ABSTRACT
To live in Cuba is to move through a landscape where citizens have been confronted with so many scenarios—siege, blockade, epidemics—that nothing now takes us by surprise. Like all its Caribbean neighbors Cuba is equally familiar with hurricanes, wars and exodus, but the arrival of Covid-19 restricts movement, hopes and dreams. With a centralized economy, crippled by a 60-year US economic embargo and an inefficient bureaucracy one might not expect that a government, ill-equipped to deal with shortages, corruption and black-market practices, would be able to overcome a global health crisis. However, Cuba boasts the best health statistics in the region. When the first cases of Covid-19 were announced, the government activated every scientific and sanitation department in the country. They began by applying a proven strategy, designed to reduce the impact of natural disasters, infectious disease and biological terrorism. Cuba prepared, moving to the beat of the virus, like a dance partner searching for the rhythm of life in times of pandemia. An approach took shape that went beyond emergency response by promoting discussion and creating new legislation and policies.
