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Cuban Reforms Bring Optimism and Criticism
by
findingDulcinea Staff
President Raul Castro has lifted restrictions on cell phones, hotel stays and agriculture, but some question whether change is truly occurring in Cuba.
30-Second Summary
Since taking over the presidency in February 2008, Raul Castro has made several reforms, which include allowing Cubans to own cell phones and stay in the same hotels as foreigners. In addition, farms are now able to obtain more land and supplies, the BBC reports.
However, not everyone is benefiting from reforms. For Cubans who do not receive money from relatives abroad, their lack of electronic equipment is “another reminder that those without U.S. currency are second-class citizens,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
In early April 2008, Cuba announced that it would be overhauling the state wage system, increasing incentives for workers by removing the limit on employees’ earnings. A Reuters article called the reform a sign that Raul Castro hoped to improve Cuba’s economy.
The government maintains that reforms will not undermine socialism in Cuba. On April 16, an editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Granma said, “There will be a more perfect socialism … led by Fidel, Raul and the party’s leadership.”
Recently, Fidel Castro wrote an editorial in Granma that warned against “shameful concessions” through reforms. In addition, Cuba spoke out strongly against the United States after a peaceful protest was broken up in Havana last week.
To some critics, not much has changed in Cuba. An editorial in Florida newspaper Banderas News said reforms would “provide some relief from the torture and despair that is daily life in Cuba. But under Raul Castro, the fundamental nature of that life is unchanged.”
However, not everyone is benefiting from reforms. For Cubans who do not receive money from relatives abroad, their lack of electronic equipment is “another reminder that those without U.S. currency are second-class citizens,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
In early April 2008, Cuba announced that it would be overhauling the state wage system, increasing incentives for workers by removing the limit on employees’ earnings. A Reuters article called the reform a sign that Raul Castro hoped to improve Cuba’s economy.
The government maintains that reforms will not undermine socialism in Cuba. On April 16, an editorial in the Communist Party newspaper Granma said, “There will be a more perfect socialism … led by Fidel, Raul and the party’s leadership.”
Recently, Fidel Castro wrote an editorial in Granma that warned against “shameful concessions” through reforms. In addition, Cuba spoke out strongly against the United States after a peaceful protest was broken up in Havana last week.
To some critics, not much has changed in Cuba. An editorial in Florida newspaper Banderas News said reforms would “provide some relief from the torture and despair that is daily life in Cuba. But under Raul Castro, the fundamental nature of that life is unchanged.”
Headline Links: Cell phones and microwaves flood Cuba
The BBC reports that in Cuba “there may be no signs of any move towards greater democracy, but the economic controls are starting to ease.” Since taking over the presidency, Raul Castro has made several reforms, allowing Cubans to own cell phones and stay in the same hotels as foreigners. Farms are now able to obtain more land and supplies.
Source: The BBC
However, many Cubans cannot afford electronics, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Approximately one-third of Cubans receive monthly payments from relatives living abroad. For those who do not, the growing prolificacy of cell phones and microwaves is “another reminder that those without U.S. currency are second-class citizens,” said the article.
Source: Los Angeles Times (free registration may be required)
Background Links: Raul Castro’s plans for reforms
In March 2008, The Times of London reported on Raul Castro’s first speech as President of Cuba, in which he suggested that he’d end rationing and introduce farm reforms. In the 1990s, Raul Castro attempted to push agricultural reforms to feed starving Cubans, but his elder brother Fidel denied the move.
Source: The Times of London
In early April 2008, Cuba announced that it would be overhauling the state wage system, increasing incentives for workers by removing the limit on employees’ earnings. About 90 percent of Cuba’s economic activity and the majority of the work force are controlled by the state.
Source: Reuters
On April 16, Cuba’s government responded to democracy advocates by saying that the recent reforms would strengthen, rather than undermine, socialism in Cuba. According to The Washington Post, an editorial in the Communist Party daily newspaper Granma said, “There will be a more perfect socialism … led by Fidel, Raul and the party’s leadership.”
Source: The Washington Post (free registration may be required)
Related Links: Fidel and Cuban government stand firm
According to the Houston Chronicle, in April 2008, Communist newspaper Granma published an editorial by Fidel Castro in which the former president expressed aversion to the latest economic reforms. The editorial was “a direct attack” on Raul Castro’s reforms, reports the Chronicle.
Source: Houston Chronicle
Granma published Fidel Castro’s editorial entitled “Making no concessions to enemy ideology” on April 23, 2008.
Source: Granma
According to the New York Times, after Havana police broke up a peaceful sit-in by the opposition group Ladies in White, Cuba complained of U.S. interference. “The United States Interests Section in Havana … has strengthened its role as the general headquarters of the internal counterrevolution,” said the Cuban government.
Source: The New York Times (free registration may be required)
Opinion & Analysis: The impact of reforms in Cuba
In a February 2008 Miami Herald article, Cuban expert Marifeli Pérez Stable, a vice president of the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, expressed concern that even minor agricultural reforms could have “combustible … unintended consequences” after so many years of oppressive rule.
Source: Cuba Facts (Miami Herald)
An April 2008 editorial in Florida newspaper Banderas News questioned whether Raul Castro’s reforms were truly a sign of change in Cuba. “Real economic reform - that is, allowing Cubans to work where they choose, earn what they can and buy all they need and want - will require the type of willingness to change that Castro has not demonstrated,” said the column.
Source: Banderas News
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