''The economy is at its worst ever," she said glumly, adding that she cannot afford to feed her 12-year-old son meat most days. A resident of Cabaiguan, a few hours' drive east of Havana, she hitchhikes to Havana to sell farmers' cheese, earning 300 pesos a month (about $12), about average for Cuban salaries.
Oscar Espinosa Chepe, a former government economist-turned-dissident who is on medical parole from a 20-year sentence for opposition to the regime, said yesterday that he could not reconcile Castro's prediction of 9 percent growth this year with official data that showed dramatic declines in sugar production to 1908 levels, and a drop in electricity generation that is affecting industry.
The 312 pesos that the average Cuban earns monthly ''is not enough to buy 6 liters of domestically-made soy cooking oil. . . . The ration cards let us buy only one subsidized soap every two months," he said. ''This has created great social divisions."
A recent government report said 43 percent of Cuban homes need repairs, and 500,000 new houses must be built. Last month, officials said 1.7 million Cubans had no running water due to drought.
Candid commentaries in the party newspaper Granma indicate the government is aware of the problems. There are rumors of authorities painting over graffiti mocking Castro's bid to offer subsidized electric rice cookers at a time of power blackouts. In hushed conversations, Cubans grouse about their lot and sarcastically mimic the government's slogan painted on garish billboards: ''Vamos bien" (''We're doing well").
Subsidized oil from Venezuela and credits from China have allowed Castro to alleviate conditions somewhat, two months ago raising retiree pensions to 150 pesos ($6 a month), and giving doctors a raise so that the highest-paid now earn the equivalent of $25 a month. Tuesday night, Castro said he was making available some 14 million subsidized appliances.
But these populist measures may not be enough to satisfy those who say they have lost faith in the system.
''I was born and bred with this revolution," said Mario, 50, a state taxi driver. ''But today, what's to celebrate?
''It's a facade, a sham," he said of Castro's discourse about a better future. ''The words are beautiful, but the reality is something else. Like everyone I know, I'm very disillusioned." ***
Caleb McCarry, 43, will serve as the Cuba ''transition coordinator,'' a position mandated by President Bush a year ago to implement measures designed to help bring an end to Fidel Castro's 46-year rule and provide assistance to a subsequent democratic Cuba.
''For nearly 50 years, the regime of Fidel Castro has condemned the people of Cuba to a tragic fate of repression and poverty,'' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as part of McCarry's introduction, adding that the appointment will ``accelerate the demise of Castro's tyranny.''
Before an audience of Cuban-American legislators, exile leaders and other supporters of U.S.-Cuba policy, McCarry said, ``It is the responsibility of the civilized world to act to see that the Cuban family is reunited under political and economic freedom.''
Speaking on Miami's Radio Mambi, McCarry summed up his appointment with the words he said will soon be shouted from every corner of José Martí's Cuba: ``Viva Cuba libre.''
Many Cuban Americans welcomed McCarry, calling him ''a friend'' of the exile mission to oust Castro.
''He knows our cause well,'' said Horacio García, a director of the Cuban Liberty Council. ``They chose a person with commitment and passion.''
''He's extremely bright and thoroughly knowledgeable on the issue of Cuba,'' said Rep. Lincoln Díaz-Balart, R-Miami. ``He knows who's who and he knows where we need to go.''
The new post was one of the initiatives in the May 2004 Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba report. Other measures include tightened restrictions on travel and remittances, increased support for the island's dissident movement and additional funding for Radio and TV Martí transmissions.
The appointment follows a new round of arrests in Havana and a stern warning by Castro earlier this week that ''acts of treason'' would not be tolerated. Castro has accused opponents of being paid U.S. ''mercenaries,'' a charge denied by U.S. officials.
McCarry has worked for the House International Relations Committee for eight years after moving from the Washington-based Center for Democracy.
Roger Noriega, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, called the choice critical to advance Bush's ``freedom agenda.''
''[McCarry] is going to be the point man on Cuba,'' Noriega said. ***