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FROM
CUBA
On a razor's edge
Rafael Ferro Salas, Abdala Press
PINAR DEL RIO, Cuba, August (www.cubanet.org)
- Leonel Cintra Muñoz is 68 years
old. He's a Cuban retiree who gets up every
day at 5 o'clock in the morning to leave
his home to go to a new job. He's engaged
as a taxi driver, driving an old Chevrolet
he owns. His retiree's pension is 180 pesos
(less than 9 dollars at the exchange rate
in Cuba) and it isn't enough for him to
live on along with his wife, who's always
been a housewife. Old Cintra worked to the
utmost for a long time as a mechanic in
his work place. The only reward to which
he aspired was to have a decent retirement
and enjoy good health. To be able to enjoy
a peaceful old age together with his wife.
But life had something else in store for
him.
The reality is that no one can live in
Cuba on a salary of 180 pesos. That's the
average share that the salary of a Cuban
retiree provides. There are persons who
earn less. To acquire a dollar on the island
you have to hand over 28 pesos. That's almost
obligatory for everyone, since the most-needed
products are only sold for dollars in authorized
stores. The prices in those places are very
high.
A kilogram of chicken costs 2 dollars 70
cents. The cheapest bath soap is 30 cents,
while the cheapest laundry soap costs 45
cents. There are also stores called "Ideal
Chain" for products paid for with local
currency. As the Cubans say, those places
have become a real swindle for the consumer.
There a chicken costs 83 pesos. You're forced
to pay 30 pesos to buy a pound of oil. A
package of crackers costs 12.50 pesos.
The day a person like the elderly Cintra
decides to go out into the streets to make
the necessary purchases so as not to die
of hunger along with his wife, he'll spend
no less than 90 pesos. Enough reasons to
lead a man of his age to remain more than
eight hours behind the wheel of a 1950s
Chevrolet, searching throughout the entire
city for passengers to bring home a little
more money.
Despite the exhausting day's work, the
old man considers himself a lucky man among
retirees of his age. "I have a car
on hand," he says. "Others in
my situation have to go out to the corner
to sell cigarettes at retail, and other
things that the guys with money in this
country give them. It's sad to work an entire
life and be forced to work in old age as
a middleman for someone else in order not
to die of hunger."
The majority of Cuban retirees face an
agonizing situation for daily survival.
In comparison to the cost of living, the
pensions are very low for a large percentage
of pensioners. Despite their advanced age,
other persons prefer to keep working.
Versión
original en español
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