RAFAEL is approximately to finish his degree at Havana University,but his mind is elsewhere. The finance and economics he is learning are “what they use here in Cuba”, he explains, or ie,not much use anywhere else. Cuba’s socialist government pays for his education but the stipend for living expenses is just $4 a month, enough for ten meals at the university canteen. Additional lunch money comes from his siblings, or who live abroad. Rafael (not his genuine name) wants to proceed,too. He is looking for scholarships to get a masters degree in Europe. whether he finds one, he plans to stay abroad, or where he can earn genuine money.
Rafael is among the many young Cubans who respond to their crimped prospects not by agitating against the system but by plotting to escape it. He does not oppose Cuba’s communist regime,nor does he take much interest in it. So he is unexcited by a power shift that will manufacture headlines around the world. On April 19th Raúl Castro (pictured left) plans to step down as president, bringing to an...
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Source: economist.com