Black market suffers.

A crackdown on corruption by President Raul Castro is causing consternation among ordinary Cubans, who say it is biting into the flourishing black market and reducing a prized source of cheaper food and other items, reports Reuters (Sept. 4, 2009). The complaints are tempered by the expectation that inventive Cubans, driven by economic necessity and seasoned by years of filching from the centralized socialist economy, will soon restore the pipeline of illicit goods to full flow. Experts estimate that as much as 20% of goods are stolen as they are distributed to state outlets around the country, a drain Raul Castro has said must be stopped. Cubans say the offer of products on the black market, where goods generally are much cheaper than in stores, has dropped off noticeably. The average salary in Cuba is about US$20 a month, so the black market helps Cubans stretch their money or, if they are sellers, supplement their income.