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Republic of Cuba República de Cuba (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Patria o Muerte (Spanish) "Homeland or Death"[1]
Anthem: La Bayamesa  ("The Bayamo Song")[2]
Capital (and largest city)		Havana 23°8′N 82°23′W / 23.133°N 82.383°W / 23.133; -82.383
Official language(s)		Spanish
Ethnic groups		65.1% White, 10.1% African, 24.8% Mulatto and Mestizo[3]
Demonym		Cuban
Government		Unitary republic, Socialist state
-	President & Premier	Raúl Castro
-	First Vice President	J. R. M. Ventura
-	First Secretary of Communist Party	Raúl Castro
-	President of the National Assembly	Ricardo Alarcón
Legislature		National Assembly
Independence		from Spain/U.S.
-	Declared	October 10, 1868 from Spain
-	Republic declared	May 20, 1902 from the United States
-	Cuban Revolution	January 1, 1959
Area
-	Total	109,884 km2 (105th) 42,426 sq mi
-	Water (%)	negligible[4]
Population
-	2010 census	11,241,161[5]
-	Density	102.3/km2 (106th) 265.0/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$114.1 billion[6] (63rd)
-	Per capita	$9,900 (86th)
GDP (nominal)		2010 estimate
-	Total	$57.49 billion[3] (68th)
-	Per capita	$5,100[3][4][7] (90th)
HDI (2011)		0.776[8] (high) (51st)
Currency		Cuban peso(CUP) Cuban convertible peso[9] (CUC)
Time zone		CST (UTC−5)
-	Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC−4)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		CU
Internet TLD		.cu
Calling code		+53

Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (ⁱ/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] ( listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city.^[10][11] To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.^[12][13][14] Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.

Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is the most populous island nation in the Caribbean, as well as the largest by area. Its people, culture, and customs draw from diverse sources, such as the aboriginal Taíno and Ciboney peoples, the period of Spanish colonialism, the introduction of African slaves and its proximity to the United States.

Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate,^[3][15] an infant death rate lower than some developed countries,^[16] and an average life expectancy of 77.64.^[3] In 2006, Cuba was the only nation in the world which met the WWF's definition of sustainable development; having an ecological footprint of less than 1.8 hectares per capita and a Human Development Index of over 0.8 for 2007.^[17]

Etymology[link]

The name Cuba comes from the Taíno language. The exact meaning of the name is unclear but it may be translated either as where fertile land is abundant (cubao),^[18] or great place (coabana).^[19] Authors who believe that Christopher Columbus was Portuguese state that Cuba was named by Columbus for the ancient town of Cuba in the district of Beja in Portugal.^[20][21]

History[link]

Pre-Columbian era[link]

Sketch of a Taíno woman, also known as the Arawak by the Spanish

Cuba was inhabited by Native American people known as the Taíno, also called Arawak by the Spanish, and Guanajatabey and Ciboney people before the arrival of the Spanish. The ancestors of these Native Americans migrated from the mainland of North, Central and South America several centuries earlier.^[22] The native Taínos called the island Caobana.^[23] The Taíno were farmers and the Ciboney were farmers, fishers and hunter-gatherers.

Spanish colonization[link]

After first landing on an island then called Guanahani on October 12, 1492,^[24] Christopher Columbus landed on Cuba's northeastern coast near what is now Baracoa on October 27^[24] or 28.^[25][26] He claimed the island for the new Kingdom of Spain^[27] and named Isla Juana after Juan, Prince of Asturias.^[28] In 1511, the first Spanish settlement was founded by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar at Baracoa; other towns soon followed including the future capital of San Cristobal de la Habana which was founded in 1515. The native Taínos were working under the encomienda system,^[29] which resembled a feudal system in Medieval Europe.^[30] Within a century the indigenous people were virtually wiped out due to multiple factors, including Eurasian infectious diseases aggravated in large part by a lack of natural resistance as well as privation stemming from repressive colonial subjugation.^[31] In 1529, a measles outbreak in Cuba killed two-thirds of the natives who had previously survived smallpox.^[32][33]

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, conquistador of Cuba

Cuba remained a Spanish possession for almost 400 years (1511–1898), with an economy based on plantation agriculture, mining, and the export of sugar, coffee, and tobacco to Europe and later to North America. The work was done primarily by African slaves brought to the island.

