Advertisement
| economic problems in cuba: The Cuban Economy in a New Era Jorge I. Domínguez, Omar Everleny Pérez Villanueva, Lorena Barberia, 2017 The Cuban Economy in a New Era diagnoses the ills afflicting Cuba's economy and examines seven areas: macroeconomic policy, central planning, small and medium private enterprises, nonagricultural cooperatives, financing options for the new private sector, state enterprise management, and relations with international financial institutions. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuban Economists on the Cuban Economy Al Campbell, 2013-07-09 Cuban Economists on the Cuban Economy was written, in part, to reveal the rigorous research conducted within the country and to clarify the different factors that Cubans emphasize in examining their place on the world economic stage. It also provides unique insights into the island’s fight against poverty, its aging population, and its trade unions. This book will be an invaluable resource for years to come. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuban Economic and Social Development Jorge I. Domínguez, 2012 The transformation of the Cuban economy over the last decade is only likely to accelerate. In this edited volume, prominent Cuban economists and sociologists present a clear analysis of Cuba's economic and social circumstances and suggest steps for Cuba to reactivate economic growth and improve the welfare of its citizens. |
| economic problems in cuba: Post-Stabilization Politics in Latin America Carol Wise, Riordan Roett, 2003-07-28 Over the last twenty years Latin America has seen a definitive movement toward civilian rule. Significant trade, fiscal, and monetary reforms have accompanied this shift, exposing previously state-led economies to the forces of the market. Despite persistent economic and political hardships, the combination of civilian regimes and market-based strategies has proved to be remarkably resilient and still dominates the region. This book focuses on the effects of market reforms on domestic politics in Latin America. While considering civilian rule as a constant, the book examines and compares domestic political responses in six countries that embraced similar packages of reforms in the 1980s—Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela. The contributors focus on how ambitious measures such as liberalization, privatization, and deregulation yielded mixed results in these countries and in doing so they identify three main patterns of political economic adjustment. In Argentina and Chile, the implementation of market reforms has gone hand in hand with increasingly competitive politics. In Brazil and Mexico, market reforms helped to catalyze transitions from entrenched authoritarian rule. Finally, in Peru and Venezuela, traditional political systems have collapsed and civilian rule has been repeatedly challenged. The contributors include Carol Wise (University of Southern California), Karen L. Remmer (Duke University), Carol Graham (Brookings Institution), Stefano Pettinato (United Nations Development Programme), Consuelo Cruz (Tufts University), Juan E. Corradi (New York University), Delia M. Boylan (Chicago Public Radio), Riordan Roett (Johns Hopkins University), Martín Tanaka (Institute for Peruvian Studies, Lima), and Kenneth M. Roberts (University of New Mexico). |
| economic problems in cuba: We Are Cuba! Helen Yaffe, 2020-04-06 The extraordinary account of the Cuban people’s struggle for survival in a post-Soviet world In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba faced the start of a crisis that decimated its economy. Helen Yaffe examines the astonishing developments that took place during and beyond this period. Drawing on archival research and interviews with Cuban leaders, thinkers, and activists, this book tells for the first time the remarkable story of how Cuba survived while the rest of the Soviet bloc crumbled. Yaffe shows how Cuba has been gradually introducing select market reforms. While the government claims that these are necessary to sustain its socialist system, many others believe they herald a return to capitalism. Examining key domestic initiatives including the creation of one of the world’s leading biotechnological industries, its energy revolution, and medical internationalism alongside recent economic reforms, Yaffe shows why the revolution will continue post-Castro. This is a fresh, compelling account of Cuba’s socialist revolution and the challenges it faces today. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba After Castro Edward Gonzalez, Kevin F. McCarthy, Louay Constant, Gabriella Gonzalez, Jeffery C. Tanner, Bruce Hoffman, 2004-06-29 When the end of the Castro era arrives, the successor government and the Cuban people will need to answer certain questions: How is Castro's more than four-decade rule likely to affect a post-Castro Cuba? What will be the political, social, and economic challenges Cuba will confront? What are the impediments to Cuba's economic development and democratic transition? The authors examine Castro's political legacies, Cuba's generational and racial divisions, its demographic predicament, the legacy of a centralized economy, and the need for industrial restructuring. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba's Socialist Economy Today Paolo Spadoni, 2014 What does Cuba¿s socialist economy look like today, after a half-century of fluctuating strategies? Are the reforms instituted by Raúl Castro improving living conditions and boosting production and efficiency? What challenges does the government face in crafting policies to address the country¿s most critical problems? Paolo Spadoni offers deeply informed answers to these questions as he traces the evolution of Cuba¿s economy, explores the current state of affairs in key sectors, and assesses the likelihood that government efforts to cure Cuba¿s economic woes will be successful. |
