The Cuban People

Cuba has a population of about 10.8 million, 70% of whom live in the cities. The population is a mixture of Caucasian descendants of the original settlers from Spain and black descendants of the slave population imported from Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. There is a sizable Chinese population, descendants of the Chinese workers who immigrated to Cuba during the latter half of the 19th century, and a smattering of other nationalities. These populations have mixed and intermarried over the centuries, and the Cuban population today is its own distinct combination: Some Cubans are white, some are black, some are Asian, and some are of mixed heritage.

Historically, much of the Cuban population worked in agriculture, full time or just during the sugar harvest. Now, however, only a fifth of the work force is engaged in agriculture. Many more Cubans—30%—are employed in the government or government services; another 22% are employed in industry (including sugar processing); and the rest of the work force is in commerce, transportation, or communications.

There has been, over the centuries, a strong element of racial discrimination in Cuba. Until the latter half of the 19th century, the black population of Cuba was mostly slaves, although a community of free black workers gradually established itself. After independence and throughout the first half of the 20th century, the various governments were massively inattentive to the living conditions of the poor, many of whom were black. The Castro revolution was in great part dedicated to the improvement of precisely this population, and to some extent the revolutionary government has been successful—mainly through programs of education and public health—in benefiting all the less advanced sectors of the population. Upward mobility for blacks, women, and peasants has improved considerably, although they are still underrepresented in the high levels of government and the communist party: Large numbers of blacks and women have achieved skilled, professional, and managerial positions, and blacks have particularly found advancement in military careers and in Cuba's highly successful sports programs.

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