Amidst the propaganda of the Cuban government about the threat the United States military imposes to their nation’s sovereignty, another enemy is busy occupying their island.  China has been sending huge fleets of Haier refrigerators to Cuba’s’ shores.

Over a quarter of million Cuban households are replacing their inefficient refrigeration appliances with Chinese built Haier fridges.  Unsurprisingly, these exchanges are mandatory. But also worthy of note is that they are not free.

Poor households – of which there is no shortage in Cuba – are being ordered to take out loans from the government in order to pay for their new appliances.  For some people the sums involved are close to a year’s pay.

The reason for this exchange is nominally to improve energy efficiency in the country, which is well known for is ailing power systems. Rolling blackouts are common, and this is one of the methods the government is pursuing to attempt to alleviate the problems.

Comrade Citizens are not all happy with the changes, and the refrigerator reviews are not exactly positive.  The older models – while energy hogs – were very durable, with some households having seen decades of use from them.   Another common complaint is that the newer refrigerators are smaller.  People are upset that they can no longer preserve as much food as they were previously accustomed to.

The old refrigerators are being taken away by the government and turned into another revenue scheme – scrap metal to be sold overseas.  Some find it particularly galling that they are forced to pay for these new refrigerators while the state profits from their old ones.

While the great refrigerator invasion is no Bay of Pigs, it does symptomize the ongoing weakness of the Cuban economy and its utter dependency on sympathetic – and richer – nations in so many different ways.