cuba income inequality

Belief that 60 years of failure in every country it has been tried will reverse in Cuba is unforgivable. Public-private cooperation can address systemic inequality and build a just, inclusive society. In this sense, as mentioned above, the census of 2002 represents a significant step backward compared to the census of 1981. Racial discrimination, in turn, has prevented them from getting equal access to high-paying jobs in tourism and in joint ventures. De la etnia y la raza, special issue, Temas, no. Es la raza un criterio til en la prctica mdica? (Lynn Rienner Publishers, 1998), 6264. In his neighborhood, a shantytown called El Fanguito (roughly, Little Swamp) on the fringe of the Rio Almendares and the margins of society, few people have relatives sending money from abroad, food rations barely last the month, and homes made of corrugated tin, wood scraps and crumbling concrete fail to keep out floodwaters. We find, nonetheless, that an expanding and strikingly racialized private sector is fueling dramatic income inequality by skin color beyond the reach of official census data. Most local experts say Cubas Gini index has risen further since 2000, although no new figures are available and they believe it is still less than other countries in Latin America, which tend to come in between .50 and .60. As the Cuban journal Bohemia put it, The island tends toward mestizaje.7. Organizations like the Cofrada de la Negritud complained that with the introduction of admission tests, blacks were at a disadvantage to enter the university, since they did not have the resources to pay for private tutors to prepare for their exams.21. A Non-Topic, Armed Forces and Society 2, no. 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Touching his skin, he added, I dont know if the new businesses would accept me.. A group of Cuban economists led by Angela Ferriol arrived at similar conclusions.18 Their study found that blacks and mulatos are concentrated in the lowest deciles according to income. The cash infusion has been one of the top drivers of the Cuban economy in recent years, rivaling tourism revenue and mineral, pharmaceutical and sugar exports. This basically boils down to the belief that the government has enough power to cause economic prosperity by enforcing price controls that will overcome the basic economic laws of supply / demand. 14. Within nationalist discourse, there exists an argument that racism cannot exist in a racially diverse nation (or a nation with a racially-mixed population). Has data issue: false Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Growing Economic and Social Disparities in Cuba: Impact and Recommendations for Change (Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, University of Miami, 2002), 7. Currency reform increased the minimum wage by 500% to the equivalent of 87 USD, and the maximum to almost 400. Nacin, raza y cultura, special issue, La Gaceta de Cuba, no. 1 (2004): 16982. Censo de poblacin y viviendas, 2002 (Havana: ONE, 2005). Remittances, estimated at $1 billion to nearly $3 billion a year, are already a big source of the capital behind the new small businesses. Economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago has estimated that the extreme ratio of income difference between the highest earners (paladar owners) and average wage earners was 829-to-1 in 1995 and may have expanded to 12,500-to-1 by 2002.17. White or white-passing Cubans are far more likely to be hired within the tourism industry, as Black or dark-skinned Cubans are stereotyped to be dangerous, dirty and threatening to tourists. National unity is considered the number-one priority to maintaining Cubas current political structure, and any recognition of differences or internal inequality could lead to unrest. President Obamas historic thaw with Cuba. Cuba prides itself on being the most egalitarian society in Latin America but inequality is not new here. What can external activists do to promote equality without threatening Cuban government practices? Never, said Mr. Echevarria, whose livelihood depends on the catch of the day. ", World Economic Forum, Gender gap index in Cuba from 2014 to 2021 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/803446/cuba-gender-gap-index/ (last visited June 03, 2023), Gender gap index in Cuba from 2014 to 2021 [Graph], World Economic Forum, March 30, 2021. Skip to main content Accessibility help . The income gap between the lowest and the highest brackets was enormous by Cuban standards: Those in the highest bracket earned about 30 times more than those at the bottom, with an extreme ratio of difference of about 375-to-1.16 To put these figures in perspective, in the late 1980s wage differences were about 4.5-to-1 in the massive state sector. The census of 1981 had already shown that blacks were overrepresented in the poorest urban neighborhoods, those characterized by overcrowding and a dilapidated housing stock. Encyclopedia of the Nations Americas Cuba Cuba - Poverty and wealth Photo by: Adam Booth By some measures, Cuba is the most socially egalitarian of the world's nations. By the early 2000s, race had become an important topic of scholarly inquiry in Cuba. In the case of pensions, the lowest stands at 63 USD. Here's how. Cubans are experiencing prices that are 7-10 times above official prices, one of the reports presented to the legislative border revealed. Cubans were not shocked by the steps taken by Raul Castro within weeks of succeeding his ailing brother Fidel Castro as president, but some felt frustrated. View more posts, Your email address will not be published. 