The 1960s “Push for Communism” Castro identified the following as the major problems facing Cuba Land Industrialization He attempted to improve the Cuban economy by: Price controls Tax and rent reductions Castro agreed to an alliance with the Soviet Union in which Cuba would trade sugar for cheap oil, thus alienating the U.S from Cuba Communism was portrayed as the most ideal stage of development The government expanded free social services: Education Medical care Private ownership was done away with: 1963: 76% of total land and 63% of cultivated land passed to state hands 1968: 55,000 to 56,000 small businesses were absorbed into the public sector Due to his alliance with the Soviet Union, sugar was reemphasized Ultimately, the policies of the 1960s failed namely because sugar prices had deflated and the urban workforce suffered Education Unemployment Increased minimum wage Guaranteed employment Day care Housing Health Housing Social Security

The 1970s and the Early 1980’s “Retreat to Socialism” The government reemphasized economic diversification and encouraged economic and political decentralization under a new policy reform led by the CTC ( Cuban Labor Confederation) These reforms included a pay scale tied to the quality and quantity of work they purportedly performed. The OPP (Organs of Popular Power) which gave the people the power to choose their own administers. An increase in tolerance for private companies including farms and private sector in building construction. Also the government tried to encourage women to enter the work force through incentives such as providing cheap daycare and by reducing their grocery shopping time. The reason for this movement towards socialism was that the communist system was not working Castro also began to open up trade with the West in the mid-1970s since Soviet machines were inferior to Western goods.

Impact of the “Retreat to Socialism” and the Opening to the West The “retreat” was associated with a strengthening and formalization of ties with the Soviet Union and it concealed an opening to Western trade, investment, and bank borrowing The Western opening simulated an economic boom in the mid 1970s but backfired when Castro was left with a large debt when sugar prices were high and commercial interest rates were low By early 1980s, Cuba made significant strides in production including: capital goods, agriculture, medicines, electronics, computers and steels Women’s participation in the labor force rose in the mid-1980s then having the largest female labor force participation rate in Latin America The SDPE, the new management system strengthened the market features and attempted to fix managerial ties within workers Although the market forms were politically popular, the growth left fundamental fiscal problems unresolved