Reposted from The Economist
WHEN Raúl Castro, Cuba’s president, gave his latest big speech, to a meeting of the National Assembly in July, he repeated his stock response to those who urge him to move faster with reforms to his country’s stagnant state-run economy. Change, he said, would progress “without haste, but without pause”. But many on the island are questioning whether the reforms—officially called “updating”—have indeed paused. More…
Havana, Cuba
Although the Internet is limited and mostly dial-up slow, there are 1.5 million cellphones. Just a few years ago, ordinary citizens were barred from owning them.
Church-state relations
Under Castro, the government is also allowing more space for criticism — although not dissent. One of the main beneficiaries of that change is the Catholic Church, which is providing community outreach programs, offering the kinds of services — breakfast for the elderly, free pharmacies and computer, business and English classes — that were once the sole responsibility of the state. More…
Raul and Fidel Castro
Under Raúl Castro, Cuba has begun the journey towards capitalism. But it will take a decade and a big political battle to complete, writes Michael Reid
WHEN ON JULY 31st 2006 Cuban state television broadcast a terse statement from Fidel Castro to say that he had to undergo emergency surgery and was temporarily handing over to his brother, Raúl (pictured with Fidel, left), it felt like the end of an era. The man who had dominated every aspect of life on the island for almost half a century seemed to be on his way out. In the event Fidel survived, and nothing appeared to change. More…
Douglas Clayton, CEO of Leopard Capital
Dear Special Situations Reader,
Doug Clayton is an investor who works the frontiers. He likes to go into markets that are already so beaten up they can’t help but get better. “I like markets where you don’t have to be very smart,” he says. “Where you can invest in some basic things and know you’ll do well.” More…
Havana, Cuba
Dividing Old Havana from Chinatown is Cuba’s Capitolio Nacional, a monumental edifice with a fateful past. El Capitolio was conceived during the “Roaring Twenties”, when the island led the world in sugar exports and the future seemed blue-sky. President Gerardo Machado, who dreamed of turning Cuba into the Switzerland of the Americas, decided that his four million countrymen needed a domed Capitol building even taller and more ornate than the one he toured in Washington. More…
