Summary
Overview
Planet Money explores Cuba's economic crisis through the lens of a bicycle tour operator in Havana, tracing the country's decades-long experiment oscillating between communist solidarity and capitalist experimentation. As U.S. oil embargoes create devastating blackouts and halt tourism, the episode examines how Cuba's dual strategy of relying on communist allies and flirting with free markets has collapsed, leaving businesses struggling and citizens fleeing.
Cuba's Current Crisis and Daily Life During Blackouts
The episode opens with Cuba facing its worst crisis in decades as U.S. oil embargoes create frequent, prolonged blackouts across the island. Citizens struggle with basic tasks, charging phones only when electricity randomly returns, often cooking in the middle of the night. A bicycle tour operator named Yasser González Cabrera shares voice notes describing how every aspect of life has been affected, from his inability to reach customers to his parents going to bed at sunset in rural areas with even worse power access.
- Since January, the U.S. has been preventing almost all oil from reaching Cuba, causing frequent nationwide blackouts
- People can only charge phones for about two hours a day and cook or work when electricity randomly returns, often in the middle of the night
- Rural areas face even worse conditions, with some people going to bed at 7pm when the sun goes down
- Yasser González Cabrera, a bicycle business owner, hasn't had a paying customer all year and sees no future for his work
" No veo un futuro. He doesn't see any future. "
The Communist Foundation: Cuba's Alliance with the Soviet Union
After the 1959 revolution led by Fidel Castro, Cuba became a fully communist state just 90 miles from the U.S. during the Cold War, triggering the mother of all embargoes. Cuba relied completely on its communist compadre, the Soviet Union, which bought Cuban goods above market value and sold oil below market value. For decades, this system provided Cubans with basics like shelter, food rations, free healthcare, and education, though they remained poor by Western standards.
- Before 1959, Cuba was run by a dictator and American companies controlled most sugar fields, refineries, railroads, hotels, and casinos
- The Cuban revolution created a 100% communist economy where everyone was employed by the government, which set wages and controlled everything through ration books
- The Soviet Union bought Cuban goods above market value and sold oil below market value in exchange for access to an island 90 miles from the United States
- Cuba developed strong healthcare and education systems with Soviet support, covering basics for even the poorest citizens
" With help from the Soviets, Cuba developed a strong health care and education system. The poor in Cuba, they had their basics covered. Like shelter, sufficient food through the rationing book, you could always send your children to school and you were taken care of if you got ill because health care was accessible and free of charge. "
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