The small land-owning elite of Spanish settlers held social and economic powers supported by a population of Spaniards born on the island (Criollos), other Europeans, and African-descended slaves. The population in 1817 was 630,980, of which 291,021 were white, 115,691 free black, and 224,268 black slaves.^[34]

Independence wars[link]

In the 1820s, when the rest of Spain's empire in Latin America rebelled and formed independent states, Cuba remained loyal. Although there was agitation for independence, the Spanish Crown gave Cuba the motto La Siempre Fidelísima Isla ("The Always Most Faithful Island"). This loyalty was due partly to Cuban settlers' dependence on Spain for trade, their desire for protection from pirates and against a slave rebellion, and partly because they feared the rising power of the United States more than they disliked Spanish rule.^{[citation needed]}

Ten Years' War[link]

Carlos Manuel de Céspedes is known as Father of the Homeland in Cuba, having declared the nation's independence from Spain in 1868.

Independence from Spain was the motive for a rebellion in 1868 led by Carlos Manuel de Céspedes. De Céspedes, a sugar planter, freed his slaves to fight with him for a free Cuba. On 27 December 1868, he issued a decree condemning slavery in theory but accepting it in practice and declaring free any slaves whose masters present them for military service.^[35] The 1868 rebellion resulted in a prolonged conflict known as the Ten Years' War. The United States declined to recognize the new Cuban government, although many European and Latin American nations did so.^[36] In 1878, the Pact of Zanjón ended the conflict, with Spain promising greater autonomy to Cuba. In 1879–1880, Cuban patriot Calixto García attempted to start another war known as the Little War but received little support.^[37]

Period between wars[link]

In Cuba, a sophisticated and prosperous sugar industry had employed chattel slavery until the final third of the 19th century. Cuba produced 720,250 metric tons of sugar in 1868, more than forty percent of cane sugar reaching the world market that year. Slavery had been maintained in Cuba, however, while abolition was underway elsewhere. Abolition in Cuba began the final third of the 19th century, and was completed in the 1880s.^[38][39]

War of 1895[link]

An exiled dissident named José Martí founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party in New York in 1892. The aim of the party was to achieve Cuban independence from Spain.^[40] In January 1895 Martí traveled to Montecristi and Santo Domingo to join the efforts of Máximo Gómez.^[40] Martí recorded his political views in the Manifesto of Montecristi.^[41] Fighting against the Spanish army began in Cuba on 24 February 1895, but Martí was unable to reach Cuba until 11 April 1895.^[40] Martí was killed in the battle of Dos Rios on 19 May 1895.^[40] His death immortalized him as Cuba's national hero.^[41]

Around 200,000 Spanish troops outnumbered the much smaller rebel army which relied mostly on guerrilla and sabotage tactics. The Spaniards began a campaign of suppression. General Valeriano Weyler, military governor of Cuba, herded the rural population into what he called reconcentrados, described by international observers as "fortified towns". These are often considered the prototype for 20th-century concentration camps.^[42] Between 200,000 and 400,000 Cuban civilians died from starvation and disease in the camps, numbers verified by the Red Cross and United States Senator and former Secretary of War Redfield Proctor. American and European protests against Spanish conduct on the island followed.^[43]

Spanish–American War[link]

USS Maine[link]

The U.S. battleship Maine arrived in Havana on 25 January 1898 to offer protection to the 8,000 American residents on the island, but the Spanish saw this as intimidation. On the evening of 15 February 1898, the Maine blew up in the harbor, killing 252 crew. Another eight crew members died of their wounds in hospital over the next few days.^[44] A Naval Board of Inquiry headed by Captain William T. Sampson was appointed to investigate the cause of the explosion on the Maine. Having examined the wreck and taken testimony from eyewitnesses and experts, the board reported on 21 March 1898 that the Maine had been destroyed by "a double magazine set off from the exterior of the ship, which could only have been produced by a mine."^[44]

The facts remain disputed today, although an investigation by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover published in 1976 established that the blast was most likely a large internal explosion. Rickover believes the explosion was caused by a spontaneous combustion in inadequately ventilated bituminous coal which ignited gunpowder in an adjacent magazine.^[45][46] The original 1898 board was unable to fix the responsibility for the disaster, but a furious American populace, fueled by an active press— notably the newspapers of William Randolph Hearst— concluded that the Spanish were to blame and demanded action.^[44] The U.S. Congress passed a resolution calling for intervention, and President William McKinley complied.^[47] Spain and the United States declared war on each other in late April.

Early 20th century[link]

After the Spanish-American War, Spain and the United States signed the Treaty of Paris (1898), by which Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States for the sum of $20 million.^[48] Under the same treaty, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over Cuba. Theodore Roosevelt, who had fought in the Spanish-American War and had some sympathies with the independence movement, succeeded McKinley as U.S. President in 1901 and abandoned the treaty. Cuba gained formal independence from the U.S. on May 20, 1902, as the Republic of Cuba. Under Cuba's new constitution, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in Cuban affairs and to supervise its finances and foreign relations. Under the Platt Amendment, the U.S. leased the Guantánamo Bay naval base from Cuba.

