Those patients come every day to have their blood pressure taken,' says Diolaida. We talk about the need for rest and a change in diet, especially to lower their salt and fat intake. Free, high-quality healthcare and free education are the foundation of the Castro Government's legitimacy. Yet, despite Havana's best efforts to maintain health and education budgets, cracks are beginning to show. Schools are bereft of supplies, buildings are crumbling.
Teachers work in impossible conditions for miserable wages.
We have almost nothing,' she says softly, 'no paints, no pencils, no notebooks, no chalk. But she also works twice a week teaching privately for 30 pesos a session and lives with her mother to save money. The country's healthcare facilities are also badly run-down and getting worse with the impact of the US economic blockade. Many basic drugs for the treatment of heart disease, asthma and cancer are no longer available since purchases from foreign subsidiaries of US drug companies were outlawed. Pharmacy shelves are empty.