Cuba: Living in a socialist paradise

HAVANA, May 3 (Moisés Leonardo Rodríguez Valdés, Grupo Decoro / www.cubanet.org) - Police stopped a bus, made all passengers get off, and searched them three times last Tuesday, all in the space of a 60-mile trip between San Cristóbal, in Pinar del Río province and the city of Havana.

Felipe Gavilla, who lives near San Cristóbal, said they were first searched just outside of town, then a short while later in Candelaria, and finally in Artemisa, closer to Havana.

Five passengers were arrested in Candelaria, after the second search, and taken away in patrol cars. Police said nothing to indicate what they were looking for.

Generally, police search buses serving inter-provincial routes, and especially those inbound to Havana, looking for merchandise which it is forbidden to transport, such as cheese, coffee, rat poison and cockroach powder.

Most people transporting these goods do so to eke out a meager income, expecting to sell home-made cheeses, or other agricultural products in the city.

The goods, once found, are confiscated and those carrying them are fined between 500 and 1,500 pesos. The average monthly salary in Cuba is 250 pesos.

By the sweat of their brow Cubans shall eat bread ... only if the state allows them.