Cuba: Continuity and Change

By Ambassador Carlos Alzugaray Treto (PhD) Former Professor, University of Havana International Political Analyst Member, Editorial Board, Temas (Topics), Cuba www.temascuba.org February 2015 • The future is here. It was long overdue • Swiftness and scope. • A new stage full of potentialities & challenges. • Asymmetry and neighborliness. • Strong transcultural ties. • Difficult history. • “Good fences make good neighbors” (Frost) or “Love your neighbor; yet don’t pull down your hedge” (Franklin) • The Summit of the Americas. Where are we coming from Importance of geopolitical & economic factors. Map Historical trajectory: Spanish colony-U.S. control-Revolution. Role of the United States & the Cuban former upper classes. The Cold War Context. Radicalization. The elimination of the market & private sector. Utopian voluntarism. Achievements: Foreign policy: independence & internationalism. Social issues: education & health. The housing problem. Insufficient or failed results. Economic ups & downs Governance. Excessive role of government In sum: Economic failures & governmental excesses in the context of national & social achievements. The logic of change and transition Cuba has changed. The world too. New socialisms in China & Vietnam. Parallels. Other allies: Venezuela, Brazil, Russia. The Economy: Vicious circle of productivity & wages. Cuban economic model. Frankenstein metaphor. Insufficiencies of a bloated state socialism. Lessons learned: The market exists. Aging population & generational imperatives. Sustainability of social achievements. New paradigm: Autonomy & prosperity. Search for diversity in external economic partners. The substance of change Major economic reform w/political content. Prioritizing of economics over ideology. Productivity: unleashing of productive forces. Reduction of the State & its role in the economy & society. Prosperity and sustainability. Egalitarianism & fairness. Decentralization. Aligning costs with policies. Not living above possibilities. Serious search for self-reliance Movement towards a deliberative model of democracy. Less improvisation. Strategic projection. Mariel & Oil. Search for a new model: Socialism & the market. The many faces of change Gradual. Mentality change. A new social pact. Non-state (private) sector. Less equality, more fairness. Unstoppable relentlessness. Depth & impact on daily life. Pragmatism. Systematic strategic thinking. Gradual gaining of citizen acceptance. Immigration reform: an example. Opening: Internet & Telesur. Better external conditions: regional and global Challenges Resistance: ideology & interests. Change in mentality: the major challenge. Breaking the vicious circle of productivity vs wages. Mistakes: Avoiding them & problems. Bureaucratic opposition. Initial skepticism from the citizens. World economic crisis. Natural disasters. Hurricane Sandy. Timing & generational change. Little time. The external issue. Diversification & relations with U.S. Cuba and its environment today I Cuba and the Caribbean Cuba and the Caribbean Basin Mariel .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Cuba and the World.Book
CUBA FUTURES: CUBA AND THE WORLD Edited by M. Font Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies Presented at the international symposium “Cuba Futures: Past and Present,” organized by the The Cuba Project Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies The Graduate Center/CUNY, March 31–April 2, 2011 CUBA FUTURES: CUBA AND THE WORLD Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies www.cubasymposium.org www.bildner.org Table of Contents Preface v Cuba: Definiendo estrategias de política exterior en un mundo cambiante (2001- 2011) Carlos Alzugaray Treto 1 Opening the Door to Cuba by Reinventing Guantánamo: Creating a Cuba-US Bio- fuel Production Capability in Guantánamo J.R. Paron and Maria Aristigueta 47 Habana-Miami: puentes sobre aguas turbulentas Alfredo Prieto 93 From Dreaming in Havana to Gambling in Las Vegas: The Evolution of Cuban Diasporic Culture Eliana Rivero 123 Remembering the Cuban Revolution: North Americans in Cuba in the 1960s David Strug 161 Cuba's Export of Revolution: Guerilla Uprisings and Their Detractors Jonathan C. Brown 177 Preface The dynamics of contemporary Cuba—the politics, culture, economy, and the people—were the focus of the three-day international symposium, Cuba Futures: Past and Present (organized by the Bildner Center at The Graduate Center, CUNY). As one of the largest and most dynamic conferences on Cuba to date, the Cuba Futures symposium drew the attention of specialists from all parts of the world. Nearly 600 individuals attended the 57 panels and plenary sessions over the course of three days. Over 240 panelists from the US, Cuba, Britain, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, and other countries combined perspectives from various fields including social sciences, economics, arts and humanities.
[Show full text]
'The Cuban Question' and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964
‘The Cuban question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964 LSE Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/101153/ Version: Published Version Article: Harmer, Tanya (2019) ‘The Cuban question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964. Journal of Cold War Studies, 21 (3). pp. 114-151. ISSN 1520-3972 https://doi.org/10.1162/jcws_a_00896 Reuse Items deposited in LSE Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the LSE Research Online record for the item. [email protected] https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/ The “Cuban Question” and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959–1964 ✣ Tanya Harmer In January 1962, Latin American foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk arrived at the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este to debate Cuba’s position in the Western Hemisphere. Unsurprisingly for a group of representatives from 21 states with varying political, socioeconomic, and geo- graphic contexts, they had divergent goals. Yet, with the exception of Cuba’s delegation, they all agreed on why they were there: Havana’s alignment with “extra-continental communist powers,” along with Fidel Castro’s announce- ment on 1 December 1961 that he was a lifelong Marxist-Leninist, had made Cuba’s government “incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system.” A Communist offensive in Latin America of “in- creased intensity” also meant “continental unity and the democratic institu- tions of the hemisphere” were “in danger.”1 After agreeing on these points, the assembled ofﬁcials had to decide what to do about Cuba.
[Show full text]
Official Journal C 187 Volume 37 of the European Communities 9 July 1994
ISSN 0378-6986 Official Journal C 187 Volume 37 of the European Communities 9 July 1994 English edition Information and Notices Notice No Contents Page I Information Council and Commission 94/C 187/01 Missions of third countries : Accreditations 1 Commission 94/C 187/02 Ecu 3 94/C 187/03 Communication of Decisions under sundry tendering procedures in agriculture (cereals) 4 94/C 187/04 The improvement of the fiscal environment of small and medium-sized enter prises (') 5 94/C 187/05 Notice pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Council Regulation No 17 concerning case No IV/34.331 — BFGoodrich/Messier-Bugatti (') 11 94/C 187/06 Notice of initiation of a review of Regulation (EEC) No 1798 /90 as amended by Regulations (EEC) No 2966/92 and (EEC) No 2455/93 imposing anti-dumping duties relating to imports of monosodium glutamate originating in Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand and of the corresponding Commission Decisions accepting undertakings in that connection 13 94/C 187/07 Non-opposition to a notified concentration (Case No IV/M.458 — Electrolux/ AEG) 0) 14 94/C 187/08 Notification of a joint venture (Case No IV/35.076 — Juli Motorenwerk) (l) 14 94/C 187/09 Notification of a joint venture (Case IV/35.098 — Gestetner-Ricoh) (') 15 1 ( l) Text with EEA relevance (Continued overleaf) Notice No Contents (continued) page 94/C 187/ 10 State aid — C 45 /93 (N 663 /93) — United Kingdom 16 Corrigenda 94/C 187/ 11 Corrigendum to the preliminary draft Commission Regulation (EC) of 30 September 1994 on the application of Article 85 (3) of the Treaty to certain categories of technology transfer agreements (OJ No C 178 , 30 .
[Show full text]
Evaluation-Report-By
TACE PROCESS - EVALUATION REPORT OCTOBER 2013 Investor Newsletter ! Cuba-US Academic Workshops “TACE Process” - External Evaluation Report 2008-2013 Based on the findings of the external evaluation process conducted by Prof. Wolf Grabendorff PROCESS Introductory words and acknowledgements HIGHLIGHTS This report is the result of an the Global Partnership for the 2008 external evaluation process of a unique Prevention of Armed Conflict, PREPARATORY STAGE effort by Cuban and U.S. scholars, former CORDAID, Christopher Reynolds Context analysis - Consultation diplomats and foreign policy experts to Foundation, Arca Foundation, the Mexico process with scholars and institutions explore ways of improving the bilateral Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, in both the U.S. and Cuba - Process relations. The whole of the TACE the Center for Latin and Latino Studies design - Invitation to participants - Process intended to be a building block at American University, UNESP, Argentine Appointment of National in the development of a respectful and Council for International Relations – Coordinators in both countries positive Cuban-U.S. relationship, CARI-, City of Knowledge in Panama, especially in areas of mutual interest, FANJHN from Cuba, the Brookings 2009-2010-2011 WORKSHOPS where opportunities for cooperation Institution, Institute of Metheorology of Activities to address bilateral issues exist. Cuba, Molecular Immunology Center of identified as priorities: São Paulo CRIES would like to thank Prof. Cuba, Cuban Academy of Sciences, and (June 2009)-Panama (May 2010)- Wolf Grabendorff for taking the the Biomolecular Chemistry Center of Buenos Aires (July 2010)-Toronto responsibility of conducting this external Cuba). (October 2010)-Mexico D.F. (July evaluation process, with great dedication 2011) and professionalism.
