For my research project, I am proposing to research the growth of the Cuban private market after the thawing of U.S.-Cuban relations. I want to find out how the Cuban economy has reformed from a socialist economy to a more global market to help my readers understand how economic reform takes place in socialist governments. This phenomenon is supported by my research by many different sources who have noticed a correlation in an uptick of private sector niches being filled in Cuba after the thawing of relations.
The Cuban private sector has existed since the early days of the Revolution. However, for many years, the private sector was discouraged and often illegal during the leadership of Fidel Castro. However, a change in language and policy came when Fidel’s brother, Raul Castro, was made a leader of Cuba. In Raul’s speech on July 26th, 2007, the acting-President at the time (Fidel issued a temporary transfer of power to his brother Raul on July 31, 2006, due to his poor health; Raul would not become the official President of Cuba until February 24, 2008) promised the introduction of “structural and conceptual changes” to the economy.[1] In the years to come, structural changes were made leading to the legalization to many private businesses. This was one of the first speeches that Raul made in which he spoke to the people of Cuba and showed that he was willing to make some differences and was willing to engage in economic reforms. I would like to use this piece to exemplify the change of mentality of the Cuban government and establish the historical background of my research topic.
In Gonzalez-Corzo and Justo article, “Private Self-Employment under Reform Socialism in Cuba”, the authors discuss the different elements and principals in which the Cuban private market can exist while the fundamental attributes of the socialist system are still present and what factors limit the growth of Cuban entrepreneurs. [2] Their main argument and conclusion are that Cuba’s private market is growing, but there are excessive prohibitions and a wide range of distortions that still affect self-employed workers and the rest of the emerging non-state sector.[3] The authors come to this conclusion through a statistical analysis of the Cuban economy since 2010 and a comparison to similar socialist economies in western Europe that went through similar economic reforms in the post-Stalin era.[4] I plan to use this Journal article to convey some of the problems that currently exist in the Cuban private market. I also plan to use this article as the starting point for research about economic reform in other socialist countries.
When President Obama visited Cuba in March 2016, he became the first U.S. President to make an official visit the island nation since Calvin Coolidge in 1924. During his visit, the President addressed the Cuban people directly in a speech that was broadcasted throughout the whole island. In Obama’s speech on March 22, 2016, in Havana, Obama addressed the Cuban governments ability to start opening their markets and highlighted a few entrepreneurs. [5] Obama made it clear that the U.S. government would back the movement for a free market in Cuba emphasizing that the main reason why the thawing of relations happened was for the Cuban and American people to exchange ideas and promote innovation and entrepreneurship in both countries.[6] I plan to use this primary source to help one of my hypothesis that one of the goals of U.S. foreign policy during the Obama administration was to reform the Cuban economy.
In Richard Feinberg’s book Open for Business, Building the New Cuban Economy the author explores the recent history of how the thawing of relations came to be and performs several case studies to better understand Cuban entrepreneurs and Cuba’s place in a global market.[7] In Chapter Six of the book; “Emerging Entrepreneurs and Middle Classes” the author makes the claim that the Cuban cuentapropistas (private business owners) are the new middle class of the Cuban society and he also concludes emerging middle classes in Cuba will soon aspire greater economic prosperity because of the new exposure to the internet and interactions with foreigners.[8] Fienberg’s book brings a different light to my research as he also discusses how Cuba does business with other free market economy countries like Mexico.
The significance of my research topic is not to create a policy recommendation, but to examine and research how and why the thawing of relations between the United States and Cuba has affected the identity of the private market in Cuba. By determining the results of the thawing of relations in the economies of Cuba, policy making is made easier. U.S.-Cuban relations is especially topical at the moment since there is uncertainty as to what the new administration’s plan for Cuba is.
Two research questions I have going forward would be:
[1] Raul Castro. “Celebration of the 54th Anniversary of the attack on Moncada and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Garrisons.” Speech, Camagüey, Cuba. July 26, 2007.
[2] Mario Gonzalez-Corzo and Orlando Justo. “Private Self-Employment Under Reform Socialism in Cuba.” Journal of Private Enterprise 32, no. 2 (Summer, 2017): 45-82.
[3] Ibid, 78.
[4] Ibid, 62-65.
[5] Barack Obama. “Speech to the Cuban People.” Speech, Havana, Cuba. March 22, 2016.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Richard Feinberg. Open for Business, Building the New Cuban Economy. (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institute Inc.)
[8] Richard Feinberg. “Emerging Entrepreneurs,” in Open for Business, Building the New Cuban Economy. (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institute Inc.), 167-171.
