Varadero is

~ Cuba's best |

By WILLIAM DEVINE
HAVANA
KNOW this is no time to be remind-
ing anyone up there of the beach,
but (as this is written) we've just
come back from one down here and
.. . Well, I think even the most surf-
conscious Vancouverite might rather
switch than fight.

The beach in question is at Varade-
ro. It’s located about two hours drive
from Havana on Cuba’s north coast,
and is said to be the country’s best.
We can believe this. And. to be the
best in Cuba, where the profusion of
beaches consists mostly of goods or
betters, is quite a distincition.

Beaches and the like are always
hard to describe in words, and even
the best photo falls a bit short. But

we'll give this beach at Varadero a.

try. :
Imagine 12 miles of fine, almost
white sand along a gently looping
coastline. Then the water. Crystal-
clear for many feet out to sea, it gra-
dually changes into. one, then two,
then three or four ‘deepening shades
of the most exquisite turquoise hue.
Its final reaches go on to blend with
a sparkling blue, speckled with a fro-.
licking array of smiling white-caps. It
has an almost hypnotic effect. You want
to plunge right in.

Backgrounding all this on the shore
are lush, green palm trees and the
fresh greeness of a surprising number
of pine trees. And the greeness is
freckled everywhere with flowers of
the brightest and deepest colors. Now
add a clear blue sky and bright sun-
shine, and we hope you've got some
idea of what Varadero Beach is like.
No wonder people take up _ beach-
combing as a profession. At Varadero,
it’s a way of life.

So it’s truly a beautiful and wonder-
ful place to be for a couple of weeks,
as we were recently. But if this were
all we had to say about it, few read-
ers, we're sure, would care for our
gloating as they shiver in the throes

of a Canadian winter... Asa matter

of fact, there’s something even much ~

more impressive about Varadero than
all the things we’ve mentioned so far.

Varadero Beach, a former play-
ground for the rich and well-to-do of
Cuba and the United States, has now
become the property—and playground
—of the island’s former dispossessed.
Ordinary Cubans, who could never have
afforded it before, now holiday there
in abundance.

Before the triumph of the Cuban
Revolution in 1959, Varadero Beach
was mainly populated by a shoreline-
full of handsome summer homes of
the better-off. Many of these chose to
leave Cuba after 1959, but, of course,
they had to leave their houses behind.
Those at Varadero were taken over by
the government and made available to
the people for their vacations. And at
a price we just couldn’t believe at first.

For only three and one half pesos
per person per day, accommodation at
these guest homes can be had. But, and
here’s the really remarkable part, these
three and a half pesos include three
meals per person per day. Which is
a combination that’s pertty hard to
beat. a

Now, that’s the plan in general. But
there’s another special plan that’s a
little more expensive — if you think
you've found the catch, just wait. This
is called the Dupont plan, and takes
its name from the fact that the mil-
lionaire Dupont constructed a massive,
Spanish-style mansion at Varadero
Beach, which he maintained until the
Revolution triumphed.

The mansion, by the way, is still
kept as it was in the days of Dupont.
Tourists can stroll ‘through its three
stories of high-ceilinged, oak-beamed
rooms at leisure. And after their tour,
they can dine at a gleaming restaurant
that’s been set up on the main floor,
or have a quick one at a compact little
bar in the basement. But that’s all by

. the way.

On the beach-land adjacent to the

Dupont mansion are the ultra-luxuri-
ous homes of the former very rich of
Cuba, who have also elected to leave
the country. These are even a fair
notch above the homes we mentioned
before, and in addition have much more
privacy combined with quite a pleas-
ant park-land surrounding.

These homes also have been made
available for vacationing Cubans, but,
as we pointed out, they’re more expen-

sive. For accommodation and your
three meals a day, you have to pay,
instead of three and a half pesos—a

full five pesos per day. Still well within ©

reach of everyone.

But if you're still a little late, there
are a whole number of “A” and “B”
hotels around, plus a new series of
apartment hotels that have been built
since the Revolution. Prices range
fromm 11 pesos a day to four. (A room
at the famed International Hotel goes
for as low as 10 pesos, But remember,
before the Revolution, it was 50.) It’s
half price for children under seven and
‘no price for kiddies under two. Meals
are not included in these prices.

Which means, of. course, that the
biggest drawing-card of all at Varadero
is the Revolution’s cut-rate guest-home
policy. And it draws thousands. |

But that’s not all. There’s another
aspect of Varadero that impressed us
even more. While we were there, two
large groups of macheteros arrived on
the scene. Macheteros are those who
volunteer to work in the sugar cane

t only k h r. It was
_ not only kept out the poo 50 90

‘prices that encourage rather thal ls

fields during the harvest. Some of ait
two groups stayed at our hotel WT
their wives and children whom
had brought along. ==. s,s
But, the whole trip,.from bead
to end, didn’t cost them one cen 5
These macheteros had worked a
four months in the harvest ane
been awarded:a free vacation at ¥"
dero Beach in recognition of ih
tribution they had made. Grours th
them come to Varadero throughov
summer. on
But we're still not finished. S°¥
of the macheteros were Negroe
one day one of them expres
one of the most profound change’
the Revolution has wrought in ton &
“Just look at me,” he s ould
Negro. Before the Revolution 1 ete
never have been able to come a"
Now I can, and even free of charé o
He was right. Before the triumph 08
the Revolution, Varadero’s high -

né

off limits to Negroes, as were

other beaches and resorts in a |
Now all that’s changed. Cuba m1 ;

holiday spots are open to all, 4”

hibit. The best of everything ™ % of
is now none too good for the wore!
Cubans—the working men and nite. |
and their children—Negro and W: val e&4
Varadero Beach is an exceptloh og
ample of ‘this. And that, while we od
joyed its natural attributes 1° ~
made us like it most of all.

