The Republic of Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is well known for being the Western hemisphere's first Communist state. Since the Cuban revolution, which pushed Fidel Castro to power, the country has been ruled by an authoritarian regime. The Castro brothers controlled with an iron grip because authoritarianism is a prominent aspect of Cuban politics. The Communist Party-led one-party state has purposefully crushed political dissent and denied Cuban residents civil liberties. Historically, Cuba has adopted a socialist philosophy against US capitalism, resulting in friction between the two countries (Font & Riobó, 2013). However, during the Obama administration, the two countries vowed to reestablish relations in 2014. Currently, the population of Cuba is 11.5 million people with a life expectancy of 78 and 82 years for men and women respectively. It is the second populous nation in the Caribbean with Havana as the largest and Capital city. The country is multiracial with the majority being whites at 64%, mixed race or mulatto at 26.6% and blacks at 9.3% according to 2012 census. However, other studies indicate that Whites of European descent and mulattos make up 50% of the population because some mulattos identify themselves as whites due to the loss of African heritage. Nevertheless, there are other minority groups such as Asians, for example, the Chinese who were imported to provide labor after the emancipation of slavery during the ancient period (Font & Riobó, 2013).

Constitutional and Civic Rights

The Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) runs a totalitarian government where the political and civil rights are restricted by law leading to the increased violation of these rights in practice. According to the Cuban Constitution, political power is controlled by the ruling Communist Party. The document also subordinates the exercise and enjoyment of civil liberties and political rights to the protection of the revolution. The PCC has been controlled by the Castro family for five decades that promoted the culture of a very restrictive law that hinders the development of a healthy civil society in the socialist state (West, 2012). Fidel Castro instituted a total command economy in following the Marxist-Leninist doctrines of socialism that promoted a good relationship with the communist Soviet Union. As a result, Cuba received $4 billion dollars in annual subsidies for development from the Soviet Union. The subsidy meant that Cuba could maintain health, education, and infrastructure funding as well as money to run detention centers for those who violated their civic rights as enshrined in the constitution. Therefore, democracy and human rights are illegal in Cuba and human rights movements or organizations cannot be registered under the law. The government of Cuba strictly punished human rights defenders which also include the persecution of political parties, trade unions, lawyers and some religious denominations (Weinreb, 2011).

Cuba has received international criticism due to the violation of human rights. Over the years since the revolution, the Communist government headed by Castro created legal frameworks enshrined in the country’s constitution to restrict the capacity of human rights operation within its borders. There Cuban Constitution has several articles that subordinate the practice of civil liberties to fulfill the goals of the socialist society especially in politics and civil rights. The country has progressively adopted laws that make human rights dangerous and risky to quell any rebellion to the Communist Party. Cuba severely punishes human rights activism because of the perceived threat to the sovereignty and political regime of the country from foreign interference in the internal endeavors of the command economy. Therefore, the government controls the media an act that restricts the practice of freedom of expression, association, speech, movement and political rights. Cuba used political power and violence to terminate political dissent evident through the imprisonment of Guillermo Farinas and Orlando Tamayo among other political dissidents (Weinreb, 2011).

Cuba has the lowest internet connectivity in the Western hemisphere due to the government’s regulation of internet access. Due to state control of the media, it illegal to run independent press and the government considers it as enemy propaganda. Independent journalists are harassed by government agents accused as foreign powers’ mercenaries. In light of the crackdown, some government presses have started covering topics that were previously considered as taboo such as corruption in the education and health industries. Internet access has slowly found its root into Cuba as country progresses towards ICT infrastructure development. As such, citizen journalism and bloggers have grown leading to the sharing of information in the black market sites via data packets. The government restricts internet access by making access to ICT expensive and through content control (Aguirre, 2008).

The PCC restricts academic freedom by affiliating teaching materials with the ideological content with the government. The affiliation is fundamental for successful education advancement. In many cases, university students have faced expulsion and harsh punishment due to dissident behavior effectively cutting their academic aspirations. Social sciences university faculties must seek permission from the Cuban government to travel abroad for education conferences. For example, Manuel Cuesta Morua was restricted from traveling to the US at a Latin American Studies Association conference where he was to make a presentation because of political activities (Chaguaceda, 2008).

Before the nationalist movement in Cuba, the country was very racially segregated. Racism and discrimination among minority groups of color were prevalent. There were white restaurants and hotels and vise versa. However, when Castro took power, he promised the end of racism and ethnicity. The creation of free health and education programs progressively steered Afro Cubans to better economic and social status. However, racial discrimination is still present because majority of the poor are blacks often called Afro Cubans. The entrance of foreign companies especially from Latin America attract majority of light-skinned Cubans leading to disparity in the dollar sector. In terms of constitutional and civil rights, there is no distinction as other citizens even though majority of prisoners are the black minorities (West, 2012).

In summation, as much of the civil liberties of the Cuban citizens have been restricted, the Roman Catholic Church has facilitated a civil society in recent years. The church has been conducting public concern discussions and providing material assistance to the needy population. However, the church activities are monitored by the government because the constitution forbids the provision of ordinary education by the church. Moreover, church-based publication are also scrutinized and censored by government agents leading to partial religious freedom.

Public Policy and Welfare Programs

Cuba has performed well in terms of public policy programs aimed at promoting the citizenry rights for all Cubans. The socialist government has invested heavily in the health sector. The country has the largest per capita number of doctors in the world. In the post-revolution era, the Fidel Castro administration facilitated the growth of medical education. The Caribbean nation not only trains local doctors, it also trains foreign medical students from Asia, Latin America and Africa. In general, the government closely funds education by providing free access to education and health to all. Cuba spends a quarter of its GDP to education and health nearly twice as much of that of the US according to the United Nations development Programme (UNDP). For example, the government provides women with six weeks paid prenatal leave and up to a year of paid postnatal leave. As a result, infant mortality was at 0.005 between 2005 and 2010. Life expectancy is also high and overall, Cuba is classified as one of the healthiest population (Weinreb, 2011). Social work and community based healthcare are well established facilitating accessibility to the rights to health.

