Cuba's Neighborhood Watch Groups Remain Active

HAVANA — The ancient loudspeaker bolted to the wall above the sidewalk crackles with feedback as a crowd of about two dozen neighbors joins in singing the Cuban national anthem.

Next, a young girl dressed in her uniform from the "Young Pioneers" – a communist group for kids – sings a patriotic song about the glories of Fidel Castro's 1959 Revolution, drawing applause from the group as her proud mother beams.

The meeting in an Old Havana block of one of Cuba's ubiquitous Committees for the Defense of the Revolution comes as Cuba is transitioning to the post-Fidel era, a process made official with the Feb. 24 installation of Castro's brother, Raul, as Cuba's president.

Long a mainstay of the island's communist system, the committees may play a key role in guaranteeing that Cuba remains stable during the change in leadership.

For nearly 50 years, the groups have served as the regime's eyes and ears on the streets, keeping tabs on nearly every one of Cuba's 11 million citizens. They also provide a forum for complaints and suggestions, a rudimentary system of neighborhood defense and a conduit for the state to educate the masses in communist ideals.

But even as Cuba enters a new era, it seems clear that the revolutionary zeal that once fired the groups has waned, at least in some places. There are rumors of falling participation and lackluster leadership in some of the groups, and an exposé on state-run television last fall criticized some of the committees for failing to meet requirements to organize overnight sentries in their neighborhoods.

In private, some Cubans disdain the groups, saying many people skip the meetings and pay scant attention to their revolutionary slogans at a time when everyone on the island, it seems, is focused on the day-to-day struggle to make ends meet.

But no such opinions surfaced at the meeting of Committee 4 in Zone 26 of Old Havana, which calls itself the Enrique Valdes Morgado Committee in honor of a fallen hero of the Revolution. The gathering was an odd mix of neighborly gripe-session, grass-roots organization and the kind of zealous patriotism that makes some people flush with pride while others appear to be simply mouthing the slogans.

"We are an assembly of combatants," said Leonardo Tracter Jordan, provincial coordinator for all the committees in Havana, who gave the local group a pep-talk. "You are part of a mass organization with more than 8 million members. For 48 years you have interacted in this neighborhood to confirm its unity with the Cuban people. Viva Fidel!"

After preliminaries that included a young man reading a supportive letter the group had mailed to five Cubans imprisoned in the U.S. after their convictions on espionage conspiracy charges, the group's leaders got down to business.

One read a report on recent activities, noting that the local group led the area in blood donations, an announcement that drew loud applause. The report also pointed out that while recent participation was only 61 percent, the ones who have been inactive were mostly old, ill or working in other provinces.

During an open comment period, the group's members were asked to detail the problems they see facing their neighborhood. The most complaints were about people playing loud music, especially young men pedaling bicycle taxis down the block. The leaders said they would form a delegation to take up the issue with local police and speak with the offenders.

One man also complained about sanitation.

"More political energy is needed against the people who throw garbage," he said, a comment duly noted by the leaders, who nodded their heads in agreement.

When it came time to elect new leaders, a slate of candidates prepared by the current panel was elected, unanimously, by a show of hands.

The hour-long meeting was an example of what happens in nearly every neighborhood across Cuba. Formed shortly after Castro's Revolution, the committees initially focused on identifying counter-revolutionaries among their ranks, posting sentries and preparing for what Castro constantly warned might be a U.S. invasion.

Over the years, the committees became a vital tool for Cuban state security. Neighbors report on anybody expressing anti-Revolutionary opinions, and recommendations from committee leaders are still considered essential for people hoping to find new jobs or move to a new area.

Today the committees stand at something of a crossroads, like the rest of Cuba. With Fidel Castro retiring but turning over power to his brother, the island's leadership remains committed to the communist system. But Raul Castro has also spoken publicly about the need to address Cuba's problems, including low salaries, limited opportunities and a scarcity of affordable consumer goods.

While some Cubans seem to long for a break with the past which the committees represent, others say they see the groups as essential for Cuba's future.

"The committees are a perfect structure," said Pedro Pablo Perez, director of a national museum that showcases the history of the groups. "It's a way for neighbors to work out their problems, to work on things among themselves. Fidel has said the committees are the spine of the Revolution, and we believe that will always be true."

Maria de Los Angeles Morales, a member of the local Old Havana group, agreed.

"I was so poor as a girl my parents couldn't afford to send me to school," said Morales, 63. "Thanks to the Revolution I am someone. My son is a university graduate and a member of the Communist Party. I will defend this Revolution with the last drop of my blood."