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 HAVANA (AP) - Juan Bautista Gonzalez's living room was already crowded with customers when still more shuffled in, clutching gold necklaces with broken clasps and bent rhinestone earrings. He knew he would be skipping lunch again.
"If someone comes with a job, I'll do it. No matter what time it is," said Gonzalez, who gave up a government mechanic's job four years ago and now earns more fixing his neighbors' jewelry for $1.25 per repair. "Work more, earn more."
Gonzalez is among the 150,000 or so Cubans — a meager 3 percent of the work force — who are allowed to be self-employed.
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