Sex Tourism

A jinetera in Havana. (Source: http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/cuba.htm)

With tourism comes social problems that had been eradicated during the time of the revolution. This has been seen in the re-emergence of sex tourism and the informal economy in Havana. While state sector jobs tend to pay workers around 20 U.S. dollars per month, jobs in the tourism industry and, more specifically, in the sex tourism industry can pay between 240 and 1400 U.S. dollars per month (Colantonio, Potter, 120).

Colantonio and Potter point to four different groups that have emerged along with the tourism industry in Havana:

1. Jineteras or prostitutes.

2. Chulos or pimps.

3. Maceteros or money-launderers.

4. Luchadores or street hustlers.

There have been crack-downs on this rise of sex tourism by the Cuban government, but it is a hard industry to regulate and often a good deal of corruption of authorities is involved. This said, much of the sex tourism in Havana is done without pimps and only done under dire economic circumstances (Wonders, Micholawski).

One reason for the increase in sex tourism in Havana is its price. According to Wonders and Micholawski, “in 1999, a sex tourist could spend as little as ten dollars for a quick sexual encounter, and between thirty and forty dollars for a companion for the entire evening.” This is much lower than in other Latin American countries where the sex tourism industry is far more advanced.

The increase in sex tourism is concerning on two fronts. Firstly, it shows the way in which tourism can contribute to societal ills that the Socialist government wanted to get rid of. Secondly, it has begun to attribute to a rise in the prevalence of HIV and AIDS. An article in the online Havana Journal states that: “On July 3, 1998, the Cuban government said 1,980 people had tested positive for the virus that causes AIDS since 1986. Since 1998, 3,879 more have been discovered to have the virus, according to statistics released by health officials.”