BACKGROUND PAPER
ON
CUBA
1. The intent of this paper is to highlight Cuba’s Communist government and the state ran Cuban diet. The US interests in Cuba will be highlighted, based on the understanding of these two cultural domains.
2. Cuba was ruled by a dictator until the Cuban Revolution in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since 1965, Cuba has been under the rule of the only political party, the Communist Party of Cuba.1 The party monopolizes all elected and appointed positions, facilitating party control of all aspects of Cuba’s government.2 Fidel Castro has been the dominant political figure of Cuba since 1965, when he led the aforementioned political revolution, until 2008 when he stepped down due to poor health. Fidel’s brother, Raul, then was elected with 100 percent of the popular vote, as he was the only candidate.3 The legislative branch, the National Assembly of Popular Power (NAPP), has 614 seats, exclusively filled by members of the Communist Party.4 The constitution creates independent courts but …show more content…
The reach of the Communist Party goes well beyond politics, it goes all the way to Cuban’s stomachs. Since 1962, Cubans have been forced to get their food through a rationing system.6 This is due to land seizures after the communist party took control.7 Farmers no longer owned their land and often could no longer grow crops.8 By law, the rationing system gives each household a libreta; this is a book detailing set prices for food items that each household is allowed to purchase.9 It has been estimated that the rationing system only successfully supplies 61 percent of daily caloric needs of the Cuban population.10 This reality props up an underground black market for food.11 Illegal food is cheaper because the sellers are not subject to the same regulations as the legal ones.12 Without black market food, Cubans would not survive. On average, between 65 percent and 75 percent of the money of a single-income household goes to purchasing rationed
ON
CUBA
1. The intent of this paper is to highlight Cuba’s Communist government and the state ran Cuban diet. The US interests in Cuba will be highlighted, based on the understanding of these two cultural domains.
2. Cuba was ruled by a dictator until the Cuban Revolution in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Since 1965, Cuba has been under the rule of the only political party, the Communist Party of Cuba.1 The party monopolizes all elected and appointed positions, facilitating party control of all aspects of Cuba’s government.2 Fidel Castro has been the dominant political figure of Cuba since 1965, when he led the aforementioned political revolution, until 2008 when he stepped down due to poor health. Fidel’s brother, Raul, then was elected with 100 percent of the popular vote, as he was the only candidate.3 The legislative branch, the National Assembly of Popular Power (NAPP), has 614 seats, exclusively filled by members of the Communist Party.4 The constitution creates independent courts but …show more content…
The reach of the Communist Party goes well beyond politics, it goes all the way to Cuban’s stomachs. Since 1962, Cubans have been forced to get their food through a rationing system.6 This is due to land seizures after the communist party took control.7 Farmers no longer owned their land and often could no longer grow crops.8 By law, the rationing system gives each household a libreta; this is a book detailing set prices for food items that each household is allowed to purchase.9 It has been estimated that the rationing system only successfully supplies 61 percent of daily caloric needs of the Cuban population.10 This reality props up an underground black market for food.11 Illegal food is cheaper because the sellers are not subject to the same regulations as the legal ones.12 Without black market food, Cubans would not survive. On average, between 65 percent and 75 percent of the money of a single-income household goes to purchasing rationed