Cuba: Economic Reforms BRAZIL ECONOMIC ACCELERATE THE LANDING ON THE ISLAND TO TRY The opportunities COPAR BUSINESS IS OPEN WHILE thousands of Cubans line up to become small entrepreneurs 
Brazil aims to become the leading business actor
Cuba, with the liberalization of labor economics by the government of President Raul Castro
.
"Cubans are becoming more commercially aggressive and Brazil want to meet that demand," , says the director of the state
Brazilian Agency for Export and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex), Mauricio Borges.
firm Havaianas flip flops , a Brazilian logos in the world, has been authorized to develop merchandising and advertising within Cuban shops, as newspaper O Estado Sao Paulo of . Apex led last week to 27 Brazilian companies to explore business opportunities on the island. According to O Estado , businesses paid $ 48 million against 29 million originally projected.
The Brazilian government since taking President Lula da Silva in 2003 close commercial ties with Cuba such as the construction of the port of Mariel , development of road infrastructure and in terms of tropical agriculture, with state bank financing BNDES.
The economic flexibility has launched the government of Raul Castro
is an attraction for Brazilian entrepreneurs.
"Entrepreneurs are profiting by the political avenue opened by the government" says
Brazilian ambassador in Havana, José Felicio .
Entrepreneurs in a country without private enterprise
Thousands of Cubans have come in recent weeks to apply for a license to develop self-employment. Among them, some state employees are prepared for the change of activity, especially those working in non-performing businesses and workshops, who believe they sooner or later be fired. Last September, the Central Workers Cuba announced that half a million state workers will be dismissed from October this year and the first quarter of 2011.
Between who aspire to a license are those with long experience in called "self-employment" , who see an opportunity to mount a second business, which now allows law after a ban of two decades. There are also those who worked underground and have chosen to "whiten "activity. There are tens of thousands of people to which the government denied them permission to work on their own, but they did so covertly.
" I have worked illegal under the rigor of the inspectors that you constantly put fines of 200 pesos and I want to end it. I get cheaper legalized " says Jennifer manicure. Diceque work gains allow you to pay what the government calls but stressed that" not give a lot, I win between 100 and 200 pesos a day with my work, that alone is sufficient for daily expenses. " (1 dollar equals 24 pesos)
Enrique
Martínez comes with the hope that your license back. "I had a welding shop in (street) Industry and they (the state) took away my local" says, adding that " now I get the permission to work in my house" . Explains that there is input, for workers, " things are only fighting" , ie on the black market. "This is like the game of cat and mouse, they open around here and they close by there are people crazy" he concludes. Pablo Linares
workshop aims to appliances, for which a machine commissioned in Miami . Works as electric motor windings in a workshop of the State. Your task is to repair computers that are burned, a common occurrence given the problems of voltage-and back running the fan or the mixer. For years the parent company only sends the wire, without which it is impossible to work. Paul knows his job is in the air and the company about to be declared bankrupt. By the way, has chosen to organize the future, "I asked a friend in Miami who send me a motor winding machine to set up my own workshop ." Has already made the accounts "with this makes a good, fix a fan motor are $ 250 and that of a washer can ask for $ 500 " . He explains that no great aspirations but if things go well could instruct other machines.
Niurka Gamelan Decade and Grenadine had a photography studio at home and now launch a second business to open a coffee shop. "We offer everything, food, coffee, juices and smoothies and everything in national currency" , Niurka account. Decade explains they need to invest more than $ 2,000. "I have met my own money because I am self-employed since 11 years, plus I have relatives in Miami who helped me " .
Niurka wins does not mean much to her study of photography, but says " can not live like a millionaire, or you can buy a car but enough to eat meat every day, dressed me and my children and leave the weekends. " Asked whether economic openness will last, do not hesitate to answer: " we must seize the opportunities, if they give you grab it, the future nobody knows. "
Some emigres Miami and other parts of the world seem to have decided that assist their families to set up a business involves them spending less than the monthly remittances to support their maintenance. And there are cases of joint ventures: a Cuban resident and one migrant. The investment comes from abroad, face, and the job puts you live on the island: the benefits are spread
The "new" economic model, between rejection and hope 
While the president Raul Castro is dedicated to explaining to the tables Communist Party and government's new economic plan, on the street opinion is divided between skepticism, rejection and hope. The attacks coming from the right and left. For some it is a change of makeup, while others believe they are taking the first steps toward capitalism.
The average Cuban is skeptical, he finds contradictory signals so no one really knows what to expect. Also weighing on past experience that economic openings were drowned out by the government. The most satisfied with this project seems to be the academic sector, in particular economic researchers who feel that the new guidelines reflect many of their proposals rejected for years.
The official daily Granma recently published a summary of the meeting between President Castro leaders of the Communist Party School in who answered countless questions. Raul Castro said accept discrepancies "must be a maximum in the Party" and guided to boxes "to collect all opinions carefully because in this process who will decide are the people" . There
" concern of several participants on the creation of cooperatives " and ministers had to answer further questions from the changes in the tax system new forms of ownership, production and agricultural development. The
economy minister Marino Murillo, insisted that no reforms: "is an update of the economic model. No one thinks we're going to transfer ownership, we're going to manage otherwise."
dissident economist Oscar Espinosa believes that these measures "lead to nothing because the model should be replaced rather than updated" and ensures that changes are not like those of China .
economic project not seem to form on the left. An article signed by the Cuban nuclear physicist Rogelio Díaz compares the announced closure of inefficient firms with bankruptcies occurred in Argentina . Remember that workers in that country have begun to move the factories "so self-managed cooperative" adding that it should be given the same opportunity to Cubans: "After all, we want to remain socialist."
