Cuba is waiting for the change

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In a world that has decided to turn away from the experiment of planned economies, Cuba’s loyalty to the failed model kept its society in a state of suspended animation. Millions of people live lives that can’t fulfill their full potential. The lifting of the US embargo is not only going to bring Cuba into the world stage of trade and commerce. This vibrant Caribbean culture has the opportunity to allow it to leapfrog into the 21st century by embracing new generations of technologies that are better performing and create a sustainable socio-economic model.

I spent two weeks in Cuba in July 2015, for my 50th birthday and to remarry, just informally if romantically among the two of us, Diana, the woman of my life, with whom I’ve been married for 28 years. This was the first time that I was in Cuba, and I was very curious about its people, society, economy, politics, challenges, and opportunities in this crucial moment of its history.

The overall impression of the attitude of the vast majority of people is that of waiting. You can’t sustain revolutionary fervor for 50 years. Yes, Cuba had its dictator thrown out, and has been able to maintain its socialist planned economy for 50 years. First with the help of the Soviet Union, then, when after its dissolution the Russians stopped caring much, and through a wrenching crisis, it is now the turn of the Venezuelans and the Chinese to provide oil, and manufactured goods, with as little questions as possible. The US embargo, rather than bringing the regime down, as naively imagined by the gringos, has served as a perfect universal excuse to hide each of the failings of the planned economy. You can’t have the latest models of cars (or very few of them actually built after the 1950s)? Blame the Estados Unidos. You are unable to produce milk in a fertile island that is not overpopulated, that has plenty of vegetation, and cows? Still probably blame the EEUU.

The make-work jobs that the government provides to anybody, to claim the lack of unemployment create hordes of people hopeless of their own worth. They also force equality on those who invest in their education and dreams, and reap no reward, like the brother of our taxi driver who earns much less, even if he studied petrochemical engineering and works in a state owned oil company, and chauffeur didn’t.

Meeting hustlers and swindlers in La Habana trying to trick tourists into buying low quality cigars or souvenirs for ten times the price was a relief. Individual initiative and entrepreneurial zeal is born necessarily in the grey economy defined by arbitrary rules and can give birth to a group of people who are ready to invest in themselves and bootstrap their communities out of an imposed poverty. With the changes coming these will feel advantaged, while those who are faithful to the passivity required by the government are going to be stunned that they are not only not going to be rewarded, but very quickly their jobs and security will disappear as companies become more efficient and the social safety nets get dismantled.

The smell is already in the air of all the usual horrible traps that come with unregulated markets meeting inexperienced consumers: pyramid schemes, miraculous creams, savage advertising, everything bad that already swept Eastern Europe, Russia, Albania etc. with years needed before a semi-decent new equilibrium is found.

When analysts looked at Africa they would remark in the ‘80s that it could never have a phone service as there wasn’t enough copper being mined to lay all the cables for the huge continent. And of course with wireless phone service now practically everybody has or has access to a mobile phone in Africa. This leapfrogging that technology allows is a huge opportunity for Cuba as well.

If you are smart, and don’t fall into the trap of the market economy’s false syllogisms, it is possible to create a modern 21st century economy and society through leapfrogging the unneeded steps that the last part of the 20th century required. Do you want more electricity? You can install photovoltaic panels. (I already saw Israel made solar panels, even if very few of them.) Do you need more mobility and transportation? As you renew your the car fleet of the nation, the adoption of mobile carsharing apps can ease the burden on roads, increasing the efficiency of the transportation network.

The goodwill that Cuba created through its doctors active all over the world, and through the education of tens of thousands of students from African countries is going to be long lasting and important. It is a smart way to leverage your knowledge economy, and when through new, fast, uncensored internet connections the interconnection into the wider world is going to be complete, this goodwill is going to generate a vast return.

The day I left the US embassy opened in Havana, and the day after the first Bitcoin transaction was carried out in Cuba… The new society that is going to be built must not be a replay of the dictatorship that has been thrown out. The eager, proud, happy people of Cuba deserve the opportunity and the help to build a future for themselves, by implementing the best practices and avoiding the mistakes of others.

6 thoughts on “Cuba is waiting for the change”

  1. h/t David for sharing your most recent experience in Cuba! Yes, its citizens are amazing, and despite the long time cut-off from world economy (in a way similar to all countries East of the “Wall” until 1989), and they are the ones who can (and will) write the future on their own.

    Andrea Kuszewski wrote an encouraging article about Cuba and solutions in creativity crisis in 2010 which gives great hope: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/kuszewski20100923

    Greetings from Dresden, Eastern Germany, which went through similar transformations (from which a lot can be learned, video translated subtitles to Spanish, and openly sharing with the world about a time that was as open minded in the early 1990’s here in the region and beyond)

  2. Shreepal Singh

    Dear OrbanRead your article about Cuba’s opening to US with interest.  I agree that planned economy in socialist state is a failed model. But likewise Capitalist economy is also a failed model,  although for a different reason. If no to Socialism and also no to Capitalism,  then what is that which is still better?  I have pondered over this problem for whole of my life and I have my considered opinion on the solution to this problem. Please find some time to read here:

    http://indianpeoplescongress.wordpress.com/

  3. Shreepal Singh

    Freedom to take private initiative and the right to reap fruits of that initiative cannot be beaten by a planned work out. Demise of Soviet Union, changing the track by China, air of hope in Cuba all prove this fact. But one has to devise ways and means to put a limit to this “reaping of fruits” or to putting a full stop to “turning this reaping into extracting” of such fruits. Despite the air of waiting or hoping, Cubans are not likely to imitate US. Rather people in US are gasping to find ways to bring real democracy, Democracy of the type of: of the people for the people and by the people. It can be brought by use of modern info technology in electing. recalling their government.

  4. “In a world that has decided to turn away from the experiment of planned economies,” – really ? Are you sure ? Banks are micromanaging all our economic lives but there are people hanging around still unsuspecting ?

  5. Miguel Caparros

    Great blog David. I turn 65 this year, All of my relatives that departed Cuba when the Batista government failed have passed away. Mi cousin who’s father stayed behind, survived and thrived first as an Olympic Athlete and to this day as a tourist guide in Europe, He is 2 years older than I am and we have reconnected. Our children, specially our older daughters are more like sisters. I still have a few things left to do before I am done and getting the whole family for a Reunion in Havana is my goal. That means going back to work to afford living there. I dream of my wife Karyn and I to be able to go for long walks along the Malecon, As I mentioned I want to bring Professional Sports Car Racing back to Cuba.

  6. Miguel Caparros

    For your readers that do not know, Next to the United States Cuba had the most vibrant and rich economy in spite of the gangsters in our hemisphere, Private schools primarily filled with american children that were the envy as far as teaching and sending very well educated children back to the US. In youtube there are countless of videos of Cuba before the change, if you have not seen them it is an eye opener.

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