Cell phone activation cheaper by half

As announced in Granma, the cost to activate a cellphone has dropped from $120 to $65.

With phone in hand, one can purchase prepaid cards that deplete by minute used.

Since the cost of a call is about $0.30/minute, most Cubans that own cellphones use them as pagers--noting the incoming number and calling back on a land line.

Most cellphone owners are city dwellers--predominantly in Havana.

It still can take years to have a land line installed in one's home--and one's place in the waiting list is secured through one's workplace.

Apparently, this slashing of activation rates--which will grow clientele--is prospectively good for business.

Signs of Revolution

“And just when they seem engaged in revolutionizing themselves and things, in creating something that has never yet existed, precisely in such periods of revolutionary crisis they anxiously conjure up the spirits of the past to their service and borrow from them names, battle cries and costumes in order to present the new scene of world history in this time-honored disguise and this borrowed language.” --Karl Marx, "The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte", 1852.

Billboards

Citizens in Concert

To commemorate the 50th anniverary of the Cuban Revolution, top musical groups will play free open air concerts and there will be other music and dance opportunities across the capitol and the wider island. This is common for holidays such as 1 January or 26 July--but this year will probably be more spectacular than usual--if the state budget allows.

Chéoreographic!

Now showing in Cuban theaters.

Putting the Lager in Bloggers since 2008

Only built for Cuban links.

Can haz traid relashunz?

The X-Man met Castro.
Which caused Republicans to exit from the Hispanic Caucus.
Which may have contributed to the vast Democratic gains among Hispanics (after the immigration issue, of course).
Now Obama has chosen the X-Man as lead trade negotiator.
Just saying.

Buff Dude + State Loans + Abandoned Land --> Feed Capitol's Development

"Estoy pegado a la tierra desde niño y aquí seguiré, con mi modesto aporte, para que La Habana pueda responder a los programas de desarrollo que tiene en marcha".

To experienced and capable farmers, the Cuban state is providing the use of forsaken land as well as credits for tools, fertilizer, and seed. The goal is to make efficient use of those willing and talented enough to raise a multitude of crops; to attain economies of scale instead of limiting productive agriculturalists to their original small plot, Soviet tractors, and grunting oxen.

The epigraphic farmer's quote reveals that the rural folks shall grow the crops that feed Havana, as it develops its industrial, medical, scientific, and human capital.

The metropolitan dwellers will have an outstanding debt to their rural compatriots for the foreseeable future.

Generation Why...would I get married if I cant own stuff?

The mainstream global establishment, in search of a courageous hero that does not challenge its core values, continues to heap praise on a Cuban blogger who constantly bemoans and decries the society she finds herself in. She is the perfect cyber-underdog--a dissident who celebrates capitalism. Where else could you find such a combination?

In one of this material girl's latest entries, she says its no use getting married anymore because there is little to no private property for which to enter into the contract.

Capitalist agitators say the damnedest things.

Industrial Layoff

The Industriales have cut their top pitcher and best hitter.

There will be no other topic of conversation in Havana this weekend but this baseball intrigue.

[Update--This happened last week.]

Land Reform Redux

The hurricanes have delayed but not terminated the redistribution of idle or inefficiently used state lands to small farmers and private cooperatives that will have usufruct rights to cultivate for decade-long stints.

Eighty thousand applicants have requested land thus far in a program that could be the largest redistribution of land since the 1960s.

Prior to this reform Cuba had a quarter million family farms and over a thousand private cooperatives.

Sectoral Hypoglycemia

The island formerly ruled by sugar barons continues to diverge from its roots as an azucracia. Much land controlled by the Ministry of Sugar is being transferred to the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture. At the risk of sacrificing a source of foreign currency, this move likely intends to bolster Cuba's drive toward food security.

I Am (Uncle) Sam meets Yo Sí Puedo

A great gringo actor does mediocre journalism with Hugo Chávez & Raul Castro--but gets inadvertent scoop that Cuban president considers Guantanamo Bay a "neutral place".

Why would Raul Castro propose Guantanamo Bay as a neutral locale to meet with Obama?

Doesnt Cuba maintain claims of full legal possession of the entire island?

It seems to me that implying Guantanamo as neutral is tantamount to conceding Cuba's sovereign right to the area and saying its OK for the US military to continue to occupy it.

Explanation eludes.

Grassroots call for single currency

An apolitical criollo group has gone to the trouble of collecting and presenting 20,000 signatures to the National Assembley in favor of adopting one unified currency--something everybody & their mothers & all the most elite communist officials had already said would be a nice occurrence.

Trouble is its not that easy.

The peso is worth little and not traded outside the island. It is the backbone of the socialist aspects of the Cuban economy. The convertible is backed by foreign currency reserves and worth 24 times more than the peso. It is the money of the tourism, remittance, and certain industrial sectors.

The dual currency system was established during the special period to both partially engage with the global market and to retain the socialist morals and incentives achieved up to that point. It has always been known to be irritating--but deemed the least worse option available.

This interview in English with a Spanish economist explains very well the current duality, how it came to be, and the prospects of going to a single currency.

Here are simple critiques of the wild calls for economic reform that do not take basic economic consequences into account.

Birth rates up 9%

In a nation whose population had actually been decreasing in recent years, almost 9% more babies arrived this year than last.

Those babies were conceived and passed the first trimester while Cuba's economy was looking up, before the hurricanes destroyed the food and housing situations. So I would guess that people have put the breaks on bringing more mouths to the table--which we would see evidence of next year.

From the Department of Scorpion Farming

Down on the scorpion farm, Cubans are boosting the yield of the blue variety that fights cancer.

Somehow that is a true statement.

Deflated Exultation

Were it not for the flurry of forceful hurricanes that wiped out $10 billion (around a quarter of GDP) in housing, infrastructure, agriculture and other economic activity, Cuba might have been sitting rather pretty (at no less than 6% growth in GDP) during this moment in world history that sees capitalism catch a critical case of cyclical comeuppance.

Alas--due to natural forces wholly unrelated to socialist political economy--Cuba is not in a position to feel schadenfreude; it cannot freely shout that it told you so, let alone offer up its model as an alternative to the creatively destructive capitalists.

So the Cuban political leadership wryly watches the market states run around with their heads cut off (capital punishment?)--yet cannot speak, on the world stage, from a position of objective solvency.

Undaunted defenders of capitalism should be thankful that violent weather muted what otherwise might have stood as a formidable alternative for a world searching for a path forward.

Socialized Rewards

The mode of incentives in revolutionary Cuba has tended to center around benefiting groups rather than individuals; from rewarding productive workplaces with communal bonuses (shop-wide vacation and recreation subsidies) to rewarding entire provinces that perform well (medically or economically speaking) with special events (such as the 26th of July festivities).

In keeping with this socialist tradition, Cuban airport authorities celebrated the arrival of the year's two millionth tourist--not by singling out one lucky winner--but by flagging the entire plane and letting all passengers partake in the prizes.

The revolutionary ethic has been extended to the visiting capitalists.

Constituent outreach

Raul Castro speaks to people evacuated and effected by Hurricane Paloma. During his visit he recalled that a hurricane killed three thousand people around the same town of Santa Cruz del Sure, circa 1932.

For this third major tropical cyclone this season, the Cuban authorities evacuated 1.2 million people and not one person died.

Fired!

This ministerial replacement demonstrates the general civics point that the Council of State executes proposals advanced by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party. That is, a small cohort drawn from the top echelon of the broad-based party makes recommendations, which are carried out by the select executive group elected from the hundreds of national legislators. This, my friends, is an institutionalized revolution.

The narrower point of this case, is that somebody just got fired. The habanero elite are probably all gossiping incessantly about this.

[[UPDATE--Apparently the Foreign Investment Minister was let go because of premature praise for Obama's victory. Of course, all of Cuba had been rooting for Obama for months. And its not like she gaffed by rhetorically intruding on the sovereignty of another country's internal affairs--the election results had been determined, which in fact was the subject of her comment...When I said the Havana chattering classes would be all aflutter, it may have been more accurate to mention Miami's nattering chismosos.]]

Track suits and bling!

What?!?!?!?!?!?!!

Cultural typologies of Cuban youth

Starring (the easy cognates) roqueros and friquis, miquis and punkie, reguetoneros and reparteros.

This cultural distillation is a must read for anyone wanting to identify style types in their natural habitats of house parties, apartment stoops, matinee discos, and the malecon.

Mex med students just became most popular on campus

Thanks to advocacy by Mexico's workers party, DF will now give $300/month to every Mexican student in Cuba.

Hurricanes blow reforms off the table

With the passing of yet a third disastrous hurricane this season, priorities now focus wholly on recovery efforts. Any economic and political changes that might have seemed possible during last spring's moment of leadership transition are now firmly on the back burner.

Independent Labor Unions

Asia Times correspondent Pepe Escobar asserts that as foreign industry increases operations in a liberalizing Cuban economy, Cuban employees of those enterprises will need to form unions independent of--but not in opposition to--the state.

Death to the Bureaucrats?

Can an ideally institutionalized, rational bureaucracy be destroyed?

Although the initial assumption is no--because by its very nature, a properly insulated bureaucracy should be able to withstand political assaults on its integrity and attempts to capture its lever-wielding echelons--there have been moments when state bureaucracies "went away".