| economic problems in cuba: Entrepreneurial Cuba Archibald R. M. Ritter, Ted Henken, 2015 During the presidency of Raúl Castro, Cuba has dramatically reformed its policies toward small private enterprises. Archibald Ritter and Ted Henken consider why¿and to what effect. After reviewing the evolution of policy since 1959, the authors contrast the approaches of Fidel and Raúl Castro and explore in depth the responses of Cuban entrepreneurs to the new environment. Their work, rich in ethnographic research and extensive interviews, provides a revealing analysis of Cuba¿s fledgling private sector. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba Rex A. Hudson, 2002 Describes and analyzes the economic, national security, political, and social systems and institutions of Cuba.--Amazon.com viewed Jan. 4, 2021. |
| economic problems in cuba: No More Free Lunch Claes Brundenius, Ricardo Torres Pérez, 2016-08-23 In September 2010, the Cuban government decided to embark on an economic reform program, unprecedented after the Revolution in 1959. This opened up opportunities for Cuban economists and scholars to participate in the development of the reform program. Thanks to grants from SSRC (Social Sciences Research Council, New York) and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several researchers from the Cuban think tank CEEC (Center for Studies of the Cuban Economy, Havana) got an opportunity to visit countries that could be of interest for the reform process, notably Vietnam, but also Brazil, South Africa and Norway. The result of these field visits and a subsequent workshop involving contributions from Cuban as well as non-Cuban scholars, this volume showcases unprecedented new insights into the process and prospects for reform along many dimensions, including foreign direct investment, import substitution, entrepreneurship and business creation, science and technology development, and fiscal policies. The resulting analysis, in a comparative perspective, provides a framework for future research as well as for business practice and policymaking. |
| economic problems in cuba: Back Channel to Cuba William M. LeoGrande, Peter Kornbluh, 2015-09-14 History is being made in U.S.-Cuban relations. Now in paperback and updated to tell the real story behind the stunning December 17, 2014, announcement by President Obama and President Castro of their move to restore full diplomatic relations, this powerful book is essential to understanding ongoing efforts toward normalization in a new era of engagement. Challenging the conventional wisdom of perpetual conflict and aggression between the United States and Cuba since 1959, Back Channel to Cuba chronicles a surprising, untold history of bilateral efforts toward rapprochement and reconciliation. William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh here present a remarkably new and relevant account, describing how, despite the intense political clamor surrounding efforts to improve relations with Havana, negotiations have been conducted by every presidential administration since Eisenhower's through secret, back-channel diplomacy. From John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top secret quest for normalization, to Barack Obama's promise of a new approach, LeoGrande and Kornbluh uncovered hundreds of formerly secret U.S. documents and conducted interviews with dozens of negotiators, intermediaries, and policy makers, including Fidel Castro and Jimmy Carter. They reveal a fifty-year record of dialogue and negotiations, both open and furtive, that provides the historical foundation for the dramatic breakthrough in U.S.-Cuba ties. |
| economic problems in cuba: Social Policies and Institutional Reform in Post-COVID Cuba Bert Hoffmann, 2021-08-09 The economic crisis in the wake of the COVID pandemic is putting Cuba's socialism to a severe test. The government in Havana has added a fundamental reform of the economy, institutional structure and social policies to the agenda. This volume brings together contributions from leading international experts as well as from the island itself, analysing the economic, political and social challenges Cuba is facing today. |
| economic problems in cuba: The Pinochet Case Madeleine Davis, 2000 The 1998 arrest of Senator Augusto Pinochet in London, on the orders of a Spanish judge seeking his extradition for human rights crimes, made headlines all over the world. Part of a wider, ongoing attempt by human rights activists and lawyers to prosecute the crimes of Latin American military regimes, the case has important implications for national and international law and for politics, diplomacy and democracy. This book brings together political scientists and lawyers from Latin America, the United States, Spain and the UK to analyse the political and historical context of the case, its progress through the courts in the UK and Chile, its handling by national governments, and its political and legal implications, both national and international. |
| economic problems in cuba: the Cuban Economy Archibald R.M. Ritter, 2004-05-09 Cuba faced an economic meltdown of catastrophic proportions in the early 1990s when covert subsidies from the former Soviet Union disappeared. Policies instituted by the island republic's government to handle the worst problems have had inconsistent results. Opening the economy to foreign enterprise has resulted in positive growth in tourism and nickel and cigar exports. However, remnants of the older economy, including the sugar and biotechnological industries, have only experienced a decrease in capital and importance. Basic educational and health services have been maintained surprisingly well, but the standard of living is still far below the highs of the 1980s. With contributions from many leading Cuba scholars, The Cuban Economy offers not only an analysis of the economy since 1990, but also a look towards future prospects. |
