In 2011, "[t]he new economic reforms were introduced, effectively creating a new economic system", which the Brookings Institute dubbed the "New Cuban Economy". The Soviet Union bought most of Cuba’s sugar for expensive prices. The official language is Spanish. [44][45][clarification needed], However, from 1996, the State started to impose income taxes on self-employed Cubans. The Americans supported the leader Fulgencio Batista, who was seen by many Cubans as corrupt. Castro made many changes to Cuba. The dry season is from November to April, and the wet season is from May to October. Cuban Spanish is the variety of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Cuba. The economy of Cuba is a planned economy dominated by state-run enterprises.The government of Cuba owns and operates most industries and most of the labor force is employed by the state. A cigar is a rolled bundle of dried and fermented tobacco leaves made to be smoked.Cigars are produced in a variety of sizes and shapes. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavours is intended to complement the rum, and has made the mojito a popular summer drink. [14] Investment is restricted and requires approval by the government. Americans owned most of Cuba’s businesses. As of 2014, the country's planned economy deterred foreign trade and investment. As of 2012, more than 150,000 farmers had signed up to lease land from the government for bonus crops. With the help of the majority of the Cuban population, the country was able to produce 7.56 million tons of sugar. in Cuba, a dramatic increase from the 246 projects which were reported in 2014. The city has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 781.58 km 2 (301.77 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. Because Cubans have ancestors from Spain, Africa, South America and North America, Cuban music is special and different. ", https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Cuba&oldid=7390944, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles with Spanish-language sources (es), Pages using infobox country or infobox former country with the symbol caption or type parameters, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz area identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. In December 2015, the parties announced an agreement - Paris Club nations agreed to forgive $8.5 billion of the $11.1 billion dollars total debt, mostly by waiving interest, service-charges and penalties accrued over the more than two decades of non-payment. Cienfuegos, Guantánamo, and Santiago de Cubaare some of the port cities on the south coast. It has many resources. These measures resulted in modest economic growth. [81] The crucial challenge the Energy Revolution program will face is developing sustainable energy in Cuba but, take into account a country that's continuing to develop, an economic sanction and the detrimental effects of hurricanes that hit this country. Havana, which is the capital, is also a port. Cuba has fertile soil and a mostly warm and humidodity climate that makes it a great place for growing crops. Cuba is a city in Republic County, Kansas, United States. Growth slowed again in 1997 and 1998 to 2.5% and 1.2% respectively. But, arguably one of the greatest achievements of the last 50 years is the piecing back together of Habana Vieja.This detailed, meticulous, lovingly curated restoration process has created one of the historical wonders of the Americas, a kind of Latin American 'Rome' where the past can be peeled off … American President Kennedy demanded that they be removed or a new war would begin. Baseball, basketball, and athletics events are loved by many Cuban people. Reading is very popular in Cuba. Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (/ ˈ k æ s t r oʊ /; American Spanish: [fiˈðel aleˈxandɾo ˈkastɾo ˈrus]; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) better known internationally as Fidel Castro, was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President from 1976 to 2008. The Spanish began to rule Cuba afterwards. [72] [73], In May 2020, with payments still not made, Deputy PM Cabrisas sent a letter to the fourteen Paris Club countries in the agreement requesting "a moratorium (of payments) for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and a return to paying in 2022". Purchasing power per capita is in 2016 US dollars. [68], In 2014, before making a diplomatic visit to Cuba, Russian President Vladimir Putin forgave over 90% of the debt owed to Russia by Cuba. Cuba was not industrialized and needed the revenue for goods and oil. As a result, Cuba's National Bureau of Statistics (ONE) publishes little data on the growing socio-economic divide. The provinces are divided into municipalities. A 10% surcharge is levied for cash conversions from US dollars to the convertible peso, which does not apply to other currencies, so it acts as an encouragement for tourists to bring currencies such as Euros, pounds sterling or Canadian dollars into Cuba. He ended American ownership of Cuban businesses. [78] Cuba's energy sector lacks the resources to produce optimal amounts of power. When oil refineries like Shell, Texaco, and Esso refused to refine Soviet oil, Castro nationalized that industry as well, taking over the refineries on the island. US citizens can now travel directly to Cuba at certain times of the year. [61], In February 2019 Cuban voters approved a new constitution granting the right to private property and greater access to free markets, while also maintaining Cuba's status as a socialist state. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder leaf which holds the filler together, and a wrapper leaf, which is often the best leaf used. Tobacco products such as cigars and cigarettes were the only manufactured products among Cuba's leading exports, and even these were produced by a preindustrial process. [63], In February 2021 the Cuban Cabinet authorised private initiative in more than 1800 occupations. Ernesto Guevara was born to Ernesto Guevara Lynch and Celia de la Serna y Llosa, on 14 June 1928, in Rosario, Argentina.Although the legal name on his birth certificate was "Ernesto Guevara", his name sometimes appears with "de la Serna" and/or "Lynch" accompanying it. ", "Well-to-Do in Cuba to Pay an Income Tax", "How Castro Failed - Commentary Magazine", "Health Consequences of Cuba's Special Period", "granma.cu - Cuban Economy Grows 7.5 Per Cent", "Challenges 2007–2008: Cuban Economy in Need of Nourishment", "US to abstain from UN vote condemning Cuba embargo for the first time in 25 years", "A last hurrah for Cuba's communist rulers", "Cuba adopta nuevos lineamientos económicos para aumentar la producción", "Cell phones, microwaves: New access to gizmos could deflect calls for deeper change in Cuba", "A Viewers Guide to Cuba's Economic Reforms", "Cuba to open tax free Special Economic Zone", "Cuba to scrap two-currency system in latest reform", "Cuba's New Social Structure: Assessing the Re-Stratification of Cuban Society 60 Years after Revolution", "Cuba hoy: la pugna entre el racismo y la inclusión", http://www.periodico26.cu/index.php/en/feature/we-recomend/item/16392-expo-caribe-attracts-exhibitors-from-22-countries, "Cuba opens broad swath of its economy to private enterprise", "Cuba faces its next financial challenge — more than $1 billion in unpaid commercial debt", "Putin Writes Off $32 Billion of Cuba's Debts to Russia", "China Has Forgiven Nearly $10 Billion In Debt. Before Cuba was conquered by the Spaniards, three tribes lived on the island. However, greater private property and free market rights were granted by the 2019 Constitution. He was the eldest of five children in an upper-class Argentine family of pre-independence Spanish (i.e. [18] This accounted for anywhere between 10% and 40% of Cuban GDP, depending on the year. [citation needed] A rally in sugar prices in 2009 stimulated investment and development of sugar processing. Since April 2011, the First Secretary of the Central Committee has been Raúl Castro, younger brother of the previous First Secretary Fidel Castro, who died on 25 November 2016. The sole exception to this rule is Venezuelans, who are allowed to hold 100% ownership in businesses due to an agreement between Cuba and Venezuela. "Cuba no longer the Sugar Bowl of the World 10.02.03", "Latin lessons: What can we Learn from the World's most Ambitious Literacy Campaign? The country is divided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). [12] In September 2019, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini stated during a three-day visit to Cuba that the European Union is committed to helping Cuba develop its economy [97], From 1994 until 2021, Cuba had two official currencies: the national peso (or CUP) and the convertible peso (or CUC, often called "dollar" in the spoken language). It was formed in 1926 and recognized in 1954. [77] As of 2015, Cuba imported about 70–80% of its food. Stay on top of Cuba latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. A watered-down reform package endorsed by the Party trimmed the number of state workers and expanded the list of approved professions, but many details of the reform remained obscure. This widened the gap between Cubans' material standards of living, in conflict with the Cuban Government's long term socialist policies. Cuba had been insulated from world sugar prices by Soviet price guarantees. Disagreeing with the Cuban government and Fidel Castro in public was not allowed. Cuba (pronunciado em português: ; pronunciado em castelhano: ), oficialmente República de Cuba, é um país insular localizado no mar do Caribe (ou mar das Caraíbas), na América Central e Caribe (sub-continente da América). [84] Among the products sold internationally are vaccines against various viral and bacterial pathogens. On February 7, 1962, Kennedy expanded the United States' embargo to cover almost all U.S. imports. According to a DNA Caribbean Studies Institute, the racial-makeup of the population of Cuba is: Cuba is a developing country, and is often depicted as a very poor country. "Cuba warns of further belt tightening as Venezuelan crisis deepens." The government succeeded in seeing that the three different groups were treated the same. Tobacco is made into cigars by hand. Cuban music is very lively. The top corporate tax rate is 30 percent (35 percent for wholly foreign-owned companies). Typical wages range from 400 non-convertible Cuban pesos a month, for a factory worker, to 700 per month for a doctor, or a range of around 17–30 US dollars per month. Further budget cuts are in the plans for 2018 marking a third straight year.