Cuba in the 21st Century: Papers and abstracts
Professor Carlos Alzugaray Treto
Cuban Foreign Policy in the era of economic reforms
Since 2009, the Cuban leadership, with President Raul Castro leading the way, has been conducting what it has branded as an “updating of the economic model”. Just as the “Doi Moi” process in Vietnam, what has been going on is a profound reform of the whole socialist economic and political system. Although less emphasized inside Cuba and not very much visualized from the outside, Cuba has also been adapting its international relations regime to the transformation of its internal economics and politics. One important factor in this process has to do with the fact that the international political context is very favorable to Havana, which is not the case with the world economic situation, and which has created additional difficulties for the Government. Without abandoning its anti-hegemonic character, Cuban diplomacy has been emphasizing a more pragmatic and economic-oriented foreign policy.
Cuba: A transition to what?
This paper will examine the crisis of the Cuban socialist model. It reviews the economic, social, cultural, political changes from 1990-2010 and asks what the new political consensus is? What are most Cubans concerned about? It identifies eight key issues in the public debate that cope with multiple challenges in developing the policies (and politics) of updating the socialist model. What alternative models for Cuban development are there? How will Cuba be in the next five years? The public and the non-state sectors. The political system. Current trends and future scenarios.