In 1960s Cuba, the shift to state socialism suddenly multiplied and imbued greater power in public administrators. This led them to begin to function politically like a stratified economic class--acting not as impartial bureaucrats, but in ways that protected their own interests. So no sooner had the bourgeoisie been done away with, but a bureaucratic class formed asserting its special rights.

This bureaucratic class quickly became a political target for politicians operating on behalf of the working class. Castro and Che et al sent bureaucrats into rural areas to cut sugar cane--thereby leveling again the social landscape. This was possible because the bureaucracy was not invulnerably isolated by a notion of legalistic authority; ultimately it answered to Castro's charismatic authority.

Another example of a decimated bureaucracy is found in Venezuela circa 2000. But this time the destroyers of the bureaucracy were the bureaucrats themselves.

In the later half of the 20th century, civil servants were gradually installed in the state bureaucracy due to (and reinforcing of) allegiance to either Acción Democrática or COPEI, the two main political parties in Venezuela's 4th Republic "partidocracia" (limited competition--like in the US).

Once Chavez won power and began to roll out socialist reforms that threatened the higher class position with whcih the bureaucrats identified, they began to opt out of working for the state. This was a political statement--akin to "exit" among Hirschman's three options when facing an uncomfortable situation.

Once Chavez filled the empty bureaucracy with inexperienced loyalists, it took time for efficient administration of the socialistic agenda to come online. There was a lagged learning curve that gave detractors ample opportunity to claim an inefficient squandering of oil wealth.

Now that the bureaucracy is filled with functioning loyalists, we see a similar situation as occurred in Cuba: the formation of a bureaucratic class. In fact, as it becomes a class of its own, the quality of its members' loyalty to the participatory goals of the Bolivarian revolution gets called into question.

It is figured that the Chavez-backed referendum last year failed because of abstention from millions of official party members. These so-called chavistas may have frowned upon the decentralizing measures included in the referendum that would have curtailed the centralized power they held as "state administrators". Now we see warnings that Venezuelan bureaucrats limit their decadence.

The similarities between 1966 Cuba and 2008 Venezuela are striking.

CSI: Havana

The crime solving division of the Interior Ministry is implementing new technology to help it solve cases and catch criminals.

Real cases from this ministry's work get adapted into teleplays for the popular Sunday night police drama Tras la huella.

Fidel Castro Advocates Democracy

Semi-retired Cuban statesman Fidel Castro--who has served in executive leadership positions both dictatorially (charismatic authority) and semi-democratically (rational/legal/institutional authority)--has expounded, in a recent op-ed, on the virtues of the democratic processes occurring throughout the hemisphere.

This statement seems like conspicuous condoning of democracy. Of course, nobody should think that the Cuban democratic system will conform to anyone's idealized expectations (let alone demands) but those of the Cubans. Still, the piece seems quite an overt normative approval of a democratic path.

Turning Living Rooms into Classrooms

With many schools damaged by the hurricanes, families are opening their doors to displaced students. Some teachers are now giving classes in the confines of a neighbor's living room.

A longtime leader of the Cuban revolution, Armando Hart Dávalos, notes that this recent invention by necessity is the intertwining of three main pillars of society: family, community, and school.

Youth Land on Island of Youth

Young Cubans from across the country have gone to Cuba's hurricane-damaged satellite municipality to volunteer in recovery efforts. They are rebuilding domestic tourist infrastructure on exotic black sand beaches and laboring in the agricultural sector for a period of six to twelve months. Similarly, thirty-five hundred volunteers have deployed to Piñar del Rio province to resuscitate the infrastructure of the tobacco industry.

Intensive harvests will be necessary for Cuba to alleviate the food scarcity inflicted by the hurricanes and boost production for export.

Teenagers customarily help out in an annual rite of picking crops for a month or two during the summer. This is a way for them to contribute in exchange for the free education they receive, and an opportunity to get to know another part of their country. Its especially useful for insular urban youth to comprehend the rural nature of a large part of the island.

Sending brigades of younger generations to serve their nation in tackling specific issues is a tradition. The current campaign is reminiscent of the 1961 literacy mission in which 100,000 educated urban teenagers flocked to the countryside and nearly disappeared all illiteracy. That campaign showed the privileged firsthand the impoverish conditions in which the rest of the country lived, making them more amenable to a revolutionary socialist program. It also served to make every citizen capable of reading propaganda.

Former Teachers Unretire to Fill Posts Left Empty By Diminished Labor Force

As economic dearth renders pregnancy unappealing, deaths continue to out pace births in Cuba.

The depleted population structure is unable to reproduce the workforce to fill the positions vacated by retirees.

Add to that the fact that some Havana residents tend to opt out of formal state employment (due to official material benefits being less attractive than the informal economic opportunities derived from inputs of tourist dollars in the capitol city). Willing professionals--namely police, teachers and construction workers--must be imported from the provinces.

In order to close the deficit in teachers--which may or may not be near 8,000--new legal provisions encourage retired teachers to return to the classroom by letting them earn a salary while still receiving their monthly pension.

"No Ike"

Produce markets remain bare after hurricanes;
price gouging by private sellers rampant.

First came Gustav.

Then came Ike.

Now Cuba is experiencing "No Ike".

As in "No Ike Comida"--a tragicomic play on the words "no hay", or "there is none", as in "there is no food".

In the wake of two hurricanes that flattened crops and ruined recent agricultural yields, produce markets are mostly empty.

International relief donations have been routed to the areas most severely struck by the violent weather systems, leaving Havana--which escaped direct contact from the storms--suffering shortages of food that is normally trucked in from the surrounding rural municipalities.

State run markets have set prices, but checks do not always exist to curb opportunism. Scarcity has lead to price gouging, as its a seller's market. Produce vendors are exploiting the law of supply and demand. The illegally steep food prices are found most often in the semi-private markets, which are reported to have relatively more goods in stock.

The attorney general has promised to be more vigilant and punitive against people who try to profit off of the situation of hardship.

Classical Sociology Told You So

or

Anomie Goes to Wall Street (and Beyond)

Reacting to impending economic doom, France's President, Nicolas Sarkozy--formerly an unabashed free trader--has begun to sound a lot like his erstwhile compatriot, Monsieur Durkheim.

First, at the UN on Tuesday, he told the world:

[English translations in comments section]

"On ne peut pas attendre pour préparer le monde de l’après-pétrole, pour lutter contre le réchauffement climatique, pour sauver les océans, pour en finir avec les dumpings monétaires, sociaux, écologiques. On ne peut pas attendre pour moraliser le capitalisme financier."

Then Thursday, in a major domestic economic address à la Bush, he affirmed:

"ce système a creusé les inégalités, il a démoralisé les classes moyennes"

and

"Le capitalisme c’est la propriété privée, la responsabilité individuelle, l’engagement personnel, c’est une éthique, une morale, des institutions."

and

"Si l’on veut reconstruire un système financier viable, la moralisation du capitalisme financier demeure la priorité."

and

"Voilà quelques principes simples qui relèvent du bon sens et de la morale élémentaire sur lesquels je ne céderai pas."

Clearly, Sarkozy views--or at least describes--the contemporary crisis in Durkheimian terms of a moral deficit; that the system has failed because no morality was governing it.

He went into a refrain stark in its declarative finality:

"L’autorégulation pour régler tous les problèmes, c’est fini. Le laissez-faire, c’est fini. Le marché qui a toujours raison, c’est fini."

But even though with these statements he seemed to condemn unequivocally the basic logic of the free market, Sarkozy still managed to let capitalism off the hook.

"La crise financière n’est pas la crise du capitalisme. C’est la crise d’un système qui s’estéloigné des valeurs les plus fondamentales du capitalisme, qui a trahi l’esprit du capitalisme."

In the end, Sarkozy blames the present state of ruinous affairs not on capitalism itself, but on the lack of morality imbued in the system. He says that this unregulated, amoral financial anarchy betrayed "the spirit of capitalism".

Which, fittingly, brings us to Max Weber.

Don't ever say classical sociology didn't tell you so.

Putting on a Clinic Clinic

Universalizing health care in Cuba has meant shifting the focus from major overcrowded hospitals to smaller decentralized polyclinics. Each neighborhood has a clinic in which residents can just drop in to have their health checked out. This medical system emphasizes preventative care.

Clinics are so readily accessible and close to home that people feel comfortable visiting the clinic regularly. Instead of waiting until an ailment causes a severe crisis, people can nip health problems in the bud by seeking medical attention early on. Even if the expansive network of clinics means more immediate resource allocation, preempting catastrophic conditions is much cheaper in the long run.

Each polyclinic serves an average population of twenty-two thousand people. Doctors become familiar with their neighbor-patients to whom they provide regular check-ups. If they detect more serious symptoms, they refer patients to specialists at larger regional hospitals.

People will stop in to polyclinics at a moments notice. Walking back home from a game of dominoes in the darkness of early night, a middle-aged Cuban man will suddenly come to a halt and tell his friend to wait a moment while he goes in to see if the doctor can check his blood pressure. If the doctor is available, great; if not, the man can revisit the clinic another time since it is only a few blocks from his house.

This method of frequent contact keeps both patient and doctor abreast of the citizen's condition.

The polyclinics endeavor to be ever to deal with drop-in patients. Even political bigwigs can pop in without any notice for a check-up--of the state of the system.

