Tim Forrestall's Profile

Raúl has placed trusted military men in charge of economic policy. Their aim is to save foreign exchange and raise output

Raúl is cautiously decentralising the economy

What nobody is saying publicly is that Raúl is tossing into the dustbin of Cuban history the idea espoused by Ernesto “Che” Guevara, at the start of the revolution that Cuba’s communist economy should be based on “moral incentives”, rather than material ones, and that this process would create a “new man”.

In real terms wages are still less than 50% of their level of 1989.

“Maintaining subsidies and gratuities for all once ensured greater equality, but today they

nly exacerbate inequality,” a recent report for the Communist Party concluded. That seems to presage a move towards targeted social policy—radical indeed for Cuba.