Читать книгу 4 Americans in Cuba - Larry Stein - Страница 5

When I first arrived in Havana, my wife and I went to get bottled water and explore the area near our casa particular. We proceeded south along Galiano St. (away from the Malecon) and came across a nondescript park filled with hundreds of Cubans. Our first thought was that Cubans must cherish this park, Parque Fe del Valle. Then we saw that everyone had a cell phone or tablet. We had stumbled on one of the many wifi hotspots in Havana. Fidel’s brother, Raul, made this possible.

In 2006 Raul temporarily took over for his ill brother. Fidel officially ceded the presidency in 2008. In that year Raul made it legal for Cubans to own cell phones. He also provided for merit pay for good workers in state-run enterprises.

In 2011, partly in response to yet another economic crisis, Raul instituted 300 economic reforms. Of greatest interest to tourists, were the expansion of free enterprise, and the encouragement of foreign investment.

Prior to 2011, almost all restaurants were state owned. The few private restaurants, called paladares, were limited to 4 tables, and couldn't serve certain items, including lobster. That has all changed. Restaurants have proliferated, and there are also many more casas particulares.

Recently, President Obama and Raul Castro have started normalizing relations between the two countries. On March 18, 2016 Raul promised to remove the ten percent penalty on the exchange of dollars into Cuban CUCs. As of the middle of May 2016, this promise has yet to be fulfilled.