Building Revolution

Before the hurricanes, Cuba had a housing shortage of around half a million dwellings. The natural disasters destroyed or damaged over a third of a million homes. Thats a current shortfall nearing a million houses.

In a move to redouble sheltering efforts (where materials are available), the Ministry of Construction is offering to train anybody who wants to learn the building trade.

The all-hands-on-deck modus operandi will not only focus on erecting homes, but also on repairing hotels in time for the peak mid-winter tourism season, as well as on concretizing ALBA-related projects.

The ministry's motto is "Construction is Revolution".

16,000 Requests for Land Use in 3 Days

At the most recent meeting of the National Assembly in July, a law was put forth to allow Cubans the right to hold in usufruct and to work unused state lands. The strategic purpose was one of national food security, to expand and to rationalize agricultural production in order to wean the nation off of alimentary dependency. Cuba currently gets about 80% of its food from abroad, much from the United States, which plays the odd role of enemy-mercantilist.

The importance of greatly increasing production has grown exponentially after the recent spate of hurricanes crippled major portions of Cuba's agricultural sector. Completed harvests, pending yields, and crucial infrastructure were lost in the tempests.

After three days of the newly decentralized state agricultural authorities accepting applications for acreage, over 16,000 once and future farmers have requested land to grow crops and/or raise livestock.

The state is encouraging the new small scale farming operations to focus on crops with quick turnarounds, like squash, sweet potatoes, and greens, so as to feed more rapidly the populace hungry from post-storm shortages. As many a Cuban are presently wont to note "los agros están pela'o"--the markets are barren.

Ministry of Basic Industry

Each Cuban, An Army.

An oddly reminiscent phrase.

"Latin America is Irrelevant"

On the morning of 11 September 2008, Luis Ernesto Derbez gave a keynote address at a Latin American conference on UNM's campus. Dr. Derbez was the Secretary of Economy and Secretary of Foreign Relations under former Mexican President Vicente Fox. He is currently the president of the University of the Americas in Mexico.


What follows is an English-language paraphrasing of Dr. Derbez's speech. The words are mine, but the concepts, structure and examples are from his address. In only a few places have I editorialized, and those thoughts appear parenthetically and italicized. This essay tries to reflect the content of Dr. Derbez's speech; I take full blame for any unintentional misrepresentations.

LATIN AMERICA IS IRRELEVANT

Derbez began his speech with the declaration that Latin America is irrelevant. The continent is irrelevant on the world stage of geopolitics. That is, it does not have an influential voice in major world decisions.

For starters, Latin America is not represented on the UN Security Council, an agenda setting body with overwhelming veto power. Another among myriad examples of Latin America's irrelevance is that its participation in the failed Doha Round was largely marginal, with Brazil playing a small but inconsequential role.

Latin America is irrelevant because, in this emergent multi-polar world, it has not sufficiently integrated to constitute a major block that can articulate its shared interests in a forceful and coherent way. As they engage in diplomatic negotiation and statecraft, the prepotent regional poles of power do not have to seriously heed Latin America as an equal. The formidable positions of the US, the European Union, the Russia Federation, China and India demand careful consideration by all parties. Latin America, on the other hand, has not achieved such status due to its incomplete integration.

Derbez says that the obstacles to integration stem from three situations currently encountered in Latin America: disagreement and competition among divergent models of integration, the failures of Latin American businesses, and the still wanting democratic character of Latin American nations.

As Latin America confronts the need to integrate, its various players have initiated different models for regional integration. First there is the NAFTA model, which represents the traditional posture of turning towards the US. Because of an entangled history and geographic determinism, Mexico is torn between this US-centric model and one that looks south for alliances. The problem with the NAFTA model is that it would necessarily subordinate a Latin American block to the North American block in global interactions.

An alternative option for integration is MERCOSUR, which is the South American free trade organization spearheaded by Brazil. Although its locus of power is decidedly southern, it is similar to NAFTA in that it remains trade focused and relies on nation-states as the units of membership.

The third model of Latin American integration is represented by ALBA, the "Bolivarian" alternative to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, rolled out by Venezuela and Cuba, and now counting Nicaragua and Bolivia as members. ALBA differs from the traditional country constituted and trade focused alliances in that it involves people-to-people integration on energy, education and health issues. Overlooking national boundaries and integrating populations rather than markets, ALBA is a decidedly Marxist model, says Derbez.

The disagreement on which model to follow has, in part, prevented Latin America from more fully integrating, and thus from developing a unified voice that commandingly advocates for the region's common interests on the world stage. Curiously, Derbez notes, the three-way divergence that has stalled integration on the continental level is reminiscent of the fractious tripartite conflict found in Mexico's domestic politics, where the PRI, PAN and PRD regularly enter into intense gridlock.

Derbez proposes that if a consensus model of integration is not arrived at, then it may be up to the business sector to exert Latin America's influence on the world. The problem with the so-called multilatinas is that they are generally more dedicated to distribution than to innovation. Suitable examples are found in Mexico where some of the most successful companies distribute telecommunication goods and services or specialize in rational distribution of food products, but do not invent novel technology. Until Latin American industry begins to offer revolutionary products, it will remain on the margins of the world's balance sheets and attention spans. (Interestingly, where international business is involved, Derbez does not express the same discomfort about borderless integration that he did in reference to the ALBA case. Implicitly, Derbez seems to approve of capital ignoring political borders, but frowns on social movements doing so.)

A final characteristic of Latin America that impedes regional integration, common cause, and unity of purpose is the anti-democratic tendencies still found among the continent's political leadership. Derbez points out that the excesses of presidentialism still rear their ugly heads.

Supposedly, Latin American citizens have confidence in strong leaders that make firm decisions, regardless of whether they violate institutional norms. So we see Latin American presidents acting increasingly dictatorially, in defiance of constitutional limitations and other branches of government. Examples include Hugo Chavez reconstituting Venezuela's Supreme Court and proposing an end to term limits, and Alvaro Uribe gaining extra terms by meddling with the legislative and judicial branches. Derbez takes pains to note that this anti-democratic nature finds expression in both right wing and leftist administrations. (However, Derbez fails to explain why such an anti-democratic trend occurs especially in Latin America. This makes his contention rest rather shakily on a premise of discredited essentialism.)

This anti-democratic prong of Derbez's thesis seems to assert that as long as domestic institutions remain weak, designs for integrationist institutions will not gain traction.

Despite the impassioned rhetoric and strategic vision exhibited by Latin American leaders, the region has yet to integrate effectively. Disagreements over the route to follow—on whether to take the form of a common market or to adopt a more humanist community model, on whether to adopt a US-centric perspective or a more southerly orientation—have delayed the realization of Nuestra America. Also, the failure of Latin American businesses to develop a reputation for innovation has prevented that sector from serving as an influential de facto representative of the area's mutual interests. Finally, the disregard for democratic institutions at the national level has not only further entrenched political stereotypes about the region, but also slowed progress towards the formation of hemispheric institutions. According to Derbez, the totality of these dilemmas has obstructed the path to integration.

However long Latin America continues to be fragmented, it will not be able to formulate coherent claims on the world stage; it will not command the deference given to other major power blocks in the prosecution of international affairs. In a word, Latin America will remain irrelevant.

Produce Markets Empty

When hurricanes Gustav and Ike tore through the Cuban countryside last week, they destroyed much of the agricultural harvest.

As a result the "agros"--outdoor vegetable markets--have very little produce in stock, and the prices have increased for what is available. Supply and demand seem to be having an effect on cost.

The state is even selling food donated by Russia at the new higher prices.

Many homes are still without electricity, and are predicted to remain so for up to three months, while the government gets its hands on blockaded materials to repair the "mangled grid".

Thousands of people have lost their homes and are living in schools and other secure state buildings.

24% of Cuba's population evacuated

{{{UPDATE 09/09/08--As Hurricane Ike made a second crossing, battering Cuba, the toll of evacuees rose to over 2.6 million people. That is nearly a quarter of the population that mobilized to secure locations.

It appears to have spared Havana major damage.

Nevertheless the devastation to housing, agriculture and infrastructure is vast.

Today the entire Cuban nation sympathizes with Tina Turner.}}}



In the face of Hurricane Ike, about 1.3 million Cubans and 10 thousand tourists have been evacuated to secure locations on the island. At this point, only 4 people have died.

Last week, Hurricane Gustav ravaged two provinces. During Gustav there were no deaths, despite millions of dollars in damage caused by the 100+ mph winds of the Category 4 cyclone.

There is something to be said about the social use of limited resources, a highly organized society, public control of airwaves, and the prioritization of saving human lives over every other goal.

Presently, Ike appears to be doing its damnedest to impact all fifteen provinces.

Much of the southern coast is flooded.

Ike is headed for Havana.

How to Achieve Zero Deaths in a Hurricane?

It is not a miracle that Cuba avoids that its citizens perish in the hurricanes that regularly pound the island. The entire nation is well organized with systematic routines for withstanding forces of nature.

First, there is the informative phase in which state media and neighborhood committees warn people of the approaching danger.

Second comes the cyclone alert stage in which civil defense teams and neighborhood committees organize specified evacuations of vulnerable populations, locals and tourists alike, to secure locations. These evacuations are obligatory.

