Notes1 “La causa principal es la creciente disfuncionalidad del modelo de gobierno 2003–8, que se encuentra estructuralmente agotado.” —Heinz Dieterich (2009)2 “La crisis que afecta a Venezuela no es transitoria, ni coyuntural, ni superable sólo con el alza de los precios del petróleo.” —18 economistas (2010)3 “The Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore.” […]

Notes1 A mi padre. Y a todos los masones cubanos, Dentro y fuera de la Isla. Comenzaremos por aclarar al lector en que consiste el presente trabajo. Este estudio no es una apología de la masonería, ni tampoco una historia general de esta institución. Los interesados en este primer tema pueden revisar el libro de […]

Most discussions on Cuban affairs reveal deep seated discords along ideological lines. However, when the conversation centers around educational attainment issues, the tendency is to praise the levels of educational excellence achieved by Cuban students in schools throughout the island. The main criticisms since the Castro government nationalized all schools are usually about the government’s […]

For decades Fidel Castro has “exported” professionals, mostly doctors,1 to the developing world to serve as “missionaries for the Cuban Revolution.”2 These brigades of “proletarian internationalists,” as they are referred to at home,3 have two primary goals: to earn hard currency and advance other economic goals of the regime and to gain political influence, prestige, […]

Notes1 Cuba has been allocating resources and production, primarily through its centrally planned economy, which created an inappropriate labor incentives system, leading to deteriorating economic conditions (Pellet, 1976, 1986). These factors negatively affected Cuba’s economy. For example, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 1995 was $1,926 compared to $2,067 per capita in 1959 […]