| economic problems in cuba: Economic Conditions in Cuba Paul L. Edwards, 1923 |
| economic problems in cuba: Manana in Cuba José Azel, 2010-02-23 Maana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Part one of the book critically explores the mindset Cubans have developed living under a totalitarian system and introduces modern concepts of choice architecture and governance that can be employed Maana in Cuba to foster a democratic civil society. Part two turns to a discussion of the principles that should guide sociopolitical and economic transition policies in line with Cuban culture and history. Maana in Cuba offers a sophisticated analysis of the challenges and opportunities that will be present in post-Castro Cuba with an eye to intelligent, nuanced, and often outside the box solutions to aid business and government policymakers interested in Cuba's future. A unique aspect of this book is that it does not seek to unnaturally mend a decimated civil society, but rather, it offers policy approaches anchored on current Cuban ethos and society. This is a book about finding ways to facilitate the Cuban transition from totalitarianism and a centrally planned economy to liberal democracy and a free-market economic system. As the author argues, the alternative visions presented for Cuba's future matter because one of them will crystallize into the sociopolitical and economic narrative of the country for generations to come. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba Today and Tomorrow Max Azicri, 2000-01-01 Covering the turbulent period of the 1990s, this book examines such issues as the impact on Cuba of the Soviet Union's collapse, the country's social malaise under economic scarcity, the reorganization of its economy, changes in its political system, problems in its relations with the United States, and the renaissance of Cuban religious life in the aftermath of the pope's visit. Azicri offers an objectively researched study that addresses many of the assumptions made by partisan participants. Demonstrating how Cuba's ongoing reform process has allowed it to avoid the fate of other Soviet bloc regimes, he maintains that Havana has continually reinvented the nature of Cuban socialism. Drawing on original sources and scholarly studies from Cuba, the United States, and elsewhere, he argues that a more restrained and limited socialism is suitable to today's Cuba and explains why such a system probably will prevail beyond Castro. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba Democracy Assistance David Gootnick, Leslie Holen, Elisabeth Helmer, Heather Latta, Joshua Akery, Laura Bednar, David Dornisch, Crystal Lazcano, John Lopez, Kim McGatlin, 2013-02-07 The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and Department of State (State) provide democracy assistance for Cuba aimed at developing civil society and promoting freedom of information. Typical program beneficiaries include Cuban community leaders, independent journalists, women, youths, and marginalized groups. USAID receives the majority of funding allocated for this assistance, although State has received 32 percent of funding since 2004. In recent years, both USAID and State have provided more funding for program implementation to for-profit and nongovernmental organizations (NGO) with a worldwide or regional focus than to universities and to NGOs that focus only on Cuba. All types of implementing partners, but worldwide or regional organizations in particular, used subpartners to implement program activities under 21 of the 29 awards and contracts that GAO reviewed. USAID and State legal officials view the Cuba democracy programs authorizing legislation as allowing the agencies discretion in determining the types of activities that can be funded with program assistance. Agency officials added that the agencies ensure that program activities directly relate to democracy promotion as broadly illustrated in related program legislation. The officials stated that organizations are expected to work with agency program officers to determine what activities are permitted or appropriate. In addition, they said that program partners and subpartners are expected to spend U.S. government funds consistent with U.S. laws, and that requirements in primary award agreements generally flow down to any subpartners. USAID has improved its performance and financial monitoring of implementing partners use of program funds by implementing new policies and hiring contractors to improve monitoring and evaluation and to conduct financial internal controls reviews, but GAO found gaps in States financial monitoring. While GAO found some gaps in implementing partners performance planning and reporting, both agencies are taking steps to improve performance monitoring. For financial monitoring, USAID performs financial internal controls reviews of its implementing partners with the assistance of an external auditor. Since 2008, USAID has used a risk-based approach to determine the coverage and frequency of the 30 reviews the auditor has conducted, which have identified weaknesses in implementing partners financial management, procurement, and internal controls. However, because of resource constraints, State did not perform financial internal controls reviews for more than two-thirds of its implementing partners during fiscal years 2010 through 2012. State procured an external financial auditor in September 2012 that plans to review more than half of States implementing partners, and has taken steps toward implementing a risk-based approach for scheduling these reviews. Federal regulations generally require agencies to approve the use of subpartners. GAO found