Cuba's political and economic leaders were rightly proud that unscheduled electric power blackouts, common in the early 1990s, had become much less frequent as the decade ended. Nonetheless, massive electric power failures still recurred. A second example speaks to the question of efficiency and quality control, no doubt much improved in Cuba in 1999 but still quite unsatisfactory. Several enterprises called to claim the box, but none could describe its actual contents. In December 1999, the rightful owner had not been found.
Inventory control remains a goal yet to be achieved more fully.
The third example indirectly relates to Cuba's readiness to cope with international tourism, the nation's best hope for accelerating its economic recovery in the years to come. Alejandro Moreaux had been serving in Namibia in an international mission on Cuba's behalf. To prepare for his return to Cuba, he shipped his belongings from Namibia to Santiago de Cuba on June 28,1999. They reached the Varadero international airport on July 17, where the cargo sat for four days. It was then shipped to the Havana international airport, where it then remained for 37 days.