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Soldiers have been given small plots of land to produce much of the meat and vegetables on sale at the farmer markets. The Youth Labor Army, a paramilitary force of conscripts, devotes most of its time to farming. Since civilians were pilfering up to 75% of food shipments, soldiers now guard deliveries. The army's construction company, Union de Empresas Constructoras, is building tourist facilities in Varadero and Havana.
Raul and his generals even earn dollars for guns with an octopus-like tourism outfit called Gaviota, which runs health spas, marinas and luxury hotels. At hunting preserves formerly reserved for the army, visitors shoot duck in some of Fidel's favorite stalking grounds. Gaviota takes tourists to the outskirts of the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo and lets them spy on troop movements -- cocktails and binoculars included. TRD Caribe, the newest arm of Gaviota, is the fastest-growing chain of department stores. TRD, appropriately enough, stands for tienda recaudacion en divisas -- literally, "store to rake in the dollars."
Cuban officials see nothing strange in all this for an army that was harvesting sugar back in the 1970s. "The Cuban army is not a traditional Latin American army that lives in the barracks," says National Assembly president Ricardo Alarcon. Adds a Communist Party member: "You won't see a military coup in Cuba, but more generals will be taking off their uniforms to become technocrats."
It may be that the military is the only Cuban institution efficient enough and strong enough to bring about reform. In the 1980s the army began to impose market-oriented management techniques in its own ammunition factories, offering bonuses for increased production and transferring those who did not perform. By 1991 the army had passed along its experience to 100 civilian industries. Party sources say Raul's military advisers are looking beyond quick fixes and studying a complete overhaul of the socialist system. "If you're going to implement changes, one of the safer ways to do this is to use the armed forces so you can have a modicum of control," says Phyllis Greene Walker, a research associate who follows the Cuban military for the University of Miami's North-South Center in Washington. The army, she notes, is the one institution still intensely loyal to the Castros.
It is uncertain whether taking charge of economic reform will revive Raul's political fortunes. His authoritarian streak served him well in the army, which he transformed from a ragged band of guerrillas into one of the largest and most professional in the Western hemisphere. But until last summer, Raul was regarded as a spent political force, particularly since the 1989 drug- trafficking trial of General Arnaldo Ochoa Sanchez undermined his leadership. Raul went through a long bout with depression after Ochoa was convicted and executed. It had long been assumed that if Fidel died, Raul would assume control only as a caretaker.