And sometimes, their money's no good there
The Castro government wasted little time in abolishing private ownership of vehicles. Pre-1960 cars and trucks remained the property of their owners (and, with the proper permit, could be sold to other Cubans). But the Soviet vehicles that replaced the American imports were the property of the state, to be handed out to individuals based on their demonstrations of revolutionary zeal. “An outstanding worker, with thousands of volunteer hours or a mission as a soldier to Angola or Ethiopia, might consider himself lucky if he was allowed to acquire a Moskovich or a Lada,” writes Yoani Sanchez in her famous Generation Y blog. “Professionals of the highest rank would compete in the universities and study centers for the small allocations of automobiles.” Many of those cars remain in service for their recipients and their descendants, still “non-transferable and easily confiscated.” Cubans can buy the Peugeots and Daihatsus that are the imports of the post-Soviet era – if they have s...