The economic reforms in the Cuban economy have created a newly emerging private market that seems out of place in a government that considered any types of capitalist activities to be counter-revolutionary. Scholars Richard Feinberg and Marshall Beck both have researched this phenomenon to examine the types of effect that these economic reforms have had on the Cuban society.

Marshall Beck conducts an ethnographic case study in Cuba by interviewing self-employed artisans about the types of effects the new private sector is having on peoples ideological beliefs.[1] Beck finds that the creation of a private market has a created a dissolution of socialist ideals in Cuba and has challenged the economic hegemony of the state-run market.[2] Feinberg conducts a similar research with the same approach, interviewing Cuban private business owners about their experiences being in the private market, hypothesizing that the Cuban entrepreneurs are Cuba’s new middle class.[3] Feinberg, unlike Beck, concludes that as the middle class starts overlapping with the emerging private sector, the Cuban people will push for more freedoms of information but will still believe in the Cuban government because of their educational roots.[4]

Each article has a different school of thought regarding the significance of Cuban market reforms. Beck views a growth of capitalist activities to lead to a decline of power for the Cuban Communist party, while Feinberg believes that Cuban entrepreneurs “still honor egalitarian values…and are proud of the revolution accomplishments”, pushing instead for a more open Cuba with greater access to internet and information rather than an entire demand for democratic capitalism.[5] These articles also take place during different time periods( Beck in 2001 and Feinberg in 2016), which also plays a factor into their findings.

In terms of contributions to my own research, the findings of both these articles are helpful. I think that the difference in results of these similarly approached studies could me help explore a new puzzle in the correlation between the evolution of the Cuban private market and the mentality and political ideals of Cubans.

[1] Marshall Beck, “‘Cuenta-Propismo’ and Reform in Cuba: A Case Study,” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 26, no. 52 (2001): 179–222.

[2] Ibid, 20.

[3] Richard E. Feinberg, “Emerging Entrepreneurs and Middle Class,” in Open for Business (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2016), 131–172.

[4] Ibid, 171.

[5] Ibid.; Beck, “‘Cuenta-Propismo’ and Reform in Cuba: A Case Study.”

Bibliography

Beck, Marshall. “‘Cuenta-Propismo’ and Reform in Cuba: A Case Study.” Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies 26, no. 52 (2001): 179–222.

Feinberg, Richard E. “Emerging Entrepreneurs and Middle Class.” In Open for Business, 131–172. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2016.