From Cuba Facts, Miami
Afro-Cubans: a demographic and political profile —in Cuba

Demographics of Afro Cubans (1)

Population: 62% of the total

Prison population: 85% of total prisoners

Regional concentration: Santiago and Guantánamo provinces are estimated at over 75% non-white.

Daily Life: Select Statistics (2)

Automobile Ownership: Havana: 5% of cars with private license plates are driven by an Afro-Cuban.

Remittances Received, 2000 Estimates:

- White Cubans: US$81 per capita

- Non-white Cubans: $31 per capita

Employment:

- Afro-Cubans occupy 5 % of jobs in tourism, versus 80 % by whites (tourism is Cuba 's leading, highest-paying industry)

Political Power of Afro-Cubans (3)
- National Assembly (parliament) seats: 32.84 % of members

- Council of State: 29 % of members

- Council of Ministers: 5 % of members

- Provincial Heads of the Cuban Communist Party: 20 %

- Presidents of Provincial Assemblies: 7 %

- Generals/Senior Military Leadership: 0 among Top 10**

- Upcoming One-Party Elections: Afro-Cuban Candidates by Province (4):

Pinar del Río: 25.6%
La Habana: 26.2%
Ciudad de La Habana: 28.5%
Matanzas : 27.5%
Villa Clara: 15.9%
Cienfuegos : 26.0%
Sancti Spíritus: 20%
Ciego de Avila: 15.3%
Camagüey: 24.4%
Las Tunas: 11.1%
Granma: 18.1%
Holguín: 12.9%
Santiago de Cuba : 38.4%
Guantánamo: 40.6%
Isla de la Juventud: 50% (2 of 4 seats)
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TOTAL: 26.27% of 609 seats

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Notes

* For the purpose of this analysis, Afro-Cubans are defined as those of black or mixed (mulatto) ancestry.

** The top ten generals according to the organizational framework of Cuba's Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FAR) are as follows:
- Raúl Castro, Minister of the FAR
- Julio Casas Regueiro, 1st Vice Minister, FAR
- Alvaro López-Miera, Vice-Minister, Head of the Chiefs of Staff
- Abelardo Colomé Ibarra, Head of Ministry of Interior (MININT)
- Leopoldo Cintra Frías, Head of the Western Army
- Joaquín Quinta Solá, Head of the Central Army
- Ramón Espinosa Martín, Head of the Eastern Army
- Pedro Mendiondo Gómez, Head of the Air Force and Air Defenses
- Pedro Pérez Betancourt, Head of the Revolutionary Navy
- Leonardo Andollo Valdés, 2nd Head of the Chiefs of Staff

1. The general population percentage age is a CIA estimate. See CIA Factbook, 2002. Prison figures are based on published articles by independent journalists and Afro-Cuban dissidents on the island. The estimates of the provinces of Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo are from Ramón Colás in Proceedings of “Transition from Communism: Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead for Cuba,”Seminar held by the Cuba Transition Project, University of Miami, November 9, 2004.

2. Ramón Colás in “Transition from Communism: Lessons Learned, Challenges Ahead for Cuba ,” November 9, 2004. For remittance estimates, see Carmelo Mesa-Lago, “Growing Economic and Social Disparities in Cuba : Impacts and Recommendations for Change,” Cuba Transition Project, University of Miami , 2002, pg. 8. See also Alejandro de la Fuente, A Nation for All: Race, Inequality and Politics in Twentieth Century Cuba , University of North Carolina Press , 2001. Tourism job figures from Academia de Ciencias de Cuba , Cuban government commissioned racial study cited in “Advierten sobre racismo en Cuba ,” Fernando Ravsberg, BBC Mundo, February 13, 2003.

3. Cuba Transition Project staff conducted an analysis of the racial composition of leaders of the Council of State, the Council of Ministers, the Armed Forces, and of regional and local level government representatives.

4. “Los candidatos del pueblo,” Granma , http://www.granma.co.cu/secciones/candidatos/index.htm.

Abril 19, 2005
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