Issues facing Cuba’s next leader

When Raúl Castro steps down as president in April, he will hand his successor the unfinished task of reforming the economy – Cuba’s most urgent and increasingly controversial challenge

1953-59: Uprising, led by Fidel Castro (above) overthrows dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Castro nationalises most businesses

Feb 2008: Fidel Castro resigns at age of 81. National Assembly selects his brother Raúl Castro as Cuba’s leader

Apr 19, 2018: Miguel Díaz-Canel – likely to be next president – has accused some self- employed of being counter-revolutionary

1 Unification of dual currency and exchange rates

Cuban pesos (CUP)
Convertible pesos (CUC)

CUP: Exchanges 25-to-1 with CUC 
CUC: Pegged to U.S. dollar

State employees: 4.2 million
Paid 780 CUP/month – about $31

Self-employed: 567,982 (2017)
Can earn CUCs in tourism industry, making $200-500/month

2014: Tourism booms after Obama administration re-starts diplomatic relations

2017: 4.7 million visitors – including 619,000 Americans – pump more than $3 billion into Cuba’s $142 billion economy



2 Venezuela’s economic collapse has hit cheap oil imports for Cuba’s “oil-for-doctors” programme (crude and refined products, thousand barrels per day)

2013: Nicolas Maduro becomes president of Venezuela
  
120
100
 80
 60
 40
 20
  0  2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

72,350
105,000

2017: Cuba buys 2.1m barrels of oil from Algeria

         
3 Trump effect: U.S. travellers must now stay in supervised groups. Most staff withdrawn from U.S. embassy in Havana


Sources: La Economía Cubana, Reuters       Pictures: Associated Press     © GRAPHIC NEWS