{"id":218427,"date":"2020-05-02T17:54:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T21:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=218427"},"modified":"2020-05-02T17:54:12","modified_gmt":"2020-05-02T21:54:12","slug":"cuban-entrepreneurs-hit-by-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/cuban-entrepreneurs-hit-by-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuban entrepreneurs hit by COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Until March, Julio \u00c1lvarez had a dozen cars in motion, classic Chevrolet and Ford from before the 1959 revolution in which tourists toured the Havana Malec\u00f3n for 30 dollars an hour and took pictures. Now the cars are parked in his garage, the visitors have disappeared, and his drivers remain at home.<\/p>\n

Until the arrival of the new coronavirus<\/a>, there were some 600,000 entrepreneurs in Cuba\u2015a record number since former President Ra\u00fal Castro approved limited economic reforms in 2010\u2015 of whom at least 139,000 temporarily turned in their licenses and thousands of others closed due to the measures taken by the authorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in an impasse,\u201d said Alvarez, co-owner of Nostalgicar, a family business that emerged nine years ago. \u201cWe had 16 contracted workers. I can\u2019t keep them. They earned their money and are living off their savings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like many, \u00c1lvarez is concerned about the situation of the island\u2019s vulnerable private sector, where small and medium enterprises still don\u2019t have legal status<\/a> and entrepreneurs made their way with difficulty after six decades of a centralized state model.<\/p>\n

These days it is common to see the \u201cClosed\u201d sign in cafes, bars, restaurants or home rentals and the private taxis\u2015the classic ones like those of \u00c1lvarez for tourists or the less showy for the population\u2015are at a standstill.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Julio \u00c1lvarez poses for a photo with his old American cars that tourists use to tour through Havana, Cuba, on Friday, April 24, 2020. Photo: Ismael Francisco\/AP.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first three cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on March 11. On the 24th, the authorities suspended classes, closed airports, confined foreigners stranded on the island in their hotels, suspended car rentals and all recreational activities.<\/p>\n

With this, the license of some 50,000 taxi owners ceased until further notice, at the same time as the urban and interprovincial state buses stopped running.<\/p>\n

All this came at a time when there was a strengthening of U.S. sanctions that seek to suffocate the Cuban economy to press for a regime change plus the internal obstacles themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe private sector, especially the most attractive businesses…were already suffering a contraction from the strengthening of the (U.S.) blockade policy against Cuba that included the closing of cruises…. Afterwards came the cancellation of flights to the provinces, the limitation of the people who came,\u201d economist Omar Everleny P\u00e9rez explained to the AP<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cuban entrepreneurs: Trump\u00b4s policy does affect us<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n