La eliminación de la doble moneda en Cuba (pesos “cubanos” y pesos “convertibles”) ha adquirido un alto grado de actualidad desde que Fidel Castro tuvo que abandonar el poder por razones de salud, y se ha acentuado con la supuesta apertura al debate propuesta por el sucesor, la cual ha avivado la esperanza de expresar […]

Change is in the air in Cuba and its prospect permeates discussions of its politics and society. For a long time, the study of Cuban politics has been dominated by the notion that its subject is exceptional and immobile. To some degree this reflected the ideographic tendency of historical research, as well as the long […]

Notes1 Since the 31 July 2006 announcement by the Cuban government that octogenarian Fidel Castro had transferred power to his brother Raúl there has been increasing speculation regarding political and economic changes in Cuba. One key topic of particular interest to the international business community is the potential for investment opportunities in a post-Castro, post-embargo […]

In 2004, the Cuban Government announced the prohibition of the use of the U.S. dollar as a means of exchange in retail as well as in other commercial operations. From then on, all transactions have been conducted using Cuban convertible pesos (CUC), the Cuban peso backed in U.S. dollars. Cuban authorities proclaimed that the proscription […]

Ever since Fidel Castro became seriously ill and ceded power to his brother Raúl in July 2006, Cubans who live outside the island have been hoping and expecting a transition to democracy to take place in the island. I myself see the transfer of power as the first step in such a transition (see Sibaja […]