THE BIG READ: Cuba's lost generation

On weekend nights in Havana, hipsters fill the pavements at a busy intersection near the seafront and spill into the park below, passing rum bottles between them, smoking and playing guitars.

On one corner, police question a few overzealous partiers but generally leave people alone. In years past, according to one regular, Ernesto Ramis, they made everyone "move along".

Ramis, 25, said you can get drugs here - uppers, downers, maybe some ecstasy - but there is no overt evidence of illegality this night, only a sense that being young in Cuba today is different, that conformity to the old ways has faded.

"The main difference," says Ramis, pointing to the Straits of Florida, barely visible in the darkness, "is that everyone wants to leave."

His use of the word "everyone," is an overstatement but he has touched on one of the Cuban government's biggest problems - youthful discontent with a system many view as lacking opportunity for a better life.

The government, well aware of its youth problem, is gradually changing the Soviet-style, state-run economic model put in place after the 1959 revolution, partly to address the issue.

There are young people taking advantage of the reforms by opening their own businesses or getting a job in the island's growing private sector, but there are others who doubt that the government will move fast enough - or far enough - to make a difference, and they want out.

Most hope to go to the US, only 145km away, following in the footsteps of an estimated 1.5million since the revolution.

Other countries, such as Canada and Spain, are also sought-after destinations, though Spain's economic woes have lately made it less attractive.

Some Cubans claim that, when the sky is very clear, you can see the glow of lights from Florida , which is doubtful, but an indication of the psychological proximity of the two places despite years of official hostility.

The US approves 25000 to 30000 immigrant visas for Cubans each year, and several thousand more enter the country without visas from third countries or by sea.

An elderly Communist Party member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Unfortunately, if you talk to 10 young people today, nine of them will tell you they want to leave Cuba. They don't see a future."

The government prides itself on providing free healthcare and education but in an economy handicapped by inefficiency and a long-standing US trade embargo, monthly salaries average the equivalent of about R180. Young people have watched their parents scrape by for years and do not want the same fate.

They want their own homes and cars, access to the internet and a brighter future. Few have travelled abroad, so they want to see the wider world and live a life they get glimpses of in films, or from tourists or visiting relatives.

Some want to have children but feel it makes no sense if they have no money and have to share their home with relatives, as many do in Cuba.

"After I graduated and began to work, I realised that the money I was earning wasn't enough to have or maintain a family," said computer programmer Estela Izquierdo, 29. Now she lives in Montreal with her husband.

It was not an easy decision to leave her family and the life she had known, but time was of the essence.

"I can't wait my whole life [for things to change]," she said.

Edgar Saucedo, a musician, said he also wants to have a family, but in the US, not in Cuba where he shares a Havana home with seven other people.

"It's just not feasible here," he said.

Saucedo's hopes of going to the US are based on a vague plan of getting invited to play Cuban music and, once there, never leaving.

He is a keyboard player but a friend in the US making $18 an hour as a refuse removal man, says he can get him the same job, which sounds good to Saucedo.

"I'll do whatever work I have to," said the bearded 33-year-old. "I don't want that much; I just want to have a normal life."

Cuba's outward tide looks unlikely to end any time soon, and might increase.

The government in January made it easier for Cubans to leave the country, which US consular officials in Havana say has led to a 10% increase in inquiries about visas.

Before the change, most visa applications came from the elderly but now most are coming from young people, they said.

Schools in Havana offering classes in foreign languages, particularly English and French, are awash with young applicants.

"It's ironic that Cuba has an educated population but doesn't have anything for them to do. It's almost as if they've prepared their professionals to emigrate," said Cuba expert Ted Henken, at Baruch College, in New York.

"I think that, in some ways, the Cuban revolution is the best thing that ever happened to Miami because half of their professional force was probably trained there," he said.

In today's placid Cuba, the notion of a youth revolt seems far-fetched but this government was put in place by young rebels led by Fidel Castro, so it knows the potential of restive youth. - Reuters