Sociolismo

Sociolismo ("partner-ism"), also known as amiguismo ("friend-ism"), is the informal term used in Cuba to describe the reciprocal exchange of favors by individuals, usually relating to circumventing bureaucratic restrictions or obtaining hard-to-find goods.

Overview

It comes from the Spanish word socio which means business partner or buddy, and is a pun on the official government policy of socialismo (socialism). It is analogous to the blat of the Soviet Union or the term combina in Israel.^[1] It is a form of corruption in Cuba.^[2]

The term is particularly associated with the black market economy, and perceived cronyism in Cuba's state controlled command economy. Socios can be black market operators who "facilitate" (steal) goods that are officially reserved for the state. They can also get someone a job or obtain paperwork.

The system is used by anyone who needs to send an e-mail or print a resume but does not have a computer, or needs paint or cement but has no access to an Office Store or Home Improvement Store. Gary Marx, the Chicago Tribune's Havana correspondent, reports the system works this way: Cubans send out signals they need something, make telephone calls and visit neighbors and friends to find the right person who can get things in motion.

Few people own cars and the buses, or camellos, are slow and overcrowded; many Cubans spend hours each day arranging rides to get to work, school or accomplish a task.^[3] People often must reach out and secure what they need por fuera ("through the outside") or por la izquierda ("through the left"), slang terms that mean "outside the official system".

The system has different levels and obligations. Friends, neighbors and relatives do favors for each other without expecting anything in return. But with lesser-known acquaintances, exchange is more normal for such things as shampoo, a piece of chicken, fruit, or cash.^[4]

Sometimes the favors extend to hundreds of people. Employees of a state company in Pinar del Río were given special treatment at a local hospital in exchange for paper, pens and other scarce materials and services.^[5]

"Sociolismo" lets any person with control over some resource exchange access to the resource for some current or future personal material benefit. Complex networks of reciprocal obligations thus became an important part of the functioning of the Cuban economy.

Daily life involves maintaining the personal relationships necessary to ensure access to necessary goods and services, through unofficial channels, or through official channels but by unofficial means. Though the term became prominent during the economic downturn known as the Special Period in Cuba, usage has continued into the mid-2000s.^[6]

Aspects of Cuban sociolismo were exported to the United States via Cuban immigrants, who relied on friends and relatives in their new country for help in finding jobs, since they were not able to verify their skills or employment in Cuba. This was particularly prevalent in the largest Cuban-American community, in Florida.^[7]

See also

• Economy of Cuba
• Rationing in Cuba
• Informal economy

References

Cuba topics   History Timeline Colonial governors Ten Years' War Little War Cuban War of Independence Sinking of the USS Maine Spanish–American War Platt Amendment Revolution 1932 hurricane World War II La Coubre explosion Bay of Pigs Invasion Cuban Missile Crisis War Against the Bandits Cuban intervention in Angola (1975–1991) Cubana Flight 455 Mariel boatlift Special Period 2006 transfer of presidential duties Tropical cyclones   Geography Cities Bayamo Camagüey Ciego de Ávila Cienfuegos Guantánamo Havana Holguín Las Tunas Matanzas Pinar del Río Sancti Spíritus Santa Clara Santiago de Cuba Provinces Artemisa Camagüey Ciego de Ávila Cienfuegos Ciudad de La Habana Granma Guantánamo Holguín Isla de la Juventud Las Tunas Matanzas Mayabeque Pinar del Río Sancti Spíritus Santiago de Cuba Villa Clara Other Almendares River Sierra Maestra World Heritage Sites   Governance Security Economy Governance Castroism Constitution Elections Foreign relations Law Military Government opposition Politics Presidency Cuba–United States relations Bay of Pigs Invasion Brothers to the Rescue Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba Cuban American Cuban-American lobby Cuban dissident movement Cuban Five Cuban Missile Crisis Elián González affair Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Helms–Burton Act Cuba–United States hijackings Luis Posada Carriles Mariel boatlift Operation Northwoods Operation Peter Pan Platt Amendment Spanish–American War United States ambassador United States embargo United States Interests Section Political parties Current Communist Party Christian Democratic Democratic Socialist Current Democratic Social-Revolutionary Democratic Solidarity Liberal Liberal Movement Social Democratic Co-ordination Former Auténtico Cuban National Democratic Union Independent Republican Ortodoxo Popular Socialist Republican (Havana) Security Military Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (MINFAR) Army Navy Air Force Territorial Troops Militia Law enforcement National Revolutionary Police Force Intelligence Military Counterintelligence Directorate Dirección General de Inteligencia Economy Agriculture Agrarian reform Cooperatives Central bank Peso (currency) Convertible peso Telecommunications Tourism Transport airline   Society Culture Society Censorship Committees for the Defense of the Revolution Education Health care Human rights LGBT LGBT history Language Rationing Sociolismo Scouting and Guiding Culture Art Cinema Internet Literature Media Music Musical theater Newspapers Public holidays Radio Religion Sports baseball boxing football Television Universities   Demographics People Demographics Cubans Afro-Cubans Cape Verdean Chinese Ciboney Filipino French German Haitian Isleños Italian Japanese Jews Korean LGBT Mexicans Spanish White Women People By name Desi Arnaz Fulgencio Batista Leo Brouwer Fidel Castro Raúl Castro Celia Cruz Ibrahim Ferrer Osmani García Máximo Gómez Elián González Nicolás Guillén José Martí Pablo Milanés Omara Portuondo Silvio Rodríguez Compay Segundo Félix Varela By occupation Academics Activists Actors Architects Artists Ballet dancers Businesspeople Chefs Comedians Composers Cosmonauts Criminals Dancers Economists Educators Engineers Entertainers Farmers Film directors Film producers Geographers Heads of State Colonial heads Historians Illustrators Journalists Judges Lawyers Librarians Mathematicians Military personnel Models Musicians Notaries Painters Philosophers Photographers Physicians Poets Politicians Presidents Psychologists Radio personalities Rappers Rebels Religious leaders Revolutionaries Sailors Scientists Sculptors Sex workers Singers Social scientists Soldiers Songwriters Sportspeople Television personalities Women Writers Category Commons Portal WikiProject