Cubans remember the so-called Special Period of the 1990s, when the Soviet Union’s sudden collapse plunged the island into years of economic depression, with cars and buses disappearing from the streets for lack of fuel and rolling blackouts leaving the capital in darkness.
Now Cubans fear a return of hard times following the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whose billions of dollars of oil largesse helps the island’s economy function. Some Havana residents were even talking about hoarding candles on Wednesday.
Francis Gomez, a 22-year-old tourism student from the city of Pinar del Rio, said she was “scared and worried.”
“Ever since Chavez became ill, my parents have been saying, ‘Please, God, don’t let there be another Special Period,” she said.
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It is to be expected that there willbe some adjustments in the relationship base on the new leader’s perception. Dominica will undoubtedly be astute in advancing its self interest vis a vis any signal of departure by the new President .The BIRD ROCK issue must be constantly brought to the fore in requesting the ongoing of the present structure and content of the existing relationship,policies and programmes,including the Petro Caribe/Alba funds!
You mean you just want the money to keep on flowi g. Remember the Venezuelan govt has some serious issues of there own to deal with rampant unemployment crime and the state of the oil industry.Remember the old saying a new broom sweeps clean.
I see a gradual thaw in the relations between Cuba and the U.S.A., born out of necessity. Cubans are pragmatic and would not want to rely entirely on one donor as they did in the early years of their revolution on the U.S.S.R., with disastrous results when that federation collapsed. For a start Cuba imports approx. 80% of its food requirements, with the U.S.A. being the largest supplier (U.S.1.5 billion in 2011). Believe me, they have learned from their experience and did not put all their eggs in one “Chavez” basket, knowing full well that ideology alone does not feed the people.
The absence of Chávez and the potential draw down of economic support would have the biggest impact on Cuba. That country receives more than 100,000 barrels of discounted oil per day and billions of dollars each year in exchange for Cuban medical personnel, technology experts, political consultants and other “professionals. That’s because Chávez had a special relationship with Cuba and the Castros.
So although the Cubans have bad memories of the ending of Soviet patronage in the 1990s and are right to be worried about what the death of Chávez may bring, that doesn’t mean the U.S. government, however. Rather, Cuba would likely turn to the nearly two million Cubans living in this country (USA). They are already sending around $2 billion a year back to the island in remittances. Already, Raul Castro seems to have been preparing to make the Cuban economy a little bit more flexible and open to investment, and the Obama administration has made it easier for Cubans in the U.S. to send money back home. #justsaying – A PAST DOMINICA-CUBAN ECONOMICO-POLITICO STUDENT!
Hmmmmmmm!