One splashy new billboard announces the city of Cienfuegos’s faith in Fidel and Raúl Castro “has never failed” from the side of the road near the entrance to that city. Another pro-government sign made by a local Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, or CDR, reveals both the flagging nature of interest in pro-government organizations (where membership is still mandatory) as well as the state’s lack of investment in their resources. Painted in unstenciled white letters, this handmade sign announces the 6th Communist Party Congress from the side of a containment wall in Centro Habana that local CDR leaders have improvised from cast-off pieces of metal sheeting.
