Outgoing United States President Joe Bidenās administration on January 14, to remove Cuba from the US State Departmentās list of alleged āstate sponsors of terrorismā, to suspend Title III of the Helms-Burton ActĀ and to ease a few other financial sanctions on Cuba. These reversed measures imposed by Donald Trump during his first presidential term as layers added on to the existing blockade, and the Biden government upheld them until now, with just one week to go.
At the same time, but in a separate announcement, Cuba it would release 553 people āimprisoned for various crimesā. The Cuban government said the measure was part of an ongoing relationship with the Vatican. In talks with the Vatican in 2023, Cuba also stressed the damage caused by the USās policies toward Cuba.
The USās inclusion of Cuba on its list of alleged state sponsors of terrorism in early 2021 a global restricting of almost any kind of humanitarian aid, business, investment and trade that involved Cuba. Title III of the Helms-Burton Act allowed US citizens to sue any person or entity profiting from property expropriated by the Cuban government during its revolution. Its main was limiting foreign investment in Cuba.
Unfortunately, though a step in the right direction, the Biden administrationās eleventh-hour gesture is unlikely to change the conditions of intense scarcity under which most Cubans currently operate, as the blockade itself remains. Further, given Trumpās opposition to the Cuban government ā as well as the vehement opposition expressed by his nominee for secretary of state, Marco Rubio ā it is unlikely that this token gesture from Biden will last.
As I walked around Havana last week, the cumulative impact of more than six decades of the blockade was clear. It seemed that everywhere I went people were hard at work trying to fix cars or carts, water trucks or air conditioners, usually without access to the manufacturerās official replacement parts. And while a culture of repair rather than extreme levels of consumption is a positive thing, key infrastructure like thermal have surpassed their lifespan and may be beyond repair, as crucial parts havenāt been obtained due to the blockade.
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In October, countries once again voted in the United Nations General Assembly for an end to the US embargo against Cuba, with just the US and Israel against lifting it, and Moldova abstaining. Aurelie Flore Koumba Pambo, Gabonās representative to the UN, said the blockade is ā to the Cuban peopleā. The Cuban economy has also been severely impacted by the pandemic, currency reform and the rise of small businesses or MIPYMES. As Trump is about to be sworn in, Cubans say they are struggling and worried, but also resilient and hopeful.
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The oldest blockade
The US sanctions are complex and include asset freezes, export and import restrictions, travel limitations and financial transaction controls. Most commercial transactions with Cuba are prohibited, and in July last year, the US Treasury Department also announced restrictions blocking Cubaās access to cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
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The stringency of the blockade means the US can extend its enforcement beyond its borders. In March last year, Swiss bank EFG International, for example, paid $3.7 million to its supposed civil liability with the US Department of Treasury for processing 873 transactions for clients based in or linked to people in Cuba, in violation of the blockade.
Other companies and banks, in fear of such reprisals or penalties from the US, to work with Cuba. The Cuban government reports that between March 2022 and February 2023, foreign banks refused to conduct operations with Cuban banks. It US aggression toward Cuba includes intimidating companies that send it fuel supplies, and attempting to āundermine recovery of the tourism sectorā after the pandemic.
Trump, in 2017, also interrupted fuel supplies and applied dozens of other sanctions on top of the regular ones, and these measures are still in place. The āstate sponsors of terrorismā designation resulted in cancelled investments and import and export plans, and that loss of foreign exchange then supercharged inflation in Cuba.
The price of eggs and the cost of fuel shortages
Workers in many different sectors of the Cuban economy say they are facing particularly difficult conditions right now ā conditions that are unlikely to change due to this weekās limited reversals.
Angel Rojas, who works in a grocery shop as well as driving a taxi, shared his reflections during a conversation in Havana over the New Year.
