Why Cuba's Dreams of Major Oil Discoveries Might Come True
Recent estimates suggest that the island could move into the petroleum big leagues
It remains unclear, though, whether future oil wealth will hasten—or retard—the cautious moves toward economic reform under Raúl Castro. Oil revenues could cushion a broader but painful shift away from state direction of all major economic activity to a more open, market-oriented system. By easing the hardships of life in Cuba, oil wealth could reduce pressures for political change. It could even reinforce the status quo. "Resource revenues would feed the political patronage machine," reasons Archibald Ritter, a Cuba expert at Carleton University in Ottawa.
Oil development "will change the position of Cuba with respect to the United States and the whole world," says Luís René Fernández, a University of Havana foreign policy specialist. But, he cautions, "it can be a complex problem to have easy money at the same time you're rebuilding the society." Long accustomed to privation, that is a problem most Cubans would like to have.
Reader Comments
THE REASON FOR THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD IS
CALIFORNIA HAS AN ACTOR AS ITS GOVERNOR,THE LAST PRESIDENT WAS A DUNCE,THE PRESENT PRESIDENT A JOKER,in order to get the economy going all taxes must be eliminated,scrapped,the reason for this is! only the goverment and the cooperations has the money that was stolen from the people for the last 50 years.Both houses of parliment needs to be restructed,all those geriatrics senators, must be replaced with people that are young and properly educated.
For Grant Hopper about kinds of Christians & Cuba
It's nice your church sends things to Cuba. I research economic policies of churches. On Pg.1414, Vol. 4 of one edition of "The Catholic Reference Encyclopedia," there is the definition of "Private Property." It says God invented private property (quoting the 1932 pope.) It says "The Church vigorously defends against those political systems that seek to replace private with public ownership." That means the Church opposes all non-capitalist nations--like Cuba, N. Korea, N. Vietnam, Allende's Chile, Mossadegh's Iran, Chavez' Venezuela, Sandista Nicaragua, etc. But the US and its CIA used our taxes & soldiers to implement Vatican policy in those nations. See books by Helms & aides to Nixon & "The Pentagon Papers." We aided Catholic Diem, Pres. of S. Vietnam while he secretly profited from heroin grown in Laos & processed with water from soft drink factories. Nixon was a lawyer for Pepsicorp when out of office. In l972, he went to China to sell Pepsi. it was one of the first trade agreements he made there. I hope Cuba develops oil so the US embargo won't mean a thing any more.
Another market lost
Cuba is another market lost due to the ignorance of the Bush administration
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