Guantánamo
(pop. 180,000), capital of its namesake province, is among
the larger capital cities in Cuba. As with the rest of the
province, Guantánamo's local economy has been visibly
affected by the U.S. economic blockade.
Is
not a very touristical place, but worth the visit while passing
it driving from Santiago
de Cuba to Baracoa
Guantánamo
is nationally of some importance as an industrial city; as
Cuba's economy attempts to diversify, Guantánamo has
undergone rapid growth. Unfortunately, the scarcity of government
funds have resulted in cramped housing projects and neighborhoods
which as closely resemble the U.S.' urban slums as.
The
United
States maintains a military base which it reserved as part
of treaties signed at the end of the Spanish-American
War.
While Cuban President Fidel
Castro considers the U.S. military presence in Guantánamo
to be an outrage, he is powerless to remove it. The U.S. pays
about US$4,000 annually as a lease for the land; Fidel Castro refuses to accept the money as a matter of
national pride and integrity. This is about the only action
he can take, however, since the U.S. lease can be terminated
only by mutual consent.
Despite
Fidel's ideological outrage, most residents of Guantánamo
are not concerned with the base and go about their daily lives
as if there were no U.S. military presence. |
