Cuba Economy 5-23-24

Cuba is a failed State. Cuba has a bad economy due to low wages, high debt to GDP and high inflation. Cuba became a Communist country after Castro won the revolution in the 1959. 

Nominal GDP $100 billion, Per Capita GDP $7,449, Population 11,194,449, Debt to GDP 119%, Average Wage $1,248, Inflation since 2021 160.65%, Unemployment 3.5%,Trade Deficit %1.9 billion, Land area 42,426 sq miles, Urban 77%, Rural 23%. Arable land 28%. Clean water 50%.

5 Main Exports

Rolled tobacco   $275M

Nickel mattes     $163M

Zinc ore             $127M

Liquor                $102M

Sugar                $67.2M

 

Exports to Countries

China                $426M

Spain                $139M

Germany          $58.5M

Portugal           $43.3M

Switzerland      $41.4M

 

5 Main Imports

Poultry Meat     $365M 

Concentrated Milk $115M 

Soybean Oil     $108M 

Corn                $105M

Wheat             $102M

 

Imports from countries

Spain              $812M 

China              $404M 

United States  $341M 

Brazil              $290M

Netherlands    $225M

 

In 2023, Mexico provided oil shipments to Cuba. The Cuban economy depends on oil. In past years they got oil from Venezuela. 

https://www.csis.org/analysis/2023-year-mexican-oil-cuba

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Cuba

In 2023, there were around 60,000 classic American cars in Cuba. Experts estimate that about half of these cars hail from the 1950s, while 25 percent are from the 1940s and another 25 percent are from the 1930s. The cars are often family heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation.

When Fidel Castro won the revolution in 1959, he formed the Integrated Revolutionary Organizations (ORI)  Private property was confiscated by the government in 1960.  In 1962, the ORI became the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution (PURSC), which in turn became the Communist Party of Cuba in 1965.

Fidel Castro died in 2016 and was succeeded by his brother Raul Castro.

Raúl Castro says he is resigning as Cuban Communist Party leader, ending his family's six decades in power. Mr. Castro, 89, told a party congress that he is handing over the leadership to a younger generation "full of passion and anti-imperialist spirit". Apr 16, 2021

In 2021, Díaz-Canel succeeded the brothers Fidel and Raúl Castro, making him the first non-Castro leader of Cuba since the revolution. Díaz-Canel has been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party since 2003, and served as Minister of Higher Education from 2009 to 2012.

Comments

The delay in naming the Communist Party of Cuba from 1959 to 1965 was cautious and sneaky. The US was entering the Vietnam War in 1964 to prevent a Communist takeover of South Vietnam by North Vietnam, but had already accepted Cuba as a Communist country in our hemisphere. After Vietnam, the US lost its interest in preventing communism. This too was cautious and sneaky.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader