Government drive against Cuba's reviled 'new rich' mainly hits average Cubans

Government drive against Cuba's reviled 'new rich' mainly hits average
Cubans
Vanessa Arrington
Canadian Press
Monday, February 06, 2006

HAVANA (AP) - President Fidel Castro is pursuing a campaign against
Cuba's "new rich," accusing them of corruption and moral decay in his
quest to erase class differences threatening the utopian ideals of his
communist regime.

Violators face possible jail time and loss of state jobs as the
government tries to eliminate a thriving black market that supplies
Cubans and tourists with everything from gasoline and cooking oil to
illicit meals of lobster served in small, private restaurants.

Yet "rich" is a mushy term on an island where state pay averages just
$12 US a month - a wage virtually impossible to live on even with
heavily subsidized government services and mostly free housing. Many of
Castro's targets are simply poor Cubans who steal from the state to make
ends meet.

The 79-year-old leader has railed in recent speeches against these
thefts, portraying widespread corruption as one of the greatest threats
yet to Cuba's socialist system.

"This country will have much more, but it will never be a society of
consumption," Castro told students at the University of Havana in a
speech that was televised across the island. "It will be a society of
knowledge, of culture, of the most extraordinary human development one
can imagine."

Forty-seven years after Castro's revolution, many Cubans still share an
ethic of solidarity that stresses spiritual over material wealth. They
may not have fancy stereos, but they crowd theatres for plays and
concerts. Many express pride that their doctors are helping earthquake
victims in Pakistan, even if it means their own medical service is affected.

Still, Cubans also are known for their ingenuity - and many manage to
stretch their salaries in underhanded ways.

"If there were abundance, who would rob?" said Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a
state-trained economist who became an anti-communist dissident. "Hardly
anybody can survive by working honestly in Cuba."

Bakers overcharge and pocket the change. Workers at state-run pizza
stands sell "extra" cheese, tomatoes and cooking oil on the side. Bus
drivers don't give tickets to all paying riders.

Off-shift state truck drivers help neighbours move construction
materials - for a price. And employees at state stores take part of the
inventory home to sell.

Other people offer services or handmade goods without the required
self-employment licences that the state tightly controls.

The black market has no physical location, but is everywhere. From
clothes and toys to household supplies and even gasoline, the sale of
stolen goods is part of daily life.

"People have always diverted state resources - it happens when there is
necessity," said Jesus Blanco, a 51-year-old who works in a bar. "One of
the problems is the scarcity of new products coming in."

Blanco said he manages to live honestly on his monthly salary, which is
235 Cuban pesos, about $10. But, he added, both the television and
refrigerator in his house are broken, and he doesn't have enough money
to fix holes in his roof made during last year's hurricane season.

Castro has been frank about the pervasiveness of corruption. He has
lashed out at state workers and the self-employed, and accuses private
restaurant owners of encouraging illegal activity by buying lobster -
which only the state can legally catch - from private fishermen.

Cuba's leader seems particularly angry about service station workers who
pilfer gasoline, selling it on the side. "We have to vanquish these
deviations, or we die," Castro said.

Cuban socialism offers a broad safety net: free health care and
education, heavily subsidized transportation and electricity, and a
ration covering about a third of the average person's monthly diet.

But the quality of some services is low, and monthly pay is swallowed up
by additional food costs. Little or no cash remains for necessities like
cooking oil or soap. TV sets and new clothing are usually bought with
money sent from overseas relatives.

Castro says eliminating stealing could help raise living standards for
the island's 11.2 million people. He increased government salaries in
November, and doubled the minimum wage last May to 225 Cuban pesos,
which is still less than $10 a month.

At the heart of Castro's crusade is a belief in the collective good.
Hunger for possessions or prestige based on wealth is seen as a
capitalist ill. Altruism, cultural endeavours and universal health care
are valued above personal luxuries.

With material resources limited, Cuba must set priorities "significantly
different than those given primacy in capitalist countries," Central
Bank President Francisco Soberon told economists last year.

"For example, the expense related to saving the life of a child is given
priority over the purchase of the latest model of a car for an elite, or
lavish architecture for headquarters of global corporations," he said.

But there also is a real "new rich" on the island, although it is tiny.

Cubans with money join diplomats shopping at an upscale grocery store
offering luxuries such as microwave popcorn and peanut butter. A golf
club counts about 20 Cubans among its 100 members, a privilege costing
$70 up front plus $45 every month.

The few relatively wealthy Cubans include people who are married to
foreigners or work for foreign companies as well as musicians and
athletes with special privileges. Some may even be people who steal from
the state on a grand scale.

Castro's solution to this moral dilemma depends in part on youthful
innocence. His government has dispatched thousands of young social
workers to replace employees suspected of stealing from state
operations. Since the campaign began in October, Castro claims gasoline
sales nationwide have increased by $100,000 daily.

Communist officials are holding island-wide meetings urging party
members to fight corruption, and Castro prods Cubans to do their part.

But people say that until their economic situation improves, it will be
hard to make Castro's ideal a reality.

"The economy is getting a bit better, but I don't think we can live
without the black market yet," said Blanco. "Until prices go down, the
salary increases won't be felt, and there'll be no room for luxuries."

The Canadian Press 2006
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=f4888283-d174-414a-87eb-5d524b94d1ca&k=27281