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āThings at the moment are a bit difficult,ā Rojas told Truthout. āSpeaking as a taxi driver, buying fuel is quite complicated. You have to top up a government card, or you can obtain fuel from the state using Metropolitan Bank cards. Then thereās fuel scarcity.ā
Rojas explained that there is a lack of fuel trucks to transport fuel from refineries, on top of fuel scarcity itself. āYou have to wait in line for many hours, sometimes two or three days,ā he said. āThe government has made an app, so you can see which gas stations have supply and of what type of fuel.ā
āLikewise, there is some food scarcity. Itās not that you canāt find food, just that itās scarce and sometimes you have to go to a lot of effort to find something like eggs, or you have to line up. Sometimes you have to travel quite far to get something, but people who donāt have cars, well itās hard for them buy some things,ā he says.
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Walking around Havana, itās noticeable how the shortages in public transport affect all aspects of life, with people waiting for hours to hitch a ride, filling buses on the limited routes available, or paying 200 Cuban pesos for collective taxis. While the mostly empty roads are better for the air quality, the transport shortages impact production, goods distribution, mobility, working and socialising. A lot of used vehicles have been donated by other governments, but they are old, and with the blockade, repair parts often arenāt available. Improvisation is essential: a kidsā train is currently being used to transport tourists and locals along the capitalās MalecĆ³n esplanade.
Deficiencies of one resource trigger disruptions in other sectors. Speaking to Truthout, Virgin Maria de los Reyes Cordoba, who retired after spending 40 years working as a maritime transport technician and is currently working as a secretary to the editor of the Havana Tribune, gave the example of eggs. She noted how farms have been affected by the recent hurricanes, but that poultry farms are also struggling to produce eggs due to the lack of chicken feed. Further, farming products have to be transported around the country, but fuel shortages limit that movement.
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An āagingā economy, she said ā one that hasnāt been able to update its technology due to the sanctions ā āhas stopped us from advancing in other areas ā¦ we lack so many things, the country has become heavily focused on imports, leaving domestic production somewhat behindā.
āCuba is having to import sugar, for example, because the old sugar mills are based on old technology and itās hard to obtain the spare parts to keep them going ā¦ The shipping fleet is another thing that has deteriorated, so now we practically donāt have boats, and that impacts fish supply,ā she explained.
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Lethal economic attacks
According to the Cuban government, in its annual on the blockade, just half an hour of sanctions cause economic damage āequivalent to the cost of the electronic and conventional wheelchairsā required to meet the needs of students in the special education system. āAt current prices, the damages accumulated during more than six decades of implementation of this policy, amount to $164 billionā, the report notes, with the annual financial damage of the blockade increasing by $190 million from February 2023 to March 2024, for a total of more than $5 billion that year.
Beyond food, the blockade is affecting life-saving medical treatment. Cuba hasnāt been able to purchase blood gas analysers from Radiometer for critical patients in intensive care, because the company is part of Danaher Corporation, based in the US.
Last year, Cuba needed to buy four cooling machines that are vital for manufacturing medicines, but the European manufacturer cancelled its contract for the sale after it was acquired by the US multinational, Trane Technologies. The list goes on.
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A lack of medical supplies like cotton and gauze has led to a decline in surgeries, Reuters . Current production of some food staples has declined by as much as 80% compared to prior to the pandemic, and Cuba can only acquire 40% of the fuel, 4% of the fertiliser and 20% of the animal feed it needs, according to Reuters.
Nevertheless, the country continues to strive to provide free and preventative health care. I noticed that the policlinics (outpatient care) were always open, and one person told me how, in the lead-up to giving birth, she was visited by nurses every few days.
Recent increases in inequality and shortages
Things have gotten notably more difficult in Cuba over the past four to five years. To help cope, private and state-owned micro, small and medium companies, called MIPYMES (micro, pequeƱas y medianas empresas), have been permitted since and are growing in number. In July, there were private MIPYMES and 222 state-owned ones registered, though many small-scale sellers may not be registered.
De los Reyes says a lot of importation now happens through the MIPYMES ā typically small family stores ā and they are ābasically supplying the country ā¦ but they sell products at very high prices, and much of the population canāt afford themā.
