Cuba at a Crossroads

"Extremely useful to scholars and readers interested in Latin America, socialist countries in transition, U.S. foreign policy, comparative political and economic systems, [and] revolutionary change. . . . Will be an excellent textbook in courses related to those subjects."--Carmelo Mesa-Lago, University of Pittsburgh By October 1991, when Cuba's Fourth Communist Party Congress met, international communism had crumbled, and Cuba, mired in a deep recession, faced serious internal pressures and a hostile external economic environment. These essays reflect the political and economic concerns highlighted at the congress. Despite their interdisciplinary approaches and differences in point of view, the authors agree that significant change in Cuba is imminent and that the country stands at the intersection of several roads, each associated with alternative models of political and economic organization. Where appropriate, they evaluate the strategies that the Cuban leadership is currently pursuing. Contents Introduction: Cuban Politics and Economics in the 1990s, by Jorge F. Perez-Lopez Leadership Strategies and Mass Support: Cuban Politics before and after the 1991 Communist Party Congress, by Jorge I. Dominguez The Party, the Fourth Congress, and the Process of Counterreform, by Juan M. del Aguila Continuity and Change in Cuba's International Relations, by Damian J. Fernandez Cuba's Economic Strategy and Alternative Futures, by Archibald R. M. Ritter Reflections on Economic Policy: Cuba's Food Program, by Sergio G. Roca Cuba's Labor Adjustment Policies during the Special Period, by Sergio Diaz-Briquets and Jorge F. Perez-Lopez Tourism in Cuba: A Development Strategy for the 1990s? by Maria Dolores Espino Cuban Biotechnology: A First World Approach to Development, by Julie M. Feinsilver Islands of Capitalism in an Ocean of Socialism: Joint Ventures in Cuba's Development Strategy, by Jorge F. Perez-Lopez Reforming Cuba's Economic System from Within, by Andrew Zimbalist Economic Reform in Cuba: Lessons from Eastern Europe, by Jorge F. Perez-Lopez