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.