Doing qualitative fieldwork in Cuba: social research in politically sensitive locations

Abstract

Cuba, a country that is often portrayed as an isolated, secretive and bureaucratic dictatorship, would appear to present many challenges for a social researcher intent on eliciting the genuine opinions of the native population. However, in December 2008, I began just such an investigation, researching ‘environmental justice’ (i.e. the social and distributive impacts of environmental policy and practice) in the country, using a mixture of interview and participant observation techniques. As might be expected, much of the fieldwork was dominated by the sensitive political context, creating numerous methodological issues and dilemmas, as well as personal challenges. This paper looks at the difficulties faced, in particular with regard to the problem of attaining reliability and validity, and the strategies that were used to overcome them. It will be of relevance to anyone considering carrying out fieldwork investigations in socialist, and other politically sensitive, locations.

Keywords:

• research
• Cuba
• socialist
• qualitative research
• fieldwork locations

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Ann Singleton of the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol and anonymous referees for their helpful comments on this paper.

Notes

1. Since the start of the Cuban revolution, there has consistently been a commitment to social welfare (Kapcia, 2008; Saney, 2004; Yaffe, 2009), enabling a generally equal society that rates highly on the main dimensions of well-being: life expectancy, education and standard of living (Regueiro & Alonso, 2001; Tharamangalam, 2010; UNDP, 2009). The necessity to bypass the blockade has led to an emphasis on tourism, now one of Cuba's most important sources of hard currency income (Morris, 2008), with the profits from the industry being used, alongside other income sources, to pay for the social programmes.

2. Although many Cubans have access to the internet and email through schools, workplaces and post offices, Cuba does not have enough bandwidth to allow universal access. Their Internet connection comes via satellite, from faraway countries, such as Italy and Canada, making it expensive and slow. There is an optical-fibre connection between Cancun and Miami, that passes 32 km from Havana but the US denies Cuba access to it (Ministry of Foreign Affairs [Cuba], 2008; Pearson, 2010). The phone services to and from Cuba are limited and expensive for the same reasons.

3. I have used the word ‘disaffected' in this article to refer to people who dissent from, i.e. broadly disagree with, the Cuban Government's policies and practices as a whole. It is not meant as a pejorative term and does not refer to a homogenous group of people who share a single ideology, affiliation or common objective.

4. There is an extreme difference in value between the local currency and the hard currency used by tourists, which encourages people to ‘chase dollars' (Ritter, 1997). Earnings from tourist tips, paid in dollars, are often higher than the wages themselves and some locals are, therefore, often keen to strike up ‘friendships' with tourists. This ‘dual currency' situation occurs as a result of economic measures brought in to enable Cuba to survive the US embargo.