[Show full text]
100 Días De Biden
FES BRIEFING 100 DÍAS DE BIDEN Las relaciones cubano-norteamericanas en tiempos de pandemia: un laberinto complejo e incierto Carlos Alzugaray Treto Abril 2021 Las relaciones entre Cuba y Estados Unidos pasan por uno Obama estaba basada en una apreciación nada coyuntural de los períodos más problemáticos e indefinidos que se han que compartía con decenas de especialistas y asesores: la po- vivido en fecha reciente. En esta relación asimétrica pero lítica hacia Cuba es un producto de la Guerra Fría; está desfa- paradójica, podría suponerse que sería Joe Biden quien sada; ha fracasado; y, por tanto, hay que actualizarla. tuviera mayor margen de maniobra para trazar una política racional que combinara valores e intereses y que la acometiera Contario a la exagerada pretensión de que “Obama lo dio to- con decisión, como lo hicieron sus dos predecesores, Barack do y no obtuvo nada”, en esta negociación el gobierno cuba- Obama y Donald Trump, aunque es cierto que en direcciones no no logró avances sustanciales ni mucho menos soluciones opuestas. Sin embargo, no ha sido así. definitivas a sus dos demandas principales (levantamiento in- condicional del bloqueo e inicio de una negociación para la Quizás convenga recordar que la anterior administración de- retirada norteamericana de la Base Naval de Guantánamo). mócrata de 2009-2017, de la cual formaron parte Biden y sus colaboradores, abandonó paulatinamente la fallida política de Un factor irritante para algunos funcionarios cubanos fue que “cambio de régimen por coerción” que había prevalecido casi Washington tampoco accedió a eliminar algunas iniciativas ininterrumpidamente desde 1959. La fue sustituyendo prime- que están claramente diseñadas para subvertir al gobierno cu- ro por un deshielo y después por una de “comprometimiento” bano y que tienen sus defensores y beneficiarios en grupos de (o engagement en inglés).
[Show full text]
Bulletin of the European Union
ISSN 0378-3693 European Commission Bulletin of the European Union 6 ·1994 The Bulletin of the European Union reports on the activities of the Commission and the other Community institutions. lt is produced by the Secretariat-General of the European Commission and published 10 times a year in the official European languages. The following reference system is used: the first digit indicates the part number, the second digit the chapter number and the subsequent digit or digits the point number. Citations should there fore read as follows: Bull 1/2-1994, point 1.1.1 or 2.2.3. Supplements to the Bulletin are published in a separate series at irregular intervals. They contain official Commission material (e.g. communications to the Council, programmes, reports and pro posals). European Commission Secretariat-Genera I Editorial team: rue de la Loi 200- B-1049 Brussels- Tel. 2957930 Sent to press in July 1994 © ECSC-EC-EAEC, Brussels • Luxembourg, 1994 Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in France Bulletin of the European Union 6 ·1994 Bulletin information service Readers can obtain information on developments since this issue went to press (date of adoption of instruments by the Council, of opinions given by Parliament or the Economic and Social Committee, of publication in the Official Journal, etc.) by tele phoning the documentation service of the Commission Offices on the following numbers: London (71) 222 8122 Belfast 240 708 Cardiff 371 631 Edinburg 225 2058 Dublin 671 2244 References in the text References to other parts of the same issue of the Bulletin are given in parentheses in text, thus (--+ point 2.1.53).
