BY RAFIK BENALI
PARIS - Two young Cubans, Sylvano Merced Len, a sports student, and Loreley Zamora Alonso, who works as an economist in a pharmaceutical institute in Cuba, made a 10- day speaking tour in the Paris area in December at the invitation of the France-Cuba Association.

The tour was supported by a number of student organizations - the National Union of Communist Students, the National Union of Students of France, the National Union of Moroccan Students, and the National Union of Tunisian Students - as well as the Young Socialists.

In addition to wanting to explain the situation in Cuba today, the two young Cubans came to build the World Youth Festival, which will be held in Havana July 27 - August 6. The Cubans hope to bring 5,000 young people from around the world to the Festival.

At the GEE Alsthom power transformer factory near Paris, they met with about 50 workers. The workers, who met the two Cubans in the union-run factory library during their lunch break, asked questions about the U.S. embargo of Cuba. Merced said, "It's like being forced to walk around the entire factory in order to go to the canteen, about 20 yards from here." He was referring to the fact that, due to the pressure the Helms-Burton law places on neighboring countries, Cubans often have to go to far off areas in the world to get imports available much closer.

One of the workers, who came from the African country of Mali, pointed out, "All over Africa, the governments are under pressure from the United States to not establish any type of relations with Cuba."

Cubans face `special period'
Forty students came to hear them at the University of Paris VIII in the Paris suburb of St. Denis. A student asked what the concrete results of the Cuban revolution were. "In 1959 there were only three universities. Today there are 56 universities and 2,000 university professors," Merced replied. "There is one school teacher for 43 inhabitants, which is better than in most capitalist countries. As for medicine, there is one doctor and one nurse per143 inhabitants."

In the discussion, a student said that the disappearance of the Eastern European regimes was a mortal blow for Cuba. Merced answered, "It was not a mortal blow. We are still here, but it was a hard blow."

Zamora noted that that since 1990 Cuba has been in a "special period," which was very difficult for the Cuban people. But since 1994, the economy has begun to grow again with 1 percent growth in 1994, 2.5 percent in 1995 and nearly 8 percent in 1996. This is in spite of the destruction caused by the recent hurricane, which cost the Cuban economy $500 million.

Zamora, explained to one student who wanted to have more details about the special period, "The special period has different aspects. Since the legalization of dollars and setting up of legal money changing stations, the peso has gone from a low of 120 to the dollar in 1990 to 19 pesos today. Some individual businesses are now allowed and subsidies for some unprofitable companies were cut back to stabilize the country's economic situation."

Many students at a speaking engagement at Nanterre University wanted to know if their was freedom of expression in Cuba. Zamora gave the example of financial aid to students, which the government wanted to suspend when students did their military service. Many students opposed this measure and the student aid was maintained. "People can criticize measures and propose alternatives. That is part of our democracy."

Parliaments of workers and students
She also pointed out that "young people play an important political role in Cuba, where the voting age is 16. There are 12 members of parliament who are under 30 years old. There are two youth representatives in the State Council who also participate in the Council of Ministers. In general, young people can take part in any political debate. In Cuba, there are not only workers' parliaments but also student parliaments."

These parliaments examine the university curriculums, she added.

Ten students took part in the debate at Jussieu University. One student who had been to Cuba a few months earlier raised that young Cubans he had met had no perspectives for their future nor for the defense of the revolution.

Zamora gave her own example, saying, "I owe everything to the revolution because I came from a poor family. My mother is a worker who had three children. My two brothers have finished their university studies. My mother did not have to worry about our studies and our health. In addition she now owns her own home thanks to the Cuban system. In Cuba, rent is calculated in relation to ones income, and after a number of years of paying rent, you become the owner of your home."

The last meeting was organized by the France-Cuba Association. Over 60 people attended.

One participant asked in what way is Cuba a revolutionary country today. "I believe that the Cuban people are revolutionary," answered Merced, "because it is a people who have made a revolution. Since 1959, the people have continued to change things, to deepen the revolution and perfect it.

"For a people to have been able to resist for 37 years, it means that there have been numerous revolutions within the revolution in every area since 1959."  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home