that USAID issued specific guidance in 2011 to its implementing partners on requirements for subpartner approval. While State told GAO it has similar requirements, States requirements are not clearly specified in its written guidance. As a result, State was not provided with the information it would have needed to approve at least 91 subawards and subcontracts that were obligated under eight awards. Why GAO Did This Study: Since 1996, Congress has appropriated $205 million to USAID and State to support democracy assistance for Cuba. Because of Cuban government restrictions, conditions in Cuba pose security risks to the implementing partnersprimarily NGOsand subpartners that provide U.S. assistance. For this report, GAO (1) identified current assistance, implementing partners, subpartners, and beneficiaries; (2) reviewed USAIDs and States efforts to implement the program in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations and to address program risks; and (3) examined USAIDs and States monitoring of the use of program funds. This report is a publicly releasable version of a Sensitive But Unclassified Report that GAO issued in December 2012. What GAO Recommends: GAO is recommending that State take steps to improve its financial monitoring of implementing partners and provide clear guidance for approving subpartners. State concurred with GAOs recommendations and cited steps they are taking to address them. |
| economic problems in cuba: Women’s Work in Special Period Cuba Daliany Jerónimo Kersh, 2019-02-14 The abrupt loss of Soviet financial support in 1989 resulted in the near-collapse of the Cuban economy, ushering in the almost two decades of austerity measures and severe shortages of food and basic consumer goods referred to as the Special Period. Through the innovative framework of individual and collective memory, Daliany Jerónimo Kersh brings together analysis of press sources and oral histories to offer a compelling portrait of how Cuban women cleverly combined various forms of paid work to make ends meet. Disproportionately impacted by the economic crisis given their role as primary caregivers and household managers and unable to survive on devalued state salaries alone, women often employed informal and illegal earning strategies. As she argues, this regression into gendered work such as cooking, sewing, cleaning, reselling, and providing sexual services precipitated by the post-Soviet crisis to a large extent marked a return to pre-revolutionary gendered divisions of labor. |
| economic problems in cuba: The Economic War Against Cuba Salim Lamrani, 2013-03 It is impossible to fully understand Cuba today without also understanding the economic sanctions levied against it by the United States. For over fifty years, these sanctions have been upheld by every presidential administration, and at times intensified by individual presidents and acts of Congress. They are a key part of the U.S. government’s ongoing campaign to undermine the Cuban Revolution, and stand in egregious violation of international law. Most importantly, the sanctions are cruelly designed for their harmful impact on the Cuban people. In this concise and sober account, Salim Lamrani explains everything you need to know about U.S. economic sanctions against Cuba: their origins, their provisions, how they contravene international law, and how they affect the lives of Cubans. He examines the U.S. government’s own official documents to expose what is hiding in plain sight: an indefensible, vicious, and wasteful blockade that has been roundly condemned by citizens around the world. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cooperatives and Socialism Camila Piñeiro Harnecker, 2012-11-29 This book demonstrates that the cooperative model is based on principles essential to building a more just and democratic society. It is argued that this is the best economic reform alternative to neoliberal capitalism and authoritarian socialism in Cuba, and that this model can also radically transform other economies around the world. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba 1933 Luis E. Aguilar, 1972 |
| economic problems in cuba: Socialism: The Failed Idea That Never Dies Kristian Niemietz, 2019-02-07 Socialism is strangely impervious to refutation by real-world experience. Over the past hundred years, there have been more than two dozen attempts to build a socialist society, from the Soviet Union to Maoist China to Venezuela. All of them have ended in varying degrees of failure. But, according to socialism’s adherents, that is only because none of these experiments were “real socialism”. This book documents the history of this, by now, standard response. It shows how the claim of fake socialism is only ever made after the event. As long as a socialist project is in its prime, almost nobody claims that it is not real socialism. On the contrary, virtually every socialist project in history has gone through a honeymoon period, during which it was enthusiastically praised by prominent Western intellectuals. It was only when their failures became too obvious to deny that they got retroactively reclassified as “not real socialism”. |
