While export sectors stand to benefit from the measure, the large proportion of state companies relying on imports and the domestic market will slip into the red and need to raise their prices. Anticipating an inflationary shock, the government quintupled salaries and pensions at the start of January 2021, but inflation will likely eat up even this extraordinary increase. Politically, Miguel Díaz-Canel’s tenure as president since 2018 has been unchallenged in a remarkably smooth leadership transition, considering the rule of Fidel and Raúl Castro for more than 60 years. Born after the triumph of the revolution, Díaz-Canel embodies generational change, but he does so while pledging maximum political continuity.
There has been a severe decline in the quality of primary, secondary and tertiary education since the 1990s. Low state wages have led to an exodus of qualified staff from education and research to better-paying sectors, such as tourism and private tutoring. Nevertheless, with a score of 0. 790, the UN Education Index still ranks Cuba third in the region behind Argentina and Chile and 22nd among the 133 BTI countries surveyed. Like many other countries, the pandemic has affected Cuba’s education system. Except for a brief period in November and December 2020, Cuban children and university students have been out of school since March 2020. Given the lack of digital access, home schooling has been implemented via Cuban TV and is quite poor in quality. The hard-currency squeeze in recent years has affected R&D investments.
Still, Cuba’s medical infrastructure has been able to develop four COVID-19 vaccines, one of which was in phase three clinical trials in March 2021. There are hopes it will be ready for a large-scale vaccination campaign in the second quarter of 2021. Even as the level of digitalization improves over time, the country’s education system remains far from international standards in the use of digital technologies. Except for some prioritized sectors, R&D investments are insufficient to keep up with the relatively high levels of Cuba’s academic system. Applied science efforts receive international recognition. Cuban scientific patents in biotechnology have commercial value, which is underexploited due to the poor management of state-owned enterprises.
The number of Cubans in precarious living conditions or at risk for poverty has greatly increased. While the socialist welfare system relied on the state as the central agent, today family ties – to family abroad, but also on the island – have become a key factor in how well or not Cubans survive the crisis. Other forms of social capital, such as church affiliations and strong relations with friends and neighbors, are also important. Health and education services have remained essentially in place, though their quality has declined. Much of the qualified workforce has left for better-paid work in tourism or the private sector. Those who can afford it increasingly hire private tutors for afternoon classes to prepare for entry exams for higher education.
Under Raúl Castro, enrollment in higher education has plummeted. Education / R&D policy ’06’221017787 In Cuba, it is difficult to distinguish the current political leadership from many of the country’s structural constraints. As there has been political continuity for more than six decades, much of what is “structural” is the result of transformations that have taken place since the Cuban revolution. Raúl Castro is still head of the Communist Party, and President Díaz-Canel, while in office only since 2018, presents his tenure as fully in continuity with the historical leadership of Fidel and Raúl.
In 2019, Cuba ranked 70th and above countries like Colombia, Peru or Brazil. The COVID-19 pandemic had a devastating impact on the Cuban economy as tourism came to a standstill and remittances declined. As a result, GDP fell by 11% in 2020. Living conditions have reached a new low as food and other basic goods suffer from critical shortages. While the government opened a separate retail circuit of hard-currency shops, life for those who have to live on peso salaries or pensions has become dire. Prior to the pandemic, unofficial estimates stated that about one-fifth to one-third of Cubans were “vulnerable” or “at risk of poverty.
According to the plans, the Bay of Havana will be turned into a port for cruise ships, marinas and other leisure activities, including an ecological cleanup of this highly polluted area. The abrupt fall in tourist arrivals, the ban on U. cruise ships and empty state coffers are delaying the project. Waste management is a real problem on the island. On the one hand, garbage collection is insufficient and leads to the build-up of waste in urban areas and rivers. On the other hand, the population is not well informed about the need to manage, recycle and dispose of waste appropriately. Environmental policy ’06’22101545 Education has been a major priority for the revolutionary government. There is universal, free education from kindergarten through primary, secondary and higher education. There are no private schools, except for some private day care facilities.
Water supply to the population is often challenged by the antiquated and leaking pipes. Cuba boasts a low carbon footprint. This is not due to effective environmental policies but rather due to low consumption levels and the collapse of much of Cuba’s industry. The single biggest environmental policy move involves the gradual replacement of Havana’s industrial port with a newly built port in Mariel, 45 kilometers west of the capital.
No particular group is denied access to citizenship. It is only with respect to emigrants that rights to citizenship – including questions of dual citizenship – emerge. This receives particular importance due to the history of high emigration, with around 10% of Cuba’s population living abroad. Most émigrés live in the United States and most have acquired U. citizenship. However, to visit Cuba, they have to use a Cuban passport.