Following disputed elections in 1906, the first president, Tomás Estrada Palma, faced an armed revolt by independence war veterans who defeated the meager government forces.^[49] The U.S. intervened by occupying Cuba and named Charles Edward Magoon as Governor for three years. Cuban historians have attributed Magoon's governorship as having introduced political and social corruption.^[50] In 1908, self-government was restored when José Miguel Gómez was elected President, but the U.S. continued intervening in Cuban affairs. In 1912, the Partido Independiente de Color attempted to establish a separate black republic in Oriente Province,^[51] but was suppressed by General Monteagudo with considerable bloodshed.

García Lorca Theater in Havana

During World War I, Cuba exported considerable quantities of sugar to Britain. Cuba was able to avoid U-boat attacks by the subterfuge of shipping the sugar to Sweden. The Menocal government declared war on Germany very soon after the United States.

A constitutional government was maintained until 1930 when Gerardo Machado y Morales suspended the constitution. During Machado's tenure, a nationalistic economic program was pursued with several major national development projects which included the Carretera Central and El Capitolio. Machado's hold on power was weakened following a decline in demand for exported agricultural produce due to the Great Depression, attacks by independence war veterans, and attacks by covert terrorist organizations, principally the ABC.^{[citation needed]}

During a general strike in which the Communist Party sided with Machado,^[52] the senior elements of the Cuban army forced Machado into exile. The Party then installed Carlos Manuel de Céspedes y Quesada, son of Cuba's founding father (Carlos Manuel de Céspedes), as President. During 4–5 September 1933, a second coup overthrew Céspedes which led to the formation of the first Ramón Grau government. Notable events in this violent period include the separate sieges of Hotel Nacional de Cuba and Atares Castle. This government lasted 100 days but engineered radical socialist changes in Cuban society, including the abolishment of the Platt Amendment and instating of womens' suffrage in Cuba. In 1934, Grau was ousted in favor of Carlos Mendieta, the first in a series of puppet presidents subordinate to the army and its young chief of staff, Fulgencio Batista.

Fulgencio Batista was democratically elected President in the elections of 1940, so far the only non-white Cuban endorsed for the nation's highest office.^[53][54][13] His government carried out major social reforms. Several members of the Communist Party held office under his administration^[55] and established numerous economic regulations and pro-union policies, as well as the Cuban Constitution of 1940, which engineered radical progressive ideas, including the right to labour and health care.^[56] Batista's administration formally took Cuba to the Allies of World War II camp in World War II. Cuba declared war on Japan on December 9, 1941, then on Germany and Italy on December 11, 1941. Cuban armed forces were not greatly involved in combat during World War II, although president Batista suggested a joint U.S.-Latin American assault on Francoist Spain in order to overthrow its authoritarian regime.^[57]

Many so-called yank tanks remain in use from pre-revolutionary days. The balcony above belongs to a casa particular.

Ramón Grau, who lost in 1940 to Batista, finally returned in the 1944 elections by defeating Batista's preferred successor, Carlos Saladrigas Zayas. In 1948, his Revolutionary Authentic Party won again when Carlos Prío Socarrás won, the last person elected to the presidency by free and fair elections. The two terms of the Auténtico Party saw an influx of investment fueled a boom which raised living standards for all segments of society and created a prosperous middle class in most urban areas.^[58]

The 1952 election was a three-way race. Roberto Agramonte of the Ortodoxos party led in all the polls, followed by Dr. Aurelio Hevia of the Auténtico party, and Fulgencio Batista, seeking a return to office, as a distant third. Both Agramonte and Hevia had decided to name Col. Ramón Barquín to head the Cuban armed forces after the elections. Barquín, then a diplomat in Washington, DC, was a top officer. He was respected by the professional army and had promised to eliminate corruption in the ranks. Batista feared that Barquín would oust him and his followers. When it became apparent that Batista had little chance of winning, he staged a coup on 10 March 1952. Batista held on to power with the backing of a nationalist section of the army as a "provisional president" for the next two years.

In March 1952 Justo Carrillo informed Barquín in Washington that the inner circles knew that Batista had plotted the coup. They immediately began to conspire to oust Batista and restore democracy and civilian government in what was later dubbed La Conspiracion de los Puros de 1956 (Agrupacion Montecristi). In 1954, Batista agreed to elections. The Partido Auténtico put forward ex-President Grau as their candidate, but he withdrew amid allegations that Batista was rigging the elections in advance.

