Raúl Rivero. Published Monday, July 9, 2001 in
The Miami Herald
Cuba wants the people to be happy with the fish, to admire the baloney.
HAVANA -- The hubbub raised by the Cuban media to hail its government's
success in all areas of life and death pushes into the background -- in crass
dismissal -- the rigors that beset Cubans who live by the peso and the ration
book.
Today, social chroniclers of high politics report to excess on the visits
and protocols of foreign dignitaries, ministers, aides, envoys and
entrepreneurs. That -- added to propaganda hoopla about sports triumphs,
scientific findings, economic conquests, ideological reanimation and the
resonances of world solidarity -- leaves no space for reports about the daily
life of ordinary people.
Among those with no access to dollars or to the monthly food parcel provided
by corporations, anyone complaining about the food being served by the woman of
the house usually is told: "Remember the Olympic medals.''
A new millennium has dawned, and the government continues to issue decrees,
resolutions and laws "against the illegalities,'' which are nothing more
than a form of popular choreography to slip from under the state's choke hold.
This summer, the authorities announced that they'll do their best to improve
the quality of products sold through the ration book, which has been used on the
island since 1964. They want the people to be happy with the fish, to admire the
baloney, to be dazzled by the soy picadillo and to toast to the nation's
successes with a delicious helping of yogurt.
In a word, let the celebrations be on the cheap, with delicacies that are
foreign to the native taste, forced upon the table because the economic
experiments of the past 40 years have failed. Still, the functionaries'
inquisitive conscience always manages to find hope. So the fishing industry
already is working on developing an Asian species, the claria, with high protein
content, which, along with the tasteless tench, will deliver a first-class menu
to the nation's homes.
And because an increase in cattle rustling and illegal slaughter of animals
has been detected -- particularly in the provinces of Villa Clara, Holguín,
Granma and Camagüey -- immediate measures will be taken to deal with the
matter.
Will officials work hard to develop the cattle industry and guarantee
reasonable portions of meat to each family? No. They intend to act "with
rigor and efficacy against the networks of suppliers'' and "to wage
political and moral war on the recipients,'' that is, the people who have the
effrontery to desire a piece of steak.
To top it off, you might be sitting in front of a feast of Chilean canned
fish, served with plenty of peas and your daily bread, and still be interrupted
by a couple of Revolutionary Defense Committee members barging in to investigate
and detect other illegalities in your home.
You have nothing to worry about if you haven't added to your house materials
of unknown origin, if you haven't rented out a room to make a few extra pesos or
if you haven't added a bathroom that may have altered the building's original
architecture.
Don't worry, think of the Olympic medals.
Raúl Rivero is a Cuban independent journalist whose writing is banned
at home.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald | 
