What measures are taken to reform Cuba?

Similar to China's reform and opening up, Cuba's reform also chose to use the countryside as a breakthrough

Cuba learned from the Chinese model

Cuba is still in a period of economic difficulty. . Due to the long-term blockade policy implemented by the United States and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, Cuba has been in a state of lack of food and clothing for the past 20 years. The long-standing big-pot policy has also made many state-owned enterprises inefficient, leaving a large number of laborers idle and making production operations difficult.

In this context, the Cuban government decided to carry out some small-scale economic reforms starting last year.

External comments say that, similar to China’s reform and opening up, Cuba’s economic reform chose to use rural areas as a breakthrough. Some shadows of China can often be seen in Cuba's economic reform policies.

Land reform

Land contract system

Most of the idle land is contracted by farmers and the supply system is abolished

The land issue is the first issue of the Cuban Communist Party Important issues of the Sixth National Congress.

The Cuban government announced on the 18th that as of the end of March this year, more than half of the country’s idle land had been contracted by Cuban farmers. Since 2008, more than 140,000 people have obtained land contracting licenses.

Pedro Oliveira, director of Cuba’s National Land Control Office, said at a press conference on the 18th that Cuba has currently handed over 922,000 hectares of land to contractors for farming. Cuba has 6.6 million hectares of arable land, of which 1.8 million hectares are idle. In 2008, Raul Castro, President of Cuba’s Council of State, announced that half of the country’s idle land would be leased to farmers for cultivation. The "supply card" system was implemented in 1962. Cubans can use the "supply card" to purchase bread, eggs and other food and materials at a rationed monthly price after subsidies. Raul Castro said at the opening of the meeting on the 16th that this price subsidy must be eliminated because it has become an "unbearable burden."

China As the main symbol of China's new era, reform and opening up began after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The wave of reform first started in rural areas. Its main content was the implementation of the household contract system, which enabled farmers to bid farewell to the people's commune system and promoted the vigorous development of various undertakings in rural China.

Economic reform

The emergence of "self-employed people"

170,000 people go to business overseas, and some earn a month's salary in one afternoon

The reason why Cuba is The emergence of "self-employed" is because the government introduced measures in September last year to encourage self-employment. Half a year after the measures were introduced, as of March 8 this year, 171,000 people had received individual business licenses.

Julio once worked in a state-owned bakery in Cuba, earning $11 a month. His ideal was to have a pizza shop of his own, so he quit his job and used more than 1,000 US dollars remitted from his cousin from the United States to open a pizza shop. No celebration ceremony, no advertising, no discount coupons, the store opened in the capital Havana this year. The store is located in an old community where Julio's home is located, and the house is in disrepair. Although the shop was newly decorated, it did not attract the attention of residents in the community at first, and no one came to the door...

Julio and his girlfriend Giselle waited for half an hour, and then another half hour. Finally, Soto, a 92-year-old woman, stopped in front of the window and bought a medium onion pizza. This is the first money Julio has earned since becoming self-employed. "Not bad, I like it," the old woman said after taking a bite of the pizza. In the next half hour, Julio sold 7 pizzas, and 30 on the first day of business. Julio said that when business was at its best, he could earn as much as a month's salary in a state-owned bakery in one afternoon.

Another self-employed man, Javier Acosta, runs a high-end restaurant on the beachfront. But in the first month of operation, the restaurant’s turnover was not enough to pay taxes.

China In 1984, "going to the sea" became a hot word on the streets. This year, China saw its first wave of "going overseas to do business." Many people get rich first by working abroad, stocking up on scarce goods, or working hard. After Deng Xiaoping's speech during his southern tour in 1992, the State Council revised and abolished more than 400 documents restricting business, and a large number of officials and intellectuals joined the private industrial and commercial circles.

Enterprise reform

Breaking the “iron rice bowl”

Cuba’s state-owned enterprises plan to lay off millions of employees to reduce financial pressure

“Cuba’s economic reform, state-owned enterprises The department is going to lay off 1 million people.” The news shocked the world last September. One million is equivalent to almost 1/5 of Cuba's working population.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, at the National Congress of People’s Power held in August last year, Raul Castro warned that idle workers in state-owned units must be laid off, “We want to end Cuba’s It is the image of the only country in the world that has an iron rice bowl."

China In 1983, reform and opening up entered its sixth year. The land of China is full of life. On February 22, the then Ministry of Labor and Personnel issued the "Notice on Actively Trying out the Labor Contract System," which completely broke the "lifetime" employment system that had been implemented after the founding of the People's Republic of my country and was dominated by fixed workers.

Political reform

Abolition of life-long system

Raul proposed limiting the term of leaders and Castro praised him

Cuban State Council Chairman Raul Castro delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the Sixth National Congress of Cuba on the 16th. He proposed term limits for leaders. "Senior political leaders will serve a maximum of two terms of five years each," he said.

Raul said that term limits on leaders are "feasible and necessary" for Cuba's current situation. He also said that leaders subject to term limits “include the president of the Council of State and ministers.” He also said the senior leadership team needed to be refreshed and engage in harsh self-criticism.

84-year-old Fidel Castro announced through Cuban official media at the end of last month that he had resigned from all positions in 2006, including first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. His younger brother Raul was identified as Fidel's successor at the "Big Five" of Cuba in 1997. Raul will also turn 80 in June this year.

On the 17th, Fidel Castro highly praised Raul Castro, Chairman of the Council of State, for his proposals on economic reform and limiting the term of the top leader.

China Since the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, while deepening the reform of the economic and political systems, the Communist Party of China has also reformed the cadre system. The start-up stage of the reform takes the abolition of lifelong tenure for leadership positions and the realization of the "four modernizations" of the cadre team as its core content. This stage roughly lasts from the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to around the 12th National Congress. In February 1982, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China promulgated the "Decision on Establishing a Retirement System for Veteran Cadres" stating: In order to ensure the smooth transition of new and old cadres and to ensure that some veteran cadres who are about to retire can receive appropriate arrangements, the Central Committee believes that, It is necessary to establish a system for veteran cadres to retire and take a back seat. It also made specific provisions on issues such as the age limit for retirement of veteran cadres.

Cuba is changing

In 2008, living necessities were distributed by the state

■The average monthly salary is equivalent to 240 yuan.

■Houses are allocated by the state, as are refrigerators, televisions, and electric fans.

■There are always long queues on buses, cold drink shops, and foreign exchange coupon shops.

The results of the economic reform in 2011 are beginning to appear

■On the once peaceful streets, the sounds of hawking are heard one after another.

■Individual shops have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and new restaurants open almost every day.

■No one will be unable to find a job, and a large number of people are needed in rural areas.