In April 1956 Batista ordered Barquín to become General and chief of the army, but Barquín decided to move forward with his coup to secure total power. On 4 April 1956, a coup by hundreds of career officers led by Barquín was frustrated by Rios Morejon. The coup broke the back of the Cuban armed forces. The officers were sentenced to the maximum terms allowed by Cuban Martial Law. Barquín was sentenced to solitary confinement for eight years. La Conspiración de los Puros resulted in the imprisonment of the commanders of the armed forces and the closing of the military academies.

Cuba had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios, though about one third of the population was considered poor and enjoyed relatively little of this consumption.^[60] In 1958, Cuba was a relatively well-advanced country by Latin American standards, and in some cases by world standards.^[61] Cuba attracted more immigrants, primarily from Europe, as a percentage of population than the U.S. The United Nations noted Cuba for its large middle class.^{[citation needed]} On the other hand, Cuba was affected by perhaps the largest labor union privileges in Latin America, including bans on dismissals and mechanization. They were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants", leading to disparities.^[62]

Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba extended economic regulations enormously, causing economic problems.^[13][63] Unemployment became a problem as graduates entering the workforce could not find jobs.^[13] The middle class, which was comparable to the United States, became increasingly dissatisfied with unemployment and political persecution. The labor unions supported Batista until the very end.^[53][13]

Revolution[link]

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro, photographed by Alberto Korda in 1961.

On 2 December 1956 a party of 82 people on the yacht Granma landed in Cuba. The party, led by Fidel Castro, had the intention of establishing an armed resistance movement in the Sierra Maestra. While facing armed resistance from Castro's rebel fighters in the mountains, Fulgencio Batista's regime was weakened and crippled by a United States arms embargo imposed on 14 March 1958. By late 1958, the rebels broke out of the Sierra Maestra and launched a general popular insurrection. After the fighters captured Santa Clara, Batista fled from Havana on 1 January 1959 to exile in Portugal. Barquín negotiated the symbolic change of command between Camilo Cienfuegos, Che Guevara, Raúl Castro, and his brother Fidel Castro after the Supreme Court decided that the Revolution was the source of law and its representatives should assume command.

Fidel Castro's forces entered the capital on 8 January 1959. Shortly afterward, a liberal lawyer, Dr Manuel Urrutia Lleó became president. He was backed by Castro's 26th of July Movement because they believed his appointment would be welcomed by the United States.^{[citation needed]} Disagreements within the government culminated in Urrutia's resignation in July 1959. He was replaced by Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, who served as president until 1976. Castro became prime minister in February 1959, succeeding José Miró in head of the state.

In its first year, the new revolutionary government expropriated private property with little or no compensation, nationalized public utilities, tightened controls on the private sector, and closed down the mafia-controlled gambling industry. The CIA conspired with the Chicago mafia in 1960 and 1961 to assassinate Fidel Castro, according to documents declassified in 2007.^[64][65]

Some of these measures were undertaken by Fidel Castro's government in the name of the program outlined in the Manifesto of the Sierra Maestra.^[66] The government nationalized private property totaling about USD $25 billion,^[67] of which American property made up around USD $1 billion.^[67][68]

By the end of 1960, the coletilla made its appearance, and most newspapers in Cuba had been expropriated, taken over by the unions, or had been abandoned.^[60][69] All radio and television stations were in state control.^[60] Moderate teachers and professors were purged.^[60] In any year, about 20,000 dissenters were imprisoned.^[60] Some homosexuals, religious practitioners, and others were sent to labor camps where they were subject to political "re-education".^[70] One estimate is that 15,000 to 17,000 people were executed,^[71] although the U.S. State Department estimates that 3,200 people were executed from 1959 to 1962.^[72]

The Communist Party strengthened its one-party rule, with Castro as ultimate leader.^[60] Fidel's brother, Raúl Castro, became the army chief.^[60] Loyalty to Castro became the primary criterion for all appointments.^[73] In September 1960, the revolutionary government created a system known as Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR), which provided neighborhood spying.^[60]

In the 1961 New Year's Day parade, the administration exhibited Soviet tanks and other weapons.^[73] Eventually, Cuba built up the second largest armed forces in Latin America, second only to Brazil.^[74] Cuba became a privileged client-state of the Soviet Union.^[75]

By 1961, hundreds of thousands of Cubans had left for the United States.^[76] The 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion (La Batalla de Girón) was an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the Cuban government by a U.S.-trained force of Cuban exiles with U.S. military support. The plan was launched in April 1961, less than three months after John F. Kennedy became the U.S. President. The Cuban armed forces, trained and equipped by Eastern Bloc nations, defeated the exiles in three days. Cuban-American relations were exacerbated the following year by the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the Kennedy administration demanded the immediate withdrawal of Soviet nuclear missiles placed in Cuba placed in response to U.S. nuclear missiles in Turkey and the Middle East. The Soviets and Americans soon came to an agreement. The Soviets would remove Soviet missiles from Cuba and the Americans would remove missiles from Turkey and the Middle East. Kennedy also agreed not to invade Cuba in the future. Cuban exiles captured during the Bay of Pigs Invasion were exchanged for a shipment of supplies from America.^[53]

