Visited Cuba for a short break. What a fun experience! The combination of anti-imperialist state policies, a deeply mixed cultural background, and the Caribbean climate creates something genuinely unique
I’m really curious about what the future holds for the Cuban people.
Most of us might call the present situation “mass poverty,” but the phrase doesn’t fit quite right; “scarcity of commodities” feels like a better phrase. With very insignificant exports, few tourists and the US’s embargo, it’s rather difficult to maintain a service-based economy. The framework is there; people are highly educated. For example, there’s an abudance of doctors, but that doesn’t help much when even paracetamol is hard to find.
Fuel shortages in recent years have pushed some transport back to horses. (Fun fact, Cuba generates most of its electricity in thermal plants using crude oil) Crude oil is too expensive / hard to get due to US sanctions, which means that most of the country only has electricity for a few hours each day. With such an abundance of fertile land and an available workforce, a (at least temporary) shift toward an agriculture-based economy would make a lot of sense.
The people are wonderful. Analysis aside, something in you heals when you’re in an environment where people are genuinely interested in you, and you in them – no agenda, just a shared human moment.
Drinking rum, smoking fresh cigars under the hot Cuban sun, chatting with strangers, listening to salsa and Latino classics, seeing people of all ages break into dance on the busy streets of Havana with a very relaxed perception of time – these are the scenes that will stay with me. A gentle reminder for me that countries and people are experienced not only as systems but as afternoons, conversations, and small kindnesses that make the day feel whole.