The original occupiers of the land, the Taino Indians, perished because of new diseases and inhuman labour and the Spanish rulers brought shiploads of Black slaves from the Africa. In the 18^th century, the British ruled Cuba for 11 months, bringing with them the same legacy of hauling slaves from Africa. It is these slaves labour which gave Cuba its sugar and tobacco.

Though divested of almost all its colonies, Spain held on to Cuba till it could not any longer after the US imperialists started eyeing the land and finally took over. Cuba’s status as a colony remained a historical fact for long years. Though the tradition of bringing in African slaves stopped, the injustice and torture on the native people continued. The riverine routes to and out of the island was marked by shipwrecks; only history will say how many Titanics are still to be hauled out from the seabed. In fact, the Cuban government is intensely pursuing a programme to involve foreign technology to investigate the seabed for such treasure troves.

Though much of the tales untold lie embedded in the seabed, what has happened since 1920 is known history. It was by this time that American companies had established control over two-thirds of the sugarcane and tobacco industry. Tourism had turned into a backyard of prostitution and gambling. Prices went skyrocketing. The people rose in protest and soon the rulers were dethroned. But this period saw the advent of General Batista and for the two decades he called the shots. During his tenure, nothing came Cuba’s way except poverty and national riches were frittered away to foreign countries. But Batista fell to Fidel Castro and fled to the Dominican Republic, taking with him four million US dollars. However, this period saw the beginning of a new dawn in Cuba.

Laws were changed, the government set-up changed too. Property rights were altered and land was vested with the government. All the American controlled companies were taken over by the government. And this brought with it American anger on to Cuba. To finish off the land, America now resorted to sanctions and cut down on its sugar imports from Cuba. And on the other side, the CIA started its diabolical game to oust Castro.

The Soviet Union came forward with a helping hand but America has still not forgiven Cuba.US tourists cannot visit Cuba and any foreign company wanting to invest in Cuba are discouraged by Washington. With the help of the Soviet Union in terms of technology and other sectors, the Castro government could meet the sanctions imposed by the US. But after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has had to stand and rear itself on its own feet. It has been trying times indeed.

People’s Rights and Foreigners

While travelling down one of the Havana streets one day, our friend Sosa pointed to a palatial hotel building and said that it was once owned by an American but had been taken over by the government after the revolution. This example was one of many, he said.

Things have changed. The government controls have stayed and foreign investments are asked for within these limits. Foreign investment is welcome in Cuba only when there mutual interests are protected with no expectations of a huge profit and grasp over the local economy. Tourism has found a major foothold in Cuba these days. On the Atlantic seaside, we came across a huge luxury hotel which was partly owned by a Spanish company and the Cuban government. Centrestage in the lobby were giant portraits of Castro and the owner of the Spanish company. Since 1993, Castro has been systematically bringing about changes in the economic structure, lending eligibility to agro products and the cottage industry from the private sector.A new investment programme was put into motion in 1995 which gave 100 percent investment rights on mutually agreed terms. Consumer goods, salaries and profits were made taxable. A free trade zone was created near Havana. The government also allowed locals to rent out places to foreigners which however is taxable.During Batista’s time, a part of the Atlantic beach was made out of bounds for commoners and made a luxury resort for the affluent; this has been done away with. Tourism has become a major source of income for the locals. Apart from tourism, there have been substantial investments in various sectors from countries like Canada, Germany and Spain.A total of 350 companies from 40 nations are involved in a joint sector venture and 170 companies are engaged in trade in the FTZ. But it is the airport which gives us a clue of where Cuba’s strength lies; obviously, there can be no substitute for tourism.