“La causa principal es la creciente disfuncionalidad del modelo de gobierno 2003–8, que se encuentra estructuralmente agotado.” —Heinz Dieterich (2009)1 Las relaciones económicas de Venezuela y Cuba se fundamentan en las diferentes dotaciones de recursos de ambos países. De un lado, Venezuela tiene abundantes ingresos fiscales y externos provenientes de la extraordinaria bonanza petrolera y […]

Notes1 With the price of ethanol hovering at U.S.$2.00 per gallon at the beginning of the year, and taking into consideration that nations such as Canada, China, India, Sweden, and Japan are gradually increasing ethanol consumption, ethanol production presents an enticing opportunity for the cash strapped, sugarcane nation of Cuba (Johnson, 2008). However, whereas Cuba […]

Tomando una analogía de la horticultura, pudiera decirse que la economía cubana no es una parcela que requiere de las labores de un jardinero sino de la fuerza de un bulldozer.1 Hoy Cuba es un “País Imposible.” Su esquema político y económico es insostenible. La planta física y el esquema de vida de su gente […]

Notes1 In 2008, Cuba was devastated by tropical storm Fay and several hurricanes that caused an estimated US$10 billion in damages. In quick succession, between August 16 and September 8, Fay and hurricanes Gustav and Ike pounced upon the Cuban archipelago, Fay and Ike in particular ravaging much of the national territory. Further coastal damage […]

The post-Soviet era ushered in new opportunities for Cuban entrepreneurs back in 1993. Attendant changes also included the legalization of the dollar and incentives to attract foreign investment, largely in the form of joint ventures (CEPAL 1997; Pérez-López 1994; Pérez-López 2001). Five years later, Peters and Scarpaci (1998) published the first systematic account of entrepreneurs’ […]