This billboard features a quote from the Cuban president who succeeded Raúl Castro
(pictured left), Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermúdez (pictured right). The translation reads: Of course we
depend on our producers … of course we depend on the cooperative sector and our farmers.
Interestingly, although this billboard primarily features farmers, it is located in Havana, Cuba’s
metropolitan capital. In this way, while the advertisement might appear to be catering towards farmers
and thanking them for their contribution, they are unlikely to see the billboard as they live in primarily
rural areas. Rather, the message might be interpreted as a reminder to residents of Havana of the
importance of rural Cubans and the agricultural sector. For some Cubans, such as my host mom, the
billboard may remind them of their rural roots and inspire them to be thankful for the privileges they
enjoy in the city. People in Havana are more likely to be wealthy, especially in the neighborhood of
Vedado where this billboard is featured. However, it is positioned along a main thoroughfare, so many
people are likely to take note of its message. City residents are more likely to be white and have access to remittances from abroad, which are critical due to the inflation that has rendered the Cuban peso a
weak currency. Cuba is in an age of increasing socioeconomic inequality because of the growth of the
private sector, where one’s participation often requires startup capital from relatives abroad. As a
result, the billboard is likely intended to remind Cubans of their responsibility to their country and to
the socialist values of the revolution despite their privileged status. The allusion to the transition
between the Castros and Diaz-Canel Bermúdez seems an attempt to assert that little has changed in
terms of the dedication of the Cuban government to the values of the revolution, which had a strong
commitment to uplifting the lives of rural Cubans.
However, most Cubans in Havana probably don’t see themselves as depending on the island’s
farmers. There are many food shortages, and this has been remedied by an informal market of imported
goods by the private sector. The agricultural industry has limited access to the irrigation technology of
modern farming because of the United States’ economic sanctions, and is ill-equipped to feed the
nation. Cuban agriculture had historically revolved around sugar; rst as a Spanish colony and then as
an ally of the Soviet Union. The island would supply the Soviets with sugar in exchange for a variety of
other commodities, including foodstus. When the Soviet bloc suddenly fell, the infrastructure was
not in place for the island to be self-sucient. From this perspective, the billboard’s message appears
tone-deaf, and Havana residents could easily dismiss its implications on this basis. As a result, the
billboard might be directed at visitors like me, foreigners who might not have the context of Cuba’s
economy that would allow them to complicate this apparent ‘dependence’ on the agricultural sector.
All in all, the advertisement seems much more eective in this context as propaganda, especially since it
is within walking distance of a variety of hotels.
