April 1
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8:00 am
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5:00 PM
CMT
The disintegration of the USSR brought drastic changes to Cuba. The loss of 85 percent of its foreign trade triggered a profound crisis. The population faced blackouts of up to 16 hours, severe shortages of food, and transportation disruptions. During the so-called Special Period, the Cuban government implemented a series of programs and measures, including a degree of economic reopening and the authorization of foreign currency use. Tourism was also promoted to attract capital, and small private businesses and free agricultural markets were permitted. The rise of Hugo Chávez to power in Venezuela eased the energy crisis, but in the early years, a combination of internal resistance and extreme rationing, known as "la libreta" (the ration book), prevented collapse. Despite famine and hardship, the socialist model survived, reinventing itself through humanitarian exchanges—teachers, medical and sports professionals, and medicines—in exchange for supplies and technology. With the new occupant of the White House, unilateral pressure tactics by the US have reached alarming levels, including the prohibition of doing business with or providing any kind of aid to Cuba, as well as the blockade of maritime borders using warships, aircraft carriers, and nuclear torpedoes to prevent the arrival of fuel and food. But as has happened in the past, the Cuban people and their government are finding ways to overcome this overwhelming setback. Cuba resists and, like Numantia, does not negotiate its dignity, preferring to fight to the death rather than be enslaved. That slogan, a legacy of struggle cultivated by the leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, is alive and well in the Cuban consciousness, today more than ever.
