Changes since then include more tourism and some U.S. food

By TRACEY EATON / The Dallas Morning News

HAVANA – Frustrated and angry, Cubans took to the streets 10 years ago today, breaking windows and looting stores in the worst civil disturbances the island had seen since the 1959 revolution.

In the weeks that followed, thousands of Cubans climbed onto flimsy rafts bound for Florida, triggering another crisis in U.S.-Cuban relations.

Now the dog days of summer have arrived again. Cubans continue enduring economic hardship, power failures, $12-per-month wages and transportation woes.

But there's peace and not chaos in the Old Havana neighborhood where the riots began. Vendors sell mangos and carve wooden trinkets for tourists. Middle-aged men play spirited games of dominoes. And grade-schoolers in red-and-white uniforms hold hands as they scamper along the sidewalk.

Gone are many of the black-market businesses that once flourished. And gone are the vast majority of the prostitutes, petty thieves and male hustlers who worked the Malecón, Havana's seaside highway.

"We live in tranquility. We're not rich, but we're happy," said Ramón Ortiz, who sells fish and chicken at a neighborhood shop. "I have no desire to leave my country. I have everything I need right here."

Cuba has evolved. Tourism has replaced sugar as the main industry, and more than 2 million visitors are expected this year. Despite the hardships faced by Cubans, domestic oil production is up, and power outages are not as frequent. Farm cooperatives are producing record crops. And Cuba is buying hundreds of millions of dollars in food from United States, everything from crisp Washington apples to Pringles potato chips.

On the streets of Old Havana, some Cubans aren't too upbeat.

Jeramiah, 28, said he feels trapped.

"If you want food, you need dollars. But if I help a tourist carry his backpack or take him to a restaurant to earn a tip, the police hassle me," said Jeramiah, who said he didn't want his last name used for fear of going to jail.

"There are no riots today because there are so many police," he said. "Havana has a population of 2 million. And to me, it seems like there are 1 million police, a half million tourists and a half million regular Cubans."

No one protests "because the laws are very severe," said Omar, 32, who declined to give his last name. "You commit the smallest of crimes, and they throw a bunch of jail time at you."

He runs a private chair-repair business and worries that a new law may put him out of business. But he said he's powerless to fight it.

"People are very afraid," said Omar, who had been standing in a line for his bus home for more than an hour.

If that fear turns to anger, the Cuban government could face trouble, some U.S. officials say.

"The pent-up expectations and frustrations of a long-oppressed people can sometimes boil over," Andrew Natsios, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told a Washington crowd this year.

Supporters of Fidel Castro say past elections have shown that Cubans overwhelmingly support the government.

"If there weren't strong support for Fidel, how is it possible that there has never been a massive movement against his government in 45 years?" Cuban author Marta Rojas asked. "It must be because the Cuban government provides some benefit that people don't receive in Bolivia, Ecuador and many other Latin American countries."

Unconvinced, U.S. officials contend that hordes of Cubans are eager to leave the country of 11 million.

"If I could offer 2 million visas, I'd get 2 million people to sign up," said James Cason, the top U.S. diplomat in Havana.

He doesn't expect a mass exodus, though, unless the Cuban government allows it to happen.

"We would certainly do everything we could do to stop it," he said.

Cuban authorities say they are also eager to prevent another rafter crisis. They made that clear last spring when they executed three men who had hijacked a ferry and tried to take it to Florida.

A sudden exodus would give the U.S. government an excuse for military intervention, Cuban officials say.

U.S. officials say they have no intention of invading. And they say they are doing their best to promote safe, legal migration.

Under U.S.-Cuba migration accords, the U.S. government must provide at least 20,000 visas to Cuban citizens per fiscal year ending in September. The agreement is designed to provide for controlled migration and to prevent another rafter crisis. This year that goal was met six weeks ahead of schedule, Mr. Cason said.

"We've done our part."

After the 1994 riots, Cuban authorities threatened to use force to maintain order. Raul Castro, chief of the armed forces, was quoted as warning: "We have more than enough cannons and other things to defend this land."

Since then, there has not been another outbreak of violence.