(no subject)
Seeds of change in Cuban farming
By Michael Voss
BBC News, Camaguey
The Cuban communist state is undergoing drastic changes, according to Michael Voss (BBC news). Could it be that communist Cuba is loosening its doctrine through giving more power to the private sector? Apparently, this is the largest land redistribution since Castro's revolution in 1959; the government is leasing away a portion of its state-owned farmland. Does the leasing contract give the people the option to purchase the land for themselves at the end of the term? Perhaps this is a form of ISI. BBC reporter Michael Voss says that this whole operation is a bid to boost production and reduce costly imports. Essentially, the country wants to rely less on international trade and focus more on domestic products. Interestingly enough, this is a modern day example of the ISI that infant Latin America followed over a century ago.