Fidel Castro and members of the East German Politburo in 1972

In January 1962, Cuba was suspended from the Organization of American States (OAS), and later the same year the OAS started to impose sanctions against Cuba of similar nature to the US sanctions.^[77]

By 1963, Cuba was moving towards a full-fledged Communist system modeled on the USSR.^[78] The U.S. imposed a complete diplomatic and commercial embargo on Cuba and began Operation Mongoose, a program of covert CIA operations.

In 1965, Castro merged his revolutionary organizations with the Communist Party, of which he became First Secretary; Blas Roca was named Second Secretary. Roca was succeeded by Raúl Castro, who, as Defense Minister and Fidel's closest confidant, became and remained the second most powerful figure in Cuba until his brother's retirement. Raúl's position was strengthened by the departure of Che Guevara to launch unsuccessful insurrections in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and then Bolivia, where he was killed in 1967.

During the 1970s, Fidel Castro dispatched tens of thousands of troops in support of Soviet-supported wars in Africa, particularly the MPLA in Angola and Mengistu Haile Mariam in Ethiopia.^[79]

The standard of living in 1970s was "extremely spartan" and discontent was rife.^[80] Fidel Castro admitted the failures of economic policies in a 1970 speech.^[80] By the mid-1970s, Castro started economic reforms.

In 1975 the OAS lifted its sanctions against Cuba, with the approval of 16 member states, including the U.S. The U.S., however, maintained its own sanctions.^[77]

Recent affairs[link]

As of 2002, some 1.2 million persons of Cuban background (about 10% of the current population of Cuba) reside in the U.S.^[81][82] Many of them left the island for the United States, often by sea in small boats and fragile rafts. On 6 April 1980, 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. The following day, the Cuban government granted permission for the emigration of Cubans seeking refuge in the Peruvian embassy.^{[citation needed]} On 16 April, 500 Cubans left the Peruvian Embassy for Costa Rica. On 21 April, many of those Cubans started arriving in Miami via private boats and were halted by^{[clarification needed]} the U.S. State Department, but the emigration continued, because Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the port of Mariel. Over 125,000 Cubans emigrated to the U.S. before the flow of vessels ended on 15 June.^{[citation needed]}

Raúl Castro and President Medvedev of Russia

Castro's rule was severely tested in the aftermath of the Soviet collapse (known in Cuba as the Special Period), with effects such as food shortages.^[83][84] The government did not accept American donations of food, medicines, and cash until 1993.^[83] On 5 August 1994, state security dispersed protesters in a spontaneous protest in Havana.^[85]

Cuba has found a new source of aid and support in the People's Republic of China, and new allies in Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela and Evo Morales, President of Bolivia, both major oil and gas exporters. In 2003, the government arrested and imprisoned a large number of civil activists, a period known as the "Black Spring".^[86][87]

On July 31, 2006, Fidel Castro temporarily delegated his major duties to his brother, First Vice President, Raúl Castro, while Fidel recovered from surgery for an "acute intestinal crisis with sustained bleeding".^{[citation needed]} On 2 December 2006, Fidel was too ill to attend the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Granma boat landing, fuelling speculation that he had stomach cancer,^[88] although there was evidence his illness was a digestive problem and not terminal.^[89]

In January 2007, footage was released of Fidel Castro meeting Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, in which Castro "appeared frail but stronger than three months ago".^[90] In February 2008, Fidel Castro announced his resignation as President of Cuba,^[91] and on 24 February Raúl was elected as the new President.^[92] In his acceptance speech, Raúl promised that some of the restrictions that limit Cubans' daily lives would be removed.^[93] In March 2009, Raúl Castro removed some of Fidel Castro's officials.^[94]

On 3 June 2009, the OAS adopted a resolution to end the 47-year ban on Cuban membership of the group.^[95] The meetings were contentious, with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walking out at one point. However, in the end, the U.S. delegation agreed with the other members and approved the resolution. The resolution stated, however, that full membership would be delayed until Cuba was “in conformity with the practices, purposes, and principles of the OAS.”^[77] Cuban leaders have repeatedly announced they are not interested in rejoining the OAS, and Fidel Castro restated this after the OAS resolution had been announced.^[96]

Human rights[link]

