IDENTIDADES 1 ENGLISH IDENTIDADES 7 ENGLISH | Page 14

What might be picturesque and very
common in other cities of the Third World
should be seen as extraordinary and even
magical in Cuba. It is possible (at least till
yesterday) to buy anything there, from a pin
to latest generation electronic equipment,
from belaying pins for construction (always
in short supply for the public) to world
brand clothing and perfume. In addition,
everything there is much cheaper than at all
other markets, even the State ones. The price
of all the merchandise there ends up being
much more accessible, and the quality seems
better, too. It is something that seems to be
obeying an i nexplicable miracle, but no
matter what the reason, it shows that the
regime’s stores do not sell everything as
cheaply as they could and still make a profit.
Of course (as was already said), the majority
of vendors in La Cuevita work while
skirting the law. The authorities’ repressive
actions have left them no other choice, so
much so that they could not be

efficient if they followed the law. Only
Cuban lawmakers (who base their work on
the law of the jungle) can follow them,
because they were not created from them, no
matter how many they project themselves as
champion violators of justice and the rules
of reasons. That illegitimate bunch is
precisely in charge of maintaining a rigid
system of public repression, against all odds.
It is based, above all, on disagreement. What
started out being a revolution to benefit the
marginalized classes, over five decades
became a dictatorial system with an
unmovable, elite class in power. It is
privileged, essentially white, arrogant,
overbearing, demagogic; its actions reveal it
to be inefficient in its administrative work
and inconsistent in fulfilling its promises. Its
repressive mechanisms are always the same.
Yet, it begins to be obvious that they no
longer have the same effects, particularly
among the poorer classes in Cuba.

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