| economic problems in cuba: The Oxford Handbook of Latin American Political Economy Javier Santiso, Jeff Dayton-Johnson, 2012-05-09 Understanding Latin America's recent economic performance calls for a multidisciplinary analysis. This handbook looks at the interaction of economics and politics in the region and includes a number of contributions from top academic experts who have also served as key policy makers (a former president, ministers of finance, a central bank governor), reflecting upon the challenges of reform. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba After the Cold War Carmelo Mesa-Lago, 1993-08-15 Ten original essays by an international team of scholars specializing in Cuba, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and Latin America focus on the fall of communism in Europe and the transition to a market economy. Major themes of this study are the impact of the USSR's collapse on Cuba, how the historic events in Europe have affected the Central and South American Left, their implications to Cuba, Cuba's policies for confronting the crisis, and potential scenarios for the political and economic transformation of Cuba. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba Under Raul Castro Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Jorge F. Pérez-López, 2013 What led to the dramatic social and economic reforms introduced by Cuba¿s president Raul Castro. How effective have those reforms been? And what obstacles does Castro face in overcoming the country¿s chronic socioeconomic woes? Cuba Under Raul Castro addresses these questions, offering a comprehensive analysis of the president¿s efforts during his first six years in office. |
| economic problems in cuba: Havana USA Maria Cristina Garcia, 1996-02-29 In the years since Fidel Castro came to power, the migration of close to one million Cubans to the United States continues to remain one of the most fascinating, unusual, and controversial movements in American history. María Cristina García—a Cuban refugee raised in Miami—has experienced firsthand many of the developments she describes, and has written the most comprehensive and revealing account of the postrevolutionary Cuban migration to date. García deftly navigates the dichotomies and similarities between cultures and among generations. Her exploration of the complicated realm of Cuban American identity sets a new standard in social and cultural history. |
| economic problems in cuba: Sanctions as War , 2021-12-20 Sanctions as War is the first critical analysis of economic sanctions from a global perspective. Featuring case studies from 11 sanctioned countries and theoretical essays, it will be of immediate interest to those interested in understanding how sanctions became the common sense of American foreign policy. |
| economic problems in cuba: Conquering Nature Sergio Diaz-Briquets, 2000-03-15 Conquering Nature provides the only book-length analysis of the environmental situation in Cuba after four decades of socialist rule, based on extensive examination of secondary sources, informed by the study of development and environmental trends in former socialist countries as well as in the developing world. It approaches the issue comprehensively and from interdisciplinary, comparative, and historical perspectives. Based on the Cuban example, Diaz-Briquets and Perez-L—pez challenge the concept that environmental disruption was not supposed to occur under socialism since it was alleged that guided by scientific policies, socialism could only beget environmentally benign economic development. In reality, the socialist environmental record proved to be far different from the utopian view. Between the early 1960s and the late 1980s the environmental situation worsened despite Cuba's achieving one of the lowest population growth rates in the world and having eliminated extreme living standard differentials in rural areas, two of the primary reasons often blamed for environmental deterioration in developing countries. The government's approach was to conquer nature and under its central planning approach, it did not take local circumstances into consideration. This disregard for the environmental consequences of development projects continues to this day despite official allegations to the contrary—as the country pursues an economic survival strategy based on the crash development of the tourist sector and exploitation of natural resources. An underlying conclusion of the book is that the environmental legacy of socialism will present serious challenges to future Cuban generations. Conquering Nature provides, for the first time, a relevant analysis of socialist environmental policies of a developing country. It will be of interest to students and scholars of Cuba and those interested in environmental issues in developing countries. |
| economic problems in cuba: After Fidel Brian Latell, 2014-11-25 This is a compelling behind-the-scenes account of the extraordinary Castro brothers and the dynastic succession of Fidel's younger brother Raul. Brian Latell, the CIA analyst who has followed Castro since the sixties, gives an unprecedented view into Fidel and Raul's remarkable relationship, revealing how they have collaborated in policy making, divided responsibilities, and resolved disagreements for more than forty years--a challenge to the notion that Fidel always acts alone. Latell has had more access to the brothers than anyone else in this country, and his briefs to the CIA informed much of U.S. policy. Based on his knowledge of Raul Castro, Latell makes projections on what kind of leader Raul will be and how the shift in power might influence U.S.-Cuban relations. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuban Revelations Marc Frank, 2013-10-22 In Cuban Revelations, Marc Frank offers a first-hand account of daily life in Cuba at the turn of the twenty-first century, the start of a new and dramatic epoch for islanders and the Cuban diaspora. A U.S.-born journalist who has called Havana home for almost a quarter century, Frank observed in person the best days of the revolution, the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the great depression of the 1990s, the stepping aside of Fidel Castro, and the reforms now being devised by his brother. Examining the effects of U.S. policy toward Cuba, Frank analyzes why Cuba has entered an extraordinary, irreversible period of change and considers what the island's future holds. The enormous social engineering project taking place today under Raúl's leadership is fraught with many dangers, and Cuban Revelations follows the new leader's efforts to overcome bureaucratic resistance and the fears of a populace that stand in his way. In addition, Frank offers a colorful chronicle of his travels across the island's many and varied provinces, sharing candid interviews with people from all walks of life. He takes the reader outside the capital to reveal how ordinary Cubans live and what they are thinking and feeling as fifty-year-old social and economic taboos are broken. He shares his honest and unbiased observations on extraordinary positive developments in social matters, like healthcare and education, as well as on the inefficiencies in the Cuban economy. |
