I got into a heated discussion at work the other day with a colleague about the U.S. embargo on Cuba.
He said democracy and free enterprise would flourish if the U.S. lifted the long-standing trade sanctions of Fidel Castro's communist regime.
I noted that Castro's business dealings with Europeans and others had brought no good for the average Cuban. Cuba is communist and Cubans are poor because that is exactly how the tyrant wants it.
The embargo, I told my colleague, should stand until Fidel is out of power and there are free and fair elections.
A story in Fort Lauderdale's Sun-Sentinel on Sunday helps make my case:
CIENFUEGOS, Cuba — They sink their boats in the shallows by night, hiding them in watery nooks to evade authorities. By day, the shrimp fishermen lean inside shady doorframes, wiggling their index fingers as cars pass -- a signal that discreetly advertises their illegal catch.
"If they caught me hunting shrimp, they'd leave me like a chicken without feathers," said the fidgety fisherman who asked not to be identified. It is against the law to sell shrimp privately in communist Cuba, and he risks steep fines if detected.
Fishermen like him are among those feeling the deepest pain from an ongoing government campaign to tighten the screws on the Cuban economy. Tagged "recentralization," the move began in 2003, clamping down on private enterprise and the black market, and raising state salaries and pension payments.
Castro contends the economic clampdown will refresh socialist ideals, punish pilferers and combat U.S. trade sanctions. Detractors say the program is meant to bring every aspect of Cuban life under government control, battening the hatches ahead of an eventual leadership change. Castro appears strong for his 79 years, but rumors of health problems swirl constantly.
"Fidel Castro is trying to eliminate any degree of autonomy, any degree of personal enterprise, any degree of personal income," said Antonio Jorge, a professor of economics and international relations at Florida International University.
What's clear is that hardship remains. Economic snapshots from different walks of life suggest that most Cubans struggle to make ends meet despite government pay hikes, while the island's small entrepreneurial sector feels the reforms snapping at its heels.
The fisherman makes most of his money by selling shrimp illegally. Yet, asked about his economic status, he held out his hands, leathery on top, calloused underneath, stained by cigarettes.
"We're poor. I have nothing. Why would I lie to myself?" he said.
As enforcement ramped up, authorities confiscated the boats of three friends, he added, slapping them with large fines they find impossible to pay.
Read the whole story link
For more on poverty in Cuba, take a visit to the Real Cuba.
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