By Juan Jose Perez Izquierdo, collaborator to the Independent Press Bureau in Cuba (BPIC).
HAVANA, March 13, 1997 (BPIC).- March 12, has historical significance within the chain of tragedies that have befallen the Cuban people in these last decades. It marks the 35th year of the law enacted by Fidel Castro's government concerning the rationing of needed supplies for the population, among them foodstuffs, restricted by the known rationing card.
Upon the conmemoration of new anniversaries of events since the Revolution or in earlier times, but which can be manipulated in favor of an image of goodness and patriotism of the regime in power, the great mass media apparatus---which by the way, has never known the rigors of that mis-named blockade--- engage in tireless campaigns remembering the revolutionary actions and the goals met, but maintains total silence concerning this date, March 12.
It is shameful indeed that after talking so much to the people about goals met and exceeded and about thousands of heroes of socialist labor, these same means of information ignored that at present time they maintain a rationing, even much more severe, than the one applied 35 years ago.
I would like to remind Cubans, and if possible the entire world, of what the people were informed on March 12, 1962. I have before me the magazine Orientador Revolucionario #6 (Revolutionary Guide #6), edited by the then known as Comision of Orientacion Revolucionaria del Gobierno Cubano on March 15 of the same year. I make such observation because there will be those who think that I'm lying upon learning what products each citizen had the right to purchase.
After this, it is necessary to remember fragments of the guiding words spoken by Commandant Fidel Castro when he appeared before the cameras and microphones of Cuban television to explain the new, temporary law being adopted by the victorious revolution, a law which was enacted by the National Junta for Distribution of Resources.
The established quota consisted of:
- 2 pounds of cooking grease, whether oil or pork
lard/ per person per month.
- 13 1/2 pounds of beans of any type, garbanzo, split
peas, or lentils per
person over 9 months, to be distributed monthly.
-6 pounds of rice per person per month.
-3/4 pound of beef per person per week.
-1 chicken (2 net pounds) per person per month.
1/2 pound of fish, clean, per person each 15 days.
-5 eggs per person per month.
-3 1/2 pounds of viands per week per person depending
on the season.
- 2 additional pounds of malanga weekly per child
under 7 years old.
-1/8 pound of butter per person per month.
-1 a litter of milk daily per each child under 7
and one liter daily for each 5 persons over 7 or the equivalent of 6 cans
of either condensed or evaporated milk.
-1 bar of soap (laundry) per month.
-1 bar of soap (bath) per person per month.
-1 medium size package of detergent per person per
month.
-1 large tube of toothpaste per 2 persons per month.
That was the quota then.
What follows are fragments of a speech given by Fidel
Castro to the television cameras on March 12 regarding the supply
and production. These fragments remind us of recent speeches,
but we musn't forget that these words were uttered 35 years ago.
Fidel said:
"What has been the main defect which we've had? Well, a great
subjectivism. But this subjectivism of ours and of those who offer data and statistics and issue pledges of production which results in that we find ourselves in the sad situation of announcing specific quantities of production which later don't pan out".
"We are ashamed, I for my part, I tell you sincerely, am ashamed of these things and I hope that we all feel equally ashamed of offering things which we cannot meet".
"This is a revolution which is projected towards the future, towards a great future. How can we be making false promises to please the people in a minute? And we ended up here and even malanga became scarse, after we have repeated so many times that if there's nothing to eat, we'll eat malanga".
"The principal goal of the Revolution, of the members of the Revolution, of the political apparatus of the Revolution, is agriculture and we have agreed on a plan of work in which all the weight of the political apparatus of the Revolution will come to bear on agricultural's efforts".
"And we will see the results, it won't be many months and we will see the results. We have started on this plan at the minimum, we will try so that what has been assigned to each won't be missing and that what we'll have ahead of us will be increases, not cuts. We have started from the minimum precisely so that we can slowly start increasing as production increases."
"Now we are hopeful, first in the ability of the Revolution to overcome those difficulties, to increase the production, and we also have great faith in the ability of our people to resist".
Someone said that this government buys off the present with the future, and that is one of the great historical truths which demonstrates it. Before I finish, something within me forces me to reflect upon the use given in Cuba to the word DIGNITY, and I think that the change given to the original meaning given by the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language is one of the real accomplishments of the socialist Revolution.