Cuban Government Reform Case Study

The Cuban "destiny," according to Castro, is the creation of an independent nation with the conditions of territorial sovereignty, an independent political structure, a national economy, and a differentiated culture 4. These four conditions mentioned by Castro in his manifesto simply reiterate the frustrations of the Cuban people who although were liberated from colonial oppression continued to remain the subjects of foreign sovereignty. Foreign influence and sovereignty this time around in the 20th century was not wielded by the Spanish crown, but rather by the "friendly neighbor" from North America, the United States. Therefore, intimately related to the notion of Cuba’s destiny is the desire to stray away from dependency on any foreign nation for economic purposes. Harleigh Leach, in her essay concerning this particular matter, also defines the essence of the revolution in more economic detail as she states:

This economic stimulus that the USSR gave the Cubans did not come without a steep price. For the second time in a few years Castro felt the pressure of a super power trying to control the future of his county. Soviet Premier

Secondly, Cubaneeds to repair its corrupt, failing state-run economy. The reality of thisstruggling economy is that Cuba’s resources are plenty, and its

Goods or services of Cuban origin may not be imported into the United States either directly or through third countries” (2001) . According to the Cuba Policy Foundation, the United States loses up to $4.84 billion annually in trade and exports alone (Pepper 2009) . The amount of money being disregarded because of now defunct reasons is radically lacking in logic. A simple repealing of the embargo would bring both the United States and Cuba great economic success.

From their end, Cuba has surprised many around the world for striving against such barriers. “ The main driver of the Cuban economy is agriculture. The country is a major producer of several crops but sugar and tobacco are the big money products. Despite not being able to export their products to the United States Cuba has become a major exporter of agricultural products. There has been an attempt on the part of the Cuban government to diversify their economy and it looks like natural resources will be one way that they can do this. The country has become a major nickel producer and this has quickly become one of their largest exports. There is also the potential for Cuba to become a major oil producer. There are large reserves of oil in the Caribbean that are in Cuba's territorial water. It is very likely that in the near future they will take advantage of these reserves in order to help diversify the economy.”

Cuba and the United States of America have completely opposite economies. Cuba’s economy is based on the few natural resources that the country owns while the economic system in The United States is capitalist and can be recognized for its noticeable development in agriculture, energy, and other resources that keep the country expanding and provides jobs as well as a good quality of life for its residents. On the other hand, Cuba’s economy, is predominantly poor, to the point where a very huge percent of its population suffers from

There are even people as you read that protest about this type of government. Mainly the people that are ordinary, have trouble with this totalitarian government. Some people don’t see the trouble in this type of government. Victoria Burnett talks about the down fall of this government, “Loosening the embargo might help more Cubans see that "the first cause of poverty and lack of liberty is not the embargo, it's the totalitarian government of Cuba.” Burnett talks about even more troubles that this totalitarian government creates, not only the freedom

The government owns everything, the factories, mines , banks, large businesses, and mostly all small businesses. They also own a good 70 percent of the farms in Cuba. The communists in Cuba stopped around 1959 and they fixed to make drastic changes in the economy. Cuban’s wanted to stop all sugar dependence on the United States. They would’n’t ever have an one-crop economy. Also its trade would no longer be directed by the Strong country to the north. Communist leaders turned Cuba’s resources to a huge plan for creating factories and machinery. They had a plan that they wanted it to happen overnight to change it from an agricultural to industrial country, but the plan did not work. They didn't’t have enough money to pay for all the factories and buy all the materials.

Since the reestablishment of diplomatic relations two years ago, there has been much talk about how to best move forward. Will the United States be given as much influence and power as they previously held under the Platt Agreement? Will the embargo be lifted, and if so, under what stipulations? How does the Cuban government plan to remedy the increasing economic pressure imposed due to their current state of globalization? Authors Jeffrey and Hannah Sachs of the Globe and Mail offer two possible scenarios. In the first, the United States adopts the same hands-on approach as before. Perhaps Congress will demand that previously nationalized US property be recompensed or the “unrestricted right of Americans to buy Cuban land and other property.” Or maybe the United States will assert ideological superiority over socialist thought and demand state-owned enterprises be privatized, such as the public health care

Cubans cannot be provided with many essential American resources that would be critical in the aid of the lives of their people. Doctors in Cuba have access to less than 50% of the drugs on the global market. Treatment for many life threatening illnesses in Cuba are not available because they are commercialized under US patents. Fewer than 25% of Cubans can access the internet. US companies like Microsoft and Google have to comply with the sanctions and therefore cannot provide the Cuban people with access to information. US trade and business in Cuba is the key to exposing the Cuban people to the realities of freedom and opportunity in America thus weakening the Cuban government’s intentions of limiting its citizens to access to the outside

Castro’s half century run as Cuba’s first czar turned a once successful national economy into a shambles where everything is provided “free” by the government. The only problem is the government has nothing that isn’t already Castro’s personal fortune of one billion that in retrospect isn’t doing him much good now.

Recently, the relationship between Cuba and the United States has been a leading story in the news. It has been reported that the U.S. government is heading towards normalization with the tiny island country. This is in contrast to the history of the two countries. Beginning directly after the communist revolution in Cuba, which began in the late 1950’s, the two countries halted all diplomatic relations. Additionally, the conditions in Cuba worsened, and the economy crashed. Since 1980, hundreds of thousands have left due to the horrible circumstances. Led by Fidel Castro, the communist revolution in Cuba has been a failure because the standard of living collapsed and continues to fall behind other countries.

This week’s readings followed the perspectives of the United States and Cuba through multiple transitions of power throughout the mid-20th century and late 21st century. U.S. policies implemented by the various presidents over this sixty-year span were unable to solve previous hegemonic and interventionist ideologies. On the other hand, Cuba pre- and post-Cold War was a growing power that gave voice and representation to nations who had been previously colonized and dominated by bigger superpowers. Cuba wanted to end ties with the United States, a nation who had been instrumental in preventing their goals and fight for their struggles. Fidel Castro represented the legitimacy of Cuban goals and pursuits of nationalism across the world. On the

Throughout this paper, I will be striving to answer the question of What I need to know before conducting business with Cuba, or starting a business in Cuba. Cuba is a totalitarian communist country whose leader is Raul Castro, and the country is in extreme need of all types of products and services from other countries, therefore, Cuba decided to

During my trip to Cuba, I have noticed that the island is experiencing economic reforms that are enabling its citizens to own property and conduct free enterprise. Cuba market socialist economy is a viable economic system that is not dead but alive and well by incorporating elements of the free market in political and social agendas that enable free enterprise to flourish. These economic reforms have been taken place due to inability from the Castro regime to maintain relevant solutions to the island economic problems and dependency on government. The introduction of market socialism (liberal socialism) as a logic, the economic policy appears to be working for the Cuban government. Liberal socialism policies were enacted as a response to American