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23/07/2018

Private Property And Foreign Investment To Be Made Legal In Communist Cuba




Private Property And Foreign Investment To Be Made Legal In Communist Cuba
Communist Cuba would now encourage and “guarantee” foreign investment and the government would recognize the right to own property by private individuals. There would also no longer be concentration of power at the hands of one leader.
 
This is a very serious bid at constitutional reform by Cuba and the country’s legislators are expected to accept the amendments to this effect very soon. In an era where some of the other Communist countries such as China and Vietnam have adopted the free economic system, this is a cautious effort by Cuba to change itself to suit the modern era.
 
However, these new changes that have been envisioned would be tagged along with new rules seeking to sternly curb entrepreneurial spirit in the country and stop the emergence of Ferrari-driving champagne communists as can be seen on the streets of Shanghai and Beijing. The new rules also seek to the political identify of Cuba as a one-party state.
 
"Imperialism and oligarchy are on the offensive against leftist governments in Latin America," President Miguel Diaz-Canel, the 58-year-old electrical engineer who replaced Raul Castro in April, said in a recent speech in Havana. "Today, more than ever, we require the unity of our people . . . to confront this imperialist and reactionary threat."
 
Amongst the most important changes in to the constitution would be the creation of the position of a Prime Minister who will share power along with President of the country. However, there is no clarity to the extent of power to be accorded to the prime minister. It is being suggested that the decision to put a curb on the powers and influence of Diaz-Canel so soon since his assuming office by creating the post of a prime minister is aimed to prevent a scramble for power in the country in the post-Castro era.
 
Despite retiring from the government, the country’s Communist Party is still headed by Raul Castro, 87, and therefore it still the most dominant political person in the country.
 
"What's being proposed is more far-reaching than anything we've seen since 1976," when Cuba adopted its first post-revolution constitution, said Jason Marczak, director of the Atlantic Council's Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center. "The creation of term limits, the prime minister's post, the recognition of investment. But it's also a very cautious opening."
 
"Imperialism and oligarchy are on the offensive against leftist governments in Latin America," President Miguel Diaz-Canel (left), the 58-year-old electrical engineer who replaced Raul Castro (right) in April, said in a recent speech in Havana (AFP)
 
Despite the changes slated to be made in the constitution, it is a reality that there already exists private ownership and limited foreign investment in Cuba. The new constitution would make that official and legal.
 
"Cuba is moving ahead in the economic and political reform process, but not rapidly or dramatically," said Geoff Thale, a Cuba expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, a think tank. "It's clear that government wants to maintain control and conduct changes gradually. There's also continuous debate between more reform-oriented people and hard-liners within the party, which has been happening for years. Evidently, neither side has won."
 
(Source:www.ndtv.com)

Christopher J. Mitchell

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