Human rights in Castro's Cuba - Fidel Castro

US Department of State Bulletin, Feb, 1987

A "Classless' Society

In Cuba, contrary to Marxist theory,state control of the economy does not mean control of the economy by the people. Nor does it mean that an upper class is nonexistent. The party leadership controls wealth and power but in a much more concentrated, centralized, and unchallengeable form than any "capitalist' could ever hope to achieve.

Not surprisingly, the elitist Cubanleaders do not live the way the Cuban people do. They have access to special stores, well-stocked with consumer goods from the West, where the "common people' are not allowed. The self-appointed vanguard is permitted to purchase luxury items, such as canned goods, not available to the average Cuban. Officers of the political police and government leaders also are allowed to purchase jewelry and expensive clothing from stores designated for their exclusive use. They have access to private beaches and, unlike most Cubans, may travel abroad. They live in homes confiscated from Cuban citizens who fled the country.

Economic Decline

The Cuban economy is still basedprimarily on sugar; it is even less diversified than it was before the revolution. Notwithstanding plans for industrial development, manufactured goods accounted for only 5% of Cuban exports in 1980; in 1960, the figures were the same. In contrast, other Latin American countries had substantial increases in the export of manufactured goods during the same 20 years.

Agricultural production is generallydown from prerevolution levels--even though the population is 50% larger.

Food rationing, althoughwidespread, has not guaranteed that food will be available. Despite increased beef and poultry production, for example, each Cuban is allotted only 2 pounds of meat and 1 1/2 pounds of chicken per month.

Added to the food shortage is thescarcity of consumer goods and the low per capita income. In 1958 Cuba was fourth in the hemisphere in per capita income; now it ranks sixteenth.

Although much has been made ofadvances in health care claimed by the Cuban Government, severe sanitation problems still threaten Cuban health. Inadequate control of mosquitoes together with the return of thousands of soldiers from Africa have led to several dengue fever epidemics. Castro himself has severely criticized conditions in Cuban hospitals.

Housing also is deficient: nearly one-quarterof Cuba's 10 million people live in inadequate housing.

Political Prisoners

In Cuban society, pressures to conformand submit to the state are extremely high. Those who choose the slightest form of political resistance usually pay a very high price: arrest, abuse, torture, and cruel and inhuman punishment. People often are arrested without warrants and held for long periods without judicial hearings. The Cuban Constitution denies legal protections that would prevent the regime from arresting and detaining anyone considered harmful to Castro's revolution. People arrested for vandalism, practicing certain religions, or criticizing the regime can be charged with sabotage and counterrevolutionary activities. Detention is permitted for those considered "dangerous,' defined as "the special proclivity of a person to commit crimes, demonstrated by observed conduct manifestly contrary to the rules of socialist ethics.' Cuba includes in its definition of "crimes' acts that no free society would consider as such.