Dynamische Stagnation in Cuba Dirmoser, Dietmar
Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft = International politics and society,
01/1999
1
Journal Article
Argues that the absence of economic reform has resulted in economic stagnation in Cuba, despite growing trade with all Western countries except the US, which maintains an obsolete embargo policy. ...Summaries in French and English p. 105-6 and 108.
Since its "depenalization" in 1993, the U.S. dollar has become possibly a more significant component of Cuba's money supply than the old peso. What are the alternatives? The euro seems inappropriate, ...given the inevitability of eventual normalization of relations with the United States. More advantageous would be to restore the Cuban peso, though this would involve unifying the bifurcated economic structure and the dual monetary and exchange rate systems. The Cuban government has yet to announce its plans. This study argues that an appropriate mix of exchange rate, monetary, fiscal, and income or wage and salary policies should support a rehabilitation of the Cuban peso.
Purcell analiza las posiciones más comunes en relación con el embargo comercial impuesto por los Estados Unidos a Cuba, en particular, la Ley Helms-Burton. Por un lado, hay quienes afirman que el ...embargo no ha cumplido su objetivo de derrocar al gobierno de Fidel Castro y proponen una política de compromiso constructivo. De levantarse el embargo, la sociedad cubana estaría en contacto con los valores estadounidenses y dejaría de creer a su propio gobierno, y la economía de la isla se diversificaría más. Por el otro lado, los partidarios de las sanciones consideran que el compromiso constructivo fortalecería de hecho a la dictadura cubana, al proveer al régimen de Castro de los recursos que necesita para sobrevivir y evitar así que el pueblo se levante en su contra. La autora señala que la apertura limitada de la economía cubana ha seguido a momentos de crisis y que, siempre que ésta ha funcionado bien, el gobierno de Castro ha emprendido aventuras en el extranjero perjudiciales para los intereses estadounidenses. Purcell anota que en última instancia es difícil evaluar cualquiera de las dos interpretaciones por la falta de datos confiables y porque la discusión está tan permeada por consideraciones ideológicas que, aun cuando los datos existieran, se llegaría a distintas conclusiones a partir de la misma información. Sin embargo, concluye que la Helms-Burton se mantendrá en el futuro previsible y que es poco probable que el presidente Bush relaje su posición con respecto a Cuba después del 11 de septiembre de 2001, dada la relación de Castro con las FARC y con el presidente de Venezuela. El embargo y la Helms-Burton no han tenido éxito en derrocar a Castro o en provocar un colapso económico en la isla, pero han contribuido a contener de manera constante al régimen cubano. /// Purcell looks at the most common approaches to the U.S. embargo on Cuba, in particular the Helms-Burton Law. There are, first, those who argue that the embargo has failed in its goal of overthrowing Fidel Castro thus favoring a constructive engagement policy. If the embargo was to be lifted, the Cuban society would get to know U.S. values and would stop believing in its government. A further diversification of the Cuban economy would also follow. On the other hand, those in favor of sanctions believe that a constructive engagement would in fact strengthen the Cuban dictatorship, as it would provide Castro the resources to survive and prevent the Cuban people from rising up against his government. Purcell claims that each crisis in Cuban economy has been followed by a limited opening, whereas in times of good economic performance Castro's government has embarked on foreign ventures against U.S. interests. According to Purcell it is ultimately problematic to evaluate these two approaches due to the fact that there is a lack of reliable data and, even if they were available, the debate is so deeply permeated by ideological concerns that the same set of data would lead to different conclusions. She considers, however, that the Helms-Burton Law will be maintained in the foreseeable future, and that president Bush is very unlikely to loosen his policy towards Cuba after September the 11th, 2001, given Castro's links with both the FARC and the president of Venezuela. Both the embargo and the Helms-Burton Law have failed to overthrow Castro or produce an economic breakdown in the island, but they have served as permanent constraints against the Cuban regime.
