Desde Dentro de Cuba.

Distribuido por Cuba Free Press, Inc. - http://www.cubafreepress.org

21 de septiembre de 1999

FORMER OFFICIAL SAYS REGULATORY SYSTEM ABUSIVE By Jorge Diego Rodríguez, Cuba Free Press.

HAVANA - A former official whose job it was to collect fines in Caibarien, Villa Clara province, in central Cuba has revealed abuses in the enforcement of regulations dealing with the self-employed. Among the examples he cited:

a) The operator of a kiosk was fined 600 pesos when authoarities found his daughter washing glassware. The self-employed may not hire others since that would constitute exploitation, according to the government.

b) A retired policeman was fined 1,500 pesos for selling vegetables from his home.

c)m A woman of meager resources was fined for selling coffee from her home.

Despite such punitive measures, Cubans continue risking the fines to either supplement official salaries or scrounge a living outside government employment.

Jorge Diego Rodríguez, Cuba Free Press.