Though they have been proposed many times, there are still no provisions for the creation of small and medium private enterprises or independent trade unions. The salaries of professionals such as doctors and architects and of Cubans in other peso-paying jobs continue to be a small fraction of what is made by Cubans in contact with tourists and dollars. Against rising crime, policemen’s salaries have been increased four times. This has led to an enlargement of the police force and a still more visible police presence on the streets. Until September 11, 2001, the economy was growing in all sectors but sugar. The number of tourists was expected to rise in 2001 to 1,750,000, to the point that the Union of Artists and Writers worried that the ratio of tourists to natives in some cities would turn integral elements of cubanidad, such as Santeria rites, into nothing more than sanitized shows geared to tourists. The events of September 11 have drastically reduced tourism to Cuba and Cuba’s economic prospects; a subsequent devastating hurricane has delivered a further blow.
