1 History
Main article: History of Cuba
Cuba and its originally Amerindian population ( Taino, Siboney and Guanajatabey ) came under Spanish control in the 16th century. The colony's struggle for independence started in 1868 and continued during the 19th century until the Spanish-American War of 1898. The United States occupied the island until its independence was granted in 1902, though limited by the Platt Amendment (revoked in 1934), after which the US continued to have a major influence in Cuban affairs.
Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos, Raúl Castro and their rebel army were one of many guerilla groups that opposed the dictator Fulgencio Batista. Castro's ' July 26 Movement' subsumed these other groups quickly and took over Cuba's government in 1959, following its victory against Batista's military forces. At the time when Batista was deposed, 70% of Cuba's farmable land was owned by foreign individuals or foreign companies (mostly US companies). The new revolutionary government adopted land reforms and confiscated much of the property of those foreign companies. As a result, relations with the USA rapidly deteriorated. At first, Castro was reluctant to discuss his plans for the future, but eventually he declared himself a communist, explained that he was trying to build socialism in Cuba, and opened diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union. A new government, led by the reborn Communist Party of Cuba, began carrying out the economic reforms that Castro had promised. Among other things, healthcare and education were made freely available to all Cubans for the first time. After some delay, a Constitution of Soviet inspiration was adopted in 1976.
For several decades, Cuba received a large Soviet subsidy, whereby Cuba provided the Soviet Union with sugar and the Soviets provided Cuba with oil. Part of this oil was consumed by Cuba, while the remainder was sold on the world market for a profit of several billion dollars. In return for this subsidy from the Soviet Union, Cuba supported communist movements throughout Latin America ( Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Chile) and Africa ( Angola, Mozambique and Ethiopia). In Angola alone, Cuba had over 50,000 troops. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 dealt Cuba a giant economic blow and when the Soviets stopped their $6 billion per year subsidy, the Cuban communist government called for "a special period" of recovery. Despite being denied access to development aid from the IMF and World Bank because Cuba is in arrears to its Paris Club debtors to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, Cuba's economy has not collapsed, although its per-capita income is still lower than it was in 1989 (but rising steadily). Cuba's economy today is roughly split into three parts: agriculture ( tobacco, sugar, citrus), mining ( nickel), and tourism.
In 1996, the Clinton Administration enacted the Helms-Burton law. This law states, among other things, that any foreign company that "knowingly trafficks in property in Cuba confiscated without compensation from a U.S. person" can be subjected to litigation and that company's leadership can be barred from entry into the United States. Sanctions may be applied to non-U.S. companies trading with Cuba. This extraterritorial U.S. legislation was enacted after the shootdown of two civilian planes by the Cuban regime. [1]
[2]. This extraterritorial U.S. legislation is considered highly controversial, and the US embargo was condemned for the 13th time this year by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by 179 countries.
Cuba's major trading partners include Spain, Canada, France, Italy, Great Britain and Japan. The U.S. embargo against Cuba applies to all goods, except the export of medicine and medical products and agricultural commodities to Cuba, which are authorized by law. U.S. agriculture companies are free to trade with Cuba, provided that Cuba pays in cash previous delivery. Most travel by U.S. persons to Cuba is banned; tourism by U.S. persons is banned by law. Some U.S. persons illegally visit Cuba by travelling through Mexico or Canada, and are subsequently liable to large fines. Also, the Castro government received heavy international criticism in March 2003 for arresting 75 anti-government journalists, artists and writers.
