An article about Gaesa, the Cuban company that accounts for as much as 40% of the nations GDP and an important player in the talks between Cuba and the USA. Gaesa is responsible for basically any economic activity done in dollars in Cuba, be it tourism, banking, so on. Gaesa’s dominance leaves it an unaccountable king in Cuba and any real talks of liberalisation (i.e. probably not what’s going on right now) would necessarily involve its breakup.
ModernirsmEnjoyer on
Cuba and North Korea are remarkably similar in being nationalist movements based around a charismatic leader with added side of communism, that they survived significant economic crisis through tactical moves and some accomodations, that the hardcore of the regime has been the military (though not any more in North Korea), and that both center human agency in their formal ideologies.
Though the critical variable is that Cuba is right under America, which has a powerful constituency to advocate maximum pressure, while North Korea succeeded exploiting its geographic remoteness and proximity to China and Russia. Hence why Cuba has been under blackout while North Korea has been very confident recently and legalized car ownership, builds domestic tourist sites, and builds capacities previously thought unaffordable to them
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Socialism with Cuban characteristics
[archive link](https://archive.is/20260512041239/https://www.ft.com/content/9f9c1336-b524-494a-ac00-862ec50b89f1)
An article about Gaesa, the Cuban company that accounts for as much as 40% of the nations GDP and an important player in the talks between Cuba and the USA. Gaesa is responsible for basically any economic activity done in dollars in Cuba, be it tourism, banking, so on. Gaesa’s dominance leaves it an unaccountable king in Cuba and any real talks of liberalisation (i.e. probably not what’s going on right now) would necessarily involve its breakup.
Cuba and North Korea are remarkably similar in being nationalist movements based around a charismatic leader with added side of communism, that they survived significant economic crisis through tactical moves and some accomodations, that the hardcore of the regime has been the military (though not any more in North Korea), and that both center human agency in their formal ideologies.
Though the critical variable is that Cuba is right under America, which has a powerful constituency to advocate maximum pressure, while North Korea succeeded exploiting its geographic remoteness and proximity to China and Russia. Hence why Cuba has been under blackout while North Korea has been very confident recently and legalized car ownership, builds domestic tourist sites, and builds capacities previously thought unaffordable to them