Cuban Revelations: Behind the Scenes in Havana Author: Marc Frank | Language: English | ISBN:
B00F8OEGO4 | Format: EPUB
Cuban Revelations: Behind the Scenes in Havana Description
In Cuban Revelations, Marc Frank offers a first-hand account of daily life in Cuba at the turn of the twenty-first century, the start of a new and dramatic epoch for islanders and the Cuban diaspora. A U.S.-born journalist who has called Havana home for almost a quarter century, Frank observed in person the best days of the revolution, the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the great depression of the 1990s, the stepping aside of Fidel Castro, and the reforms now being devised by his brother.
Examining the effects of U.S. policy toward Cuba, Frank analyzes why Cuba has entered an extraordinary, irreversible period of change and considers what the island's future holds. The enormous social engineering project taking place today under Raúl's leadership is fraught with many dangers, and Cuban Revelations follows the new leader's efforts to overcome bureaucratic resistance and the fears of a populace that stand in his way.
In addition, Frank offers a colorful chronicle of his travels across the island's many and varied provinces, sharing candid interviews with people from all walks of life. He takes the reader outside the capital to reveal how ordinary Cubans live and what they are thinking and feeling as fifty-year-old social and economic taboos are broken. He shares his honest and unbiased observations on extraordinary positive developments in social matters, like healthcare and education, as well as on the inefficiencies in the Cuban economy.
- File Size: 1576 KB
- Print Length: 336 pages
- Publisher: University Press of Florida (October 22, 2013)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00F8OEGO4
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
X-Ray:
- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,864 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #4
in Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies > Cuba - #6
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies - #6
in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Caribbean & Latin American
- #4
in Books > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies > Cuba - #6
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Americas > Caribbean & West Indies - #6
in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > International & World Politics > Caribbean & Latin American
This is a very useful on-the-ground report on the changes occurring in Cuba. Frank starts with the final years of Fidel Castro's rule and the transition to Raúl Castro. At first things seemed to be moving slowly, but from 2011 the pace accelerated dramatically, with farmers being allowed to sell their own produce directly, the amount of privately farmed land being dramatically increased, a very large number of Cubans being licensed to set up their own small businesses, the removal of travel restrictions, people being allowed to buy and sell their homes, and much more. Raúl seems to have been careful to slowly build up a consensus on the need for change, and as a result is now able to drive both broad economic changes and major shakeups in the government.
Marc Frank has been a Havana resident for 20 years, working for Reuters, ABC, and others. He also has the advantage of being married to a Cuban, whose sprawling extended family has been happy to provide him with views from across the island. He has made many tours around the island and is able to share anecdotal data on the changes over the years, starting from the days when farmers leapt out from behind the shrubbery to clandestinely sell their produce to motorists, to the appearance of officially approved private roadside produce kiosks, to today's plethora of small competing vendors.
Frank makes it clear that the Raúl is definitely not intending to demolish socialism, nor to allow large-scale private businesses. And the regime is determined to maintain a single party state, with strict party discipline and no tolerance of dissent. But he does portray a striking degree of economic liberalization and institutional change which seems to be greatly improving day to day life for ordinary Cubans.
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