A few thoughts on the Cuban economy

Following a very brief presentation of the pre-1959 situation in Cuba, an assessment is made of the Cuban revolution's major advances and real shortcomings in the economy up till the recent dedollarization. Emphasis is laid on the economic challenges, as well as on the internal advantages and external opportunities related to them, with which the island has to cope at the start of the 21st century. Proposals are based on several sources of statistics, mainly time series (in particular, GDP growth rates from 1959 to 2005) and period analyses (for comparing economic and social indicators with those in other planned economies in 1988). Close attention is paid to the "Special Period" consecutive to the breakup of the Soviet bloc and to the major factors that have enabled the economy to bounce back since 1994-1995. The effects are compared of the adjustments made to the extremely serious crisis during the 1990s in Russia and Cuba. Questions about the switch to dedollarization and monetary sovereignty are examined.