no doubt about that, but it's also been fifty years of blockade, and the last twenty of which have been simply brutal. Bureaucracy will likely only disappear when the state does, IMO. But regardless, I respect the point you're making.

[red cat]

I can understand that, but I'm still curious: how would one go about operating a network of embassies without a bureaucracy? I can't think of any way of doing it. Someone has to review, categorize and decide upon visa requests, diplomatic issues, travel issues and a thousand other things that embassies work with, right? One way or another, you need bureaucrats for such institutions.


In fifty years, the masses could have been educated enough to take turns to do all this.




Lastly, it's been fifty years of revolution, no doubt about that, but it's also been fifty years of blockade, and the last twenty of which have been simply brutal. Bureaucracy will likely only disappear when the state does, IMO. But regardless, I respect the point you're making.

The contradiction among imperialist powers could always be exploited to a much greater extent. Look at how the Nepali Maoists are setting American and Chinese imperialism on each other to keep their revolution intact.

[Kléber]

Still, I think that Cuba has enough natural resources for doing so.
I don't think so, but you're right that a different political course might have achieved better results. Prior to 1959, one of the main demands of Cuban socialists had been for an end to the sugar crop monoculture that was promoted by the US, and kept the island chained to imperialist economies. The USSR (which had been getting sugar from Batista already) encouraged Cuba to continue primarily growing sugar, which totally screwed them over when the Soviets stopped buying it in 1991.


After the revolution the bureaucracy failed to break off with imperialism completely. This is why Cuba today is a bureaucratic comprador capitalist semi-colony, where the bureaucracy can bargain with imperialists to some extent and keep the country in a better condition than other semi-colonies.
This is partly true, Cuban economic dependency has passed from Spain to the US to the USSR to the EU. There are foreign businesses operating in Cuba, but I'm not sure if the relation to Europe could be called semi-colonial.

I would argue that the Cuban state remained more or less independent, as the CPC had been politically independent even though it was officially subordinate to the GMD during the Second United Front. Havana needs ties with other imperialist spheres to counteract the giant US threat looming above it, but now that Cuba is allied with Venezeula and other nations in ALBA, it may feel free enough to pursue a more independent course.


One way or another, you need bureaucrats for such institutions.
Yes but they should ideally be democratically accountable, recallable, and paid according to the principle of the Paris Commune.

[R_P_A_S]

I was allowed to go into the Jose Marti Monument. The only time military personal tripped out on me was when I was trying to take pictures of the US Interest Section building. I did get a few shots but when I got closer they told me to keep walking and not take photos.

AND for reasons I still don't know I tried to walk into a post office and a military guy with a machine gun blocked the door and told me to leave. Does anyone know if foreigners are allowed in their post offices?

[red cat]

I don't think so, but you're right that a different political course might have achieved better results. Prior to 1959, one of the main demands of Cuban socialists had been for an end to the sugar crop monoculture that was promoted by the US, and kept the island chained to imperialist economies. The USSR (which had been getting sugar from Batista already) encouraged Cuba to continue primarily growing sugar, which totally screwed them over when the Soviets stopped buying it in 1991.

May be the infrastructure to build sophisticated machines is not available for Cuba, but not being able to manufacture pens after fifty years of "socialist" rule is ridiculous.



This is partly true, Cuban economic dependency has passed from Spain to the US to the USSR to the EU. There are foreign businesses operating in Cuba, but I'm not sure if the relation to Europe could be called semi-colonial.

I would argue that the Cuban state remained more or less independent, as the CPC had been politically independent even though it was officially subordinate to the GMD during the Second United Front. Havana needs ties with other imperialist spheres to counteract the giant US threat looming above it, but now that Cuba is allied with Venezeula and other nations in ALBA, it may feel free enough to pursue a more independent course.


Cuba has an exceptionally strong comprador bourgeoisie. And it acts as a geographic base for imperialist powers that want to dominate Latin America. That is why its conditions are much better than other semi-colonies like India or Nepal.

Don't compare the CPC with this. The CPC built a temporary tactical front with the GMD which was the political front of the national bourgeoisie. This was to fight imperialism. On the other hand, instead of plating off imperialist powers against each other, Cuba became so dependent on one of the imperialist powers that it refused to restructure agriculture which was necessary for being self-sufficient.

Don't mistake Venezuela for a socialist state. All these countries are dominated by one imperialist bloc or the other. But yes, since the Cuban comprador bourgeoisie is very strong, they can exploit this condition to win more concessions from imperialist powers.

[bricolage]

It's hard for a Caribbean island to be very self-sufficient without facing some lackings...

Cuba is actually remarkably more self-sufficient and sustainable than most countries in the world. Here, there's a film about it; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_community