Hurricanes destroy Cuba's infrastructure and economy. But take none of its citizens.

Retail Gas Price Raised in Response to World Price

While oil prices skyrocketed on the global market in recent years, state-run gasoline stations have not raised the retail price of gasoline since 2005. The state taking the loss represented a 36% subsidy of petroleum.

Today, the retail price has been raised.

It is probably not a coincidence that this move, which naturally must be highly unpopular, was rolled out as the populace is distracted by a category 4 hurricane attacking the entire length of the island.

Castro Mummified!

For those interested in US-Latin American relations, it is useful to study the rigorously-conceived party platforms of the Democrats and Republicans.

In their final platform, the Republicans have committed 374 words to Latin American affairs. The Democrats 241 words.

Since the Latin American policy sections of these platforms are so lengthy and complicated, I have provided brief summaries below.

Elefantes:

* God and buying stuff connects people.
* The war on drugs = the war on terror
* Fidel Castro is a mummy.
* Expanding freedom is based on free market principles (and occasional bank bailouts).
* The US appreciates Canada for its valuable trade (and being willing to take our friendly fire in Afghanistan).
* Mexico and Colombia are so awesome they are worth mentioning.
* The free trade agreement with Colombia is being obstructed only by Democrats and people that want to keep their jobs.
* Colombia deserves to buy our stuff since they have been so brave (in killing their union members and journalists).
* Hugo Chavez is a clown.
* We do Cuban people a favor by staying out of their island and giving them free teevee.
* Evo Morales is a neural net processing cyborg.
* Cuban immigrants are like aborted fetuses: they should be safe, legal, and rare.
* We want to continue our strictly long distance relationship with Latin Americans.


Burros:

* The 2008 Democrats proudly will use JFK's 47-year old strategy for dealing with Latin America.
* Diplomacy should be like gay marriage.
* The Americas should have more self-esteem than to be Anti-American.
* Mexico and Colombia are awesome. And so is Brazil!
* Cuba should be free and sovereign and follow our orders.
* If Cuba does as we say, we will formulate moves toward becoming prepared to consider taking steps to initiate talks on beginning preliminary relations with Cuba.
* Haiti is like so permanently screwed.

Here are the unabridged Latin America sections from the platforms, just so you can see that Im not making any of this up.


Strengthening Ties in the Americas
Faith and family, culture and commerce, are
enduring bonds among all the peoples of the
Americas. Republicans envision a western hemisphere
of sovereign nations with secure borders,
working together to advance liberty and mutually-beneficial
trade based on sound and proven free
enterprise principles. Our relations with our immediate
neighbors, Canada and Mexico, are grounded
on our shared values and common purpose, as well
as our steadily increasing trade. We pledge to continue
this close association and to advance mutually
beneficial trade agreements throughout Latin
America, promoting economic development and
social stability there while opening markets to our
goods and services. Our strong ties with Canada and
Mexico should not lead to a North American union
or a unified currency.
Two factors distort this hemispheric progress.
One is narco-terrorism, with its ability to destabilize
societies and corrupt the political process. In an
era of porous borders, the war on drugs and the
war on terror have become a single enterprise.
We salute our allies in the fight against this evil, especially
the people of Mexico and Colombia, who have
set an example for their neighbors. We support
approval of the free trade agreement with Colombia,
currently blocked by Capitol Hill Democrats and
their union boss supporters, as an overdue gesture of
solidarity for this courageous ally of the United
States.
The other malignant element in hemispheric
affairs is the anachronistic regime in Havana, a
mummified relic from the age of totalitarianism,
and its buffoonish imitators. We call on the nations
of Latin America and the Caribbean to join us in
laying the groundwork for a democratic Cuba.
Looking to the inevitable day of liberation, we
support restrictions on trade with, and travel to,
Cuba as a measure of solidarity with the political
prisoners and all the oppressed Cuban people.
We call for a dedicated platform for transmission
of Radio and Television Marti into Cuba and, to prepare
for the day when Cuba is free, we support the
work of the Commission for Assistance to a Free
Cuba. We affirm the principles of the Cuban
Adjustment Act of 1966, recognizing the rights of
Cubans fleeing Communist tyranny, and support
efforts to admit more of them through a safe, legal,
orderly process.

Recommit to an Alliance of the Americas
We recognize that the security and prosperity of the United States is fundamentally tied to the
future of the Americas. We believe that in the 21 st century, the U.S. must treat Latin America
and the Caribbean as full partners, just as our neighbors to the south should reject the bombast
of authoritarian bullies. Our relationship with Canada, our long-time ally, should be strengthened
and enhanced. An alliance of the Americas will only succeed if it is founded on the bedrock of
mutual respect and works to advance democracy, opportunity, and security from the bottom-
up. We must turn the page on the arrogance in Washington and the anti-Americanism across the
region that stands in the way of progress. We must work with close partners like Mexico,
Brazil, and Colombia on issues like ending the drug trade, fighting poverty and inequality, and
immigration. We must work with the Caribbean community to help restore stability and the rule
of law to Haiti, to improve the lives of its people, and to strengthen its democracy. And we must
build ties to the people of Cuba and help advance their liberty by allowing unlimited family visits
and remittances to the island, while presenting the Cuban regime with a clear choice: if it takes
significant steps toward democracy, beginning with the unconditional release of all political
prisoners, we will be prepared to take steps to begin normalizing relations.

Cuba A&M

"Majoring in farming."

To meet internal food security needs in the face of rising international grain prices, and in concert with proposed legislation to distribute fallow land, Cuba's universities are placing increased emphasis on training people in agricultural science and related technical fields.

Queuebanismo

If long bread lines are the derogatory stereotype of socialist societies, Cubans have made waiting in line an art form.

Queues are rarely physical files of humans; rather they are mental abstractions in which everyone knows behind whom they are positioned, no matter where they wait. You can be third in a line of twenty and sitting in the shade of a tree a block away.

The procedure for "formando cola" entails arriving at the bus stop/bank/social club and shouting an interrogative "¿último?" to find out who is last in line. When that person identifies themselves, you ask them whom they are behind. This is because people do not wait in their physical order, and if that person leaves the line you need to know behind whom you are then positioned.

This free form way of lining up lifts the weight of the wait for a lift, and is one of the many types of "lesser" freedoms that Cubans enjoy.

An infuriating wrinkle of this otherwise logical and flexible process for interminable waiting is that people physically present at the queue can be holding the place of multiple others who are basically waiting in absentia, around the block or even asleep in their homes. So if you arrive somewhere and see a short line of only 12 people, you could actually be 200th in line. Although that is an extreme example, it illustrates the concept and is not unheard of.

People sometimes offer to hold others' place in line for a small fee.

Even in Cuba, freedom isn't free.

Establishment Insiders Propose End of Statism

A former diplomat and regarded scholar, in collaboration with colleagues, has posted online a lengthy manifesto that calls for doing away with stifling state bureaucracy and unpopular antiquated restrictions as well as reforming the current political system to move towards more participatory democratic socialism.

While I normally shy away from posting on the explicitly political, this document makes mention of many obstacles that Cubans face in their day-to-day doings, many of which are the most voiced grievances of the day.

Cubans generally do not launch complaints against the entire socioeconomic and political system, but rather they focus on specific prohibitions and bureaucratic exigencies, deemed cumbersome and unnecessary, that inhibit the progress of socialism and dampen public enthusiasm.

To Love Your Country is to Love Humanity

Cuban press "controlled", copied by Spanish press

El Pais newspaper from Madrid calls the "official" Cuban press "controlled" by the state.

The Spanish journalist lists a litany of illegal and informal economic activities currently found in Cuba. Such as stealing gas, illegally manufacturing plastic bowls, stealing iron from telephone poles, and others previously covered here like selling plastic bags and "cannibalizing" garbage bins.

All of which the so-called reporter learned about directly from critical articles in Cuban newspapers.

If the Cuban press really were as controlled as El Pais insinuates, this journalist might not have anything to write about.

Few Phones for so many Mouthy Cubans

Many Cubans do not have a telephone in their homes, despite their penchant for talking all the time. There are 1.24 million landlines for a nation of 11.2 citizens. I imagine many of those lines belong to enterprises and offices.

Often times to call somebody at their home, one must call a neighbor's number. The instructions go like this: "Call 555-5555 and ask for Delia. When Delia gets on the phone ask to speak to me from Pedro's house down the block". Typically, Delia would dispatch her little daughter or another suitable courier to look for the call recipient. One then waits five to ten minutes for the person to come get on the phone.

Another variation is that one calls a number, and the person that answers says "Repeat the call" and hangs up. So one calls again and instead of the first person answering on the second ring, the intended party answers on the sixth. This way multiple households can share a single line.

So if you share a line with somebody, when you hear the phone ring twice, then another incoming call sounds seconds later, chances are its for you, answer it.

The shortage of telephone service is so severe and public discontent so chronic that there are entire episodes of the public commentary show, Libre Acceso, dedicated to addressing telephonic concerns. Often times the complaints or questions come via mail. Other times people borrow neighbor's telephones to call the show.

The panel receiving the questions is composed of journalists and officials such as representatives from the provincial parliament, institutional bureaucrats like those from the telephone company and, say, a member of the Communist party's municipal delegation.