For example, I bought a small can of sardines for 300 Cuban pesos, while de los Reyes says a doctor typically earns 5,000 Cuban pesos a month. Of course, people with small businesses or working independently tend to earn significantly more than that.
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The government has implemented other policies in an effort to access more foreign currency and to be able to import. The dual currency system, implemented in 1993 and 1994 to combat the black market in US dollars involved a national peso (CUP) and a convertible peso (CUC) equivalent to the dollar. But it was eliminated in 2021 after (moneda libremente convertible, or freely convertible currency) cards ā a virtual currency used in state shops and meant to be equivalent to the dollar ā were created in 2019.
Since then, Rojas said, āthe national currency has been depreciatingā.
āThe MLC, based around remittances ā¦ was a way for the government to have foreign currency, in order to be able to import fuel, food and parts for repairs,ā Rojas told Truthout. āBecause the thing is, the MIPYMES use cash, and so they buy things from abroad with foreign currency and sell them here, and the foreign currency ā¦ never makes it to the government.ā However, he added, the amount of money coming in via the MLC, such as in shops that only accept payments with MLC cards, is very little.
Then, the pandemic in 2020 saw tourism revenue plummeting, and along with the currency reform, some state subsidies and gratuities were in 2021.
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āBefore 2020, we were happy,ā says de los Reyes. āThere werenāt these shortages, industry was working, with problems and all, but largely working.ā However, she explained that other Global South countriesā economies were also hit hard during the pandemic, and they were no longer able to send as much help to Cuba. Further, a lot of professionals have emigrated, āleaving Cuba without a lot of skilled health and education workersā.
The Cuban government provides families, children under 13, and people over 65 with basic supplies like milk, rice, beans, coffee, cooking oil and sugar. Rojas said sometimes these supplies arrive late, causing his family to receive the previous monthās supply together with the current monthās, but noted that in the end, āwe do always get itā. Nevertheless, he said, the monthly staples arenāt usually enough.
Discontent, worry and hope for the future
āCurrently, thereās a lot of discontent,ā Rojas told Truthout. āA lot of people are very angry at the government because they believe everything is its fault. Many families have been emotionally affected. Our typical ways of being, of solidarity, of helping out a neighbour, sharing out the food we have ā even if it isnāt much, is something you see less of now, because families are struggling to be OK.ā
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He described people sometimes arguing or fighting, āphysically or verbally attacking each other over things that arenāt that importantā as a result of the stress of the current situation. Also, increasing inequality means one family may have more than another, leading to insecurities and tension in the community. āThe unity that there has always been, during celebrations and gatherings, has been negatively impacted,ā Rojas said. āItās sad to see, especially because in the past, when there were issues, people knew how to work them out together.ā
The incoming Trump administration could not just undo Bidenās recent reversals, but also increase sanctions and travel restrictions even further.
Rojas said he is worried about what that could mean for fuel and food supplies. āThe blockade could be intensified ā¦ [Trump] has promised mass deportations ā¦ and a lot of Cubans, in order to migrate to the US, sold their homes, so now they have nothing here.ā
But while the blockade can be demoralising, many in Cuba are keeping their spirits up through the creative arts. Cuba is thriving with culture. I went to the ballet where tickets are just 150 Cuban pesos, and the National Theater was packed with locals, many of whom walked long distances home afterward due to the lack of transport; and you can go to the baseball stadium for 50 Cuban pesos, the aquarium for about 20 Cuban pesos and catch the ferry across the canal for 2 Cuban pesos. From small home-based galleries, to a warehouse full of artists and a cooperative engraving workshop, art is everywhere in Cuba, and mundane chain stores are not.
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āThereās hope in the unity of people here, and thereās trust in the leadership [of Cuba], because one way or another, they usually manage to weather difficult situations. Us young people are the hope, those of us who stay here,ā Rojas said.
āItās very difficult. But we are managing. One finds a way to stay afloat. Cubans are inventive, creative. We work out a way to get through things,ā concluded de los Reyes.
[Abridged from .]