The Cuban Second Economy in Perspective

He was in his early twenties. Relaxed and playful, he swapped cigarettes and chistes with the three ‘norteamericanos’ who had wandered into that rural town of muddy surf and rocky shoreline on Cuba’s leeward coast.1 He said he served with the Cuban air force in Angola, was proud of his country, and would not leave it for the United States. Yet, with a trace of wistfulness, he told us how fortunate everyone was in the United States to be able to have everything they wanted. He was sceptical of our comment that there were homeless people and people without adequate medical care in the United States.