| economic problems in cuba: Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know Julia E Sweig, 2009-06-06 Ever since Fidel Castro assumed power in Cuba in 1959, Americans have obsessed about the nation ninety miles south of the Florida Keys. America's fixation on the tropical socialist republic has only grown over the years, fueled in part by successive waves of Cuban immigration and Castro's larger-than-life persona. Cubans are now a major ethnic group in Florida, and the exile community is so powerful that every American president has kowtowed to it. But what do most Americans really know about Cuba itself? In Cuba: What Everyone Needs to Know, Julia Sweig, one of America's leading experts on Cuba and Latin America, presents a concise and remarkably accessible portrait of the small island nation's unique place on the world stage over the past fifty years. Yet it is authoritative as well. Following a scene-setting introduction that describes the dynamics unleashed since summer 2006 when Fidel Castro transferred provisional power to his brother Raul, the book looks backward toward Cuba's history since the Spanish American War before shifting to more recent times. Focusing equally on Cuba's role in world affairs and its own social and political transformations, Sweig divides the book chronologically into the pre-Fidel era, the period between the 1959 revolution and the fall of the Soviet Union, the post-Cold War era, and-finally-the looming post-Fidel era. Informative, pithy, and lucidly written, it will serve as the best compact reference on Cuba's internal politics, its often fraught relationship with the United States, and its shifting relationship with the global community. |
| economic problems in cuba: Sugar Baron Muriel McAvoy, 2003 Sugar Baron is a brilliant, highly original narrative of the fluctuating fortunes of Cuba and its sugar industry during the republican period.--Franklin W. Knight, Johns Hopkins University McAvoy's 'subject' is not simply Manuel Rionda as an individual, but the entire history of U.S.-Cuban relations from the Spanish-Cuban-American War to the Revolution of 1933. Believe it or not, such a story can be told from the vantage point of this one individual, and McAvoy has done it in exemplary fashion.--Cesar Ayala, University of California, Los Angeles Sugar Baron is the story of Manuel Rionda (1854-1943), who immigrated from Spain to Cuba as a boy of 16 to become a dominant operator in the international sugar trade and to stand at the crossroads of U.S.-Cuban economic relations. Through an examination of Rionda's career as founder of the Cuba Cane Sugar Corporation and of New York's major sugar brokerage firm, Muriel McAvoy gives us an in-depth history of Cuba's sugar industry and its economy during the first half of the 20th century. McAvoy examines the dilemmas of development and the constraints of financial dependency, probing the inside story of how both Wall Street's and Cuba's political elite viewed the crucial economic problems facing the island and how they attempted to solve them. In great detail, she elucidates conflicts among the various economic sectors in both Cuba and the United States, providing unique and often corrective insights. Stressing the significance of the Cuban elite in furthering and profiting from the development of Cuba as a sugar enclave, Sugar Baron shows that Rionda and the other hacendados did much to ensure that a single export would dominate their island's economy, enriching themselves in the process. Challenging the view that U.S. capitalism reduced Cuba's businessmen to helpless pawns, McAvoy provides a clearer view of the responsibility for events between the Spanish-American War and the triumph of Castro's revolution. Muriel McAvoy is professor emerita at Fitchburg State College, Massachusetts. |
| economic problems in cuba: Blacks, Coloureds and National Identity in Nineteenth-century Latin America Nancy Priscilla Naro, 2003 This volume examines the political, cultural, and social role of the population with African background in the shaping of national identity in various Latin American countries. Slavery survived well into the nineteenth century in countries such as Brazil and Cuba; first its existence and then the dismantling of the institution strongly affected the definition of citizenship in the emerging nation-states. However, not all blacks were slaves, and a significant number of slaves gained their freedom during periods of war and other central events in the process of state formation. In addition to their direct participation in struggles of national significance, blacks also wrote on social, political, and cultural issues. Their involvement in politics —in elections, civil wars and revolutions, and in office —as well as in religious activities, family institutions, and civil associations, is considered in terms of the broader significance to the forging of citizenship and national identity.Contributors include Carmen Bernand (University of Paris X), Jonathan Curry-Machado (London Metropolitan University), Lauren Derby (University of Chicago), David Geggus (University of Florida), Franklin W. Knight (Johns Hopkins University), and Jean Stubbs (London Metropolitan University). |