The complaints voiced are all variations on a single theme: "We ordered a telephone line six years ago, and three years ago we were told it was to be installed, but we still dont have a line, and the local telephone company office just gives us the run around."

Invariably, the three hosts of the television program have no adequate response. Just as the complaint is always the same; so is the answer.

The underlying problem is based on access to technical equipment which cant be bought from the US due to the blockade, so must be purchased from farther afield at higher costs. But the hosts promise to look into the caller's particular problem.

Cuba has some very incisive sketch comedies on television (like Profe Mentepollo), but this is probably the funniest show on the air.

The lack of telephone lines makes it that much more hilarious that the Bush Administration took the bold step towards democratizing Cuba of allowing Americans to send cellphones to Cuba. The Bush Administration said something to the effect of cellphones allowing Cubans to speak freely in public.

If Bush really wanted to open up Cuba's communication, it would lift the blockade on materials required for telecommunications, including allowing Cuba expanded internet bandwidth. The US could even finance the installation of telephone lines in Cuba.

As it stands, Cubans will continue to shout and to debate loudly in person.

Everyone Moving to Havana

Of all the Cubans who relocated internally, 40.8% move to Havana.

For several reasons:

Young people dont want to work the land. Especially the educated youth, which is just about all of them.

Havana has much more cultural and entertainment attractions than other cities, let alone rural towns.

The tourist economy is concentrated in Havana, so those with eyes for dollars over hard "honorable" work find more opportunity in the capital.

Most goods, even those subsidized and distributed throughout the country, enter and disperse from Havana. Which means supplies might run short before the far flung towns are stocked. It also means these goods are more readily found on the Havana informal market than elsewhere.

Apparently Cuba is going to address this "deformation of social conduct" by intensifying regional development.

50% of Farmland is Idle

This is actually a good thing. Means there is lots of room for growth.

If there were food shortages and expensive staples at the same time that the majority of the arable land was in full production, then one would worry more.

Cuba to Have More Elderly than Kids by 2020

Unlike some third world countries that spawn offspring uncontrollably and have their older generation die off from unattended infirmities, Cuba's population pyramid is inverted, a top heavy top.

This because of free state-subsidized abortion on demand (who wants another mouth to feed? who wants to multiply necessities?). And because of the free health care system that focuses on prevention.

Readily accessible medical attention and healthy lifestyles have given Cuba the world's oldest population.

In fact, the population is now decreasing.

So many people have not had children that they are now worried about who will take care of them in their golden years.

Local Milk Production

The case of locally produced milk--which Raul Castro noted in his 26 July 2007 speech as an example of looking at things anew and doing things efficiently in a time of high transport costs--has made headway, but still requires some technical and veterinarian inputs for the program to achieve its goals.

The important part is that milk producers sell as much as they can (around 75-80% after consumption at the place of production) to the state. As an incentive for milk makers to avoid the informal market, with each sale the state contributes convertible pesos to a fund for the purchase of technical equipment.

Sleeping with your Ex

Due to severe housing shortages (half a million in a country of 11 million), many divorced couples must continue to live under the same roof, in the same room, and sometimes in the same bed.

Often people build internal walls and ceilings/floors to create more rooms in their houses. When people get divorced, they often have to divide a house in two since there is nowhere else to go to live. I suppose when this new construction is prohibitive, divorced couples share their old bedroom.

Defection from Employment

A major issue confronting Cuban society is how to insert its youth into the workforce. The Union of Young Communists (UJC) is actively looking into why people are "disconnected from either study or work...not contributing anything to the society."

People report to be dissatisfied with the jobs on offer, frustrated at not qualifying to enter academically into their preferred career path, busy earning money in the informal sector, or just plain lazy or allergic to labor.

The consequence of idle bodies, besides the obvious afflictions like crime and political unrest common to any society with restless youth, is that many strategic positions that feed the social good go unfilled.

Death to the Camels

The ugly humped commuter conveyance pulled by a diesel rig, known as the camel, is being phased out.

Cuba is importing from China brand new articulating buses that swivel around intersections.

These long buses cost almost three times as much as normal buses, but they have better fuel efficiency.

The buses come more often on many routes now. The buses are still crowded, but it is slightly more comfortable crowding. Plus, now you cant say the rhyme "señora, está agarando mi cuello, en este caloroso camello."

Smartly, the Cuban authorities are first investing in refurbishing bus garages and fixing up the streets along the route of the new buses.

Non-State Civil Society

While the camera hog "dissident" activists funded by the US often get mentioned as Cuba's only form of civil society removed from state supervision, their growth is analogous to astroturf--a one time investment of money from without. But there are examples of grassroots organizations that organize and orient neighborhoods and petition state administration for redress of grievances.

Operating out of a community center in a poor exurb of Havana, the Workshop for the Integral Transformation of the Neighborhood has partnered with international NGOs and Cuban agencies to fix neighborhood infrastructure, educate on disease prevention, and find solutions for inadequate services like trash collection.

It is not clear if this work is filling a void left by a derelict CDR or if is a complimentary model for cooperative local problem solving.

Worms, Oxen and Diversification: secrets of socialist success for agricultural coop

By growing many types of crops, selling seeds, and using oxen that supply petroleum-free power, this oriental cooperative has been able to get a one peso return for every 27 to 41 cents from doing business with the state and not with supply/demand markets.

Agriculture is where the money is at in Cuba. But everybody is too well educated to deign to work the fields.

When Communist Pigs Fly (Off the Butchery Floor)

Pig raisers--from those with over a hundred in massive corrals to those with two on the third floor balcony--cannot sell their swine to the state meat company because the slaughterhouses are congested. There is demand, but supply is bottlenecked.

Below are two articles of investigative journalism. The first one, from the communist party broadsheet Granma, presents findings; then the cultural magazine Bohemia builds upon it with a more in-depth look.

Most people may be surprised that such critical and incisive journalism exists in Cuba. Even if its not overtly political, given that the system is ruled by one party, most anything has at least tangential political import. The topic of livestock may seem mundane, but at the end of analysis its a kitchen table issue--which is political in any country on earth.

A Plague of Pigs

El contradictorio aumento de la producción

Ronald Suárez Rivas

La noticia suena a disparate, pero es cierta: el aumento de la producción de carne porcina se ha convertido en un problema para Pinar del Río.

Carlos Pagés tiene 150 animales que debieron ir en diciembre al matadero.

Los dos últimos años la provincia viene rompiendo su récord histórico, que databa de 1990. En el 2008, según especialistas, podrían incluso duplicarse las 9 600 toneladas registradas en aquella ocasión.

El crecimiento ha llegado a tal punto, que el binomio Empresa Porcina-Empresa de la Carne, no consigue darle respuesta.

Los animales pasados de peso representan un gasto adicional de alimento que los productores no pueden enfrentar.

Como no hay otros resortes o mecanismos para solucionar el problema, la congestión en los mataderos ha obligado a frenar la compra de animales. A muchos criadores los cerdos se les estancan en los corrales y no pueden venderlos. Aunque una parte de ellos tiene los rebaños conveniados con la Empresa Porcina, a esta no le ha quedado más remedio que incumplir los contratos...

Es paradójico que ese salto productivo no parece estar a tono con la cotidianidad de los hogares pinareños, ni de las unidades gastronómicas, ni de las carnicerías.

Lo peor es que pone en entredicho lo que desde hace tiempo se afirma, que el precio elevado de los alimentos en los mercados agropecuarios responde a una oferta inferior a la demanda, cuyo único remedio sería crecer en producción.

El ejemplo de la rama porcina genera dudas, pues la tarifa para la venta a la población permanece intacta.

GÉNESIS DE LA REANIMACIÓN

Todo comenzó algunos años atrás, cuando el Comandante en Jefe Fidel Castro planteó la necesidad de que el país lograra autoabastecerse de carne de cerdo, a fin de reducir importaciones.

La idea resultó beneficiosa desde todos los ángulos. Además de revitalizar el sector, generar empleo y evitar la dependencia del mercado internacional, el hecho de producir "en casa" significa hoy un ahorro de cientos de dólares por cada tonelada.

En esa dirección, fueron establecidas varias formas de convenio entre las empresas porcinas y los productores, las cuales tenían una base común: entregar una parte del pienso y ofrecer precios estimulantes, a cambio de animales listos para el matadero. Incluso surgió un mecanismo para comprarles a quienes criaran con medios propios, en sus patios y sin contrato.

El despegue empezó en el 2005, con 5 166 toneladas de carne, que fueron duplicadas en el 2006 y triplicadas en el 2007.

EL PROBLEMA DE LA "SUPERPRODUCCIÓN"

La situación afecta a altos productores como Carlos Pagés —con 150 animales que debieron ir en diciembre al matadero—, pero también a los medianos y hasta a aquellos que crían en sus patios.

La Empresa Porcina, la única entidad estatal facultada para el acopio, ha recibido luz roja desde la Empresa de la Carne. "Los tres mataderos de la provincia están al tope de su capacidad", asegura Juan Carlos Domínguez, su director. En cifras, esto sería alrededor de 900 toneladas mensuales como promedio, pero en enero último la entrega fue de 1 446.

¿Acaso se ha llegado al punto en que sobra la carne de cerdo?

