March 07, 2005
The Honeymoon is Over
CNN's Lucia Newman and fidel castro have lover's spat.
I dont think I've ever seen a more (or any) critical report from CNN's Havana Correspondent Lucia Newman on Cuba:
03/03/05 - CNN - Cuba Lays Down the Law to Its Tourism IndustryLucia Newman
CNN: Live at Daybreak
.
COSTELLO: Cuba's government is basically telling tourists to keep their
distance, not from the island, but from the Cuban people.
CNN Havana bureau chief Lucia Newman looks at the new non-contact policy.(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Havana's arts and crafts fair is packed with tourists from nearby beach resorts, like Donna from Canada, who came to Cuba not just for sun and sand, but to meet the people.
DONNA: And my parents have been here nine times. And they love the people.
NEWMAN: Well, getting to know them won't be that easy anymore. A new tourismministry regulation prohibits employees from having any contact of a
personal nature with foreigners, be they tourists or ex- pats. It goes
beyond the normal rules that apply to hotel staff around the world. No
gifts, no tips. And here everyone from the waiter to tourism executives have
72 hours to inform a superior of any non-professional contact that even a
member of their family has had with a foreigner.
Most Cubans that tourists meet while at resorts are employed by the tourism
ministry.DONNA: So we've enjoyed becoming friends with the local people. So if
they're limited, it's going to affect how they interact with the tourists.NEWMAN: If a foreigner says anything derogatory about the Cuban government, employees of Cuba's largest industry, tourism, are now obliged to report it. This Canadian couple is stunned.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's communist so I guess that's -- they want to rule
your life. And it's very unfortunate.NEWMAN: The new resolution requires a witness being present during business
negotiations with foreigners, who manage most Cuban hotels. No one would
talk to us on camera.(on camera): But off camera, both Cuban and foreign staff have plenty to
say, and none of it good. Some even comparing the new measures to the
Chinese Cultural Revolution. And what everyone seems to agree on is that the
attempt to regulate contact between foreigners and Cubans won't work.
(voice-over): With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba turned to tourism,
a necessary evil, said Fidel Castro, that contaminates Cuban society with
capitalist vices and stimulates corruption. Now, to reign in that corruption
that comes with two million visitors a year, authorities are trying to turn
the clock back to the old days, when Cubans didn't mix with foreigners from
capitalist countries.Lucia Newman, CNN, Havana
A Canadian couple is STUNNED!!! STUNNED I tell you! STUNNED that they, as tourists, are referred to as corrupt and "evil" by fidel castro!!!! And here they were traveling to Cuba so many times over so many years under the pretext that they were actually helping the Cuban people!
Oh well. Pass the sunblock, Jacques.
Thanks to Phil P. for the heads up.
Posted by Val Prieto at March 7, 2005 04:26 PM
Comments
No tips allowed and no chit chat with the locals! Castro, who has always sought his own counsel, gave himself some very bad advice on this one. Trying to shut off contact between Cubans and foreigners after the tourism genie is out of the bottle for so many years just won't work. It won't will stick for very long without some severe financial and political repurcussions. Who knows what's next. This kind of action can onlt play into the hands of the Bush administration.
Posted by: CousinBrucie at March 7, 2005 07:42 PM
"Who knows what's next. This kind of action can onlt (sic) play into the hands of the Bush administration."
From your mouth to God's ear.
Posted by: Grace at March 7, 2005 08:46 PM
The genie WAS out of the bottle before Jan 1 1959 and it did not matter. What makes this time any different?
When he controls all aspects of life and can shut the light on and off as he wishes. Total control at his whim.
Maybe he is just positioning himself and consolidating control for the future and total cubanization a la castro of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina etc.. Hmmmm?
Posted by: cohetedude at March 7, 2005 10:41 PM
Amen, Grace.
Hey, I was surprised the story even came out. Doesn't CNN have any republicans to hack on this week?
Posted by: caltechgirl at March 7, 2005 10:42 PM
Y Cuba sigue parte del UN Human rights committee? Ojala que our new ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, se mete la tángana a este escandalo.
Posted by: Songuacassal at March 8, 2005 01:26 AM
"It's communist so I guess that's -- they want to rule your life."
No shit. Just figuring that out, Canada?
Posted by: j.scott barnard at March 8, 2005 09:42 AM