CUBANET ... CUBANEWS

April 3, 2000



Budding private sector provides new source of income for Cubans

By Mike Williams - Cox News Service. The Kansas City Star. 04/02/00 22:15

HAVANA -- Felix and Barbara Garces don't dream of moving to the United States. Loyal supporters of the ideals of the Cuban Revolution, they love their country, its culture and the richness of their daily interactions with friends and neighbors.

But they're also weary. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of its billions in annual aid to Cuba, life for many Cubans has been a ceaseless grind. Trips to the state-run store to pick up monthly rations sometimes yield empty shelves, leaving people scrambling to earn American dollars so they can purchase life's necessities in the free-market stores that now dot Havana's neighborhoods.

"It's hard," said Barbara Garces. "Prices are high and salaries are low."

Cuban officials blame the 40-year-old U.S. economic embargo against the communist island for the problems, saying it has crippled Cuba's economy and led to shortages and high prices.

The Garces don't talk politics. Far from criticizing the government, they appreciate the things their country has provided for them.

Felix Garces was sent for two years of study in Russia, where he learned the language. When he returned, he became a translator, earning a salary of about $14 (U.S.) a month.

His wife is an example of two of Cuba's proudest accomplishments: its education and health-care systems. Barbara Garces became a physician after training for more than eight years in Cuba's university system. She earns about $16 a month as an internist at a government clinic.

Like all Cubans, the Garces and their 16-year-old son, Iran, have free housing and medical care -- although medicine is not free and often is too expensive to buy. They have a ration book that entitles them to a monthly allotment of staples such as rice, beans, bread, soap and cooking oil.

Often the staples simply aren't available in the store. So Barbara Garces, 40, ventures out each day into Havana's teeming markets, looking for bargains -- fruit, grains and other nutritious food to round out the family's diet.

To make ends meet, Felix Garces, 54, has turned to the tiny private sector that the influx of tourists has spawned in Havana. He managed to save enough to buy a three-wheeled bicycle that he converted into a rickshawlike taxi. He's covered the rig with a roof to shelter his passengers from Havana's broiling sun and summer thunderstorms, and over the years he's added a battery, lights, even a sound system.

"I like this job," he said, wheeling around the narrow streets of Old Havana, dressed in distinctive bicycle racing togs and cap. "It's important to take pride in your work."

Garces averages about $5 a day in fares, which come both from Cubans and tourists. But it's not all profit: he must buy an annual license to run his taxi, which costs about $100 a year. There also is a monthly fee of about $18.

Still, he has more than tripled his old salary, and the family now eats well. They figure their monthly costs are about $50, so there is a tiny bit of extra money. They have a TV set and a small stereo in their cramped, one-bedroom apartment. A tiny entryway serves as a living room, where visitors sit on an old couch.

Garces doesn't want to leave Cuba for the United States because he loves his country -- and because he has a daughter living in the United States.

"She really would like to come home, I think," he said. "She says she has to work all the time. She has two or three jobs."

Barbara Garces also loves the Cuban way of life, which is intensely social. She tours the local market, chatting with everybody, her sunny disposition bringing smiles as she jokes with the vendors.

But the frustrations are always present. On a recent afternoon, she listened as a visitor talked to a man who runs a small business refilling butane cigarette lighters.

The man earns about 30 pesos a day -- about $1.50 (U.S.) -- or 900 pesos a month, which is around $45.

Hearing the news, Barbara Garces broke into laughter, saying, "That's about triple my salary, and I'm a doctor."

Such jarring contrasts are common in Cuba today. Barbara knows other professionals like her husband who have given up the jobs they were trained for in order to make more money in the tiny private markets.

"They were trained to do one thing and may love it, but they do what they have to do," she said.

All content © 2000 The Kansas City Star

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