Aparte de esa infraestructura, en casi todos los municipios existen losas para el sacrificio de animales, cuyo destino son el comercio, la gastronomía, y los Mercados Agropecuarios Estatales (MAE), mas ninguna de ellas consumió la cuota asignada en el mes pasado.

Para Roberto Trujillo, director de Acopio en la provincia, la explicación es otra: "Hay que bajarle el precio, porque no podemos decir que se cubre la demanda de la gente, lo que pasa es que está muy cara".

Sin embargo, hasta el momento solo ha descendido el precio de compra a los productores, mientras sigue igual el de venta a la población. Esa decisión le agrega leña al fuego, porque no estimula el consumo y hace que los intermediarios se aprovechen de la coyuntura para vender más barato que los mercados estatales.

A pesar de los esfuerzos del país para incentivar la producción porcina, lo cierto es que hoy se están beneficiando de ella una cantidad extraordinaria de especuladores, y el programa se está saliendo del Estado, comenta Trujillo.

Un ejemplo es su propia entidad, donde la venta de enero apenas llegó a la mitad de la que hubo en diciembre, debido a la proliferación de tarimas ilegales.

LAS SALIDAS

El peor de los riesgos sería que este intenso movimiento productivo se perdiera por la falta de incentivos. De ello ya surgen los primeros síntomas. Los corrales de Carlos Pagés están ocupados por animales que no le son rentables. Comen en exceso, convierten muy poco, y le impiden iniciar nuevas crías.

Lo mismo le ocurre a Maximino García, quien tuvo que eliminar tres de sus cinco reproductoras, porque toda la comida que consigue la devoran los animales de 500 libras que no logra vender.

De ser esta una tendencia generalizada, habría que esperar un retroceso en los próximos meses. "Ya en este momento la producción está aguantada", admite Eduardo Candelaria, subdirector económico de la Empresa Porcina.

Al mismo tiempo, la pobre oferta de cerdo en la red de comercio y gastronomía, el desabastecimiento en las carnicerías, y su presencia insuficiente en los mercados estatales, mantienen cerradas las posibles salidas.

Ante esta situación, el Consejo de Administración Provincial ha llamado a tomar medidas urgentes. No obstante, algunas escapan de sus manos, como la decisión de bajar el precio de venta a la población, que solo puede autorizarse a nivel central.

Mientras, las palabras de Raúl Castro Ruz, Segundo Secretario del Partido, el pasado 26 de Julio, penden en el aire: "se requiere trabajar con sentido crítico y creador, sin anquilosamiento ni esquematismos".

Si no se hace como él ha dicho, las trabas seguirán frenando el desarrollo productivo.

La respuesta

Tras abordar los problemas surgidos en Pinar del Río a partir del crecimiento de la rama porcina, Granma vuelve sobre el tema para conocer qué ha ocurrido

RONALD SUÁREZ RIVAS

La superproducción. "¼ 298, 299, 300. ¡Completos!". Roberto Bernal se asegura de que no le falte un animal y las rastras parten en caravana. Sobre sus neumáticos, unas 30 toneladas de carne "viva" recogidas en los municipios de Pinar del Río, San Luis, y San Juan y Martínez, cuyo destino es el matadero de El Wajay, en La Habana.

Unos 530 cerdos son trasladados todos los días hacia los mataderos de La Habana.

Ayer el número de cerdos trasladados ascendió a 500 y para mañana están previstos 340. Los trabajadores de la comercializadora municipal le llaman "la avalancha" al fuerte trasiego hacia esa provincia vecina.

En el resto de Vueltabajo se labora de manera similar. La cifra total de cabezas enviadas diariamente supera las 500; un verdadero alivio para un territorio donde la industria se ha quedado pequeña ante el crecimiento inusitado de la producción porcina.

En el combinado pesquero de La Coloma, uno de los túneles de congelación se habilitó para conservar carne de cerdo. Los mataderos de Candelaria, Guane y Viñales funcionan a plena capacidad.

El trabajo es intenso. En el mes de marzo el acopio ascendió a 2 400 toneladas, casi la mitad de lo que se produjo en todo el 2005.

Aunque el plan para el 2008 es ambicioso: 16 600 toneladas, los pronósticos auguran que se llegará a 21 000. Lograrlo significaría remontar más de dos veces el récord histórico de 9 600 registrado antes del periodo especial.

Medidas en marcha

Para Adalberto Gómez, director de la Empresa Porcina, esto se debe a tres factores fundamentales: el surgimiento de distintas formas de convenio con campesinos, las facilidades de compra a todo el que produzca (aun sin contrato), y la implementación de un atractivo sistema de precios para comprar.

En 30 bodegas se habilitaron áreas de carnicería que facilitan la adquisición del producto.

Sin embargo, a inicios de año la situación devino serio problema como consecuencia de un crecimiento de la masa animal muy por encima de las posibilidades de la industria, acentuado por frecuentes roturas en los mataderos.

A partir de ese fenómeno se han dado un grupo de pasos que cuentan con el apoyo de varios organismos y el control permanente del Partido y el Gobierno, explica Luis Homero Fernández, vicepresidente del Consejo de Administración en Vueltabajo.

"El matadero de Candelaria, que había presentado dificultades tecnológicas, ya se estabilizó. Gracias a la colaboración de la Unión Cárnica, se incrementó considerablemente el envío de animales hacia La Habana.

"Además, la provincia recibió 30 equipos de frío que permitieron abrir nuevos puntos de venta en todos los municipios, al tiempo que se ha mejorado el abastecimiento a los que ya existían. Hay otro grupo de medidas que vienen aplicándose, pero más lentamente porque requieren inversiones", agrega Homero.

Aun así, el panorama inicial se hizo tan complejo, que para poner el acopio al día será necesario mantener este ritmo durante dos meses más, estiman los especialistas.

Para ponerse al día en la comercialización serán necesarios dos meses, según los estimados.

Por esa razón, todavía quedan personas que desean vender sus rebaños, sin poder hacerlo. Algunas unidades comercializadoras trabajan por listas. En la del municipio de Pinar del Río, por ejemplo, desde finales de marzo se planificó a quiénes se les comprará este mes. "Primero los casos más apremiantes", precisa Andrés Martínez, uno de sus trabajadores. Se refiere a productores que según lo conveniado con la Empresa Porcina, debieron entregar sus animales en febrero.

¿Y el precio?

Es sin dudas la arista más polémica. El Ministerio de Finanzas y Precios, que en el 2007 centralizó la tarifa de la venta minorista del cerdo, aceptó una discreta rebaja en dos renglones (bistec y manteca) en los establecimientos pinareños, a solicitud del Consejo de la Administración Provincial.

En el documento donde lo hace efectivo, advierte que el punto de partida para otras modificaciones debe ser la disminución del precio de compra a los criadores.

"Tenemos que estar claros de que la rama porcina es subsidiada por el Estado —comenta Homero. La venta en los mercados es la que asegura poder retribuir al presupuesto una parte de lo que se eroga. Por tanto, hay que buscar un equilibrio sin desalentar tampoco la producción".

Del acopio total solo la porción de la venta en el mercado genera ingresos. La otra, cuyo destino es el balance nacional —en el que se incluyen la canasta básica (como ingrediente del picadillo o el embutido), el consumo social a escuelas, hospitales, comedores obreros y otros—, registra pérdidas.

Al tratarse de una esfera subsidiada, a medida que aumentan las toneladas, lo hace también el subsidio.

Todas las cuentas

Ante esa realidad, la provincia acordó potenciar la comercialización minorista, a partir de un incremento de la asignación a la gastronomía y los Mercados Agropecuarios Estatales (MAE).

En cifras, significaría la venta de 225 toneladas mensuales solo en estos últimos; pero en el mes de enero apenas se llegó a 159, en febrero a 160 y hasta el 26 de marzo había 161 toneladas.

¿Acaso ya se cubrió la demanda? Todo apunta hacia otras razones.

Varios carniceros entrevistados en diferentes puntos de la ciudad, coinciden en que lo primero en agotarse cuando hay surtido son las vísceras, lo menos costoso.

Por otra parte, la rigidez en los precios de venta y las limitaciones que aún persisten en la compra a los criadores, han dado origen a tarimas ilegales con carne de cerdo más barata que en el sistema estatal.

Felipe González, dependiente del MAE El Viñalero, en las afueras de la capital pinareña, admite que en su unidad la venta ha mermado por esa causa.

¿Hasta qué punto la congelación de los precios en el sector estatal limita a sus mercados y favorece a los vendedores ilegales?

No pocas personas vinculadas a la actividad opinan que quizás en lugar de insistirse en una tarifa (traba que no tienen los particulares), la salida más acertada sería buscar el incremento de la comercialización minorista a partir de precios inferiores, aprovechando el crecimiento productivo.

Sin embargo, para validar cualquier propuesta es preciso dominar algunos datos que hoy no están a la mano. Por ejemplo, si bien se conoce que el pasado año el Estado erogó 207,9 millones de pesos para la compra de cerdos, se ignora cuánto recuperó por concepto de venta a través de Acopio y Comercio y Gastronomía.

Mientras todas las cuentas no queden claras, el aumento de la producción porcina continuará pareciendo una contradicción.

