Interview with Ana Antonewna Aguilar

Tell us about yourself and your family.

My name is Ana Antonewna Aguilar, and I live in Havana. I was born in the Ukraine in 1981. My mother is Russian and my father is Cuban. He studied in Kiev to become a pilot. They got to know each other, and shortly after, I was born. When I was a year and eight months old, we came to Havana, Cuba, and I grew up here.

I have a big family. My paternal grandparents live with us. I have a husband, a daughter, and my mother. Our roots are not in Havana. My father’s family is from Holguín. My family is super revolutionary. All of them have been involved in the party and the federation here in Cuba. My father chose a military career, my uncle was a military doctor. This is the credo in this house: we believe in the revolution.

My husband and I have different beliefs. My husband also comes from a family that has taken part in the clandestine fights for what was then called the Cuban revolution. His mother was even imprisoned because she was involved in the revolution and carried out important tasks. They have always defended the revolution. But despite all that, they never owned a lot. But perhaps this is why my husband grew up more of a rebel. Since he was young, he wanted to emigrate, he did not have it easy. Maybe this is why he often has a different opinion than I. We often get into fights about this topic.

How does socialism play out in your daily life? How do you see Cuba right now?

I have always lived in Cuba and therefore I cannot really compare it with life in other places. We do not have pure socialism anymore. There is no equality. Before it seemed that everyone had the same, there were no options. It was what it was. We all had about the same. Now, social classes are more defined. There are no rich people, one cannot say that. But there are poor people and there is a middle class. This is clearly visible. We can have a business now. That brings in more money. The principal form of income is tourism. Whoever has access to that, those who have a house in which they can rent out a room, has a bit more disposable income. Because it is very hard to live off a salary that comes from the state. It is simply not enough to pay for anything.

Are the benefits of socialism genuine?

Yes, they are. Since I was little. It is a right and an obligation. All citizens have access to education. I, for example, well, I am kind of incomplete. I started to study law. I never finished the degree because I did not want to. I had some problems. I had a baby and it all became a bit vague. But whoever wants to have a career, it is free of charge all the way. The state gives you the opportunity to study.

And health, that too. You can go to any hospital when you are ill. It does not matter what your social status is, you will always be attended to. This goes as far as receiving treatment for terminal diseases – and this is very expensive in other parts of the world. We have this thanks to the revolution.

There is a system of general practitioners, and everyone has a family doctor. In many places, there is a nurse who lives in the building and is the first point of contact for the neighbors. Every two years, women have an overall medical exam. They have regular exams from when they are three months pregnant. The birth takes place in a hospital, and it is all free of charge. Do you know what this would cost elsewhere?

And we do have what is called a food quota. People do not die from hunger. This is just not the case in Cuba. We have a minimum quota that assures that there is always bread on the table.

Claudia Sandberg talked to Ana Aguilar in Havana in April 2019.