o 1990s "Special Period": Contrary to the experience following the collapse of socialism throughout Eastern Europe, and despite the extreme hardships of its Great Depression, Cuba did not experience a general uprising aimed at regime change. Neither did the government eliminate social programs to deal with the crisis. Instead it strengthened its social safety net and set a goal of "equal distribution of scarcity. " In the face of extreme impoverishment, the government introduced reforms including:
First moving to a dollarization of the Cuban economy and then to the establishment of a convertible currency (CUC)
Opening the country to foreign investment
Opening itself to trade on the world market
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Meanwhile ordinary Cubans coped by increasingly living off remittances from relatives the United States.
Stealing from government sources and selling the stolen goods on the black market.
Engaging in jineterismo (prostitution) -- which had been eliminated by the Revolution.
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U.S. response to the Cuban crisis was its attempt to intensify its catastrophe by aggravating scarcities to induce desperation on the part of ordinary people. The Torricelli and Helms-Burton Acts sought to punish U.S. trading partners for any commerce with Cuba. These responses transformed the Trade Embargo of 1961 into a virtual blockade of Cuba.
o 2007- 2022 Renovation of Socialism: In this process of nation-wide and on-going consultation, more than 163,000 meetings involving 9 million participants (in a population of 11 million) have produced millions of proposals which have been reduced to 313 policy guidelines aimed at reduction of state payrolls, increasing opportunities for self-employment, and rooting out corruption.
o The most important reform is the establishment of urban co-operatives in 2012. With this new economic structure, the emphasis in decision making changed from a "top down" model to one of local participation. Co-operatives get their start-up money from Cuban banks, contributions of members, and remittances. The co-ops must:
o Have at least 3 members with each member having one vote
o Be self-governing independent of the state
o Respond to market dynamics
o Do business with state and private entities
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