SALTO PORCINO

Cerdo embotellado

Una inesperada crisis con la producción de carne de puerco en Pinar del Río atrae la atención de la prensa y la población. Razones y medidas adoptadas para destrabar el paraguas. Los problemas por mala planificación y fallas organizativas asoman en varias provincias más, y preocupan a criadores que aportan casi dos tercios de la actual producción en el país. La Unión de la Carne, en tanto, redobla la marcha para renovar mataderos y empacadoras y mejorar su potencial de almacenamiento congelado. Aunque Cuba rompió en 2007 el récord nacional de carne porcina, falta trecho para equiparar el bolsillo con los precios del mercado

Por: KATIA MONTEAGUDO y ARIEL TERRERO (nacionales@bohemia.co.cu)

(10 de abril de 2008)

Carlos Pagés estaba abatido. "Es muy duro ver que el esfuerzo de uno se puede ir al piso", murmuró bajito, apoyado en el marco de la puerta trasera de su casa, mientras observaba las cochiqueras vacías.

Además...

.Provincias más productoras de carne de cerdo en 2007:

.Inversiones para comer

Desde hace varias semanas, dudaba si firmaría o no un nuevo convenio para cebar cerdos. "Sigo si se normaliza la comercialización y la entrega de abastecimientos", respondió lacónico a los periodistas. BOHEMIA recorría la provincia de Pinar del Río de vuelta a un tema tratado un año antes, y que el periódico Granma devolvió a la palestra el pasado 27 de febrero con un reportaje titulado El contradictorio aumento de la producción porcina.

Culto y habitualmente emprendedor, este campesino de San Juan y Martínez deslizó la vista sobre la última página del diario. "Carlos Pagés tiene 150 animales que debieron ir en diciembre al matadero", dice un pie de foto. Ese problema ya estaba resuelto, pero a él lo torturaban todavía los dos meses que le hicieron esperar para entregar los animales convenidos con la empresa porcina del territorio.

Pagés no ofreció muchos detalles a esta revista, que acudió hasta su morada para tratar de entender las causas de la crisis que trastornó a una de las provincias con más alto crecimiento en la producción de masas de cerdo. Olores tan inquietantes nos motivaron a indagar sobre las medidas adoptadas para su solución y sobre los riesgos de un programa de cría intensiva, sustentada en convenios con campesinos, que reservaba una de las mayores esperanzas para el despegue de una importante fuente de alimentos, como había anunciado BOHEMIA el 16 de febrero de 2007.

Enredos en Vuelta Abajo

Pinar del Río es la provincia que primero ha cumplido su plan de carne de puerco en los dos últimos años. En 2007 fue la que más aportó por encima de lo pactado. El extra, de tres mil 766 toneladas, representó más que los respectivos totales de los territorios de Las Tunas y Guantánamo. Con ese paso, los pinareños prevén cuadruplicar este año las cinco mil 166 toneladas alcanzadas en 2005… si no alejan antes las amenazas a sus cochiqueras.

El programa porcino se disparó en los últimos dos años, hasta redondear una producción de 147 mil 800 toneladas de cerdo en pie, muy por encima del récord nacional registrado en 1989 (Foto: ARCHIVO)

Arián Ismael Cueva admitió la presencia de "problemas que nos pueden desestimular." Para asegurar la ceba de 400 animales y criar diez reproductoras en su finca Río Feo, del municipio San Juan y Martínez, "me mudo, gestiono, doy bateo, siempre estoy luchando, pero yo creo que el guajiro no está para eso, sino para atender la vega o los puercos".

El sector no especializado -convenios de campesinos con la empresa porcina y criadores por cuenta propia- aportó el 90 por ciento de los altos volúmenes de carne en la provincia. Horcón tan importante todavía mostraba abolladuras a mediados de marzo.

Debido a la congestión de los mataderos, "a muchos criadores los cerdos se les estancan en los corrales y no pueden venderlos", observó el colega Ronald Suárez Rivas en el periódico Granma. Dos semanas después de aquella denuncia, el embotellamiento en la industria aún creaba dolores de cabeza. "Ya está montada una nueva estrategia, pero el problema persiste", dijo a BOHEMIA el director de la Empresa Porcina pinareña, Adalberto Gómez. "Todavía estamos aguantando compras".

"Hoy tenemos atrasos con 90 convenios", añadió Luis Homero Fernández Camejo, vicepresidente del Consejo de la Administración Provincial (CAP) que atiende la producción de alimentos y la distribución.

Adalberto Gómez, director de la Empresa Porcina de Pinar del Río, reconoce que todavía existen demoras en la compra de cerdos a los productores, problema visible en otras provincias (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)

—También está retenido el acopio del cerdo de traspatio, y sabemos que si no lo compramos, se va por la vereda del mercado informal.

— ¿Cuánto es? —indagó la revista.

—Toneladas nada despreciables.

Un nuevo nudo gordiano asoma en el escenario. Los representantes de la actividad comercial no sabían qué hacer con los excedentes de los subproductos del cerdo. "Hay que buscarle un destino a la manteca", comentó Roberto Trujillo López, director de la empresa de Acopio. Venden poco, a pesar de que la provincia se ha arriesgado con un precio por debajo de lo normado por el Ministerio de Finanzas y Precios (MFP). "Ya no admite más rebaja y se nos acumula", dijo Roberto Trujillo López, director de la empresa provincial de Acopio.

Su homólogo de la Empresa de Comercio y Gastronomía, Caridad Díaz Duarte, mostró neveras llenas de vísceras que no tienen salida y más de nueve mil libras de manteca -valoradas en 180 mil pesos- que permanecían empantanadas en un almacén. Los precios lo atan, se quejó. "La libra de hígado me sale más cara que la de carne en banda. De todas formas la vendemos a un peso menos de lo que nos cuesta". Las pérdidas las compensan con otras ventas del agro, aclaró Díaz Duarte.

El brusco salto en la producción de cerdos tomó por sorpresa a la empresa cárnica pinareña, plantea el director de la misma, Juan Carlos Domínguez (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)

Sorpresa generalizada

Más de un protagonista y observador del conflicto ha buscado causas y posibles soluciones en el punto mercado-precios. Pero la razón del cuello de botella parece más elemental: en Pinar del Río falló la planificación del Grupo Porcino y, por carambola, la conexión con el otro eslabón primario de la cadena productiva, la industria.

"Nos sorprendió el salto de la producción de cerdos", reconoció el director de la industria cárnica en esa provincia, Juan Carlos Domínguez Márquez. Al hablar, no se le veía cómodo en la butaca que ocupaba provisionalmente, la del director nacional de la Unión de la Carne; el titular, Pedro Lorenzo, andaba por China negociando la adquisición de equipamiento para reforzar y ampliar con urgencia la capacidad de sus fábricas.

Después de pensarlo, Juan Carlos dijo que el año pasado esperaban un incremento productivo, pero "la Agricultura no nos ofertó lo que realmente tenía; los pronósticos de acopio se quedaron cortos".

La avalancha de puercos desbordó las previsiones en 2007 y principios del actual año y puso en crisis la capacidad de los mataderos locales. Ante el aprieto, el territorio no encontró salidas y los platos rotos los pagaron los productores. Las cochiqueras quedaron atestadas a la espera del camión de recogida de animales, con el consiguiente gravamen sobre los costos —un cerdo de cuatro meses y 100 kilos de peso, nivel óptimo de venta, come mucho y convierte poco en carne a partir de esa edad, explicaron productores consultados.

La crianza por cuenta propia o mediante convenios con el Grupo Porcino cargó con alrededor de dos tercios de la producción de puercos en el país en el año 2007 (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)

La investigación realizada por la revista indica que el salto de producción ocurrido en la provincia más occidental desconcertó al Ministerio de la Agricultura y, por consiguiente, al de la Industria Alimenticia. "Estoy seguro de que nadie esperaba que se triplicara en esta fecha la producción de 2005", afirmó el vicepresidente del gobierno provincial Luis Homero Fernández. "A la industria la cogió fuera de base".

El viceministro de la Agricultura, Inocente Núñez, en cambio, se resistió a reconocer que hubo falta de previsión. Aunque habló de posibles problemas organizativos, alegó que no podían pronosticar un incremento tan fuerte de la masa porcina en ese territorio porque "los mayores niveles pueden haberse dado en la producción de los traspatios, que no hay como conocerla al detalle", a diferencia de la ceba de cerdos por convenios con pequeños agricultores y de la producción en granjas estatales.

Si es imposible tal control, como argumenta el organismo, ¿queda abierta, entonces, la puerta a otro sorpresivo boom de cerdos en Pinar del Río u otra provincia debido a la crianza desarrollada por personas, campesinos o no, por cuenta propia?

Núñez negó tal posibilidad.

—Ahora se está haciendo un monitoreo directamente en los municipios, explicó.

— ¿Antes, no se hizo?

El viceministro de la Agricultura vaciló:

—Esos son detalles muy técnicos, que yo no debería asegurar ni una cosa ni la otra, porque GRUPOR los tiene bien organizados…

Una de dos: o el control preciso de las llamadas producciones de traspatio no es posible, y por tanto pueden esperarse nuevos imprevistos de la producción, o los responsables de planificar el acopio de cerdos en Pinar del Río se durmieron, y ahora lo están haciendo mejor para evitar la repetición de sorpresas y crisis.

