NEITHER BEIJING NOR HANOI BUT A CUBAN MARKET SOCIALISM
AbstractThe recently announced 'updating' of the Cuban socialist model, a euphemism for what is in reality a shifttowards a policy of 'market socialism', has logically raised the supposition on the part of some commentators that Havana is copying the Chinese or Vietnamese model of development. This article derives from an examination of studies of both the Chinese and Vietnamese economic reform processes and compares them with the Cuban example. It concludes that while the Cuban market socialist project has undoubtedly been informed by a study of their Asian counterparts and inevitably resembles them in some aspects, there are so many differences between each country's social, economic, geographic and historical characteristics, context and experience, that the Cuban model, forged out of its own circumstances and praxis, is potentially a new and unique form.Keywords: China, Vietnam, Cuba, market socialism, economic reformsIntroductionCuba, Vietnam and China superficially have a lot in common. They are all socialist states with single party systems led by a Communist Party that claims the mantle of representing the whole population. They all adopted socialist systems in response to colonial or neo-colonial domination and interference and, in the case of Vietnam and Cuba, they adopted socialism on the back of an explicitly nationalist revolution. Both Vietnam and Cuba fought the United States in their respective ways. However, historic and political similarities such as these tend to mask huge differences. At a time when Cuba is now obviously adopting what has come to be termed a 'market socialist' model, after the two processes that are already under way in China and Vietnam, there is perhaps an inevitable tendency to see the Cuban process as being a copy of those that have taken place in its Asian counterparts. In this article I agree that there are characteristics of the Cuban process that inevitably resemble policies that have been adopted in both China and Vietnam but I also argue that the many and huge differences between the Cuban situation and those of its Asian partners mean that the Cuban model is a very different and potentially new and unique form of market socialism.Cuba, Vietnam and China ComparedIn order to arrive at a suitable point of departure for discussion, the figures in Table 1 provide basic comparators that I believe should be taken into account when asking the question whether or not or how far Cuba might be following a Chinese or Vietnamese path. The table provides evidence that the physical, geographical, economic and historical differences between the three countries are far greater than the mere political similarity of apparently opting for a market socialist solution to the crises that each faced in terms of the challenges their respective state socialist models faced.An analysis of the table shows that China is an economy of unprecedented scale with an enormous domestic market. Vietnam is smaller but nevertheless significantly larger than Cuba in terms of its land area and population. By comparison Cuba is a small island economy of very limited scale.China and Vietnam are thousands of miles away from the United States while Havana is just 171km from US shores. This geographical difference apart, the historic influence and the former hegemonic relationship make the relationship between the US and Cuba very different from that which pertains in the cases of either Vietnam or China.Chinese and Vietnamese societies, values, traditions, demographics, and their multiple ethnic and religious minorities, make them very different from those of the more homogeneous Cuban society. There are 56 and 54 recognised ethnic groups in China and Vietnam respectively, whereas in Cuba there are officially none. Although Cuba is a racially differentiated society, culturally and linguistically it is homogeneous.Furthermore, both China and Vietnam emerged from ancient Asian feudalistic societies through an experience of colonialism that was very different from the way in which Cuba was colonised. …
Tackling an Economic Crisis by Public Consultation
The expansion of the private sector in Cuba, contained in the island's new legislation was ratified by Cuba's National Assembly on 1 August 2011. However, in September 2010, when this new legislation was proposed, it was greeted as a fait accompli with an outburst of joy and relief by the UK mainstream press. 'End of the road for communist Cuba? ONE MILLION jobs could go private in the most radical reforms since 1959 revolution', declared James White in the Daily Mail (15 September 2010). 'Thanks Fidel, but you're 50 years too late', gloated James Delingpole in the Daily Telegraph, adding: 'It's nice, obviously, that the cigar-smoking beardie has finally had the grace to acknowledge the error of his ways. But shouldn't he have worked this out 50 years earlier, and spared the poor Cuban people a heap of communist misery?' And not much more was said about the matter.However, in its haste to tell the British public once more that socialism (or, in their words, 'communism') in Cuba was at the 'end of the road', the western media omitted to mention how these proposals would progress along the road to becoming actual legislation. Neither had it mentioned that they had only acquired their initial form after a major input by the Cuban trade unions. At the time, only about 30 per cent of them had been ratified before the remaining 70 per cent were presented to the country for consideration and amendment prior to their ratification. If the media had possessed the inclination to discover more about the subject, they would have had a very different story to report.In fact, this legislation, deals with a raftof new policies, ranging from housing, transport and food prices to health, education and tourism. But it is the part that relates to the workforce which has generated the most interest.When I met Manuel Montero Bistilleiro a senior official at the CTC (the equivalent of the British Trades Union Congress) in January 2011, he explained that the reasons for this new legislation were very different from those described by the western media.First, as in the case of the UK and most other countries around the world, Cuba has been hit hard by the world financial crisis, which has had disastrous consequences in the developing world, to which Cuba belongs, pushing up prices of food (by almost 50 per cent) and other basic commodities. Added to this, in 2008 the island was hit by three powerful hurricanes that destroyed much of its infrastructure. Finally, one has to take into account the severe economic consequences of half a century of the US blockade, which has been vigorously and progressively reinforced since the 1990s when Cuba was suffering the Special Period. The blockade, which in recent years has been extended to banking, seriously impedes Cuba's ability to trade effectively with other countries.It was during the 1990s, when the Cuban economy was at its lowest ebb and at a time of widespread hardship that the decision was taken to keep everyone working, even if as a result, workplaces would be overstaffed. This applied particularly to the administrative sector. It is only now that efficient staffing levels are to be restored in that sector.As a result, new legislation has been necessary so that Cuba can tackle these challenges, in the same way that many other countries are having to look again at their own legislation in these times of financial crisis. In the case of Cuba, the government has emphasised the need to create a more self-sufficient and economically viable economy. However, at the same time as introducing these new laws, the state has once again declared its clear intention of continuing to maintain and develop a socialist society in which people can enjoy the maximum opportunities and participate, both individually and communally.Manuel, who has worked for 32 years in the CTC, explained to me the important role played by the Cuban trade unions in the new legislation's formulation and eventual enactment. …
Color image based sorter for separating red and white wheat
A simple imaging system was developed to inspect and sort wheat samples and other grains at moderate feed-rates (30 kernels/s or 3.5 kg wheat/h). A single camera captured color images of three sides of each kernel by using mirrors, and the images were processed using a personal computer (PC). Real time image acquisition and processing was enabled on an ordinary PC under Windows XP operating system using the IEEE 1394 data transfer protocol, DirectX application software, and dual-core computer processor. Image acquisition and transfer to the PC required approximately 17 ms per kernel, and an additional 1.5 ms was required for image processing. After classification, the computer could output a signal from the parallel port to activate an air valve to divert (sort) kernels into a secondary container. Hard red and hard white wheat kernels were used in this study to test and demonstrate sorter capability. Simple image statistics and histograms were used as features. Discriminant analysis was performed with one, two, or three features to demonstrate classification improvements with increased numbers of features. The sorter was able to separate hard red kernels from hard white kernels with 95 to 99% accuracy, depending on the wheat varieties, feed-rate, and number of classification features. The system is an economical and useful instrument for sorting wheat and other grains with high accuracy.