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Counterpunch Weekend Edition
May 13 - 15, 2011
Lobster is For Tourists Only
Cuba's New Socialism
By RENAUD LAMBERT
Fidel Castro's brother Raúl is taking a pragmatic approach to
economics in his presidency, but how far will he be able to
correct Cuba's situation?
In 1994 Raúl Castro, then defence minister, voiced a rare
disagreement with his brother Fidel: "The main threat is not
American guns, it's beans - beans the Cuban people can't get".
Fidel opposed liberalising agriculture, which would have boosted
food production. But since the collapse of the Soviet bloc, GDP
had fallen by 35%, the US had tightened the trade embargo and
Cubans were suffering from malnutrition. Raúl was certain that if
things did not change, he would have to bring the tanks out. At
the end of the year, the government authorised free farmers' markets.
Raúl is president now and maintains Cuba is still not out of the
"special period" . In 2008 three hurricanes caused $10bn worth of
damage to infrastructure (equivalent to 20% of GDP) and the
international financial crisis hit the strongest sectors of the
economy, especially tourism and nickel. Unable to meet its
obligations, Cuba froze foreign assets and restricted imports,
although this slowed the economy further. In 2009 agricultural
production fell by 7.3%; between 2004 and 2010 food imports soared
from 50% to 80%.
In December 2010 Raúl told the National Assembly: "We are treading
a path that runs along the edge of a precipice; we must rectify
[the situation] now, or it will be too late and we will fall."
The president of the National Assembly, Ricardo Alarcón (once
rumoured to be a prime candidate to succeed Fidel Castro) said:
"Yes, Cuba will open up to the world market - to capitalism."
Building "socialism in one country" is not easy, especially if its
domestic market is small, so would Cuba abandon the revolution?
Alarcón dismissed the idea: "We will do our utmost to preserve
socialism; not the perfect socialism we all dream of, but the kind
of socialism that is possible here, under the conditions we are
facing. And we already have market mechanisms in Cuba."
full: http://www.counterpunch.org/lambert05132011.html
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