{"id":253303,"date":"2022-05-24T18:51:04","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T22:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/?p=253303"},"modified":"2022-05-24T18:51:04","modified_gmt":"2022-05-24T22:51:04","slug":"crisis-migration-and-unrest-is-cuba-going-through-a-new-special-period","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/crisis-migration-and-unrest-is-cuba-going-through-a-new-special-period\/","title":{"rendered":"Crisis, migration and unrest: is Cuba going through a new special period?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The serious <\/span>economic crisis that Cuba is experiencing<\/b><\/a>, the strong increase in migration and social unrest have led many in recent times to draw comparisons between the current moment and the so-called Special Period that the country went through in the 1990s.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, is Cuba really experiencing a 2.0 special period? Five experts from different fields consulted by EFE, from historians to economists, to political scientists and sociologists, draw parallels between the two periods, but also clear differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Photo: Kaloian.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI think the two periods are comparable,\u201d said Diosnara Ortega, Cuban sociologist and director of the School of Sociology at the Silva Henr\u00edquez Catholic University in Chile. \u201cWe are experiencing similar scenarios, although with particularities,\u201d she added.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cuban historian Rafael Rojas, a professor at the Colegio de M\u00e9xico, is less inclined to equate, but stresses that this crisis is \u201cimpressive\u201d and that its \u201cmigratory potential,\u201d especially among young people, is \u201cextremely high.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

THE ECONOMY<\/b><\/p>\n

The area that raises the most parallels is the economy. The Cuban gross domestic product (GDP) collapsed 36% between 1990 and 1993 and 13% between 2020 and 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

In both periods, inflation, the fiscal deficit and the dollar exchange rate in the informal market shot up, pointed out Cuban Pavel Vidal, professor of Economics at the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Cali (Colombia).<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond the macroeconomic figures, in these last two years the endless queues have been repeated as in the 1990s, as a result of the shortage of basic products, such as food, fuel and medicine.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the Special Period, the famine and blackouts were much more serious; now runaway inflation and dollarization are eating up the purchasing power of Cubans.<\/span><\/p>\n

To mitigate this situation, the Cuban government announced reforms on both occasions to liberalize the economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

But, as former Cuban diplomat Carlos Alzugaray pointed out, at that time the opening to the private sector was \u201ca necessary evil,\u201d later reversed, while now it is considered necessary and \u201cno turning back.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Since last September, small private enterprises \ua7f7 prohibited in 1968 \ua7f7 have been authorized and nearly 3,500 have already registered.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sumar adeptos contra la inercia, la rutina y el esquematismo. M\u00faltiples iniciativas para hacer frente a la adversa situaci\u00f3n econ\u00f3mica actual han sido constatadas por la visita del Secretariado y del Comit\u00e9 Central a Ciego de \u00c1vila y Camag\u00fcey. https:\/\/t.co\/Ckwi7j0lHN<\/a><\/p>\n

— Miguel D\u00edaz-Canel Berm\u00fadez (@DiazCanelB) May 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n