In 1950, with midterm election campaigns already in high gear, Cuba’s premier pollster, Raúl Gutiérrez Serrano published a survey measuring the “political sympathy” for Cuba’s primary movers and shakers.1 The questionnaire guru asked respondents who, among Carlos Prío, Ramón Grau, Guillermo Alonso Pujol, Fulgencio Batista and Eduardo Chibás, they believed was “most beneficial” for Cuba.2 […]

Notes1 Let me state at the outset that, in my view, to bring about rapid and sustainable growth of the Cuban economy, the flow of direct private capital investment would need to be re-established, and there would need to be a major modernization of the deteriorated capital stock of the country. Years of lack of […]

Since taking over as ruler of Cuba in 2008, Raúl Castro has adopted a number of economic policies that seek to reverse declining productivity, slow economic growth and serious balance of payments disequilibrium. His government has exhorted citizens to consume less, save more and work harder. In his first speech as president in February 2008, […]

Labor market issues are front and center in current debates about the future of the Cuban economy. Since his designation as interim President in August 2006, Raúl Castro has fostered a number of policy initiatives that broaden self-employment, modify pay systems to connect more closely wages with performance, eliminate salary caps, authorize workers to receive […]

Notes1 INTRODUCTION Water is essential to all known forms of life. It is fundamental as a solvent for all the major components of cells, is essential to metabolic processes, and is required for photosynthesis. The importance of water however, is often overlooked. As Rachel Carson wrote in her 1962 work, Silent Spring, “In an age […]