In “A Perfect Impasse? Cuba’s Move Towards the Market and the United States Move Towards Cuba,” written by Stephen Wilkinson, the author attempts to answer the question: why has the thawing of U.S.-Cuba relations not yet had any effect on Cuba’s one-party system? Wilkerson argues that without lifting the economic sanctions on Cuba, Cuba will continue to be a one-party system. Inversely he also argues that the U.S. is not likely to end economic sanctions while Cuba is a one-party system. [1] Ultimately, he is claiming that the two countries are in an unbreakable impasse.
The author performs a historical analysis of the Cuba embargo and attempts to quantify the effectiveness of the U.S. goals by examining the Cuban economy throughout the years. He is clearly using a positivist model as he is basing his argument of GDP growth of Cuba. He also examines the goals of U.S. foreign policy by citing American legislation, and finds that U.S. foreign policies towards Cuba can be classified into two different ends: Overthrow the Government and Containment.[2] The author concludes that the Cuban economy has become more liberal through economic reforms because of the embargo, but it has not changed its one-party system because of the Castro regimes historical influence on Cuba’s government.
[1] Stephen Wilkinson. “A Perfect Impasse? Cuba’s Move Towards the Market and the United States’ Move Towards Cuba,” Economic Affairs 37, no. 1 (February 2017): 20. accessed September 26, 2017.
[2] Ibid, 28.
While reading Abbotts debates on methodology, I came to understand Ontology and Methodology as two separate stages of research that together to create the foundational bedrock to how to frame and engage in your research. Ontology I found to be especially interesting and more difficult to grasp because it is a lot more theoretical and abstract then Methodology. An ontology defines one’s view on the world. After exposure to different research methods and doing research on my topic, I have developed a context-dependent ontological view, I believe that the world is socially constructed and that we define our own realities depending on personal experiences. Which eventually leads me to have an Interpretivist methodological view because of their idea that “fact acquire meaning only when it is assigned interaction and interpretation”[1]. This is a change of position from where we first read Abbotts debates to which I originally sided more with the Positivism, but after seeing how the different debates are implemented into research I have decided that interpretivism is of a bigger interest to me.
In the early stages of class, when the question of whether a researcher can be an objective observer or if it is not possible to displace our assumptions from the research was first brought up, I tried hard to believe that we can be objective observers. But, it feels impossible to me to completely ignore your biases or past experiences when doing research. As discussed during our class discussions, if you believe that we cannot separate our personal ties to the research, the best practice is to simply put it out and address it in your research. Accepting your biases and putting them out there can help your research become more well-rounded and fair. If you know that you have a specific stand about an issue and acknowledge this bias, you will more be inclined to read about the opposing argument that refutes your bias and be able to include in your research.
As far as to the question of what can and cannot be researched, I think that almost anything can be researched and studied. Whether it is something theoretical or tangible, they can be examined using the different methodological techniques. It is difficult to imagine how someone can study or measure something that cannot seem or touched or even proved to be true, it certainly was for me to believe, there are different discourse analysis that can measure these ideas. For example, in my own research. When first thinking about the hurdles I might encounter during my research, I thought that there were certain areas and angels I might not be able to touch on because of the limitations of research. But, now I have learned that research is almost limitless.
I would like my research to be concentrated on the recent events occurring between Cuba and the United States, more specifically the growth of the Cuban private business sector because of the thawing of relations. For the last 58 years, Cuba has been under a Communist regime where all business was under central government rule. In recent years, some private business has been legalized. With the new thawing of relations between Cuba and the United States, there has been massive entrepreneurial and innovative growth.
I want to engage with the changes happening in Cuba, more specifically on how a growing volume of American exposure has changed the mentality and ideas of the Cuban population and private business owners. Has there been a change in ideology? Are Cubans genuinely happy with the changes? How is the government reacting, in terms of new laws? What are the changes? These are some of the puzzles I am interested in exploring. This research topic is significant to me because being born and raised in Cuba, has made constant visits— I have noticed a huge shift in Cuban society after the announcement of the reestablishment of relations. Fortunately, I have had the opportunity to speak and engage with Cuban people, professors, and officials, and ask them about this ongoing social change. Although everyone feels differently about the change of Cuban society, they all recognize that it is undoubtedly a continuing phenomenon. My goal is to bring these feelings and ideas into the conversation and either provide new information or advance current research.
I strongly believe that this ongoing phenomenon is one of the biggest nuances in the field of International Affairs. I view this diplomatic milestone by Obama as one of the final nails in the coffin of the Cold War. This also merits substantial research because of a long history of Cuba’s fight for national sovereignty especially from the United States in terms of their imperialist history with Cuba during the era after the Spanish-American war and their economic dependency before the Cuban Revolution.