Durante los más de 40 años de gobierno castrista las estructuras del sistema productivo han sufrido importantes cambios. El estudio de tales estructuras materiales es crucial para trazar la política económica de la transición hacia el mercado. Desde los años 50, gracias a los trabajos de Alienes, se conoce el carácter decisivo de las exportaciones […]

Cuba was once a land of complex forests, and these forests were a foundation of much prosperity. Not only were precious woods logged for export, but natural products, such as dye-woods, were sold as well. For example, some of the natural medicines listed in Parke, Davis & Co. manuals (1890) surely came from Cuba. However, […]

El viejo sistema se ha desintegrado, el nuevo aún no está construido y nuestra vida colectiva esta marcada por una incertidumbre subconsciente acerca de que tipo de sistema queremos, como construirlo y si tenemos los conocimientos para construirlo en primer lugar. (Vaclav Havel, New York Review of Books, 7 de marzo de 1991.) En el […]

Notes1 A reader of debates taking place in the U.S. Congress might justly conclude that U.S. sanctions have had a significant effect on the performance of the Cuban economy. Opponents of sanctions argue that sanctions have impoverished the island and therefore caused innocent Cubans to suffer. Supporters of sanctions argue that sanctions have kept valuable […]

Notes1 The question of remittances from persons of Cuban descent living outside of Cuba to their relatives on the Island is one of the most contentious in the Cuban- American community. Even if the economic and political impact on Cuba of remittances were not significant—and I believe they are—the important role they play in the […]