Hiding the Merchandise

Hiding the Merchandise / Rosa Maria Rodriguez
Posted on April 20, 2013

On two occasions in Guanabo, a seaside town east of Havana, the
authorities launched an action against the vendors who gather at 5th
Avenue and C; but this Saturday there were much more despotic and cruel,
because along with the abuse, the seized the goods of the self-employed.

Local residents and those of us who learned of the abuse wonder why they
confiscate things from people that they had to pay for. Residents also
question why they are now forbidden to sell on the town's main street,
with the coming of the season when the place is full of Cubans who go
there to swim and they may find it easier to sell their products.

As usual, the police don't give explanations about the change and nor do
they give any reason for the abuse or the use the expropriated goods are
put to. What they do make clear is that they have no interest in
promoting trade and supporting the vendors.

It came to mind, in contrast, how the merchants on 23rd or on G, in
Havana, are permitted and no one comes and throws them off those
streets. The answer may be that it is easier to abuse people and violate
their rights on the outskirts of the city, away from witnesses and
bystanders of all colors and influences, and far from embassies and
tourists with cameras.

18 April 2013

http://translatingcuba.com/hiding-the-merchandise-rosa-maria-rodriguez/