Changes in Cuba
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For a crash course in what's unfolding in Cuba since Fidel Castro's brother, Raul, assumed the country's presidency, check out a series of articles written by CNN's Havana bureau chief, Morgan Neill, over the past week. The articles document the big changes taking place, among them: -Opening the market to permit the sale of cell phones to Cubans (previously, citizens who wanted cell phones needed a foreigner to open a line for them); -Permitting the sale of major electronics, including DVD players, computers, and televisions; -Permitting Cubans to enter and stay in hotels (a huge change, as hotels were reserved for tourists only); and -Encouraging people who have jobs to improve their work attendance and productivity. Neill does a great job of summarizing the changes and suggesting their implications, though it's hard to convey just how profound these developments are. What does it mean that items that were legally out of reach just one week ago are now rights and privileges-- but that they remain economically out of reach? It's a question that doesn't have an immediate or easy answer.
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I am watching the situation in Cuba very closely, whatever unfolds will surely dominate the headlines. I also want to know how Chavez reacts in Venezuela. Thanks for this blog Julie.
Thanks for your comment, Richard. I so wish I was on the ground in Cuba right now. The profundity of these changes can't be emphasized enough, but as I mentioned in the blog, the not so obvious changes, which are psychological, are what fascinate me the most and are hardest to capture and convey in a news bite. One brief example: when we were in Cuba in September, we got put up in a hotel room for our last night, as our flight was canceled. We wanted Francisco's son to come visit us at the hotel, but he wasn't allowed to come up to our room (state policy). Imagine, then, how he felt at the time. And imagine how he might feel now, just a few months later.