[109]. [65] [66], In 2011 China forgave $6 billion in debt owed to it by Cuba. America said the restrictions on contact would continue unless Fidel Castro gave up power. Salt, petroleum, and natural gas are there too. The governments agreed to "waive" 70% of it, approximately $340.9 million. Cervecería Bucanero – A beverage manufacturer, providing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The middle-sized group is a mix of African and Spanish. By the end of 1985, 35,000 Cuban workers had helped build projects in some 20 Asian, African and Latin American countries. [29], On March 3, 1959, Fidel Castro seized control of the Cuban Telephone Company, which was a subsidiary of the International Telephone and Telecommunications Corporation. Havana is the capital of Cuba. Cuba also tried to get tourists to visit the island. However, the Cuban government began to control most of life in Cuba under the communist system. Cuba: Second phase of trials with Soberana Plus in convalescent COVID-19 patients approved. [59] As of 2018, the dual currency was still being used in Cuba. Most of the native Cubans died because of the new diseases brought by the Spanish and Africans. [39] But although the collapse of centrally planned economies in the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc subjected Cuba to severe economic difficulties, which led to a drop in calories per day from 3052 in 1989 to 2600 in 2006, mortality rates were not strongly affected thanks to the priority given on maintaining a social safety net.[40]. [10][11] In June 2019, the 16th ExpoCaribe trade fair took place in Santiago. promising formations in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S.-Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, Central banks and currencies of the Caribbean, List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP growth, List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (nominal), List of Latin American and Caribbean countries by GDP (PPP), List of countries by tax revenue as percentage of GDP, List of countries by future gross government debt, List of countries by leading trade partners, "Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index (IHDI)", "Employment to population ratio, 15+, total (%) (national estimate) - Cuba", "Explainer: What is old and new in Cuba's proposed constitution", "Cuba reports record $2 billion in foreign investment deals", "Foreign investment in Cuba: Obstacles cleared, incentives in place", "Talking with Cubans about the State of the Nation (3/5/04)", How to break with Cuba's economic dependence. The Spanish ruled for many years. Prior to reforms, imports were double exports, doctors earned £15 per month and families supplemented incomes with extra jobs. Phonology. Despite reforms, the government continues to play a large role in the economy. Cuban Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas wrote a letter to Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the Paris Club, noting that Cuba was aware that "circumstances dictated that we were not able to honour our commitments with certain creditor countries as agreed in the multilateral Minute signed by the parties in December 2015". Growing organopónicos (organic gardens) in the private sector has been attractive to city-dwelling small producers who sell their products where they produce them, avoiding taxes and enjoying a measure of government help from the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) in the form of seed houses and advisers. [13], In 2006, the World Food Programme certified Cuba to be the only country in this region without undernourished children. Fidel Castro was one of the longest-serving heads of state. Cuba would repay the remaining $146.1 million over ten years. Additional exploration is planned.[76]. [26] Its income per capita in 1929 was reportedly 41% of the U.S., thus higher than in Mississippi and South Carolina. It gained independence in 1902. Cuba Accounts For Over Half", "Mexico says it will waive most of $487 mln debt owed by Cuba", "Exclusive - Cuba's debt deal: Easy terms, but severe penalties if late again", "Cuba seals 'historic' debt pact with Paris Club", "Exclusive: Cuba fails to make payment in key debt accord, sources say", "Cuba defaults on Paris Club debt: says it will meet its commitments", "Cuba seeks delay in debt repayment to 2022: diplomats", "La Revolucion Energetica: Cuba's Energy Revolution", "2nd Cuban offshore oil well also a bust", "Cuban leader looks to boost food production", "Ecuadorians benefit from Cuban drug Heberprot-p", Tourism in Cuba during the Special Period, "EU stresses support for Cuba even as U.S. hikes sanctions", "Day Zero: how and why Cuba unified its dual currency system", "The situation of Cuban workers during the "Special Period in peacetime, List of countries by Human Development Index#Complete list of countries, "How will the Venezuela-Cuba link fare after Chávez's death? region and its overall score was significantly lower than the regional average. [77] In a 1998 estimate, 89.52% of its energy production is fossil fuel, 0.65% is hydroelectric and 9.83% is other production. The overall tax burden is 24.4 percent of GDP.[96]. "Cuban banks have long provided loans to farm cooperatives, they have offered credit to new recipients of farmland in usufruct since 2008 and in 2011 they began making loans to individuals for business and other purposes". (1997) Human Development in Cuba: Growing Risk of Reversal in Development with a Human Face: Experience in Social Achievement and Economic Growth Ed. Currently, this trend can be seen in other colonial Caribbean communities that have direct political ties with the global economy. In 1961, the Americans helped some of these Cubans to attack Cuba and try to remove Castro, but they failed. [83] Raúl Castro ridiculed the bureaucracy that shackled the agriculture sector.