Trinidad, Cuba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988

The Cuban government has been accused of numerous human rights abuses including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extrajudicial executions (also known as "El Paredón").^[97][98] The Human Rights Watch alleges the government "represses nearly all forms of political dissent" and that "Cubans are systematically denied basic rights to free expression, association, assembly, privacy, movement, and due process of law".^[99]

Cuba had the second-highest number of imprisoned journalists of any nation in 2008 (the People's Republic of China had the highest) according to various sources, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international NGO, and Human Rights Watch.^[100][101] As a result of ownership restrictions, computer ownership rates are among the world's lowest.^[102] The right to use the Internet is granted only to selected locations and they may be monitored.^[102][103] Connecting to the Internet illegally can lead to a five-year prison sentence.^{[citation needed]}

Cuban dissidents who commit crimes face arrest and imprisonment. In the 1990s, Human Rights Watch reported that Cuba's extensive prison system, one of the largest in Latin America, consists of some 40 maximum-security prisons, 30 minimum-security prisons, and over 200 work camps.^[104] According to Human Rights Watch, political prisoners, along with the rest of Cuba's prison population, are confined to jails with substandard and unhealthy conditions.^[104]

Citizens cannot leave or return to Cuba without first obtaining official permission in addition to their passport and the visa requirements of their destination.^[99]

Economy[link]

Tobacco plantation, Pinar del Río

The Cuban state adheres to socialist principles in organizing its largely state-controlled planned economy. Most of the means of production are owned and run by the government and most of the labor force is employed by the state. Recent years have seen a trend toward more private sector employment. By 2006, public sector employment was 78% and private sector 22%, compared to 91.8% to 8.2% in 1981.^[105] Capital investment is restricted and requires approval by the government. The Cuban government sets most prices and rations goods. Any firm wishing to hire a Cuban must pay the Cuban government, which in turn will pay the employee in Cuban pesos.^[106] Cubans cannot change jobs without government permission.^[13] The average wage at the end of 2005 was 334 regular pesos per month ($16.70 per month) and the average pension was $9 per month.^[107]

Cuba relied heavily on trade with the Soviet Union. From the late 1980s, Soviet subsidies for Cuban goods started to dry up. Before the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba depended on Moscow for substantial aid and sheltered markets for its exports. The removal of these subsidies (for example the oil ^[108][109] ) sent the Cuban economy into a rapid depression known in Cuba as the Special Period. In 1992 the United States tightened the trade embargo, hoping to see democratisation of the sort that took place in Eastern Europe.

Like some other Communist and post-Communist states following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba took limited free market-oriented measures to alleviate severe shortages of food, consumer goods, and services. These steps included allowing some self-employment in certain retail and light manufacturing sectors, the legalization of the use of the US dollar in business, and the encouragement of tourism. Cuba has developed a unique urban farm system (the organopónicos) to compensate for the end of food imports from the Soviet Union. In recent years, Cuba has rolled back some of the market oriented measures undertaken in the 1990s. In 2004 Cuban officials publicly backed the Euro as a "global counter-balance to the US dollar", and eliminated U.S. currency from circulation in its stores and businesses.^{[citation needed]}

Varadero beach gets 1 million foreign visitors per year

Tourism was initially restricted to enclave resorts where tourists would be segregated from Cuban society, referred to as "enclave tourism" and "tourism apartheid".^[110] Contacts between foreign visitors and ordinary Cubans were de facto illegal until 1997.^[111] In 1996 tourism surpassed the sugar industry as the largest source of hard currency for Cuba. Cuba has tripled its market share of Caribbean tourism in the last decade; as a result of significant investment in tourism infrastructure, this growth rate is predicted to continue.^[112] 1.9 million tourists visited Cuba in 2003, predominantly from Canada and the European Union, generating revenue of $2.1 billion.^[113] The rapid growth of tourism during the Special Period had widespread social and economic repercussions in Cuba, and led to speculation about the emergence of a two-tier economy.^[114] The Medical tourism sector caters to thousands of European, Latin American, Canadian, and American consumers every year.

The communist agricultural production system was ridiculed by Raúl Castro in 2008.^[115] Cuba now imports up to 80% of food used for rations.^[115] Before 1959, Cuba boasted as many cattle as people.

For some time, Cuba has been experiencing a housing shortage because of the state's failure to keep pace with increasing demand.^[116] The government instituted food rationing policies in 1962, which were exacerbated following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the tightening of the U.S. embargo. Studies have shown that, as late as 2001, the average Cuban's standard of living was lower than before the downturn of the post-Soviet period. Paramount issues have been state salaries failing to meet personal needs under the state rationing system, chronically plagued with shortages. The variety and quantity of available rationed goods declined.

Under Venezuela's Mission Barrio Adentro, Hugo Chávez has supplied Cuba with up to 80,000 barrels (13,000 m³) of oil per day in exchange for 30,000 doctors and teachers.

In 2005 Cuba had exports of $2.4 billion, ranking 114 of 226 world countries, and imports of $6.9 billion, ranking 87 of 226 countries.^[117] Its major export partners are China 27.5%, Canada 26.9%, Netherlands 11.1%, Spain 4.7% (2007).^[6] Cuba's major exports are sugar, nickel, tobacco, fish, medical products, citrus, and coffee;^[6] imports include food, fuel, clothing, and machinery. Cuba presently holds debt in an amount estimated to be $13 billion,^[118] approximately 38% of GDP.^[119] According to the Heritage Foundation, Cuba is dependent on credit accounts that rotate from country to country.^[120] Cuba's prior 35% supply of the world's export market for sugar has declined to 10% due to a variety of factors, including a global sugar commodity price drop that made Cuba less competitive on world markets.^[121] At one time, Cuba was the world's most important sugar producer and exporter. As a result of diversification, underinvestment, and natural disasters, Cuba's sugar production has seen a drastic decline. In 2002 more than half of Cuba's sugar mills were shut down. Cuba holds 6.4% of the global market for nickel,^[122] which constitutes about 25% of total Cuban exports.^[123] A 2005 US Geological Survey report estimates that the North Cuba Basin could contain 4.6 billion barrels of oil and 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.^[124]

In 2010^[update], Cubans were allowed to build their own houses. According to Raul Castro, they will be able to improve their houses with this new permission, but the government will not endorse these new houses or improvements.^[125]

On August 2, 2011, The New York Times reported Cuba as reaffirming their intent to legalize "buying and selling" of private property before the year ends. According to experts, the private sale of property could "transform Cuba more than any of the economic reforms announced by President Raúl Castro’s government".^[126] It will cut more than one million state jobs including party bureaucrats which resist the changes.^[127]

Government and politics[link]

Revolution Square: José Martí Monument designed by Enrique Luis Varela, sculpted by Juan José Sicre, and finished in 1958.^[128]

The Constitution of 1976, which defined Cuba as a socialist republic, was replaced by the Constitution of 1992, which is guided by the ideas of José Martí, Marx, Engels and Lenin.^[129] The constitution describes the Communist Party of Cuba as the "leading force of society and of the state".^[129] The First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba is concurrently President of the Council of State (President of Cuba) and President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes referred to as Premier of Cuba).^[130] Members of both councils are elected by the National Assembly of People's Power.^[129] The President of Cuba, who is also elected by the Assembly, serves for five years and there is no limit to the number of terms of office.^[129]

The Supreme Court of Cuba serves as the nation's highest judicial branch of government. It is also the court of last resort for all appeals against the decisions of provincial courts.

Cuba's national legislature, the National Assembly of People's Power (Asamblea Nacional de Poder Popular), is the supreme organ of power; 609 members serve five-year terms.^[129] The assembly meets twice a year; between sessions legislative power is held by the 31 member Council of Ministers. Candidates for the Assembly are approved by public referendum. All Cuban citizens over 16 who have not been convicted of a criminal offense can vote. Article 131 of the Constitution states that voting shall be "through free, equal and secret vote".^[129] Article 136 states: "In order for deputies or delegates to be considered elected they must get more than half the number of valid votes cast in the electoral districts".^[129] Votes are cast by secret ballot and counted in public view. Nominees are chosen at local gatherings from multiple candidates before gaining approval from election committees. In the subsequent election, there is only one candidate for each seat, who must gain a majority to be elected.^{[citation needed]}

No political party is permitted to nominate candidates or campaign on the island, including the Communist Party. The Communist Party of Cuba has held six party congress meetings since 1975. In 2011, the party stated that there were 800,000 members, and representatives generally constitute at least half of the Councils of state and the National Assembly. The remaining positions are filled by candidates nominally without party affiliation. Other political parties campaign and raise finances internationally, while activity within Cuba by opposition groups is minimal.

The country is subdivided into 15 provinces and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). These were formerly part of six larger historical provinces: Pinar del Río, Habana, Matanzas, Las Villas, Camagüey and Oriente. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of the Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence, when the most troublesome areas were subdivided. The provinces are divided into municipalities.

Pinar del Río Artemisa Havana Mayabeque Matanzas Cienfuegos Villa Clara Sancti Spíritus

Ciego de Ávila Camagüey Las Tunas Granma Holguín Santiago de Cuba Guantánamo Isla de la Juventud

Military[link]

Cuba devoted 9–13% of its GDP to military expenditures.^[131] Under the leadership of Fidel Castro, Cuba built up one of the largest armed forces in Latin America; second only to that of Brazil.^[74] From 1975 until the late 1980s, Soviet military assistance enabled Cuba to upgrade its military capabilities. Since the loss of Soviet subsidies, Cuba has scaled down the numbers of military personnel, from 235,000 in 1994 to about 60,000 in 2003.^[132]

Foreign relations[link]

From its inception, the Cuban Revolution defined itself as internationalist, joining Comecon in 1972. Cuba was a major contributor to anti-imperialist wars in Africa, Central America and Asia. In Africa, the largest war was in Angola, where Cuba sent tens of thousands of troops. Cuba was a friend of the Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam.^[133] In Africa, Cuba supported 17 leftist governments. In some countries it suffered setbacks, such as in eastern Zaire, but in others Cuba had significant success. Major engagements took place in Algeria, Zaire, Yemen,^[134] Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique.

The Cuban government's military involvement in Latin America—mostly with the aim of overthrowing U.S. backed right wing regimes, many of them dictatorial—has been extensive. One of the earliest interventions was the Marxist militia led by Che Guevara in Bolivia in 1967, though a modicum of funds and troops were sent. Lesser known actions include the 1959 missions to the Dominican Republic^[135] and Panama.^{[citation needed]} In the former, the Cuban government provided military assistance to a group of Dominican exiles with the intention of overthrowing the tyrannical dictator Rafael Trujillo. Although the expedition failed and most of its members were murdered by the government, today they are recognized as martyrs and a prominent monument was erected in their memory in Santo Domingo by the Dominican government. The Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana ("Memorial Museum of the Dominican Resistance,") where the heroes of 1959 feature prominently, is being built by the Dominican Government.^[136] The socialist government in Nicaragua was openly supported by Cuba and can be considered its greatest success in Latin America.^{[citation needed]} Cuba is a founding member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas. More than 30,000 Cuban doctors currently work abroad, in countries such as Venezuela and Zimbabwe.^[137] The membership of Cuba in the United Nations Human Rights Council has received criticism.^[138]

The European Union in 2003 accused the Cuban government of "continuing flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms".^[139] In 2008, the EU and Cuba agreed to resume full relations and cooperation activities.^[140] The United States continues an embargo against Cuba "so long as it continues to refuse to move toward democratization and greater respect for human rights".^[141] United States President Barack Obama stated on April 17, 2009, in Trinidad and Tobago that "the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba",^[142] and reversed the Bush Administration's prohibition on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans from the United States to Cuba.^[143]

Geography[link]

Alejandro de Humboldt National Park in eastern Cuba

Cuba is an archipelago of islands located in the northern Caribbean Sea at the confluence with the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. It lies between latitudes 19° and 24°N, and longitudes 74° and 85°W. The United States lies 90 miles across the Straits of Florida to the north and northwest (to the closest tip of Key West, Florida), the Bahamas to the north, Haiti to the east, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands to the south, and Mexico to the west. Cuba is the principal island, surrounded by four smaller groups of islands: the Colorados Archipelago on the northwestern coast, the Sabana-Camagüey Archipelago on the north-central Atlantic coast, the Jardines de la Reina on the south-central coast and the Canarreos Archipelago on the southwestern coast.

The main island is 1,199 km (745 mi) long, constituting most of the nation's land area (105,006 km² (40,543 sq mi)) and is the largest island in the Caribbean and 16th-largest island in the world by land area. The main island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains apart from the Sierra Maestra mountains in the southeast, whose highest point is Pico Turquino (1,975 m (6,480 ft)). The second-largest island is Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth) in the Canarreos archipelago, with an area of 3,056 km² (1,180 sq mi). Cuba has a total land area of 110,860 km² (42,803 sq mi).

Climate[link]

Beach on Cayo Largo del Sur in the Canarreos archipelago

The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeasterly trade winds that blow year-round. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. The average temperature is 21 °C (69.8 °F) in January and 27 °C (80.6 °F) in July. The warm temperatures of the Caribbean Sea and the fact that Cuba sits across the entrance to the Gulf of Mexico combine to make the country prone to frequent hurricanes. These are most common in September and October.

Resources[link]

The most important mineral resource is nickel, of which Cuba has the world's second largest reserves (after Russia).^[144] Sherritt International of Canada operates a large nickel mining facility in Moa. Cuba is the world's fifth-largest producer of refined cobalt, a byproduct of nickel mining operations.^[144] Recent oil exploration has revealed that the North Cuba Basin could produce approximately 4.6 billion barrels (730,000,000 m³) to 9.3 billion barrels (1.48×10⁹ m³) of oil. In 2006, Cuba started to test-drill these locations for possible exploitation.^[145]

Demographics[link]

Largest cities[link]