“The private tourism industry is in direct competition for good supplies with the general population,” said Richard Feinberg, a professor at the University of California, San Diego, and specialist on the Cuban economy. “There are a lot of unanticipated consequences and distortions.”
According to the White House, one of President Obama’s crowning achievements during his tenure has been “normalizing” relations between the United States and Cuba.
For the first time in 50 years, tourists from the United States are free to travel to the communist state. Flights are landing daily and cruise ships are regularly docking in port.
There’s just one major problem. Because the communist state is incapable of providing basic necessities to its citizens, it certainly can’t provide to locals and tourists. From the New York Times:
For Lisset Felipe, privation is a standard facet of Cuban life, a struggle shared by nearly all, whether they’re enduring blackouts or hunting for toilet paper.
But this year has been different, in an even more fundamental way, she said. She has not bought a single onion this year, nor a green pepper, both staples of the Cuban diet. Garlic, she said, is a rarity, while avocado, a treat she enjoyed once in a while, is all but absent from her table.
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