Education and health: the two spearheads of Cuba
Cuban education. Regarding the schooling of Cuban children (compulsory until the age of 16), they enter elementary school at the age of 5 and leave at the age of 11. This is followed by three years of secondary education and three more years of pre-university education. At the end of junior high school, those who decide not to continue with the general curriculum until the preuniversitario (baccalaureate) can choose a vocational field: agriculture, commerce, economics, foreign languages or tourism. Students with the preuniversitario must then take an entrance exam, failure of which is synonymous with compulsory military service for two years. Those who manage to enter the university (faculties and pedagogical institutes can be found all over the island) generally remain there for five years, although technical schools offer three-year courses, particularly in the hotel industry, computer science, nursing and industrial design. At the same time, special education is provided for deaf, dumb and physically handicapped children, each of whom receives free treatment adapted to his or her disability.
Cuban medicine. The other great pride of Cuba is its health system. Since the revolution in 1959, the development of medicine has been one of the main priorities of the regime, placing Cuba in a leading position in terms of health: it is indeed on Fidel's island that one finds the greatest number of doctors per inhabitant, and this on a global scale. Studies are free of charge, provided by more than 40,000 professors in 24 faculties all over the island, and open to foreign students since 1999. The regime's stated aim is to help disadvantaged countries that are unable to provide health care for their population. Since 1963 (Algeria), Cuban doctors have been actively participating in humanitarian campaigns and it is estimated that today there are some 30,000 of them in some sixty disadvantaged countries.
Regarding the local health system, Cubans can consult for free and the medicines they may need are very accessible financially (which is not the case for foreigners passing through). However, some medicines are not available on the island, due to the American embargo which discourages certain laboratories from working with Cuba. For example, you will not find the morning-after pill. Thanks to this very efficient health system, Cuban life expectancy is particularly high - 79.5 years, compared to 78.1 years in the United States - and a very low infant mortality rate: 4.4 ‰, lower, again, than that of the American neighbor. These statistics place Cuba in the average of the most developed countries. As for hospital infrastructure, it is rather well maintained and very clean, although the equipment is often lacking, again due to the US embargo, which can cause serious problems in case of heavy surgery.
Everyday difficulties
Housing. While Cubans are well off in terms of education and health, the same cannot be said for other aspects of daily life. The question of housing, to begin with, can indeed prove to be problematic. Havana's approximately three million residents live in particularly cramped conditions, often with several generations living together. This promiscuity can tend to create inconveniences, even family conflicts. In fact, the divorce rate in Cuba is close to 60%, the highest in the world. Moreover, it is difficult for a young couple to find intimacy when starting a relationship... Discretion is therefore required. To remedy this, establishments of the same type as casas particulares have been created: the hospedajes welcome couples for a few hours and a handful of pesos.
The question of moving is not easy either. According to the law, a Cuban, in order to change his home, is obliged to exchange it with another. However, the new home must be identical. This action is called permutar, and it is not uncommon, especially in Havana, to see "se permuta" signs hanging on buildings in the city center. In the case of an unequal exchange, the one who acquires a larger home usually pays a certain amount of money to the other in hard currency.
Transportation. Transportation is another major concern for Cubans in their daily lives. To get around, the two main options are the bus (crowded!) and hitchhiking. Hitchhiking Cuban style consists of standing on the side of the road and waving your hand to call out to motorists. Naturally, pretty girls are more successful in this maneuver, and the competition is quite unfair. If buying a car was forbidden until 2011, it is now possible. However, Cubans with the means to take the step are rare. It takes years of saving to do so. At the same time, the supply of gasoline is a recurring problem, even more so since friendly Venezuela is embroiled in a political and economic stalemate. In case of lack of fuel, priority is given to the buses of the company Viazul, reserved for tourists.
Another option for long trips across the island is... the train! In fact, Cuba was thefirst country in Latin America and the sixth in the world (before Spain) to have railroad lines! In total, more than 8,000 km of tracks (5,000 dedicated to passenger transport) connect the country's main cities, from the Occidente to the Oriente. However, despite the arrival in 2019 of new trains ordered massively from China, the infrastructure of the rail network is very old and deserves a thorough renovation. The trains do run, but very slowly, and punctuality is not the strong point of Cuban rail services.
Food. As far as food is concerned, it is still the libreta, a ration book that every Cuban has, which allows everyone to eat decently. The libreta allows people to buy basic foodstuffs at very low prices. For one month, each Cuban is entitled to a certain amount of rice, beans, sugar, eggs, cooking oil, tobacco, etc. However, this amount of food really only covers 30% of the food needs of a normal man, or even less... Under these conditions, it is difficult to feed a whole family. To supplement this, it becomes necessary to turn to the black market to make some good deals, although less and less good since the monetary devaluation of 2021 and the consequent inflation. Cubans who can afford it can go to the supermarkets, which are much more expensive, and where better quality products can be found.
Communication. As far as communications are concerned, the Internet is neither free nor unrestricted in Cuba. It is true that Cuban homes are equipped with a high-speed Internet connection, but the subscription is prohibitively expensive (around €100 per month, but can vary from €50 to €230), and it is usually the owners of casas particulares who can afford it. Computers are usually found in the country's ETECSA offices (the national communication company) or in the lobbies of large hotels, and the connection costs 1 € per hour. In addition, a public ETECSA wifi network was set up in 2015, which Cubans and tourists can connect to from their smartphones or computers. Again, the rate is set at 1 € per hour. One connects to the public network from certain urban areas: the outskirts of major hotels and ETECSA offices, but also the main squares of the cities. However, the network tends to be saturated at peak times, i.e. between 8 and 10 am, 12 and 3 pm and after 6 pm. There are 3G packages, financially accessible to the middle class only.
Evolution of Cuban customs
Freedom of expression is not necessarily welcome in Cuba: the entire press is scrupulously controlled by the regime, in order to ensure that the point of view of the single party is the only one represented. Just take a look at the editorial of Granma. This can result in the outright imprisonment of any Cuban who is clearly willing to start a rebellion or create a dissident party. Although few will confide in visiting tourists on the subject, the vast majority of Cubans feel a real fear of the state. In a way, everyone is watching everyone in Cuba, and the CDRs (Committees of the Revolution that manage neighborhoods in the cities) make sure that this surveillance is carried out in an official way.
As far as marriages and divorce are concerned, the Cuban case is quite singular. The promiscuity in Havana's apartments creates conflicts, which often lead to divorce. Cuba occupies the first place in the world, with a rate of 60%! Authorized 15 days after a marriage, the divorce is paid 100 Cuban pesos. So much so that it is not uncommon to meet young Cubans who are already on their third or fourth marriage experience! This situation can be explained in part by the difficulty that newlyweds have in finding a place to live, and are therefore generally forced to move in with the parents of one or the other. The emancipation of women and the loss of influence of the Catholic Church is another factor in family upheaval. For many Cubans, marriage to a foreigner is a way out.
What is the place of the homosexual community in Cuba? Forty years ago, discrimination against lesbians and gays was real. It was not until 1997 that the last homophobic references in Cuban legislation were abolished. Mariela Castro Espín, Raúl's daughter, passed a law prohibiting discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals in the areas of work and housing. This same law authorizes gender reassignment surgery, accompanied by identity papers in accordance with the modified gender. These costs are even covered by the health services. No marriage or adoption for two people of the same sex, but a civil partnership is possible. Also, since 2015, the international day against homophobia (May 17) is celebrated in Cuba. Despite this official impulse of tolerance, Latino machismo has a hard edge.