Is there a shift to left in Sweden?

"By BRUCE MAGNUSON
HEN I arrived in Stock-

holm on my way back:

from Moscow, where I

had attended’ the 50th anniver-.

sary celebrations of the Socialist
revolution as a delegate from

the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of Canada, -

everyone was talking about the
British devaluation and its rami-
fications for Sweden and indeed
the capitalist world. The atmos-
phere of celebration, great hap-
piness and confidence prevailing
in the Soviet Capital ‘were all
fresh in my mind when I stepped
off the plane at Arlanda. But the
atmosphere in the Swedish capi-
tal turned out to be much dif-
ferent. The Swedish people were
frankly worried about the -eco-
nomic prospects for the imme-
diate future, and about the poli-
tical perspectives for the gene-
ral election to the second cham-
ber of the Riksdag, due to take
place in the fall of 1968.
Sweden is a highly developed
country; an exporter of capital

and one of the Club of ten rich .

countries which agreed, on con-
ditions, to grant Britain a loan
to stabilize the pound and avert
a monetary crisis of greater pro-
portions. It is by no means sure
how long Sweden can withstand

DECEMBER 22, 1967—PAGIFIC TRIBUNE—Pdge 10 |

the pressure of the developing
trade war in the capitalist world.
The Swedish pulp and paper in-
dustry is feeling much pressure
and is engaged in a rationaliza-

‘tion drive that has already clos- ~

ed many smaller plants and cre-

ated growing unemployment .in

forestry, one .of Sweden’s .main
industries. ;

Taxes are already much too.
high and bear most heavily upon

working people. The cost of liv-
ing .is .rising steadily and rents
are beyond the reach of the
people who stand most in need
of housing. The ruling class sla-
vishly follows the dictates of
United States monopolies. If
Sweden pursues the dims it now
follows, including the aim of
eventually joining the European
Common Market, even the long
and much cherished policy of

Swedish neutrality can become -

a thing of the past.

It is on this background that
one has to view the gloomy poli-
tical prospects on the eve of a
general election. After more than
30 years in power the Social
Democratic Labor Party of Swe-
den has obviously failed to take
one single serious step towards
a restructuring of Swedish so-
ciety along socialist lines. Pri-

vate ownership of means of

i re LV

Q2e0 POM PLL SWE T.

ape DIKE SIE

64. Salt OC Gata

at
A aly

wealth production and natural
resources, communications and
public utilities, is more exten-
sive than in many capitalist
countries, such as France, Eng-
land, and even the Federal Re-

public of Germany. The banks.
and credit institutions are still
dominated by capitalists, as are.

the key industrial empires, such
as- Volvo, Scania-Vabis, SKF,
and many others. Many Swedish
capitalists have extensive invest-
ments abroad, roam as playboys
through the capitalist world, and
even live abroad to avoid pay-
ing their share of taxes.

The dissatisfaction with this
state of affairs is’ now wide-
spread in the ranks of the rul-
ing Social Democratic Labor
Party and the bourgeois parties
are already ganging up for a
massive assault to gain ‘a majo-
rity in the coming elections. The
struggle between right and left
forces within the political spee-
trum is reaching a crucial point
at which only united action by
all the left forces can save the
situation for the working class,
and thereby also safeguard
peace, democracy, and guaran-
tee new economic, social and
cultural advance.

Despite this, the recent Con-
gress of the Swedish Social De-

Fa de Sad

mocratic Labor Party turned
down a proposal for an electoral
agreement which had been ad-
vanced by the Communists. This
situation has further reduced the
prospects of preserving a par-
liamentary majority for the two
parties which, while each. part is

‘ideologically different from the

other, nevertheless speaks for

the majority of Swedish work-

ing people in the Riksdag.
While highly critical of the

political line of the Social Demo- -

cratic government, the Commun-
ists insist that only unity of the
left can save and help to streng-
then the government for new ad-

_ vances in the direction of curb-
ing monopoly power and ensur-.

ing socialist gains. If the work-
ing class is to play its proper

-leading role in development. of

Swedish society the Social De-
mocratic majority in the Riks-
dag and its government must
change its role and become a
more resolute champion of peo-
ple who work for salaries and
wages, and break its slavish de-
pendence upon big capital and
the monopolies, foreign and do-
mestic.

Such a change in the political
line of the labor majority pre-
supposes, at this stage, a much

greater influence by the social-

4

é a 273 ~~ ‘ » . a 2 a a ,
RESO CORA RG We I ENA ie oO ite aE dba RS

‘election and in its results in¢

_ Swedish Left Party of C0

ist left. The strong trend’ 4.
wards the left, . particth
among youth and labol ai
find expression in the ©

is the position advanced.P” 19

ists. !
As a _ consequence . of pave
position, the Communist’. ‘rich
recommended to their ©” an
leaderships throughout thé ities
try, to look into the possi?! (0
for, and to take the initiatY
bring about, unity of the es
cal left in day to day activi
well as for the coming nati
elections. The forms of ele*

agreements to be left 10 pas
area to work out on the ©

of. concrete circumstances

At the same time thé = ay
Party of Communists invite®
forces of the Socialist left avi
ganizations, groups and ae j
duals—to place before the Foc
any proposals for como ag
tion, for demands to be #”,
ced in an electoral progra™ sing)
for electoral unity, inclu
proposals for candidates ee ip
considered for the electio® ”
the coming year of 1968. pg

The above summarizes rat
main points of a public 57 4
ment issued by the Left *
of Communists. ; ‘

40

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