Miguel Arencibia, a Masters in Law, member of Critical Monitoring and communist activist for over 30 years. He was fired from his job for publishing articles on the Internet and She takes care of cars for a living. Believes that the only solution for his country is to build a true socialism, "Revolution stalled in the 60's, as Fidel himself has just said that the model no longer works. It's totally bureaucratic and nationalized. For us, Socialism goes through collective self-management and co-operative work, but really, there has been cooperative in Cuba. And also the self-employment not put aside. "
Liberalizing trade in building materials 
liberalize Cuba in January the sale of building materials in national pesos. Until now, the sale was a state-subsidized activity. "From January next year will disappear selling building materials with subsidies to the so-called traces, and begin to market them released at the outlets in the domestic trade system" , announced in Juventud Rebelde address non-food products from the Ministry of Internal Trade. This body confirmed that it will continue the marketing, launched this year, agricultural inputs to farmers in 1,200 stores across the country.
last February began selling building materials offered only 7 products, figure that will rise to 144. So far the state subsidized materials were scarce and the Cubans were purchased from a foreign currency.
is estimated that Cuba , with a population of 11.2 million people, there is a shortfall of 600,000 homes, in part because of the three hurricanes that hit the island in 2008, causing losses amounting to 10,000 billion.
return of the cruise 
With
arrival at the port of Havana cruise Gemini, the English company
Travel Quail, with 800 passengers aboard, Cuba
start getting regular cruises after four years. Europe cruises between
and Cuba
were "limited by the blockade of U.S.
on the island.
"has been defined operations. This operation begins tomorrow in a stable manner" said Lester
Oliva, president of
Cubatur , state travel agency, said on Cuban television today.
Gemini
The cruise will come to the island every week, which will join the operations of a British cruiser in the first quarter of 2011 and another Russian, with a three night stay at the port of Havana within its length, said Oliva .
Following the purchase of the English company Pullmantur by U.S. Royal Caribbean, based in Miami in 2006, the ship Holiday Dream stopped playing due to blockade Cuban ports.
Cuba This caused a loss of 22,000 tourists, said last month Cuban Minister of Tourism, Manuel Marrero . In 2005, a year before the end of the English operations Holiday Dream, then-President Fidel Castro stated on the cruise: "floating hotels come, floating restaurants, floating theaters, floating fun visit the countries for leave garbage, cans and papers for a few miserable cents " .
Cuba that year reached 102,440 passengers in 122 berths, most aboard the Holiday Dream , generating $ 15 million. The cruise ship terminal at the port of Havana is now almost paralyzed.
The national debate convened in Cuba between December 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011 is the true beginning of the VI Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), continuity of a parliament of workers, peasants, students and popular that the revolution has come many times since coming to power.
open to the public discussion document is the draft guidelines for economic and social policy ( http://www.cubadebate.cu/ ), prepared by the Economic Policy Committee of Congress , which constitute the main theme and purpose to discuss with the public is to ensure that its proposals out the final document to be submitted for consideration by the highest governing body of the PCC, to be held in April 2011. The project was made days available to the public while the party held a seminar preparing national cadres and specialists that level will be responsible for organizing the debate in the provinces. In one of his speeches at the seminar, which lasted four days, the second secretary of the PCC, Raul Castro, oriented: it is not convinced as to what is written in the project but to explain the issues and collect the opinions carefully because this process that will decide is the people (emphasis added). Had previously stated that diversity is essential and that life is enriched by the discrepancies, which must be a maximum within the party, an idea reiterated frequently. Thus, he stressed, "is mass participation cardinal to the success of the conference and stressed that the ideas of Fidel are in each of the proposed guidelines.
Do you want a superior example of direct, participatory democracy, really a socialist? The two main leaders of the only revolution that has fought for the ideal and social achievements over 50 years before the relentless onslaught of U.S. imperialism subject to public scrutiny the proposals of the party, whose production has taken part personally. A careful reading of the document gives us the prospect of an urgent and unavoidable radical overhaul of the management system economic, social redistribution mechanisms and criteria for use of the work force, but without giving an inch on the social ownership of the basic means of production or national sovereignty over economic and natural resources. Only now an important part of social property state but would not be cooperative, agriculture, services and other activities, both cooperatives and state enterprises and local governments would then have increased privileges, powers and resources to strengthen extraordinarily participatory democracy, the role of government in social planning and weapons to fight against bureaucracy. While an emerging private sector, properly regulated, would take charge of tasks that the state could never meet. Cuban leaders elude prefer the term reform and update the economic model because it is not changing the substance, socialism, but to take a big leap in its development, in achieving its objectives and the way to a higher stage of economic development by making the changes necessary, correcting mistakes and changing rules at the time may have been necessary but today constitute obstacles to socialist construction. It is also to raise the competitiveness and living standards of the country in the hostile and unpredictable conditions of the most catastrophic crisis in the history of capitalism without leaving anyone stranded for social networks will be responsible to avoid it.
current discussion process is not new and its antecedents have been instrumental in reaching these dates with the formation of a base of popular consensus. It began with the national debate over Raul's speech in Camagüey on 26 July 2007, when he expressed the need for structural and conceptual changes in the Cuban economy, and evoking Fidel, changing everything that has to be changed, for what he called to open a public discussion that has been three years in progress and encouraged another round of parliamentary Street which will culminate in just the sixth party congress .
(*) Article published by the newspaper La Jornada of Mexico .
(Sources: ANSA-America, BBC World and La Jornada)