[Show full text]
Download Full Book (PDF)
Cuba The Atlantic Philanthropies 10 Rockefeller Plaza, 16th floor New York, NY 10020 United States atlanticphilanthropies.org The Atlantic Philanthropies Cuba 3 Dr. Rodriguez providesThe primary care to Shexley BenentAtlantic at walk-in clinic Number Philanthropies 14, Lo Santa Fe, Isle of Youth. Foreword 7 Preface 13 ‘It Was Something Like an Unrealized Dream’ 17 Summary 21 Why African-American Doctors Are Choosing to Study Medicine in Cuba 39 Cuba 45 Investments in Health Care 59 An Untold Story: Atlantic’s Support for Reconciliation Between the U.S. and Cuba 97 Grantee Profiles 119 William Soler Pediatric Hospital 121 INFOMED and the National Medical Sciences Information Center 130 Latin American Medical School — ELAM 136 Community Partnerships for Health Equity 142 Cuban Neurosciences Center 148 Center for Democracy in the Americas 151 Lessons 155 Acknowledgements 172 All references to currency are in U.S. dollars. The Atlantic Philanthropies Cuba BY JULIE FEINSILVER Chuck Feeney, founding chairman of The Atlantic Philanthropies, and Christopher G. Oechsli, president and CEO of Atlantic and first country director for Viet Nam, Australia and Cuba. DEDICATION Charles Francis Feeney, whose generosity and vision have improved the lives of millions in Cuba and across the globe The Atlantic Philanthropies comprise The Atlantic Trust and the Atlantic Foundation, the Mangrove Foundation (each based in Bermuda), and the Atlantic Advocacy Fund (AAF), a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization based in the United States, and other entities. One of these is the Atlantic Charitable Trust (ACT) of the United Kingdom, which is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales and is not subject to the same U.S.
[Show full text]
La Revolución Cubana Y Su Influencia En Las Izquierdas Latinoamericanas
La Revolución Cubana y su infl uencia en las izquierdas latinoamericanas y caribeñas 〈特集：キューバ革命50周年／日本キューバ国交樹立80周年記念〉 La Revolución Cubana y su infl uencia en las izquierdas latinoamericanas y caribeñas1） Carlos Alzugaray Treto2） El 27 de julio de 1960, en el Senado de la República de Chile, resonaron las siguientes frases precursoras: “Rendimos homenaje a las milicias inmoladas hace siete años en el asalto al cuartel Moncada y lo hacemos expresando que los sectores populares de Chile, la inmensa mayoría del pueblo siente, comparte y vive los ideales de la revolución cubana. Tal hecho no puede ser extraño para nadie porque en la conciencia del pueblo chileno existe la inmensa y profunda convicción de que América Latina está viviendo uno de los minutos más trascendentales de su historia; que las revoluciones mexicana y boliviana señalaron ya una etapa, y que la cubana marca con caracteres imborrables un proceso de superación al dar sólidos pasos hacia la plena independencia económica y señalar, con su lucha, el camino que han de seguir los pueblos latinoamericanos para afi anzar y acelerar la evolución política, económica y social que los lleve a ser auténtica y defi nitivamente libres.” Así habló aquella fría tarde del invierno austral Salvador Allende Gossens. A principios de la década de 1960 era sumamente arriesgado hacer un pronóstico semejante. A ojos vista, pocos antecedentes históricos permitían conjeturar que la Revolución Cubana, que ya comenzaba a ser objeto del acoso implacable del imperialismo estadounidense podría sobrevivir y aún menos tener la infl uencia que ha alcanzado hoy en día. La conferencia que con placer presento hoy en este seminario sobre el 50 Aniversario de la Revolución Cubana en el Instituto de Estudios sobre América Latina de Kioto, se propone exponer algunos rasgos característicos de este fenómeno.
[Show full text]
Ii Conferencia De Estudios Europeos Programa 4 De
II CONFERENCIA DE ESTUDIOS EUROPEOS PROGRAMA Lugar: Casa Estudiantil Universitaria, calle 27 esquina K, Vedado 4 DE DICIEMBRE SALA 1 09:00 – 09:30 INAUGURACIÓN 09:30 – 11:00 PANEL: Algunos aspectos de la presencia etnocultural e histórica de franceses, italianos y alemanes en la Cuba colonial y republicana. Modera: Dra. Leonor Amaro Cano, Profesora Titular Consultante de Historia, Universidad de La Habana (UH) Francia-Cuba: Interinfluencias y transculturación. Dr.C. Avelino Víctor Couceiro Rodríguez. Profesor. Facultad de Español para No Hispanohablantes (FENHI) UH Tras la huella de la presencia italiana en las minas de Cuba. Pablo Andrés Pitaluga Pitaluga Escritor e Investigador. Dirección de Eventos y Servicios Académicos Internacionales de la UH Presencia económica e inversionista alemana en la ciudad de La Habana durante los años 1901-1930 Dr.C. Michael Cobiella García. Profesor. FENHI-UH 11:00 – 11:20 PAUSA PARA CAFÉ 11:20 – 12:50 PANEL: Las relaciones Cuba - Europa desde una propuesta museal interpretativa. Modera: Dr. Michael González. Director de Patrimonio Cultural. Oficina del Historiador Un espacio museal para un relato: Lo que Europa nos legó. Como nos vieron, cómo los vimos, qué nos dieron, qué dimos. MSc. Onedys Calvo Noya, Centro para la interpretación de las relaciones culturales Cuba – Europa: Palacio del Segundo Cabo Nuevas tendencias museológicas y las nuevas tecnologías a favor de una mejor comunicación de los contenidos culturales en la relación Cuba Europa. MSc. Yainet Rodríguez Rodríguez, Centro para la interpretación de las relaciones culturales Cuba – Europa: Palacio del Segundo Cabo Principales estrategias socioculturales y tipos de público en la gestión del Palacio del Segundo Cabo.
