In Cuba, Power Flows to the Families of the Powerful

Yoani Sanchez - Award-winning Cuban blogger

In Cuba, Power Flows to the Families of the Powerful
Posted: 09/12/2012 5:01 pm

Crowded hallways, blinds that let the heat in but barely allow a breeze
to pass through. It's ten in the morning in any office, in any place
that serves the public, with a waiting list, the length and breadth of
this Island. A functionary calls the names and surnames of those who
wait, reviews their papers, takes them into a little cubicle with
cardboard walls.

Around noon, an impeccably dressed and shod lady crosses the room and
the director himself prioritizes her above all others, and even sees her
in his office. When she leaves, someone whispers about her, "That's the
daughter of General So-and-So... so she doesn't have to wait."

In the Nuevo Vedado neighborhood ugly concrete buildings alternate with
mansions set among spacious gardens behind high fences. "And whose is
that?" asks the curious child walking down the street for the first
time. The parents snicker, raise their eyebrows, and finally tell him,
"It was given to the mother of one of the commanders who came down from
the Sierra Maestra, but now her grandchildren live there."

And just as they pass the other corner, an old man is talking with his
next door neighbor. As the inquisitive little boy nears he hears him
say, "I'm going to see if my nephew, the police chief, will give him a
scare, so he'll turn the loud music down." When the curious family is
crossing Tulipan Street a car fails to give way at the corner. At the
wheel, another big-headed "blue blood" who knows he will never be fined
for ignoring the stop sign.

Ancestry, the family tree, sharing genes with another is, in the Cuba of
today, an important safe-conduct for almost everything. Nepotism is
manifested not only the work structure, or in the rising to certain
political positions. To be "family of..." streamlines procedures, erases
criminal histories, positions you higher on the ladder to purchase a
house or a car, gets you into the best hospitals without waiting,
guarantees enrollment in the most exclusive schools, and even ensures
the rapid cremation of someone you're alleged to have killed.

Your parentage could be the trump card, or the losing one, the element
for which many colleges will condone in one student what would never be
tolerated in another. Because who would want to embarrass the powerful
dad? Why make things complicated for yourself by saying "no" to the
whims of the general's sister? Who would dare to delay a service to the
grandson of a senior leader? Everyone knows that anger, when it comes
from Mt. Olympus in the form of a lightening bold, of thunder, can get
people fired from their jobs, get them in trouble, and ruin promising
careers.

Translating Cuba is a compilation blog with Yoani and other Cuban
bloggers in English.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/yoani-sanchez/in-cuba-power-flows-to-th_b_1878820.html