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American Morning
Carter to Have 'Full Access' to Cuba
Aired May 13, 2002 - 09:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We are going to move along to the latest out of Cuba right now. Former President Jimmy Carter is going to visit a biotechnology institute in Havana today, and our Kate Snow is on the ground in Havana with the very latest -- Kate, good morning.
KATE SNOW, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Paula. We are here in Havana. I want to show you the latest headline, the local communist newspaper that they get is called "La Granma." Look at the headline here. It says, "Las Puertas de Cuba Estan Abiertas:" The doors of Cuba are open. They are very excited about the visit of president Jimmy Carter. By the way, not easy to get a morning paper here. We had to send three people out, we just got one two minutes ago, so it is not an easy thing to find.
We also have some news to tell you about. We have some video that just came in of President Carter this morning. He had a breakfast meeting with two leading dissidents here in Cuba. We understand this was not previously scheduled. President Carter called them around midnight last night and asked if they could have breakfast this morning.
One is the leader of one of the largest human rights groups here in Cuba, known most -- known well outside country, of course, and the other man is in charge of a petition drive, called the Barilla (ph) project, something they just did on Friday. This was a project to gather signatures on a petition. They got 11,000 signatures, and they turned that petition over to the government on Friday. It demands a referendum on human rights, something that would be a real first here in this country.
Last night, Carter had dinner with Fidel Castro. I understand that dinner went very well. I'm told that it went until 1:00 a.m. They started round 9:00 p.m., so it went rather late into the night. Good conversation, I'm told.
Paula, in addition to following President Carter around town, and his visit here for the week, we have also been out on the streets trying to get a sense of what life is like here in Cuba, and one thing that you -- it is really interesting, you discover this right away, is the power of the U.S. dollar. Back in 1993, they started allowing Cubans to use U.S. dollars on the street, and the dollar is really king here, so much so that people will do almost anything to make a buck.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): In Old Havana, with its crumbling colonial facades, on a narrow street, down a dark hallway, the set welcomes visitors. For about 25 bucks a night, she rents out a room in her apartment.
Her visitors are from all over, she tells me. The symbol on the door means she has a license to charge them in dollars. If you make dollars, she says, it is a lot easier to get by.
The bathroom is 1958, but the newer furnishings were bought with green backs, and she is not the only one on the block offering a room.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in Spanish)
SNOW (on camera): Three, four, five, six rooms.
(voice-over): Dollars have created a parallel economy in Cuba. Cuban workers can spend their peso salaries, on average the equivalent of $12 a month, but only on certain things.
The bread you get with pesos or a government ration card is nothing compared to the sweets on display at a dollar bakery. If you have dollars, you can fill up with higher quality gas, buy a stove or dishwasher, and check out this dollar mall in central Havana. From perfume to shoes, even sinks, tubs, and tires for sale.
(on camera): Dollars are so important, Cubans have found all sorts of creative ways to earn them. Some of them legal, some of them illegal, like selling counterfeit cigars, or pirated videotapes or CDs. We talked to one man who sells CDs. We agreed not to use his name, or show his face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I can buy them for $2, then sell for 4 or 5. You understand? It is survival.
SNOW (voice-over): A lot of people do it, he tells us, life is hard here. On Obisco (ph) Street, a man approaches to ask if he can take me to a restaurant inside someone's home. They are called paladares (ph). Yamila (ph), a former systems analyst, and her husband Pepin (ph), a former mechanical engineer, quit their jobs when they got a restaurant license. It allows them to seat only 12. They pay extra for the sign out front, and they can only charge in pesos, which they quickly convert to dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): What does it mean? First and foremost, have an economic independence. That is important, to meet your needs, the basic and the not so basic.
SNOW: For many Cubans, economic independence means the freedom to make and spend a buck. Not every Cuban has access to dollars, but for many, it is a way of life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Back here live in Cuba, we wanted to tell you a little bit about where we are. We are down on something called the Malecon, this is a major thoroughfare, this boulevard behind me. It is really well- known in Cuba, in Havana, too. People come down here, they stroll among the Malecon, you can also -- I don't know if you can make out, there are people swimming down there off of the reef there, and there is a sea wall here -- but look at how high it is. A lot of times, the water will come rushing up and go right into the street there, because the sea wall isn't really that high. People fish off of this area, and they just generally stroll here at night, families, and I'm told couples often have their first kiss down here, too.
Take a look also at -- this is Old Havana, the section that we are in. It is called Habana Vieja, and you can see that they are doing a lot to repair the buildings here. You see some scaffolding there in the background over in that direction, and some buildings that sort of torn apart here. They are trying to really renovate and bring in a lot more tourist dollars, Paula, something that is very important to the Cuban government, they think that is the key for them to economic prosperity -- Back to you.
ZAHN: Yes, it was interesting when you showed pictures of that one woman's apartment, where she is actually renting out rooms. It reminded me much of what -- we have seen hotels where things are just sort of frozen in time. You are talking about that tile from the mid- 50s.
I want to move on quickly.
SNOW: Yes. Exactly. I am looking to see if there are any cars -- I am looking to see if there are any 50s cars going by right now. They go by all the time.
ZAHN: Yes, it is like you can see every model ever made in the 50s.
Kelly Wallace is reporting out of the White House that the president is sort of putting finishing touches right now a policy speech he is going to make on Cuba, where he is considering even tightening travel restrictions to Cuba, and giving more support to Cuban dissidents. Just wondering if there is any preliminary reaction to that.
SNOW: Reaction? No, you know what's interesting here, Paula, it is not like there is a White House press office that you can call and get reaction to things like that. I mean, we are aware, because it is our own reporting, we are aware of that story out last night, but, you know, who knows if the Cuban Castro government is aware, and until we hear from Castro again publicly, which maybe will be later on today, we may not know their reaction. It is not like there is a place you can call, and ask them for reaction to that kind of news.
I would think they wouldn't react very well to it. They have been very upset with the Bush administration, calling saying that Cuba may have access to biological weapons. Yesterday, Castro said that Carter would have full and complete access here, to anyone, and any place that he wants to visit -- Paula.
ZAHN: All right, Kate Snow, enjoy the Malecon.
SNOW: OK.
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