Re: Prostitution in Cuba (To Walter L.)

[David Walters <dwalters@xxxxxxxxxx>]

I actually hate to say it, and not having visited Cuba in a LONG time, I can
only go by my impressions from those that have, especially non-political
visitors, who have less of an ax to grind.

Among some of the workers I work with at my plant, are several who have done
the sex-tour vacations to Asia, most notably the Philippines.

Over the last two years, some of these worker have 'discovered' Cuba as THE
place to go for prostitution, beating out the Dominican Republic and other
sites. One of the reasons they give is that it's 'cheap', and, the
'healthiest' hookers they've ever seen...no doubt the irony of prostitution
combined with an advanced socialist health care system. Some times this is
combined with little business ventures, such as investing in some petty-
commodity manufacturing that they want to get into.

The descriptions are not good about prostitution there. Obviously the reason
for it has not to do with the main reason prostitution exists everywhere
else, that is poverty and drug use. In a certain way, it has a lot to do
with relative wealth and consumerism, driven by the increasing dollarization
of the economy. My fellow workers would describe these prostitutes as 'part
timers', all, it seems, having full time or part time jobs, often with
families, trying to supplement their meagre incomes with hard currency that
can allow them not just to survive, which they would of done without the
dollars, but to purchase items in the card currency stores, etc.

While no doubt Armand's views as projected by Walter may be true, it's also
a red herring...we are not discussing Cuba need or not for political
revolution, but the contradiction of a workers state that has infused its
economy with US dollars...and his experiences in Cuba parallel exactly the
experiences of these very un-communist American workers who take advantage
of their own very high standard of living to seek out prostitutes in foreign
lands.

What I gave you above is purely impressionistic, obviously...but anecdotal
or not, it points to the very serious larger equation of the effects of the
dollarization and the rise of petty and not-so-petty capitalist
production...and it's effect socially on Cuba of those chasing dollars.

 David Walters