When thinking of the black market (mercado negro), I immediately think of the drug trafficking, fire arm exchanges, pornography and prostitution. Looking at the definition of black market in the dictionary, "an illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities," we do not see the terms atrocious or publicly unacceptable commodities, we see the words controlled in scarce. It is important to remember this when looking at Cubas black market. When looking at Cubas black market, we see an exchange of goods and services that are scarce in the community. However, the greatest scarcities in Cuba include meat, milk, eggs, toilet paper and items for babies. It doesn't sound like the scarcities we face does it?
After the revolution of Cuba many things became scarce. The post-revolutionary time, known as the "Special Period," began in 1989, due to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Cuban economy lost nearly 80% of all imports and exports. This economic crisis left all cubans without forms of energy such as gasoline, petroleum and diesel. Food shortages spread country wide, medical supplies were scarce and building materials were nearly non existent. This transformed daily life, agriculture, medical attention and living conditions. All goods were scarce. Food was rationed according to the minimum requirements of the United Nations. Rations included things such as milk, eggs, sugar, chicken or fish, cooking oil, pasta and bread. However, with the shortage of food, many time the mount of food cubans received was 1/5 of the rations expected. Due to the shortages of literally everything, and the immensely low wages of cuban workers, cubans were forced to trade and sell excess items to get necessities that the government could not provide. In order to subsidize wages and the lacking food rations, many cubans took to the black market to buy and sell goods. The black market can take on many forms including; a kid selling coffee door to door, a woman selling meat out of her car, skilled men and woman providing services for goods, making and selling cigars. It is very common for working men and woman to take small items such as a pound of rice or sugar, cigars, or other goods from their work place to sell on the black market. Because workers are paid so little (about $25) a month, they need to supplement their income in some fashion. Due to the realization that the black market is a necessity, many interactions are swept under the rug... However, some of the consequences can be drastic if caught such as hefty fines and extensive jail time. My Experience Being asked to buy goods on the side of the street Offers of cheaper taxi rides Friends asked to go into a mans home to buy cigars The host family we were staying with told us stories about the loss of chickens due to the hurricane. The greatest black market item at the time we were in Cuba was eggs. They explained that selling eggs could land you years in jail!! Source to check out http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.503.1785&rep=rep1&type=pdf https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/deep-cuba-cigars-vintage-cars-yoani-sanchez-cultural-travel-180960614/
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The Cuban health care system has been a debate for a long time. Some thinking it is the model for how the world should handle heath care and some believing the care is subpar compared to others. Depending on which aspects you choose to focus on could sway you decision either way. The Cuban heath care system is a national system run by the government. This system emphasizes the idea that health is not a business opportunity, it is a human right and the responsibility of all people. Unlike other countries that work under a national health care systems, no one pays for their health care. There are no private hospitals, clinics or care. There is no opportunity to pay for better health care even if you had the money to do so unless under the table which is illegal. This system is a hierarchy, and tiers of power look over each other. From family care physicians to work teams to polyclinics to hospitals to the medical institute, each role plays a part in the care of the society as a whole. However, with the U.S. Embargo still in play, medical supplies in Cuba are extremely limited. Medications and technology have been scarce for decades now. Medications such as Aspirin are even rare and found on the black market. With the Democracy Act of 1992, U.S. took control over who could sell medical resources to Cuba. Foreign subsidiaries which did business with the U.S. including, using their patented products and using U.S. resources could not sell to Cuba. Medical supplies became nearly impossible to get and if they could be purchased, it was at a hefty charge due to having limited suppliers and the cost of shipping. With limited supplies, sanitary issues, and lack of needed equipment and technology, it is hard for physicians to take care of patients as needed, but here are some ways they work to prevent the need for medical attention. A major difference between the Cuban and American system in the focus on preventative care. Cuba runs a "Continuous Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE)" program which consists of primary care physicians meeting with the families they consult, obtaining information about their lives and their health (risk factors) and creating intervention plans to help reduce the possibility of illness. This occurs yearly. If a patient has a chronic illness, they are visited every three months to check on progress. They also hold health education programs for the public, publicity campaigns for wellness and health and promote physical health as well as psychological and social health. Overall they have a system ready to take care of their populations, however, the lack of resources makes this difficult. Regardless of the struggles, Cuba has found a way to provide some of the most impressive health statistics not only in the Caribbean islands but in the world. The country faces a lot of criticisms about the low pay of their medical staff, the poor facilities available and the concerns for the freedom to choose physicians and location of care. However, some may consider this a lack of freedom... crippling debt doesn't feel like freedom to most Americans. Medical debt is the number 1 reason for bankruptcy in the U.S. We spend about 15x more on each person pre year on health care but we reach about the same health statistics. No system is perfect but it is smart to learn what works and implement it, not for any other reason but for the well-being of all people. Esposito, C. L., Gilbert, J., Ciampa, A., & Markman, J. (2017). Against All Odds: Cuba Achieves Healthcare for All--An Analysis of Cuban Healthcare. Journal Of The NewYork State Nurses Association, 45(1), 29-38.
As an American, when thinking about the arts such as film, theater, music, ballet, poetry and fine art, my mind trails, immediately thinking of those wealthy enough and sophisticated enough to enjoy these amenities. However, in Cuba, the arts are not considered a luxury for the rich, a hobby for the sophisticated or a gender specific discipline. When studying in Cuba, I was exposed to this idea when we were told about FÁBRICA DE ARTE CUBANO. A multidisciplinary gallery containing a variety of expositions including, architecture, visual arts, theatre, dance, graphic design and photography. As we discussed the possibility of going to such neat and cultured place I saw the dollar signs (CUC) flashing in my mind. However, costing about as much as a happy meal I was pleasantly surprised. We entered to find a variety of people. Different races, ages, economic backgrounds and education levels together, discussing paintings and exhibits. It was simply beautiful. Among this trip to "La Fábrica", we visited other art museums beaming with beauty and an essence of Cuban culture. Not only Cuban art but art from all over the world, ranging from a variety of different centuries all hanging in unison. There is no "type" of person that is interested in the arts in Cuba. The arts are not a feminine thing, a man's thing, a race thing, an intellectuals thing or a generational thing. They are a HUMAN thing. Imagine the most manly construction worker in Cuba. It would not be a surprise if he played roles in theatrical productions at night. Their love an appreciation for all arts was amazing to me. I had never seen anything bring so many people from all different walks of life together. Cuban art has been influenced by many different countries and has went through many different eras. The most recent and influential occurred during and directly following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many artists found themselves limited by a political agenda. Many artists were hired by the government to create propaganda portraying nationalism and commonly containing the image of the revolutionary leaders and because art supplies were a very limited commodity, the government had an easier time controlling this mean of expression. Since, these times artists in Cuba are finding themselves more and more freedom to express themselves freely, however, still limited by the availability of resources. Cuban art takes on many shapes forms and holds many significant meanings about culture, life and their history. Location of La Fabrica de Arte
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