Los viceministros de la Industria Alimenticia, Octavio Rubio; de Finanzas y Precios, Rubén Toledo, y de la Agricultura, Inocente Núñez (de izquierda a derecha) niegan que se pueda hablar ya de superproducción (Foto: EDUARDO LEYVA BENITEZ)

El viceministro de la Industria Alimenticia, Octavio Rubio Bernal, fue más claro. "En Pinar del Río fallaron los pronósticos y faltó, además, coordinación entre la agricultura y la industria cárnica. Cuando la producción supera los planes de un territorio, inmediatamente las partes tienen que sentarse para estudiar medidas". Y concluyó: "Ahí hubo una deficiencia."

"Un desenchufe que rompió la cadena entre acopio y la industria procesadora", opinó el viceministro de Finanzas y Precios, Rubén Toledo. "Pero no estamos desbordados de cerdos. En Pinar del Río se resolvió el desajuste en 15 días."

Salidas para la carne

Hilda Echenique no sabe que es una de las primeras pinareñas beneficiadas con las medidas adoptadas para aliviar el embotellamiento de la producción porcina en su territorio.

"Los precios son los mismos, pero puedo comprar cerca de mi casa", dijo Hilda, al ser encuestada frente al mostrador de la bodega La Cariñosa. Allí se estrenaba uno de los freezer asignados para la comercialización de bisté, lomo, costillas o ahumados. "Colocamos cuatro en la ciudad capital, de los 20 que nos entregaron. El resto estará en los demás municipios", especificó Díaz Duarte, director de la Empresa de Comercio y Gastronomía.

La industria cárnica en el país se encuentra en los límites de su capacidad de refrigeración y ha priorizado inversiones de nuevos mataderos, empacadoras y tecnologías de sacrificio (Foto: JUAN CARLOS GORT)

La apertura de nuevos puntos de venta que aumentan la oferta de carne de cerdo fresca a la población fue uno de los acuerdos adoptados por una comisión integrada por los ministerios de la Agricultura, Industria Alimenticia, Comercio y Gastronomía, y Finanzas y Precios. El grupo llegó a los predios vueltabajeros el 28 de febrero para analizar la crisis y tomar decisiones que destrabaran el paraguas.

A la Empresa de Acopio también le asignaron 50 neveras con este mismo destino, aunque el Ministerio de la Agricultura aún no se los había entregado en los días del recorrido de BOHEMIA, 16 días después de la reunión que sentó en la misma mesa a los responsables de la cadena cría-industria-comercialización del cerdo, en la provincia y el país.

La apertura de nuevos puntos de venta, mediante la instalación de neveras, busca aliviar el cuello de botella en la provincia más occidental del país (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)

El encuentro de marras buscó solución para las mil 800 toneladas de cerdo en pie que, en ese momento, el Porcino pinareño pronosticó entregar cada mes. Pero los cálculos volvieron a quedar cortos. El 13 de marzo, los directivos de esa empresa aseguraron a estos periodistas que llegarían a dos mil toneladas. Y apenas unos días después, el 18 de marzo, ajustaron la propuesta y sumaron 400 toneladas más.

En medio de tales vaivenes, el acuerdo prevé que los tres mataderos de la industria cárnica en la provincia, Guane, Candelaria y Viñales, asuman el sacrificio de hasta mil toneladas mensuales. Otras 426 corren hacia losas sanitarias (puntos de sacrificio) del Porcino, con destino a los mercados agropecuarios, puntos de ventas, carnicerías y bodegas mixtas en Vueltabajo. Y el resto, un volumen creciente, viaja hacia los mataderos del Wajay y San Pedrito, en Ciudad de La Habana.

Amenazas sobre las cochiqueras

En otras provincias -del occidente y centro del país- también se disparó bruscamente la masa porcina el año pasado.

A escala nacional, la producción regentada por el Grupo Porcino más que se duplicó en apenas un par de años: de 62 mil toneladas de cerdo en pie en 2005 a 147 mil 835 toneladas el año pasado. El alza estuvo condimentada con la sorpresa de que el plan de 2007 fue superado en casi 28 mil toneladas.

Productores entrevistados por esta revista en Ciego de Ávila y La Habana confirmaron haber padecido demoras de la entidad acopiadora. "Muchas veces el Porcino viene a cargar los puercos del convenio, pero deja esperando la parte que se paga a mejor precio por problemas en el matadero", dijo Maximino González, en su finca La Franqueza, del municipio Güira de Melena, en La Habana. Otros se le sumaron al criticar la inestabilidad en el abastecimiento de alimentos y, sobre todo, de medicamentos, punto que agrava costos y riesgos y añade real presión sobre el programa.

Aunque el Estado subsidia con fuerza la producción porcina, al final la cría en suelo cubano sale más barata que la importación (Foto: ARCHIVO)

"Muchos productores independientes han dejado el convenio por tantos atrasos en la entrega de la comida", agregó Maximino.

El problema, que no es nuevo, desalienta también a las cooperativas. Como alertó BOHEMIA hace un año, desanima al llamado sector no especializado -por convenios y cuenta propia-, que carga con dos tercios de la producción nacional.

Aún así, los tropiezos creados por el vigoroso crecimiento de la producción no adquirieron en otros territorios connotación de crisis, un signo más del componente de desenchufe presente en Pinar del Río.

En Ciego de Ávila enfrentan el dilema de un matadero incapaz de asumir toda la producción provincial, pero el director de la empresa porcina local, Carlos Rivadeneira, estima que han logrado un buen entendimiento con la empresa cárnica "y con otras entidades que tienen losas sanitarias en los municipios y nos apoyan cuando aumenta la producción." Además, tienen en Camagüey una válvula de escape: desde el año pasado los avileños envían mensualmente alrededor de 300 toneladas de cerdo en pie hacia la provincia vecina, con mayor disponibilidad para el sacrificio y procesamiento de los animales.

Inversiones con urgencia

Por más que el programa porcino regala cifras que despiertan el apetito, es apurado leer en el cuello de botella de Pinar del Río un signo de superproducción.

Principales destinos de la carne de cerdo: sostén de la canasta básica y el consumo de prioridad social, la actividad comercial y gastronómica y la producción para el turismo (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)	En varias provincias han aumentando las alternativas del comercio y la gastronomía (Foto: RAFAEL TORRES ESCOBAR)

A los problemas organizativos y de planificación, se sumó otro factor más estructural: la restringida capacidad de procesamiento de una industria cárnica nacional que no recibió el beneficio de inversiones durante el período especial.

Los dos grandes mataderos de Pinar del Río, en Guane y Candelaria, con el apoyo del más pequeño, en Viñales, no procesan más de mil toneladas de cerdo en pie por mes. "La limitación no está en la línea de sacrificio. Podemos tener hasta dos turnos de trabajo, pero no lo hacemos por la capacidad de frío", apuntó Juan Carlos, el director de la Empresa Cárnica en la provincia. "Tenemos nueve neveras, pero son sistemas viejos, de tecnología obsoleta. En Candelaria se nos volvió a fundir el compresor, después de haber hecho una inversión de 28 mil dólares para mejorarlo", resumió.

Para despejarle la pista a los productores de cerdo, la Unión de la Carne ha emprendido a todo tren un programa nacional para renovar el equipamiento tecnológico, construir nuevos mataderos y empacadoras, y mejorar su potencial de almacenamiento congelado, sobre todo en las provincias con más alto ritmo de producción porcina, informó el viceministro de la Industria Alimenticia, Octavio Rubio. Entre los territorios priorizados se incluyen Villa Clara, La Habana, Sancti Spíritus, Ciego de Ávila y, por supuesto, Pinar del Río.

— ¿Por qué no se concibió antes tal programa?

—No era necesario —respondió Octavio—; la industria siempre trabajó con todo el cerdo vivo, sacrificado, fresco, y no se almacenaba porque no había suficiente. La crisis de Pinar del Río es por falta de previsión y coordinación, no tiene que ver con la capacidad de la industria cárnica. El año pasado nosotros estábamos preparados para matar en el país nueve mil toneladas de cerdo en pie mensualmente y terminamos matando 11 mil. Y en este mes de marzo vamos a sacrificar 12 mil 300 toneladas, que es la media mensual del plan de 2008.

El viceministro, sin embargo, reconoció que lo están haciendo "con un esfuerzo extraordinario."

Los entendidos pronostican que la masa porcina mantenga un fuerte crecimiento este año. (Foto: ARCHIVO)

Si la producción porcina mantiene el ritmo de crecimiento de los tres últimos años, la industria podría caer definitivamente en un ahogo general. Hasta ahora ha salvado cuellos de botella locales, mediante el recurso de desviar animales hacia provincias con mayor capacidad de procesamiento cárnico. Por las carreteras del país circulan de un territorio a otro, todos los meses, alrededor de 20 mil cabezas, por limitaciones de los mataderos en Villa Clara, Pinar del Río, Ciego de Ávila y Matanzas.

Pero el gasto de combustible empleado para el traslado de animales vivos se eleva y, con él, el costo en divisas de una producción que busca reducir importaciones.

El Ministerio de la Industria Alimenticia priorizó inversiones de la Unión de la Carne para ampliar la capacidad de frigoríficos, primero y, desde el año pasado, para incorporar nuevas instalaciones. Presionan también las motivaciones económicas; no solo la fidelidad a uno de los platos predilectos de los cubanos.