RIGHTS-CUBA: Consumers Lack Laws in their Defence

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Oct 5 2000 (IPS) - A network of retail shops has materialized in Cuba, one without government subsidies and in some cases governed by the law of supply and demand, and has brought with it the need for legislation to protect consumers’ rights.

To date, the only legal protection in this area is found in the eighth chapter of the Cuban Penal Code, which establishes penalties – prison time or fines – for a limited number of consumer-related infractions.

Experts in this field assert that more legislation may not be necessary, but that consumers must be educated in ways to defend their rights, which were established internationally by the United Nations in 1985.

“We are accustomed to accepting – without argument – what they sell us at the market, but in this new situation we don’t always know what to do,” commented shopper Juan Díaz, 50.

Until the 1980s, there existed only the rigid system of making purchases using a ration book, which left no other option beyond “take it or leave it.”

But that system now coexists with an open sales sector, one part of which is managed by the government and the rest by a limited private sector, where the law of supply and demand determines prices.

Government-run dollar stores, originating in 1993 when carrying the US currency was decriminalised for Cuban citizens, opened the way for choosing products and where to buy them, though prices remained equally high everywhere.

“I don’t know if a law is necessary or not, but at least now I can choose the place where I do my shopping and even complain if they mistreat me or if the product is of poor quality,” said shopper María Consuegra as she left a store that is part of the retail network that accepts dollars.

A sign on the door she passed through says that this store operates under the “consumer protection system” and the complaints may be filed with the “supervisor.”

Another sign outlines the rights of the store’s clients and provides a telephone number for “complaints and suggestions,” though several consumers consulted by IPS said they were unable to file their grievances because “no one answers” the telephone calls.

Until late 1999, the retail network in the capital included some 95 supervisors entrusted with ensuring that shoppers were provided with quick and courteous service, received exact change and a receipt, among other rights.

But the series of complaints about ill-treatment or the poor quality of products and services appearing in the state-run press would seem to indicate that the supervision – which still does not cover the entire network of shops – is proving insufficient for the new market situation.

Price adulteration, home appliances without replacement parts, shoes that fall apart the first time they are worn and poor customer service are among the most common grievances of those who tell their stories in letters to the editor.

No one doubts that the solutions to such problems are complex, but “it is essential to find a way to prevent consumers from being left defenceless and not knowing what to do,” said the government-run ‘Juventud Rebelde’ newspaper, the voice of the Union of Communist Youth, in a full-page story.

But debate on a potential legislative bill is apparently in very preliminary stages, and a new law is considered unlikely as long as the country’s economic situation fails to improve. The island has been suffering a severe economic crisis since the early 1990s, when it lost its socialist bloc markets.

Drafting a law “might not be very complicated,” but enacting it would be impossible under current circumstances because it would not have the necessary economic backing, said one expert. A consumer defence rule, for example, could require businesses to package all the products they sell, which could prove extremely expensive.

In August 1999, the Cuban government granted the Domestic Trade Ministry authority to establish and monitor the application of consumer protection measures in the government, co-operative, private and mixed sectors that operate in Cuban pesos or major foreign currencies.

As a result, the Consumer Protection Office was established within the ministry. Its function is to create a legal base for the entire system and establish safety and quality standards for consumer goods and services.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Nature and Man, a non- governmental organisation created in 1994, has been working for the last five years on an educational programme in its consumers and the environment division.

The model legislation for Latin America and the Caribbean drafted by the non-governmental Consumers International (CI) indicates that it is the duty of each government to oversee compliance with consumer protection laws.

CI also considers it a government obligation to facilitate the legal and material means, as well as other necessary resources, to create consumer associations throughout its national territory.

CI is the world’s largest consumers’ group, with 230 affiliate organisations in more than 100 countries. Its regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean is based in Santiago, Chile.

In Cuba, the creation of such a consumers’ association would require the sponsorship of a government entity and the authorisation of the Justice Ministry.

Nearly all Latin American and Caribbean nations have established some form of legislation to protect the rights of consumers.