Things are looking up for the citizens of Cuba, who—after getting the “right” to buy mobile phones, microwaves, and other electronic goods— can now legally own home computers for the first time. Good news for poor Cubans, who are still living under the bloody tyranny of the Castro Bros. and the destructive U.S. blockade. The catch: still no access to the Internet (not to mention most basic Human Rights.)
We don’t know whether to laugh or cry, but the people of Cuba today finally get the proud first-world privilege of 2-year carrier contracts, overpriced text messages, data service they’ll never use and half-empty buckets of minutes that will surely run out by the middle of the month. Until now, Cuba had the lowest mobile phone usage in Latin America, because individuals could only get cell service via their jobs or foreign carriers, but now the new Cuban prez, Fidel’s brother Raul, says it’s okay for everyone to jump in and cell up. Question is, how many can afford it? [Reuters; AP]
