Raul Castro

Raul Castro appears in Dark times for Cuba’s economic experiment as the Cuban leader who expanded private-sector space after Fidel Castro became ill. The Planet Money episode says Raul acknowledged that Cuba’s economy was in poor shape, allowed small businesses to hire outside their families, and broadened permitted occupations to nearly 200 options.

The source frames Raul’s reforms as Constrained Market Reform. They widened opportunity for businesses such as City Cleta, but Ricardo Torres says the state still wanted private activity to remain a complement to the state sector rather than become more important than it.

Connections

• Cuba - country context.
• Fidel Castro - predecessor and revolutionary origin point in the source.
• Constrained Market Reform and Cuban Dual Economic Strategy - reform pattern attached to Raul’s period.
• Yaser Gonzalez Cabrera and City Cleta - later private-enterprise case enabled by the broader opening.