CUBA: Economic Motives Eclipse Political Factors for Emigrants

By Patricia Grogg Reprint | | Print |

Patricia Grogg

HAVANA, Jan 7 2002 (IPS) - Emigration is still seen as a risky but desireable alternative for many Cubans seeking a better life – an aim that has taken the place of political discontent as the main reason propelling people to leave this socialist island nation.

“My uncle left in the 1960s because he decided he didn’t want to live under a communist regime. I just want to solve my economic problems and help my family out, from over there,” said a man in his mid-30s waiting outside the U.S. Interests Section in Havana.

The United States is home to the lion’s share of Cuban emigrés. According to the 2000 U.S. census, there are 1.3 million Cubans living in that country, and consular officials in Havana handle more than 400 visa applications a day.

“It is not easy to get (a visa), that’s why I’m not giving you my name. Look, I prefer not to talk to the press, and much less here,” said the man who was waiting his turn to enter the U.S. Interests Section.

Some 130,000 Cubans are living in other Latin American countries, 37,000 in Europe, and 1,000 in the rest of the world, according to the Research Centre on International Migration at the Havana University.

The fact that Cuba is a country of emigrants “poses major challenges for the present century on the individual, social and national fronts,” wrote Antonio Aja, a researcher with the Centre, in a study published by the local magazine Temas.

Aja underlined the problem of the “brain drain”, as well as the fact that most of the Cubans wishing to leave the island are young people.

Cuba’s population of 11.2 million is growing slowly, with low birth and death rates, as well as a marked tendency towards an ageing of the population.

Meanwhile, a large number of mainly young people are interested in leaving. According to estimates from the 1995-99 period based on the number of people who took part in lotteries for obtaining visas to live in the United States, between 490,000 and 800,000 people in Cuba wanted to emigrate.

U.S. sources indicate that in 1995, 190,000 people signed up for the annual visa lottery, known here as the “bombo”. The following year the total rose to 400,000, and by 1999 nearly 800,000 participated.

Aja pointed out that a large number of people who leave Cuba either legally or illegally are professionals and technicians, while white males under 40 predominate.

The economic crisis of the 1990s, triggered by the break-up of the Soviet Union and the disappearance of the east European socialist bloc, accentuated the predominance of economic motives over political ones among the reasons for leaving the country.

But Aja explained that economic motives interact with political factors and elements like the urge for family reunification and scepticism that the socialist government of Fidel Castro will be able to overcome the country’s lingering economic woes.

The accords signed by Cuba and the United States in 1994 and 1995 to ensure an orderly, safe flow of migrants have not checked illegal or clandestine emigration, an adventure that occasionally ends in death.

In the agreements, Washington committed itself to issuing 20,000 visas a year to Cubans. But that quantity falls far short of meeting demand, and many turn to other options.

An increasingly popular trick is to take a plane to Russia, and request asylum on the stopover in Madrid.

But the most popular route by far is to board a makeshift raft or rickety boat to brave the 90-mile crossing to Florida.

The U.S. Coast Guard Service registered the entry of 2,352 undocumented Cuban immigrants between Oct 1, 2000 and Sep 30, 2001. But despite Washington’s agreement to repatriate all Cubans intercepted at sea, just 777 were sent back to Cuba during that period.

The Cuban government accuses Washington of encouraging people to defect through the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act, which grants automatic permanent residence status after one year to any Cuban setting foot on U.S. territory, whether or not they are individuals who meet the normal requirements for a visa.

U.S. authorities argue that Cubans who try to leave their country do so because the economic policies of Cuba’s socialist government have clearly failed, and because they want to live in a “free country” where human rights are respected.

That clash in views invariably flares up in the talks held every six months to assess compliance with the migration accords. Washington has made it clear that it has no intention of overturning the Cuban Adjustment Act, which is staunchly defended by the vociferously anti-Castro Cuban exile community in Miami.

For their part, official Cuban sources have predicted “inevitable restrictions” and “sacrifices” by the population for 2002, due to lower than expected economic growth. Authorities point to the global economic slowdown and the effects of Hurricane Michelle, which ripped through the country in early November.

The storm, which hit eight provinces that are home to roughly half of Cuba’s population was described by local authorities as “the worst natural disaster” – in material terms – to hit Cuba in the past 50 years.