[Show full text]
Diplomacy and Human Migration: a History of U.S. Relations with Cuba During the Late Cold War DISSERTATION Presented in Partial
Diplomacy and Human Migration: A History of U.S. Relations with Cuba during the Late Cold War DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Hideaki Kami Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2015 Dissertation Committee: Professor Robert J. McMahon, Adviser Professor Peter L. Hahn, Co-adviser Professor Stephanie J. Smith Copyright by Hideaki Kami 2015 Abstract This dissertation analyzes U.S.-Cuban relations by focusing on the interaction of diplomacy and human migration during the late Cold War years. It explores how the U.S. government reformulated its Cuban policy in light of Fidel Castro’s institutionalization of power while, at the same time, trying to build a new relationship with the Cuban- American community as the latter forged a new, politically mobilized constituency within U.S. society. Based on historical sources from the United States, Cuba, and other countries, I argue that the triangular relations among Washington, Havana, and Miami formidably reinforced the status quo. As hundreds of thousands of Cuban-Americans participated in U.S. politics in the hope of toppling the Castro regime, the U.S. government could no longer dismiss their concerns as completely alien to the national interest. But while committing to “freedom” in Cuba in their public statements, U.S. policy-makers in fact placed a higher priority on stability in the Caribbean Sea; they collaborated with the Cuban government to prevent migration crises such as the 1980 Mariel boatlift, one of the largest and most traumatic in modern U.S.
[Show full text]
'The Cuban Question' and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964
‘The Cuban question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964 LSE Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/101153/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Harmer, Tanya (2019) ‘The Cuban question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964. Journal of Cold War Studies, 21 (3). pp. 114-151. ISSN 1520-3972 https://doi.org/10.1162/jcws_a_00896 Reuse Items deposited in LSE Research Online are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved unless indicated otherwise. They may be downloaded and/or printed for private study, or other acts as permitted by national copyright laws. The publisher or other rights holders may allow further reproduction and re-use of the full text version. This is indicated by the licence information on the LSE Research Online record for the item. [email protected] https://eprints.lse.ac.uk/ ‘The Cuban Question’ and the Cold War in Latin America, 1959-1964. Tanya Harmer In January 1962, Latin American foreign ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk arrived at the Uruguayan beach resort of Punta del Este to debate Cuba’s position in the Western Hemisphere. Unsurprisingly for a group of representatives from 21 different states with varying political, socio-economic, and geographic contexts, they had divergent goals. Yet, with the exception of Cuba’s delegation, they all agreed on why they were there: Havana’s alignment with “extra-continental communist powers” along with Fidel Castro’s announcement that he was a life-long Marxist-Leninist on 1 December 1961 had made Cuba’s government “incompatible with the principles and objectives of the inter-American system.” A Communist offensive in Latin America of “increased intensity” also meant “continental unity and the democratic institutions of the hemisphere” were “in danger.”1 After agreeing on these points, the assembled officials had to decide what to do about it.
[Show full text]
Annual Report of the Director 2016/2017
THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES ST AUGUSTINE, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, WEST INDIES INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS Telephone: (868) 662-2002 Exts. 82010 / 82011/ 82084 /83235/84214 Fax: (868) 663-9685 email: [email protected] Annual Report of the Director 2016/2017 1 Table of Contents 1. DIRECTOR’S SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................ 3 2. THE REPORT ................................................................................................................................................. 4 A. STAFF ............................................................................................................................................................ 4 Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean (DAOC) ............................................................................... 7 B. STUDENTS .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Staff/Student Liaison Committee and Student Development, Academic Enhancement Programmes .................................................................................................................................................. 8 Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) 2017 ........................................................... 9 Internship Programme .............................................................................................................................. 9 Study
[Show full text]