9. Cuban scholars have produced important research about race and have tried to assess the impact of the Special Periodas the austere post-Soviet era in Cuba is officially knownon this and other forms of social equality, but their results are limited by the amount and quality of information available. SOUTH FL. Although a census was conducted on the island in 2002, the first one since 1981, the amount of publicly released information from it on race has been minuscule, particularly in comparison to official reporting on the previous census. Income and wealth inequalities significant The report highlights the extent of global income and wealth inequalities. Asked if she received financial help from relatives abroad, she smirked and swept her hand around her small living room, which floods repeatedly in heavy rains. If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. : An Analysis of the Racial Characteristics of Recent Cuban Immigrants, The Reliability of Cubas Educational Statistics, When Rio was Black: Soul Music, National Culture, and the Politics of Racial Comparison in 1970s Brazil, Contrapunteo cubano de la muerte y el color, Educacin superior, gnero y color de la piel: una breve reflexin sobre la implementacin de polticas de amplio acceso en el contexto cubano, Racial Inequality in Brazil and the United States: A Statistical Comparison, Racial Inequality in Brazil and the United States, 19902010, Afro-Cuban Religiosity, Revolution, and National Identity, Antiracism in Cuba: The Unfinished Revolution, Sara Gmez: Afrocubana (Afro-Cuban Womens) Activism after 1961, La movilizacin del tema afrodescendiente en la Habana, 20122014: Un estudio de las posibilidades del performance, The Erosion of Racial Equality in Post-Soviet Cuba, Free and Equal. 3 (fall 2007): 57; Rodrigo Espina Prieto and Pablo Rodrguez Ruiz, Raza y desigualdad en la Cuba actual, Temas, no. Use Ask Statista Research Service. However, the report's authors explain that this conceals wide disparities between and within countries. For the 1981 census, people were asked to racially identify themselves, but in 2002, the enumerators were instructed to identify people by skin color without asking the question (and to ask about family members who were not present, but only if the enumerator had doubts about their race).8 Furthermore, the census of 2002 introduced two additional innovations: It eliminated the category of Asian (asitico) used in the 1981 census and changed the mixed-race category from mestizo (1981) to mestizo o mulato. What all this means in practical terms remains to be researched. I guess I could not even afford the water.. First, the numbers depend on who is determining racial identity (a census taker or the subject). Work is the fundamental means of subsistence. A lot are tourists, naturally, but we are getting more Cubans who might be called middle class.. Income Inequality, India, KNGRI, Labor, World Rankings World Data Atlas Sources United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report, 2021-22 Statistical Update Cuba Cuba Citizens in a poor country with low inequality are equitably poor. Dixie Edith, Censo de poblacin: Cuba bajo la lupa, Bohemia (Havana, December 23, 2005): 1214. . 24. Despite the fragmentary nature of the information, it suggests that massive differences in income have grown between whites and non-whites in contemporary Cuba. Without the ability to address the affect of racism and racial history on society and the economy, issues surrounding income inequality, poverty, lack of education and lack of access to healthcare cannot be addressed appropriately. Inequality in the US has been growing substantially in recent decades. "Gender gap index in Cuba from 2014 to 2021." Methodology & Library Full dataset. Stagnant state wages have also shut many Cubans out of the real estate market that emerged after the government allowed the buying and selling of homes last year, said Carmelo Mesa-Lago, an emeritus professor at the University of Pittsburgh who has long studied the Cuban economy. Although it is possible that the Special Period began to erode previous levels of racial equality in education, the information available suggests that major differences in educational achievement according to race had not developed as late as the year 2000. 10. International Cuba - Statistics & Facts Located in the Caribbean, Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Blue, The Erosion of Racial Equality in Post-Soviet Cuba, Latin American Politics and Society 49, no. In Cuba, 70% of those employed are state workers who receive a salary. Perfect equality would earn a 0 on the index and complete inequality a .99. [1] Above 50% Between 45% and 50% Between 40% and 45% Between 35% and 40% Between 30% and 35% Below 30% No data This is a list of countries or dependencies by income inequality metrics, including Gini coefficients. Income disparities are linked to remittances and therefore to the composition of the Cuban diaspora, but remittances are not the only, perhaps not even the main, cause of income inequalities by race. These shantytowns are all over Latin America, and Cubas attempt with revolution to solve that inequality succeeded to a certain degree for a time. Your email address will not be published. Income inequality gap remains significant both between and within countries. 2. We find, nonetheless, that an expanding and strikingly racialized private sector is fueling dramatic income inequality by skin color beyond the reach of official census data. State foreign exchange shops opened, family businesses were allowed and the country opened up to foreign tourism and investment as Castro tried to stave off a complete collapse of the economy. All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Here, again, several recent studies confirm what many testimonies and some opinion surveys had been telling us since the mid-1990s: that non-whites have had extremely limited access to these jobs.11 As early as 1994, an opinion survey conducted in Havana and the city of Santiago de Cuba showed that 40% of respondents agreed that blacks had a considerably more difficult time getting jobs in the tourist sector than whites.12 Cuban researchers have furthermore found that blacks and mulatos are grossly underrepresented in the tourist sector, particularly in the most prestigious positions, such as those in management or those that require technical expertise.13. Racism is often ignored within Cuban history and policy; Cuba is 64% white, and there has been continuous speculation surrounding census counts, where scholars believe nonwhite Cubans are being undercounted (Bodenheimer). How does it change over time? Who spends the longest time in retirement? [CDATA[// >