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.