Special Period

The Special Period in Cuba began with the collapse of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon, which threw the island nation into tremendous poverty and prompted Castro to contract out more lucrative economic and tourism deals with various Western European and South American nations.

Related Topics:
Cuba - Collapse of the Soviet Union - Comecon - Castro - Tourism - Western European - South American

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Faced with a near-elimination of imported steel and other ore-based supplies, for example, Cuba closed refineries and factories across the country. Faced with a drying up of oil, Cuba began to focus more intensely on cooperation with Venezuela. No longer needing sugar as desperately for a cash crop-- the oil-for-sugar program the Soviets had with Cuba had, of course, dissipated -- Cuba hurriedly diversified its agricultural production, growing things like oranges in former cane fields.

Related Topics:
Steel - Ore - Oil - Venezuela - Sugar - Cash crop - Oranges - Cane

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As the country began to visibly recover from the shock of the implosion of their economic underpinning, Fidel gradually told the Cuban people that this "Special Period" was over; that it had succeeded and the country was (relatively) prosperous once again. That was sometime in the first year or two of the 21st Century. Despite his words, far too many common Cubans still feel the pinch of continued economic difficulty for any analyst to really, definitively say that the Special Period has reached its close.

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