THE RISE OF CUBAN CIVIL SOCIETY

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HAVANA, Oct 24 2007 (IPS) - It is almost impossible to understand Cuba without examining the dynamics of Cuban civil society, writes Rafael Hernandez, a political analyst, editor of the journal Temas, and researcher at the Juan Marinello Institute in Havana. His latest book is The History of Havana. In this article, the author writes that in the early 1990s the island was struck by a perfect storm of accumulated domestic problems, the collapse of the socialist bloc, and reform. This created a whole new constellation of problems that rose from the bottom of Cuban society. The new situation unleashed an array individual and family strategies — self-employment, economic emigration, remittances from abroad from family members, the search for employment in the dollar sector– which competed with the established collective approaches. Although there was no movement beyond the centralised system, the crisis did spur the use of more decentralised mechanisms which in turn reactivated the community. The neighbourhood and its social and family networks, formal and informal organisations, and religious associations helped to repair housing, care for elderly pensioners, preserve hygiene, and provide scarce medication, accessible food, and spiritual support. In the vortex of this storm, Cuban civil society appeared in a new light.

It is almost impossible to understand Cuba without examining the dynamics of Cuban civil society.

In the early 1990s, the island was struck by a perfect storm of accumulated domestic problems, the collapse of the socialist bloc, and reform. This created a whole new constellation of problems that rose from the bottom of Cuban society. The crisis was triggered by inequality and put serious pressure on the social values that had developed since the 1960s. The state found itself incapable of solving all problems in a centralised manner, and both the state and society began to look for alternatives.

Although there was no movement beyond the centralised system, the crisis did spur the use of more decentralised mechanisms which in turn reactivated the community. The neighbourhood and its social and family networks, formal and informal organisations, and religious associations helped to repair housing, care for elderly pensioners, preserve hygiene, and provide scarce medication, accessible food, and spiritual support. In the vortex of this storm, Cuban civil society appeared in a new light.

The new situation unleashed an array individual and family strategies — self-employment, economic emigration, remittances from abroad from family members, the search for employment in the dollar sector– which competed with the established collective approaches. Given the relative impoverishment of various social groups, at the local and municipal level institutions resorted to emergency measures to alleviate the crisis, which strengthened the capacity for decentralised decision-making and innovation. There was a resurgence of grandparents’ recipes, herbal medicine, spiritual consultation, and religious and recreational activities.

Pressures from below opened the way for more flexible political-administrative approaches intended to resolve current difficulties. New institutions appeared to bring about the thorough transformation of marginal neighbourhoods in Havana like La Guinera, Cayo Hueso, or El Cerro. Hundreds of youth trained themselves to be social workers and school teachers.

While these areas for participation and co-operation were created and expanded, the reforms also brought about other transformations in social relations. The emerging economy granted a greater space to the market and its various unknown modalities (six, by my count). Its impact on the stratification of consumption rendered visible the differences between those with dollars and those without. This new inequality shook up civil society, and sectors that didn’t receive their pay or felt they had been discriminated against because of their race, gender, sexual orientation, or faith began to voice complaints. Migration within and away from the country grew as people sought greater opportunity for work and consumption. Religion experienced a resurgence. All of these issues erupted into the public debate.

This debate among Cubans of various ages, occupations, locations, and political stripes has remained visible (and audible) since then in the most disparate corners, formal and informal. Without paying attention to this debate, it would be impossible to come to any understanding of the problems arising in Cuba’s political reality and the opinions and participation of citizens in Cuba today.

It would seem that the most urgent issues for Cuban society are ”economic”. However, at the heart of debates about consumption, the deterioration of services, or the housing shortage, are structural and conceptual problems that cannot be reduced to models of economic policy or administrative style. These issues involve an alternative vision of social development that has emerged from new needs and experiences, obstacles to real grassroots participatory democracy, and efforts to transform worker and neighbour collectives through mechanisms that encourage popular participation and new forms of thinking, acting, and decision-making.

All of these issues came together in the discussions held by the Communist Party and the government over the last few weeks. It is less a strictly economic matter than a social and political agenda that stresses horizontal mechanisms to build consensus rather than vertical or voluntary mechanisms, as well as respect for the desires and interests not only of the majority but also minorities within Cuban society.

What emerged from these debates was not inertia and fossilised mental habits but a consensus and powerful expectations of change in every area that affects the development of society itself. In effect, it is the product of the process of self-reflection that was initiated some time ago by Cuban civil society, its grassroots activists, leaders, organic intellectuals, and above all the common people. In the end, it is these actors of Cuban civil society who are debating ideas, proposing new approaches, and creating a new social fabric. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS)