Cuba

The Republic of Cuba consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and various adjacent small islands. The name of the island is derived from the Taino word "cubanacán", meaning a central place. It is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north is found the United States, to the northeast the Bahamas, to the east the Turks and Caicos Islands, to the west Mexico, to the south the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, and to the southeast Haiti.

Economy

Cuba's socialist economy is based on state ownership with some small scale private enterprise existing. Hiring labor, however, is not allowed, on the theory that private employment will lead to worker exploitation. For 2005, 68% of the state budget spending is to be directed to raising the levels of education, public health, social security, culture, sports and science and technology according to Cuban government statistics. http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2004/diciembre/vier24/01presup.html

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Historically, sugar, tobacco and (later) nickel were the main sources of foreign trade income for Cuba. But in the 1990s tourism saw an explosive growth, becoming the second most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean to the Dominican Republic. Cubans also receive an estimated $850 million annually from Cubans in the U.S. who send money to relatives or friends. In 1993 the U.S. dollar was made legal tender (the country operated under a dual-currency system); this arrangement was, however, revoked on 25 October 2004. At that time, use of the dollar in business was officially banned, and a 10% surcharge was introduced for the conversion of dollars to convertible pesos, the island's new official currency. Other currencies, including the euro, were not affected. See details at the Ludwig Van Mises Institute.

Related Topics:
Sugar - Tobacco - Nickel - Tourism - Dominican Republic - 1993 - U.S. dollar - 25 October - 2004 - Euro

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The Cuban economy was hit hard in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Comecon economic bloc, with which it had traded predominantly. For several decades, Cuba received what was effectively a Soviet subsidy, whereby Cuba provided the Soviet Union with sugar and the Soviets provided Cuba with petroleum at unrealistic prices. In response, Cuba opened up to tourism, which is now a major source of income. Since 2003, both tourism levels and nickel prices increased. One other factor in the recovery of the Cuban economy is the remittances from Cuban-Americans (which constitute almost 3% of the Cuban Economy, by some estimates).

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Comecon - Soviet - Subsidy - Sugar - Petroleum

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Cuba currently trades with almost every nation in the world, albeit with restrictions from the U.S. embargo. Trade with the United States is restricted to cash-only transactions for food and medicine. Any company that deals with Cuba is barred from dealing with the United States, so internationally operating companies are forced to choose between Cuba and the United States, which is a much bigger market. This extraterritorial U.S. legislation is considered highly controversial, and the U.S. embargo was condemned for the 13th time in 2004 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by 179 countries (out of 183). The main current trading partners of Cuba are: Venezuela, China, Spain, Canada and, the Netherlands.

Related Topics:
U.S. embargo - 2004 - General Assembly - United Nations - Venezuela - China - Spain - Canada - Netherlands

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Cuba has a significant foreign debt load. Cuba owes approximately $5.4 billion in foreign debt to Paris Club nations such as France, Japan and Germany. Cuba also has other sources of debt including approximately $25 billion in debt disputed with Russia dating from the era of the Soviet Union. http://www.mosnews.com/money/2005/09/15/cubadebt.shtml The lack of domestic sources of capital financing, an inherent by-product of its socialist economic system, makes Cuba's debt extremely vulerable to disruptions in trade.

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Although U.S. citizens are not officially banned from travelling to Cuba, they are generally prohibited from spending money there (exceptions are made for students studying in Cuba, diplomats, and people with family members in Cuba), which amounts to a de facto travel ban, as Cuba requires that foreign visitors spend a minimum of three nights in a hotel; moreover, the only direct flights from the United States are strictly for those with family members in Cuba. Nevertheless, U.S. citizens can visit Cuba by travelling through other countries (like Mexico, Canada or the Bahamas) because Cuban immigration does not stamp the passports (the visum is a separate leaflet). However, U.S. citizens are liable to fines if discovered and prosecuted by the U.S. government, although it has been reported that U.S. authorities are not overly strict with this.

Related Topics:
De facto - Mexico - Canada - Bahamas

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Although struggling with its economy since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has seen substantial improvements since the early 1990s. The economy has been helped in recent years by strong tourism, international investment in nickel production and oil exploration as well as beneficial oil purchases from Venezuela, in exchange for medical services.

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A major problem is damage from hurricanes. In 2004, Hurricane Charley, (August 12) caused an estimated 1 billion dollars economic damage, followed by Hurricane Ivan (September 13). In 2005, Hurricane Dennis (July 8) struck south-central Cuba. This is a problem that all Caribbean islands suffer from and an argument Castro uses to urge the islands to cooperate, promoting an agreement that is a sort of international insurance, so that if one island gets hit the other islands will help it out. He says that if the United States get hit, the economy of the rest of the country will take the blow (although that was slow to start up when hurricane Katrina hit), but if a Caribbean island gets hit, that may devastate the entire economy.

Related Topics:
Hurricanes - Hurricane Charley - August 12 - Hurricane Ivan - September 13 - 2005 - Hurricane Dennis - July 8 - Caribbean - Hurricane Katrina

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Over 7,300 homes have been completed in 2005. During the remaining months of this year the majority of homes partially affected by Hurricane Dennis will be repaired. No less than 10,000 of the homes destroyed will be built again as new and the plans to finish and construct new homes to cover the most urgent requirements will continue, up to at least 30,000 additional housing.

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Cuba is notable for its national organic agriculture initiative. In the early 1990s, post-Soviet Union, Cuba lost over 70% of agricultural chemical imports, over 50% of food imports, and an equally significant amount of oil. Its agricultural sector, built on a large-scale, mechanized, chemical-based model, was instantly crippled. By restructuring its agricultural industry, and focusing scientific efforts on organic solutions, Cuba managed to rapidly and successfully convert the country to entirely organic production. Currently, only organic agriculture is permitted by law, which while having the effect of reducing the need for imports, has also led to lower yields. Today, Cuba is a leading nation in biotechnology.

Related Topics:
Organic agriculture - Biotechnology

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On a total population of 11 million, Cuba has 250,000 educators, 67,500 medical doctors, and 34,000 physical education and sports professors and technicians.http://www.embacubalebanon.com/discurso05apr2001e.html

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