Identidades in English No 4, December 2014 | Page 11

has facilitated their creation of a solid economic
base.
This does not happen in Afro-descendant families. The remittances they receive are neither
plentiful nor frequent, far from amounting to an
economic foundation. It is difficult to find entire
families abroad who are capable of sustaining
Afro-descendant families in Cuba.
This is how the process of economic ‘Latin Americanization’, to which Cuba opened itself beginning at the end of the last century, continued
along racial lines, thus delineating vast structural
differences in the possibilities to generate and
sustain well being.
A normalization of diplomatic relations between
Cuba and the United States could deepen this divide. One of the new measures involves an increase of up to $2000 in the allowable amount of
remittances sent to Cuba. This important step for
families also signifies a decisive step in the structuring of racial differences: the capitalization of
white families when compared to the challenges
for black families’ survival due to economic insecurity.
Change is fundamental. It allows for the creation
of small and mid-sized businesses in the white
population sector, the accumulation of capital for
investing (no matter if it is legal or illegal), and
the purchase of symbolic and social capital with
money.

The flow of money into just one sector places
groups of people who were supposed to be favored by social policies at a disadvantage. These
policies are now waning, due to the State’s incapacity to effectively manage the economy and
foster a level playing field through education or
bank loans.
So, how can one overcome this structural difference in the context of the new political scene?
What is needed is a social remittance policy that
extends beyond family ties and is directed at
Afro-descendants. Not as aid for economic insecurity, but in the empowerment of entrepreneurs
to create businesses and generate benefits according to the ventures’ sustainability and productivity. Not money for fattening up, but rather money
to invest.
Also important will be a system of affirmative
scholarships for preparing Afro-descendants, especially young people, to enter the job market
with advanced knowledge and skills regarding the
creation of businesses and new technologies. If
this does not happen, we will witness the historical irony of the United States’ first black president involuntarily reinforcing the divide
separating black people from white people in
Cuba. Indeed, there is a risk that the diplomatic
normalization between the two countries may
lead to the social and political normalization of
racial differences in Cuba.

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