| economic problems in cuba: Our Woman in Havana Vicki Huddleston, 2018-03-13 A top US diplomat’s compelling memoir of her years in Cuba and the tumultuous relationship between the two countries: “Unparalleled insight.” —Culture Trip After the US embassy in Havana was closed in 1961, relations between the countries broke off. A thaw came in 1977 with the opening of a de facto embassy in Havana, the US Interests Section—where Vicki Huddleston would later serve under Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. In her memoir of a diplomat at work, she tells gripping stories of face-to-face encounters with Fidel Castro and the initiatives she undertook, like the transistor radios she furnished to ordinary Cubans. Along with inside accounts of dramatic episodes such as the Elián González custody battle, Huddleston also evokes the charm of the island country and her warm affection for the Cuban people. Uniquely qualified to explain the inner workings of US-Cuba relations, Huddleston examines the Obama administration’s diplomatic opening of 2014, the mysterious “sonic” brain and hearing injuries suffered by US and Canadian diplomats serving in Havana, and the rescinding of the diplomatic opening under the Trump administration. She recounts missed opportunities for détente, and the myths, misconceptions, and lies that have long pervaded US-Cuba relations. Our Woman in Havana is essential reading for everyone interested in Cuba, including the thousands of Americans visiting the island every year, as well as policymakers and observers who study the stormy relationship with our near neighbor. “Anyone interested in the nitty-gritty of policy-making in Washington, and any young foreign service officer intrigued by worldly adventures will thoroughly enjoy.” —Ambassador Joseph Wilson, author of The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife’s CIA Identity |
| economic problems in cuba: Rebel Literacy Mark Abendroth, 2014-05-14 Rebel Literacy is a look at Cuba's National Literacy Campaign of 1961 in historical and global contexts. The Cuban Revolution cannot be understood without a careful study of Cuba's prior struggles for national sovereignty. Similarly, an understanding of Cuba's National Literacy Campaign demands an inquiry into the historical currents of popular movements in Cuba to make education a right for all. The scope of this book, though, does not end with 1961 and is not limited to Cuba and its historical relations with Spain, the United States, and the former Soviet Union. Nearly 50 years after the Year of Education in Cuba, the Literacy Campaign's legacy is evident throughout Latin America and the 'Third World.' A world-wide movement today continues against neoliberalism and for a more humane and democratic global political economy. It is spreading literacy for critical global citizenship, and Cuba's National Literacy Campaign is a part of the foundation making this global movement possible. The author collected about 100 testimonies of participants in the Campaign, and many of their stories and perspectives are highlighted in one of the chapters. Theirs are the stories of perhaps the world's greatest educational accomplishment of the 20th Century, and critical educators of the 21st Century must not overlook the arduous and fruitful work that ordinary Cubans, many in their youth, contributed toward a nationalism and internationalism of emancipation. |
| economic problems in cuba: The Elgar Companion to Marxist Economics Ben Fine, Alfredo Saad-Filho, Marco Boffo, 2012-01-01 This Companion takes stock of the trajectory, achievements, shortcomings and prospects of Marxist political economy. It reflects the contributors' shared commitment to bringing the methods, theories and concepts of Marx himself to bear across a wide range of topics and perspectives, and it provides a testimony to the continuing purpose and vitality of Marxist political economy. As a whole, this volume analyzes Marxist political economy in three areas: the critique of mainstream economics in all of its versions; the critical presence of Marxist political economy within, and its influence upon, each of the social science disciplines; and, cutting across these, the analysis of specific topics that straddle disciplinary boundaries. Some of the contributions offer an exposition of basic concepts, accessible to the general reader, laying out Marx's own contribution, its significance, and subsequent positions and debates with and within Marxist political economy. The authors offer assessments of historical developments to and within capitalism, and of its current character and prospects. Other chapters adopt a mirror-image approach of pinpointing the conditions of contemporary capitalism as a way of interrogating the continuing salience of Marxist analysis. This volume will inform and inspire a new generation of students and scholars to become familiar with Marxist political economy from an enlightened and unprejudiced position, and to use their knowledge as both a resource and gateway to future study. |
| economic problems in cuba: Invisible War Joy Gordon, 2010-04-15 The economic sanctions imposed on Iraq from 1990 to 2003 were the most comprehensive and devastating of any established in the name of international governance. In a sharp indictment of U.S. policy, Gordon examines the key role the nation played in shaping the sanctions. |
| economic problems in cuba: A Time for Change Lilah Rosenblum, 2002 A guide for grassroots activists on why the U.S. should normalize relations with Cuba. |