El artículo trata dos temas principales: el Entendimiento entre los Estados Unidos y la Unión Europea sobre la Ley Helms-Burton y lo que Roy denomina la Doctrina Helms-Burton. En el primer caso, el ...autor señala que la UE ha criticado al gobierno cubano por la violación de los derechos humanos en la isla, pero que también se ha opuesto a las medidas unilaterales adoptadas por los Estados Unidos, como en el caso de la Helms-Burton. En este sentido, la UE decidió denunciar esta ley ante la OMC, a lo que los Estados Unidos respondieron sosteniendo que dicha denuncia no procedía, al reconocerse que no se trataba de un asunto comercial, sino político. Los Estados Unidos y la UE llegaron a un Entendimiento, mediante el cual el gobierno estadounidense se comprometió a presionar al Congreso para relajar el título III y eliminar el IV de la ley, mientras que la UE aceptó desincentivar las inversiones en las propiedades cuestionadas, apoyar la democratización de Cuba y retirar su demanda ante la OMC, entre otras cosas. El Entendimiento no estuvo libre de críticas en los Estados Unidos ni en la UE, pero se convirtió en un ejemplo de negociaciones diplomáticas y fue posible gracias a que el de Cuba no era un caso lo suficientemente importante como para provocar una guerra comercial entre los dos gigantes. Por otro lado, Roy argumenta que la Helms-Burton puede entenderse como una doctrina, pues incluye toda una serie condiciones políticas para levantar el embargo que, de hecho, implican determinar las características de un futuro gobierno en Cuba: desde luego, no podrá participar en él ningún miembro de la familia Castro, deberá haber elecciones abiertas en las que compitan múltiples partidos políticos independientes y que sean supervisadas por la ONU y la OEA, y habrá de establecerse un poder judicial independiente, entre muchas otras. Con base en esta influencia política que los Estados Unidos pretenden tener, Roy traza una línea de continuidad con la Doctrina Monroe y la Enmienda Platt, y demuestra cómo la Ley Helms-Burton se convierte, de hecho, en un asunto político interno de Cuba. /// This article tackles two key issues: the US-EU Understanding on the Helms-Burton Law, and what Roy calls the Helms-Burton Doctrine. As to the former, Roy stresses that while the EU has denounced the Cuban government for violating human rights in the island, it has also rejected the unilateral actions taken by the United States, such as the Helms-Burton Law. When the EU decided to denounce the law at the WTO, the United States replied that the accusation was unacceptable since the nature of the issue was not commercial but political. However, the United States and the EU reached an Understanding whereby the US government would require the Congress to loosen article III and remove article IV of the Law, while the EU agreed to discourage investments in the expropriated properties, support Cuba's democratization process and withdraw its claim at the WTO, among other things. The Understanding did not go without criticisms both in the United States and the European Union, but it soon became a model of diplomatic negotiations, which were feasible due to the fact that Cuba was not so important an issue as to start out a trade war between the two giants. Roy also argues that the Helms-Burton Act may be construed as a doctrine since it includes a series of political requirements to lift the embargo that actually entail a blueprint for Cuba's future government. These requirements include: forbidding all members of the Castro family from holding any position in the government; holding open elections with the participation of independent political parties, monitored by the UN and the OAS, and establishing an independent judiciary. On the grounds of the political leverage that the US government intends to have on Cuba, Roy draws a continuity line that goes back to the Monroe Doctrine and the Platt Amendment, and argues that the Helms-Burton Law represents for Cuba, in fact, a domestic political issue.
The idea of superimposing geometric grids on images to visualize their content is not new. Leonardo Da Vinci used it, Durer used it, and Descartes pioneered the use of geometric grids to describe ...geometric content with algebraic equations. Shape grammars take the algebraic analysis of images to a new dynamic level. They permit the visualization of images in terms of construction processes: generators and relations, in the language of algebra. In this paper, we discuss some of the creativity involved in the identification of initial objects and rules for the analysis of both a Zillij mosaic and a Kuba cloth. We show that although conceptually similar, the processes are quite different for the two types of design. While Zillij mosaics are regular, Kuba cloths also involve scaling: the variation of the size of repeated sub-patterns within a defined space.
Relacja mówiona zarejestrowana w ramach Programu Historia Mówiona realizowanego w Ośrodku "Brama Grodzka - Teatr NN" (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl). Wyraża ona wyłącznie subiektywne wspomnienia i ...poglądy świadka historii, które nie mogą być utożsamiane z oficjalnym stanowiskiem Ośrodka.
Mündlicher Bericht, aufgenommen im Rahmen des Programms für mündliche Geschichte, das im Zentrum "Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre" (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl) durchgeführt wurde. Er drückt lediglich die subjektiven Erinnerungen und Ansichten eines Zeitzeugen aus, die nicht mit dem offiziellen Standpunkt des Zentrums gleichgesetzt werden können.
Oral account recorded as part of the Oral History Program implemented at the Grodzka Gate - NN Theater Center (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl). It expresses only the subjective memories and views of a witness to history, which cannot be equated with the official position of the Center.
Racconto orale registrato nell'ambito del programma di storia orale realizzato presso il Centro "Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre" (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl). Esprime solo i ricordi e i punti di vista soggettivi di un testimone della storia, che non possono essere equiparati alla posizione ufficiale del Centro.
Récit oral enregistré dans le cadre du programme d'histoire orale réalisé au centre "Grodzka Gate - NN Theatre" (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl). Il n'exprime que les souvenirs et les points de vue subjectifs d'un témoin de l'histoire, qui ne peuvent être assimilés à la position officielle du Centre.
Relato oral grabado en el marco del Programa de Historia Oral llevado a cabo en el Centro "Grodzka Gate - Teatro NN" (www.historiamowiona.teatrnn.pl). Sólo expresa los recuerdos y puntos de vista subjetivos de un testigo de la historia, que no pueden equipararse a la posición oficial del Centro.
This paper is part of the special issue of "Compare" which discusses the topic "Towards a comparative economics of education". It provides a historical and comparative study of the role that ...management of inequalities has played in the formation and evolution of educational institutions in three countries: Costa Rica, Cuba, and Guatemala. This particular focus shows that this function has played a determinating role, even if its organization has varied deeply in time and space. Thus, three important phases are identified, depicted by different educational modalities of management of inequalities: the liberal period, the period with extended management of inequalities, and the neo-liberal period. Yet, compared with the relative synchrony of these changes, evolutions of the relation between education and inequalities show sharp contrasts. The divergence can be explained by taking into account the interrrelations between educational institutions, economic structures and behaviours of the actors. (DIPF/Orig.).
