Det Progressiva USA

Internet på Kuba

November 19th, 2006

Kuba har länge haft en av de högsta läskunnigheterna i Latinamerika. Det kan därför tyckas underligt att landet ligger så långt efter i användingen av Internet, endast 2% av landets innevånare har tillgång till epost eller kan surfa, ens på tillåtna sajter.

Men den kubanska regeringen verkar nu inse att landet riskerar att halka efter rejält om befolkningen inte lär sig använda det livsviktiga Internet och Internetkaféer börjar långsamt dyka upp litet här och där.

Los Angeles Times rapporterar att det kubanska folket nu håller på att få bättre tillgång till Interner, om än i starkt censurerad form: Cuba inches into the Internet Age. As more access is granted to a citizenry that’s been left behind, users are well aware that they’re being watched:

Less than 2% of the country’s 11.4 million citizens have Internet access.

But in apparent recognition of the risks of being left on the sidelines of the global cyber-revolution, the state-owned telecommunications monopoly in recent months has expanded Internet access points, allowing broader use of the Web, or at least its ideologically vetted venues.

Internet cafes, called Correos de Cuba, have cropped up in busy districts of the capital, allowing those who can afford the minimum $1.70 for an hour of slow-speed e-mail access to at least get acquainted with computerized communication. For a little more than $5 an hour, an international connection can be made, allowing the user to browse most websites, though Big Brother may be watching.

“I just use it to send simple personal messages: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘The weather is terrible.’ ‘Kiss the children for me,’ ” said Ricardo, an artist whose emigre son procured his e-mail address for him outside the state-supervised system. “You don’t go into details or talk about anything sensitive. You don’t know who is reading what you write.”

Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based journalism advocacy group, conducted an undercover survey in Cuba of Internet restrictions from mid-August to mid-September. Freelance reporter Claire Voeux visited dozens of Internet cafes and business centers, experiencing a contradictory array of blocked sites and security warnings.

Den kubanska regeringen verkar följa den kinesiska ekonomiska modellen med en öppnare ekonomi som åtföljs av en enpartistat och tillgång till Internet i starkt censurerad form. José de Cordoba har skrivit om den nya kubanska ekonomiska modellen i Wall Street Journal, 15/11, sid A1: Guns and Butter. Cuba’s military puts business on front lines. Under Castro’s brother, army built joint-venture empire; from hotels to dolphins. Required reading, Tom Peters.

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