| economic problems in cuba: State of The Global Workplace Gallup, 2017-12-19 Only 15% of employees worldwide are engaged at work. This represents a major barrier to productivity for organizations everywhere – and suggests a staggering waste of human potential. Why is this engagement number so low? There are many reasons — but resistance to rapid change is a big one, Gallup’s research and experience have discovered. In particular, organizations have been slow to adapt to breakneck changes produced by information technology, globalization of markets for products and labor, the rise of the gig economy, and younger workers’ unique demands. Gallup’s 2017 State of the Global Workplace offers analytics and advice for organizational leaders in countries and regions around the globe who are trying to manage amid this rapid change. Grounded in decades of Gallup research and consulting worldwide -- and millions of interviews -- the report advises that leaders improve productivity by becoming far more employee-centered; build strengths-based organizations to unleash workers’ potential; and hire great managers to implement the positive change their organizations need not only to survive – but to thrive. |
Publications | World Economic Forum
4 days ago · The World Economic Forum publishes a comprehensive series of reports which examine in detail the broad range of global issues it seeks to address with stakeholders as part of …
The Future of Jobs Report 2025 | World Economic Forum
Jan 7, 2025 · General economic slowdown, to a lesser extent, also remains top of mind and is expected to transform 42% of businesses. Inflation is predicted to have a mixed outlook for net …
Chief Economists Outlook: May 2025 | World Economic Forum
May 28, 2025 · The May 2025 Chief Economists Outlook explores key trends in the global economy, including the latest outlook for growth, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy. It underlines the …
Davos 2025: What to expect and who's coming? | World Economic …
Dec 9, 2024 · The 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum takes place from 20-24 January in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting convenes under the title Collaboration for the …
US trade policy turmoil shakes the global economy, and other key ...
Apr 15, 2025 · A new UN report warned that many countries in the Asia-Pacific region remain ill-prepared for climate-related economic shocks. The IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings are fast …
The World Economic Forum
5 days ago · Learn about World Economic Forum's latest work and impact through the latest key messages on our Homepage.
5 economists on long-term economic trends | World Economic Forum
Apr 15, 2025 · The economic divisions have only been heightening in recent months as the US has implemented steep tariffs on major trading partners, kicking off a cycle of tit-for-tat trade …
Chief Economists Warn Global Growth Under Strain from Trade …
May 28, 2025 · Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to drive the next wave of economic transformation, unlocking significant growth potential but also introducing serious risks. Nearly …
Global Risks Report 2025 | World Economic Forum
Jan 15, 2025 · The 20th edition of the Global Risks Report 2025 reveals an increasingly fractured global landscape, where escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological …
World Economic Forum Announces Governance Transition
Apr 21, 2025 · The Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum underlines the importance of remaining steadfast in its mission and values as a facilitator of progress. Building on its trusted …
Publications | World Economic Forum
4 days ago · The World Economic Forum publishes a comprehensive series of reports which examine in detail the broad range of global issues it seeks to address with stakeholders as …
The Future of Jobs Report 2025 | World Economic Forum
Jan 7, 2025 · General economic slowdown, to a lesser extent, also remains top of mind and is expected to transform 42% of businesses. Inflation is predicted to have a mixed outlook for net …
Chief Economists Outlook: May 2025 | World Economic Forum
May 28, 2025 · The May 2025 Chief Economists Outlook explores key trends in the global economy, including the latest outlook for growth, inflation, monetary and fiscal policy. It …
Davos 2025: What to expect and who's coming? | World Economic …
Dec 9, 2024 · The 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum takes place from 20-24 January in Davos, Switzerland. The meeting convenes under the title Collaboration for the …
US trade policy turmoil shakes the global economy, and other key ...
Apr 15, 2025 · A new UN report warned that many countries in the Asia-Pacific region remain ill-prepared for climate-related economic shocks. The IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings are fast …
The World Economic Forum
5 days ago · Learn about World Economic Forum's latest work and impact through the latest key messages on our Homepage.
5 economists on long-term economic trends | World Economic …
Apr 15, 2025 · The economic divisions have only been heightening in recent months as the US has implemented steep tariffs on major trading partners, kicking off a cycle of tit-for-tat trade …
Chief Economists Warn Global Growth Under Strain from Trade …
May 28, 2025 · Artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to drive the next wave of economic transformation, unlocking significant growth potential but also introducing serious risks. Nearly …
Global Risks Report 2025 | World Economic Forum
Jan 15, 2025 · The 20th edition of the Global Risks Report 2025 reveals an increasingly fractured global landscape, where escalating geopolitical, environmental, societal and technological …
World Economic Forum Announces Governance Transition
Apr 21, 2025 · The Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum underlines the importance of remaining steadfast in its mission and values as a facilitator of progress. Building on its trusted …
