CUBANS-Life

A successful economy provided support for Cuba's social services.

It is difficult to practice religion openly and be successful in Cuban society.

Political, Religious, and Family Life

For 30 years, Cuba's revolutionary government made strides in reducing economic inequality and in providing for the minimal needs of all Cubans, through its single-minded commitment to the goals of the revolution and its centralized control of social and political institutions. An important underlying factor in this success was undoubtedly economic: Until recently the government has had a sympathetic market for its exports as well as economic and technical support and has therefore had the means to develop its highly vaunted social services. It must also be remembered that this success has been achieved through the suppression of dissent and the curbing of political and civil liberties.

Since 1991, there has been no sympathetic external market; the Cuban economy has faltered drastically, and the social benefits that Cubans enjoyed can no longer be provided as they have been. In such a climate, the right to dissent—to have one's voice at least heard in complaint, if not in working toward solutions to social and economic problems—becomes crucial. The government's suppression of dissent and emphasis on control, conformity and centralization is blocking initiative and innovation which could help address the country's problems. Many Cubans feel that the only solution to their distress is to leave.

Centralization of Power

The real power in Cuba is extremely centralized in Castro and the top party leadership. This centralization at the top is carried through all levels of organization down to the local level; only at the lower community levels are there possibilities for democratic participation. Many analysts feel that this extreme centralization of the political structure has interfered with the system's ability to increase the production of goods and services.

Censorship

There is no independent press or right to independent assembly. Cubans are not able to debate issues publicly. The Cuban government believes that independent political groups are counter-productive in a society that is still "consolidating" the revolution. There is considerable censorship not only of American publications, but also of Soviet and Eastern European publications.

All the media are controlled by the government. There are three major national newspapers: Granma, published by the Communist party, Juventud Rebelde, published by the Communist Youth, and Trabajadores, published by the Cuban Federation of Workers. The two national television stations, several national radio networks, and one international network are all administered by the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television.

Religion

Cuba is traditionally a Catholic country, but its Catholicism is much modified and influenced. A much stronger religious force is Santería, a cult that originated in Cuba and spread to neighboring islands (and to the United States: Dead chickens have been found in the Miami River).

Santería developed out of the traditions of the Yoruba, one of the African peoples who were imported to Cuba during the 16th through 19th centuries to work on the sugar plantations. Santería blends elements of Christianity and West African beliefs and as such made it possible for the slaves to retain their traditional beliefs while appearing to practice Catholicism. Santeríans believe in one God, but also in saints or spirits known as orishas: To a Santerían, for example, St. Peter is Oggun, the Yoruba orisha patron of miners and workers. These orishas are believed to be able to intervene on one's behalf as Catholic saints can. Santeríans also believe that ritual devotions involving musical rhythms, offerings of food and animal sacrifice, divination with fetishes made of bones or shells, trancelike seizures, and other rites can reveal the sources of day-to-day problems and suggest solutions to them.

The Cuban government has been formally supportive of organized religion—religious freedom is guaranteed in the 1976 constitution—but in practice, it is very difficult to practice one's religion openly and succeed in Cuban society. Until very recently, for example, higher education was not accessible to young people who openly professed a religion (we mentioned in the education section that admission is based partly on the upright socialist nature of one's character, and it is apparently difficult to be religious and socialist at the same time).

Family Life

Equality of the sexes is the official socialist ideal, although sexism is still prevalent, and women still do most of the domestic work. The Family Code of 1974 established the official goal of equal participation in the home, but in fact, these habits and values have changed very slowly. Publicly, a man is considered the head of household, although within the home the woman usually has control.

One very important aspect of sexual equality has been dealt with: To a great extent, girls participate equally in the education system. Perhaps as a result of this education, more Cuban women publicly stand up for their rights than one might expect.

While the extended family remains strong in terms of housing—extended families often live together, partly because of the housing shortage—the traditional Hispanic family pattern in which children are almost totally cared for by parents or grandparents has been substantially replaced by a reliance on day care centers and other public institutions. The community (neighborhood, church, school and production cooperative) also serves as something of an extended family, helping to reinforce social values and emotional security.

The government provides day care both as a means of freeing women up to work, and also as a way to start education in socialist values early. At first there were both alternative and mainstream centers: The alternative centers (based on the Swedish model) emphasized free play, inter-age groupings, flexibility, and exploration, and the mainstream centers focused on cleanliness, structured learning, achievement, and fixed schedules. In 1971, all programs were centralized and only the mainstream approach was continued. Centers emphasize group play, and children are overtly taught that they should be part of a group. One observer has found that day care centers try to break down sexist attitudes: Boys play with dolls or pretend to be nurses, while girls pretend to be the household providers or doctors.