HAVANA, January 4 (María Elena Rodríguez, Cuba-Verdad) –
Shoppers here are often outraged when they find the women’s dresses they
had to pay for in dollars at a government store are made in Cuba.
Such is the case of Gladys Núñez, who recently combed the
Cuban capital shopping for something to wear and finally settled on a
sleeveless, V-neck, modest-looking number at Habaguanex, a chain of stores
operated by the Historian of the City of Havana, Eusebio Leal. Habaguanex stores
sell only in dollars; presumably the proceeds are used by Leal, reputedly one of
Havana’s most powerful men, to rebuild and repair the historic buildings in
the heart of Havana.
"This is outrageous!," said Núñez, after discovering
a small label in the dress that identified it as of domestic manufacture. "This
dress is made in Cuba and they [the government] sell it in dollars, yet they don’t
pay us in that kind of currency."
Núñez had paid 8.70 dollars for the dress, or 182.70 pesos.
The average monthly salary in Cuba is 221 pesos, according to government
figures. Núñez remonstrated in the sidewalk, outside the store
located at Monte and Carmen streets, in central Havana. "This reminds me of
the clothing we used to get from the former Soviet Union, look at it! It’s
rough, it’s a tube with three holes in it." Then she waved her sales
receipt around for anyone to see.
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