CUBA: A Curious Style of Socialism

The well-publicized three-day visit to Cuba by Senators Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island and Jacob Javits of New York was not only a diplomatic icebreaker; it had at least one notable side effect as well. The Senators were accompanied by 29 U.S. newsmen, who were allowed a rare firsthand look at life under Cuban socialism. Among them was TIME'S diplomatic editor, Jerrold L. Schecter, who toured the island on his own after the Senators flew home and last week filed this report from Havana:

After 15 years of revolution, Fidel Castro's Cuba has developed self-confidence and independence despite its heavy debt (at least $4 billion) to the Soviet Union. Living conditions are difficult but improving. In Havana today there is more talk of exporting sugar, lobster tails and shrimp to Europe than about exporting revolution.

Fidel, as Cubans call him, still sets the standards. He holds tightly to the reins of power, although he relies heavily on Deputy Premier Carlos Rafael Rodriguez for advice on economics and foreign policy. His personal popularity remains high because he mixes easily with his people and moves about the countryside to supervise new projects under development. Castro now seems confident enough to experiment with local elections—Matanzas Province chose a new people's assembly last June—and he has promised that the first Cuban Communist Party Congress will be held next year.

Blood Donations. There is less romanticism now and more realism. The guerrilla mentality is passing; at a recent mass rally, Castro was the only Cuban leader who wore a uniform; the others were dressed in business suits and ties. The Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, whose original function was to control the population through vigilante and community spying activities, has broadened its work. Inoculations for children, blood donations, used-bottle collections and clean streets are now the primary tasks of C.D.R. block committees.

Cuban socialism is a curious mixture of voluntarism and paternalism. Farmers are asked to give up their land for fully furnished apartments with TV sets and refrigerators, the most highly prized consumer goods in Cuba. "Historic wages," meaning old salaries of up to 600 pesos a month ($720), are still paid to certain professionals, although the majority of the people earn between 127 and 300 pesos a month.

Since 1970's economic near-disaster, when Castro exhorted Cubans to produce 10 million tons of sugar and failed, agriculture has been diversified. New roads course through the green country as rice fields, fruit groves and cattle farms are developed. This year the soaring price of sugar will give Cuba an estimated $2 billion bonus—if the crop is as large as last year's 6 million tons.