Question

a. Fidel Castro‟s economic legacy will be one of failure – but not perhaps quite as catastrophic a failure as his many detractors would insist. Do you agree? (Justify your answer)

Answer 1

I agree with this statement. If you analyze the economic state of Cuba when Fidel Castro was in power, there wasn't really much choice rather than enact the policies he did, given the issues he had with the largest export market: United States of America. The mid 20th century Cuba had a large economic inequality with more than 40% of the population not in proper jobs, as you might know the stance against the same earned the popularity for Fidel castro. The raising conflicts against America meant that Cuba had to depend on Soviet Union for its primary export: Sugar. The trade happened in guaranteed prices with Russia even willing to provide technical aid when needed. Trade with Soviet Union was an inevitable given their growth compared to western economies and most importantly the sync between ideologies between Cuba and the Soviet, but only till the latter collapsed.

With rapid development in education system and healthcare, the Cuban economy thrived in the 70s but got along another issue of brain drain which many western countries were facing too. Lot of Cubans who sought to flee the country were forced to stay back. Soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union, trade in Cuba took a major hit, thus Castro resorted for some means to liberalize the economy which included imports, using of US dollar for legal tenders and investing in the tourism sector. These reforms just managed to lift up the stagnant economy, but due to less concrete policies it wasn't a great success but nevertheless not a catastrophe as claimed by Castro's detractors.

As the economy improved through late 1990s and early 2000s, many of the relaxed controls were re-imposed. Why? This conceded with Fidel Castro's ideology that, pursuing revolutionary purity of a command economy was much more important than allowing people to enjoy higher living standards.

Hope this helps. Do hit the thumbs up. Cheers!