Pandemic May Be The Push To Open Cuba's State-Controlled Economy
Cuba has opened stores for shoppers with U.S. dollars and dropped a tax on dollar transactions. The government is trying to pull the country out of a deep economic slump, made worse by the pandemic.
Cuba's communist leaders appear to be ready to make good on long promised reforms to the island's state-controlled economy, which has been in a tailspin since the coronavirus lockdown began in March.
Even before the pandemic, the economy was in recession, suffering from reduced Venezuelan subsidies and escalating Trump administration sanctions. Then in March, Cuba banned all air and sea travel to the island, cutting off tourism — a major source of hard currency for the
