Purge aims to halt Cuba's economic free fall
Cuba's sweeping overhaul of its Cabinet affected mostly the economic team.
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BY FRANCES ROBLES AND WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA
frobles@MiamiHerald.com

Cuba's new Cabinet members named in a surprise political shake-up last week are a cadre of unknowns who share a history of cracking down on waste and running a tight ship.

The sweeping Cabinet shuffle underscores Cuban leader Raúl Castro's eagerness to bring military-style discipline to an economy that a top U.S. intelligence official recently called ``a basket case.''

Facing a $10 billion hurricane destruction tab, soaring food prices and declining revenue, Castro wiped out nearly his entire economic team, sacking some of the country's most visible rising stars.

Theories abound -- some contradictory -- about why most of the ministers dismissed were in the economic arena. Some experts say Castro sought to purge loyalists to former head of state Fidel Castro, getting rid of the people who may have stood in the way of reforms. Others suspect that Raúl Castro simply wanted to restructure his government, tackling economic problems by first tightening up the country's massive bureaucracy.

This much is clear: Cuba's economy is in a free fall. And as Raúl Castro finally steps out of his brother Fidel's shadow by putting his own team in place, he must soon take drastic measures to reverse the slide.

''The year coming to an end has been without doubt one of the most difficult since the special period began,'' then-Economy Minister José Luis Rodríguez told the National Assembly at the end of 2008, referring to the era of economic crisis that followed the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Rodríguez was among 10 officials fired on Monday.

The economy is going so badly that Raúl Castro cut travel spending in half and stopped offering bonuses and other perks to government workers.

In the last hurricane season, Cuba suffered several devastating storms. The recovery bill came as the nation paid a record $710 million for food imports to the United States alone -- a 61 percent rise in a single year.

The majority of ministries affected by the shake-up were related to food-buying.

The government has said it expects the economy to grow by 4.3 percent this year -- about half the earlier government forecast of 8 percent. Castro has been busy traveling the world, seeking to diversify Cuba's financing so the nation is not so dependent on Venezuela. Castro has inked deals with China, Iran, Russia, Brazil and oil-producing nations.

Although tourism and some exports were up last year, the price of Cuba's top export -- nickel -- dropped by 41 percent, and the cost of imports increased by more than 50 percent.

The island imports more than 80 percent of what it consumes, and efforts to increase domestic production have failed.

''Raúl Castro inherited a legacy of complete neglect -- not benign neglect,'' said Miami economist Jorge Sanguinetty, who monitors Cuba's economy. ``Raúl Castro has to be very worried. Cuba is in a very precarious situation.''

The Cabinet changes affected the ministers of foreign trade, foreign investment, food industry, finance and prices, domestic trade, and iron and steel industry. Two of those ousted, Rodríguez and Vice President Carlos Lage, were linked to the transformation and economic planning that began in 1990 as a result of the collapse of the socialist camp........Chill your buddies are circling the drain soon it will be over for them VIVA CUBA LIBRE......we are going to crap on commandantes grave and the idiot Che the T shirt salesman

U.S. fugitives in Cuba wary of closer ties that could lead to deportation
Thaw in relations with U.S. could open doors for return

March 8, 2009

Havana - Times could be uncertain for the more than 70 American fugitives hiding out in Cuba.

Some have enjoyed lives as celebrity revolutionaries in the tropics. Many paraded around town, telling war stories and being hailed as heroes who stood up to "the Empire." But their fate is unclear after a change in administrations on both sides of the Florida Straits.

"Who knows how untouchable anybody is," said Vicki Huddleston, head of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana from 1999 to 2002. "Raul Castro's government is extremely pragmatic." .......chill you can greet them at the airport in Miami when they get off the plane in their orange jumpsuits and bracelets

soon we will be crapping on the commies graves.....VIVA CUBA LIBRE

Chill.

Thanks for the video. I had this on my to do list. Its sad this wasn't driven in too the American publics psych in 2004. Another example of the Bush hypocrisy and his disdainful approach to the truth and real justice.

Gusano Cubano, aka GC,

Your people “Not all Cubans” are terrorist, your pigs. Your murderers, old scum that will one day and rot in hell.
Due to the internet and this economic crisis more and more people will lean to the left.


TERRORIST, the United States supports, murder and terrorism!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a FACT!

GC:

A man that shouts that he will take a crap on anybody's grave, is a man that is willing to make that grave for that man he despises....

Since you do not have the 'cojones' to do that , put a sock in it......

and to those losers that'll say, GC has the right to say what he wants this is america,... yeah you are right, but i'm jsut saying that if he wants to remain ehtical....

Orlando Bosh is a Patriot and hero.

Internet revolutionaries like Chilli don't have the right to even utter his name

[QUOTE=gouletcolonial]
[QUOTE=Glimmertwin]
GC:

GC,
I plan on going there soon... I still have not gotten my DR citizenship so as far as now I can not go but soon I will.

Foul language is uncalled for a man your age you should know this by now.
I respect Fidel for the good he has done and the assistance he has given the Dominican people even before he was arrest for the attacks on the Mocada barracks.

Trujillo was an evil dictator and he even rape girls and people would bring them their daughters so he could give them houses. Trujillo was a very bad man.
I could admit he had his good points, and so does Fidel.

You have Trujillo in your Image Icon; you have praised the man before. I know I have seen you do it.

Just like you have your opinion we have ours about the leader of the Cuban revolution.
I will admit it Fidel is not perfect but he tries, he fought for his people to get rid of a vicious dictator that was aided by the U.S.
You talk about that you can not say anything in Cuba, well in La era De Trujillo it was 100 times worst. It was mandatory for you to have his picture of him in your house. He had force labor camps. And he sent thousands of Haitians to die because they wanted to be Dominicans.

You have no respect for anyone’s opinion; you’re a grumpy old man.
No one could have predicted what could have happened to Cuba if Bastista had stayed in power.

Even Omar Torrijos of Panama was killed fighting for his country and he was very anti-Communist. Where would you think Cuba would be right now if they would be 100% Capitalist?