May 19, 1997

Independent Farmers Directly Challenging Cuban Government

[The following is an open letter sent by the newly established Transicion Cooperative to the President of the Cuban National Assembly informing the government of their plans to operate the first independent farmers' cooperative in Cuba since forced collectivization at the beginning of the communist period. Reference: See "Cuba's New Independent Farmers: A Mission Statement" 5/12/97.]

Santiago de Cuba

5 May 1997

Ricardo Alarcon de Quesada

President National People's Power Assembly

Havana

Mr. President:

Seeing that our families, and Cuban in general, must daily face great difficulties in obtaining minimal amounts of food, and convinced that the social experiment carried out in Cuba is a complete failure, especially in terms of agricultural production, we have chosen to implement a plan of action which definitely and absolutely will resolve this prolonged crisis.

As the legitimate owners of the land we toil, and as human beings possessing basic rights, we have chosen to freely organize ourselves according to our collective needs and to work the land as we know is best, guided only by the natural laws of the market, and free of encumbering State restrictions which serve only to discourage productivity.

Beyond these basic rights is the supreme right to life itself, and inherent there is the right to feed ourselves. It is to save our very lives that we have established a development plan which you, the Government, have the primary responsibility to support. But knowing the government's slowness to respond, and your lack of political will to do so, we have appealed to international solidarity and solicited support from institutions which are in a position to offer it.

We can wait no longer for more government experiments such as the UBPC (Unidades Basicas de Produccion Cooperativa) which in spirit and in essence will never allow farm workers to own that which is rightly theirs. Time has run out. We recall Jose Marti's own words when he said "If a medicine's concoction requires more time than does the illness in causing death, of what use is the medication?".

We will not operate outside the Law, but in defiance of the Law. If the government will not allow us to take care of our own needs under our own initiative, then we will take class action to prove the government's inability or unwillingness to resolve the crisis.

We will shortly submit to you our development plan in detail, the guidelines for which are as follows:

• Freedom to work the land, in terms of method, quantity and quality.
• Free Farmers' Markets ­ Agricultural and fishing products will be sold as is most practical in terms of place, time and clientele. The State will be a customer on equal footing with average citizens.
• The marketing of farmers' products, including coffee, cacao, sugar cane, etc., will not be restricted by the State. A portion of farmers' goods will be sold to foreign markets and the tourist industry in order to raise the funds necessary to purchase the equipment and fuel needed for our labor.
• We will raise all type of animals, including cattle, with which to guarantee our family's diet and engage in commerce according to market conditions and sanitary regulations.
• We will negotiate with any and all domestic and foreign institutions interested in financing these projects, limited only by our own capabilities and national financial regulations.
• We will demand that the Government suspend all those measures and regulations which harm the peasantry, crushing our productivity and plunging us deeper into poverty.
• Based on the free hiring of paid labor, farm help will be paid salaries commensurate with the true cost of living.
• We will resurrect the goals of the Cuban peasants' struggle which were enshrined in the Cuban Constitution of 1940 and supported by the Revolution in its early Moncada Program.

Development Projects

Livestock: Construction of cow stalls for milking and shade. Electrification, digging of wells and watering holes. Build access roads. Subdivision of lots for grazing.

Hogs: Construction of stalls for reproduction and feeding.

Poultry: Construction of aviaries for reproduction, feeding and egg production. Installation of incubators.

Coffee: Seeding and re-seeding of the most productive varieties. Planting / pruning of shade trees. Bean processing plant.

Misc. crops: Planting of viands, vegetables and cereals.

Fisheries: Reproduction of various species for human consumption and for animal feed.

Basic needs: Construction of new family housing. Obtain clothing and work shoes. Guarantee daily dietary needs of workers and their families.

Materials and Equipment: Installation of irrigation systems. Multipurpose tractor and cargo truck. Construction materials. Plowing equipment. Chain saws for cutting/trimming trees. Fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides. Gasoline and lubricating oils.

Financing for animal feed, sanitation and veterinary attention as well as seeds.

Our cooperative, Transition, subscribes to the legal credit and service guidelines for cooperatives outlined in the Cuban Constitution of 1976, but without surrendering decision-making authority. We will abide by the norms and administrative prerogatives established by the Maria Antonia Ranch in Contramaestre and the Giros de Maximino Ranch in Dos Palmas, among others.

In terms of external financing and amortization we will abide by the current Law on Foreign Investments.

Sincerely,

Jorge Bejar Baltazar

President, Transition Cooperative

Antonio Alonso Perez

Vice President, Transition Cooperative