Manuel Vázquez Portal, Grupo Decoro
HAVANA, June - Living in Cuba is like living in a house made for very small
people; one has to crawl lest one bump against the ceiling. The physician crawls
because he knows he will never rise above a miserable government salary, the
self-employed keeps his head low because he knows he will never be allowed to
expand his business, the private taxi driver walks bent over because he knows he
will never be able to improve his car, the administrator is hunched over because
none of what he administers will ever be his.
The government knows full well that an economically independent man grows
and creates another form of government, that it is very hard to lord it over
someone who can take care of himself. That's why it doesn't allow economic
independence or personal growth. It rules from a paternalist stance that plants
in people the idea that outside of government there are no answers.
People are dwarfed to the point that they are always asking for help. If the
house needs repairs, one goes to the government representative so that, after a
long time, he will grant the necessary materials. If one's son gets sick, one
goes to other government workers for the cure. If one needs a job, the
government decides where one is needed. The government is the only authorized
purveyor of well-being and happiness. It plays father to the citizen's grateful
child who never grows nor can grow, because the house where he lives was
designed to keep him walking on all fours.
From our perspective, low to the ground, the government looks like a giant;
no one dares walk away from its shadow for fear of being left without shelter.
It can afford to be generous with those who are obedient and stern with those
who are not. The low ceiling doesn't budge; the only way to be free is to leave
the house.
Versión
original en español
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