Can Cubans afford the new toys?
For most, the right to own a computer, for example, will mean nothing in reality. Such products are out of reach in a country where the average salary is $17 a month. A night at a hotel costs well over $100, or more than five times the monthly pay. The motorbikes on display in the mechanic shop are priced at between $750 and $2,000. At the electronics shop, one woman burst into laughter when asked whether she was there to purchase a DVD player. “I’m just here to look,” she says, eyeing the $130 price tag. Still, the announcement sends a message of flexibility. “The reforms introduced seem designed to make ordinary daily life easier,” says William LeoGrande, a Cuba expert at American University in Washington. “It also shows a degree of political confidence, that they can open up information flows and that it won’t threaten them.” If the bans on owning a computer or DVD player seem anachronistic to many Cubans, many say the reform they most welcome is the freedom to stay in hotels, even