[83]. The Americans made the restrictions against contact with Cuba tighter. Cubans receive government-subsidized education, healthcare and food subsidies. [79] Likewise, the energy sector has received a multimillion-dollar investment distributed among a network of power resources. In 1994 the possession and use of US dollars was legalised, and by 2004 the US dollar was in widespread use in the country. While Cuban workers had better conditions than other countries in the continent, they still faced inequality, lack of infrastructure, high illiteracy rates, and a lack of full-time work (the sugar industry was seasonal). They also needed the US investment for gas, electricity, communications, railways, and banks. It rebounded in the early 2000s due to a combination of marginal liberalization of the economy and heavy subsidies from the friendly government of Venezuela, which provided Cuba with low-cost oil and other subsidies worth up to 12% of Cuban GDP annually. On 22 October 2013 the dual-currency system was set[by whom?] Some Cubans did not like this and tried to leave Cuba. Those with dollar incomes based upon the service industry began to live more comfortably. [69], In 2015 Cuba entered into negotiations over its $11.1 billion dollar debt to 14 members of the Paris Club. Though Fidel Castro had remained in power, he had passed all duties to his brother Raul after an illness. † Physiographically, these are continental islands not a part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc. [90], The growth of tourism has had social and economic repercussions. A power tariff reduced inefficient use. The Soviet Union removed the missiles when the United States agreed to not continue attacking Cuba and to remove missiles from Turkey. The Cheifs football-team took at one Football-World-Cup part. As a result, Cubans who earned only in the peso economy, outside the tourist sector, were at a disadvantage. eventually. But it was proven, first, that they did not know how to do it and, second, that they exploited the rest of the economy by receiving large amounts of resources . In 1902, the Platt Amendment ended the U.S. military occupation of Cuba, but the United States reserved the right to intervene in Cuban affairs in order to "defend Cuban independence and to maintain a government adequate for the protection of life, … The majority of stores are small dollar stores, bodegas, agro-mercados (farmers' markets) and street stands.[93]. Cuba became a Spanish colony until the Spanish–American War of 1898. ETECSA – National telephone service provider. Citizens were encouraged to swap inefficient lamps with newer models to reduce consumption. Foreign aid began with the construction of six hospitals in Peru in the early 1970s. Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. The payment for the remaining $2.6 billion would be made over 18 years with annual payments due by October 31st of every year. Today Hotel Havana Riviera is the only hotel that was built before the revolutionary government took control. Santosh Mehrotra and Richard Jolly, Clarendon Press, Oxford]. It had descended to 9th, 11th or 12th place in the region by 2007. [24] The country's economy had grown rapidly in the early part of the century, fueled by the sale of sugar to the United States. Many people especially enjoy reading books or things that come from outside the country, even though the government does not approve of this. Cuba has a wet season and a dry season. On February 19, 2008, he announced that he would not return to power. [needs update] However, monthly wages remain less than 20 U.S. [64], Raul Castro's regime began a concerted effort to restructure and to ask for forgiveness of loans and debts with creditor countries, many in the billions of dollars and long in arrears from loans and debts incurred under Fidel Castro in the 1970s and 1980s. A nationwide scientific survey shows that social inequalities have become increasingly visible in everyday life and that the Afro-Cuban population is structurally disadvantaged. In 1933 the Cubans stopped the Platt Amendment, but the Americans still had a big say in Cuban politics. The Spanish brought thousands of slaves from Africa to Cuba to work for them. Its overall score improvement was less than 1 point over the past two decades, with score gains in fiscal freedom and freedom from corruption offset by double-digit declines in business freedom and investment freedom. Web. They farmed crops such as beans, corn, squash, and yams. As such, the standard of living diverged between those who had access to dollars and those without. The population of Cuba is close to 13 million. In the early 1800s, Cubans rebelled against the Spanish rulers, but failed until 1898, when the United States went to war with the Spanish and defeated them. [49][50] Since then, over 400,000 Cubans have signed up to become entrepreneurs. [20] Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's GDP declined by 33% between 1990 and 1993, partially due to the loss of Soviet subsidies[21] and a crash in sugar prices in the early 1990s. [105] In nominal terms, the Venezuelan subsidy is higher than whatever subsidy the Soviet Union gave to Cuba,[106] with the Cuban state receiving cheap oil and the Cuban economy receiving around $6 billion annually. The cigars are smuggled over the US-Canadian border since they are legal in Canada. Around 2000, half the country's sugar mills closed. Since the 20th century, almost all cigars are made of three distinct components: the filler, the binder leaf which holds the filler together, and a wrapper leaf, which is often the best leaf used. The Communist Party of Cuba was created in 1965 and has ruled the island ever since.