Esteban Salas, CPIC
CAMAGÜEY, January – The Cuban telephone company, with the help of
foreign investors, has been modernizing Cuba’s aging telephone system, but
the improvements are of little benefit to the average Cuban since only
government supporters get telephone service, complain many here.
The installation of a telephone line turns into a political issue here.
First the request has to be approved by a commission composed of members of the
Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Federation of Cuban Women, the
Communist Party, and the local government; and the standing order is to favor
those most committed to the government. Lately, members of the Committees for
the Defense of the Revolution have been issued cellular phones.
For the rest, getting telephone service is unlikely. Cuba’s number of
telephone lines per thousand is well below the hemispheric average.
"To get a telephone, one would have to swallow an alligator tail-first,"
said an indignant resident who says he needs telephone service and can’t
get it.
Versión original
en español
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