The Return of Race-based Inequalities in Contemporary Cuba: The Impact of Current Reforms and Past Migration

• Applicants: Professorin Dr. Katrin Hansing; Professor Dr. Bert Hoffmann
• Subject Area: African, American and Oceania Studies ; Social and Cultural Anthropology and Ethnology ; Political Science
• Term: from 2016 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 290536910

Few social transformations have attacked race-based inequalities more thoroughly than the 1959 Cuban Revolution. However, in today s context of a changing economy, new social stratifications are emerging along clearly visible, racial lines. Social inequality and race*, both dominant themes in pre-revolutionary Cuba, have once again become key, overlapping issues. Building on previous research the guiding hypothesis of this project is that the return of race-based inequalities in Cuba results from the interaction of two key factors: a) past migration patterns and their ongoing implications; and b) current economic, social and political changes and reforms. As the Cuban Revolution greatly affected the interests of the pre-dominantly white elites and middle classes, their out-migration resulted in an essentially white Cuban diaspora. This implies that remittances sent along family ties essentially exclude the non-White population. With the current market reforms these flows become the key source on the island for investment in new business, and in consequence, a driving force of structural re-stratification. The recent US-Cuban detente is likely to deepen this trend as it will further intensify travel, trade and communications between Cuban-Americans and their relatives on the island. Moreover, as a result of the recent Spanish so-called Grand-children s law 200,000 white Cubans have been able to claim Spanish citizenship in addition to their Cuban nationality. Combined with Cuba s 2013 law liberalizing travel, this enhanced international mobility becomes a key asset for import and export activities, which is in sharp contrast to the difficulties most Afro-Cubans face when applying for visas to the US, EU or other countries. To explore the impact of these factors on the re-stratification of Cuban society our empirical fieldwork will use a mixed methods approach. A survey with 1,000 questionnaires with individuals across the island will provide a close to representative assessment of Cuba s new social stratification; in addition 100 in-depth, qualitative interviews will be carried out that will give insights into the underlying social dynamics. Due to the particular circumstances of doing research in Cuba, there have so far been no comparable, international empirical studies. However, with over 35 years of combined research experience in Cuba (including numerous independent surveys), solid institutional partnerships on the island, and a trusted, local research team, the applicants are uniquely suited to warrant the project s viability. * We adhere to the statement on race adopted by the American Anthropological Association: http://www.aaanet.org/stmts/racepp.htm. As such, we understand the term race and racial to be a social construction and use it as such throughout the text.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants