the direction of reconciliation, have created an atmosphere of triumphalism regarding the economic future of Cuba loaded with good expectations.
2. According to the surveys, support for Obama’s measures is notably of the majority in both the United States and Cuba, but there are reasons to believe that a substantial percentage of Cuban exiles also support it.
3. As part of this approach, it’s expected that some or many foreign companies will explore the possibility of investing in the Island. There is significant human capital available in Cuba: over eight hundred thousand university students and a generally healthy and educated populace.
4. The Cuban government, after 56 years of continuous exercise of power, appears solidly in control of the situation, without any person or group whatsoever that visibly challenges its authority with any possibility of success.
5. After Hugo Chavez’s election to the presidency of Venezuela at the end of 1998, that oil- producing country transferred to Cuba enormous amounts of resources. The economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago calculates the annual amount of aid at its highest point as thirteen billion dollars.
6. A quarter century after the disappearance of the Communist block, the Castro government, together with North Korea, has shown itself to be the exception to the rule: It has maintained control without renouncing the principles of Marxism-Leninism and the single party system, although cautiously attempting to modify its productive apparatus.
Ts In that spirit of “reforms-within-the-system,” in April 2010 Raul Castro presented what are known as Guidelines, outlining his reform of the State, creating spaces for foreign investment and “freelancers.”
8. The most important or most visible institutions in Cuban society, such as the Armed Forces and the Assembly of the People’s Power, appear to fully support the steps taken by the president, General Raul Castro, in the direction of a re-encounter with the United States.
9. Some foreign offices of the European Union, such as the Spaniards, the Germans, and the Dutch, look favorably on what is happening, as does the Vatican, which has participated in the secret meetings to bring an end to the conflicts between Cuba and the United States. Pope Francis has announced his upcoming visit to Cuba as a kind of support for the changes.
10. Cuba exercises enormous influence in the countries of the ALBA, and the clear leadership of the group known as the nations of the XXIth Century Socialism: Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua.
11. To this list we must add the sympathy and solidarity that Cuba inspires in governments such as those of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and El Salvador. In summary, the Island has never had a more international identification.
Opportunities
1. The country needs to rebuild almost all of its infrastructure. Everything is obsolete or in ruins: aqueducts and sewerage systems, electrical grids, the Internet, bridges and roads, telecommunications, homes and buildings.
2. There is fertile land for the local production of food. Cuba imports 80% of the food consumed by people and animals. Before 1959 the proportion was reversed.
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