From our Bureau of Socialist Price Gouging with some assistance from our Bureau of Socialist Social Justice, Equity and Inclusion and our Bureau of Thinly-Camouflaged Socialist Government Monopolies
Another fake “private” business has opened it doors in Havana. While the international news media see this as a sure sign of creeping capitalism in Cuba, the natives know better.
This is another Castro, Inc. establishment camouflaged as private enterprise. And, as is always the case with any such establishment, it aims to serve oligarchs and foreigners rather than Cubans. Apartheid, pure and simple.
Who else in Cuba can afford to shell out nearly 200 pesos (over $8 USD) for a skimpy one-scoop ice cream cone? According to a recent report, Cuban incomes remain abysmally low. :
The minimum wage is set at 2,100 Pesos per month ($88 USD).
The average salary is around 4,000 Pesos per month. ($167 USD)
The average retirement pension is 1,528 Pesos per month. ($64 USD)
Social justice, social justice! No justice, no peace! No justice, no ice cream for you, peasants! As Trucutú Díaz-Canel would say: “Plenti ov aiscrin for yu lofli Caney-dians, an olso ol turiss fron capitaliss kontriss . . gui lof yu bicoss yu jaf moni an arr supirior jiumans, yoss laik oss sosialiss rulers… “.
Abridged from 14yMedio via Translating Cuba
A scoop of ice cream is a good indicator of the rate of inflation in Cuba. After being closed for more than a year, the former BimBom — previously one of Havana’s most popular meeting spots — had a sort of dress rehearsal on Friday in anticipation of its latest reopening. With a pushcart, an umbrella and a new name, Bueníssimo Soderia Gourmet will soon begin selling its ice cream at prices that startled the first curious onlookers who stopped to check it out.
“They say it’s a local business but at those prices…” says one startled woman as she quickly walks away from the cart at the entrance to the store, located at 23 Infanta Street in Vedado. An artisanal scoop of chocolate, strawberry, yogurt or berry ice cream cones goes for a hefty 195 pesos.
It already promises to top the list of privately managed businesses that have opened recently in central Havana whose prices seem more geared to tourists than to locals. According to the pushcart vendor, the store — it has been undergoing renovation for several months and construction workers can still be seen coming and going — is expected to open at the end of the month.
BimBom’s latest reopening could signal a resurgence of privately-run businesses in this Havana enclave. Whether or not it succeeds given its high prices remains a mystery. About a mile and a half away, on San Rafael Street in Central Havana, is Monte Freddo, an ice cream parlor with a product superior to that of Bueníssimo, where two scoops go for 330 pesos.
whole story HERE
In a way, the regime subliminally tells Cubans that if they want to live like normal people, they need to leave–so they can return with real money and patronize “elite” eating establishments, where they can also take their poor relatives on the island (not to mention send them regular remittances of money and goods).
The “diaspora” assistance racket is pure cynical exploitation, but it works, and that’s all that matters.