Cuban Evolution

Elián at Union of Young Communists meeting, 2010                                                                   AP

Things change, and while the Cuba of the pre-revolution 1950s is no more, neither is that of the 1990s or early 2000s. "Since assuming power from his brother Fidel in 2006, Raul Castro has gently edged Cuba towards a more market-based economy. The partial liberalization of private enterprise, home ownership and foreign direct investment are all suggestive of an economy in transition," according to this article. But with U.S. companies salivating over the possibilities and the Carnival cruise line having just gotten U.S. permission to stop there, the question is how Cuba will manage this new phase of its economic evolution (story, videos): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/otaviano-canuto/not-your-granmas-cuba-a-n_b_7836372.html
   Remember Elián González, the little Cuban boy who landed in Florida after the boat carrying him, his mother, and others broke down? Elián's mother died, but he was rescued and taken to live with relatives in Miami, starting a tug of war between them and the boy's father back in Cuba. Eventually, he was sent back, and now, 15 years later, he's commenting on the turn in U.S.-Cuba relations. "The establishment of relations at the embassy level is a measure of the Cuban revolution throughout history," he said. "While they [Washington] continue to criticize our model ... it has been recognized they have a failed policy": http://yhoo.it/1Ms62lO