Similarly, social policies emphasize on youth inclusion with a range of legal legislations that protect the children and youths. According to the 2011 statistics, the youth were 13.7% of the total population. The state funds and manages youth policies through the provision of universality. The policies are free at all levels regardless of the ethnic, financial, gender and age background. The policies ensure comprehensive cultural strength, vocational and technical training to promote upward social mobility and development. On the other hand, all Cuban citizens receive social protection in the form of social security. For instance, persons without family members and are unfit for work are covered by the Social Assistance System to protect their welfare and citizenry rights (Lo Vuolo, 2013).

Citizen Engagement in Socio-political Issues

The modern model of citizen engagement in social, political, and economic issues emerged after the revolution when the nationalism opponents were exiled. The post-revolution period socialized millions of Cubans into participation in the state affairs. The government’s appeal for universal education led to massive literacy campaigns that Cubans participated as part of country’s development agenda. Educated citizens participated in civil and professional associations. The voluntaristic ideology led the rise of social development and political leadership and enthusiastic population motivated by state-sponsored economy. State planning also promoted the rise in investments, and accelerated production (Chaguaceda, 2008).

Cubans and participate in the electoral system through casting a private ballot. However, due to the lack of electoral reforms, candidates are not allowed to campaign but to publish a short pictorial biography. As such, the citizens vote for people without knowing their political agenda and interests. Critics argue that Cubans trust their opinions on the hands of the candidate instead of voting as per their opinions. In addition, the Candidacy Commission makes a deliberation of the people to run for elections because parties do not carry out nominations. However, in practice, 90% of the Communist Party members seat on the various electoral seats. In Cuba, only party members have a voice because their votes matter during congress elections (Bolender, 2012, p.146).

Corruption and Corporate Social Responsibility

Corruption is a serious challenge in Cuba’s economy. According to the Transparency International, Cuba is ranked 63rd on the corruption index out 177 countries. There is a widespread illegality from both the private sector and public government institutions. Due to the socialist nature of the command economy, most Cubans work for the communist government. Therefore, given the state control of resources, individuals have frequently abused their powers leading to a culture of bribery, thievery, corruption and misuse of public resources. As the last centrally planned economy, Cubans are not accustomed to hard work and the economy stays afloat with minimum spending on salaries. Therefore, low salaries and wages led to the misappropriation of goods because they want access to the dollar sector. As a result, bribes are commonly used to get around the state bureaucracy (Díaz-Briquets & Pérez-López, 2006). When Raul Castro took office, he promised priority in anti-corruption battle with the elite being the most corrupt Cubans. During the reign of Fidel Castro, political affiliation and power determine administrative positions making corruption hard to fight for the Raul’s administration.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a set of business activities aimed at giving back to the economy and its citizens. Latin American countries practice socially responsible enterprise (SRE) as a way of understanding the role of private companies in the society. Cuba has worked tirelessly to promote SRE for local private companies and establishing favorable political, economic and social factors that will attract foreign investment and facilitate CSR among investors. With economic difficulties in Cuba, CSR has become a viable option in the last decade through the implementation of economic reforms that are in a multi-faceted package. Therefore, decentralization of economic activities has become a platform for attracting foreign direct investment. To achieve complete SRE, Cuba has also embarked on the modernization of the economy that will see 35% of workers in the public sector as well as cooperation of foreign businesses with local authority. In summation, a sustainable SRE will propel Cuba to a 21st century progressive mixed-economy for the development and future of the country. With progressive and positive results from anti-corruption war and SRE initiatives, Cuba will experience improved foreign relations and international trade that will further modernize the economy (Baden & Wilkinson, 2014).

Legal, Political, and Economic Implication on Business Culture

Cuba is a centrally planned economy where the government owns the factors of production. In recent years, Cuba has moved from total command economy to a mixed economy with the invitation of foreign investment. The move has attracted foreign businesses with the aim of capitalizing on the 11 million consumers (Smull, 2016). However, the business culture is influenced because socialism prioritizes the state as opposed to profit motive. On the other hand, legal factors entail the practice of partial judiciary in that the judiciary is not fully independent. The legal system is distinct from other countries. Nevertheless, commercial lawsuits are rare in Cuba and foreigners are entitled to defense attorneys but the defense quality is debatable. Therefore, a tough legal system ensures business transparency to avoid criminal charges. Politically, the country is stable because political dissent is illegal and punishable under the law (Weinreb, 2011). The US is very different from Cuba in that it is the biggest capitalist state in the world in terms of economic performance. Market forces regulate the markets and the federal government implements legislation to foster a good business environment. The legal system is completely independent and commercial disputes are handled by the courts without government intervention. The US is politically stable with only two major political parties that compete for the Congress control. Previous rivalry between the US and Cuba led to tough embargos against Cuba that negatively affected the country’s economics. However, with the normalization of ties, the future will facilitate better economic cooperation that will drive Cuba’s economic growth and development. Therefore, the transition of Cuba to a mixed state economy offers a favorable business culture that will steer foreign direct investment without fear of totalitarian government influence (West, 2012).

Conclusion

Conclusively, Cuba is the largest Caribbean island and the first socialist nation in America’s. The country has experienced major changes since the revolution when Castro ascended to power in 1959. The socialist state is multiracial with free access to education and healthcare at all levels without any discrimination whatsoever. The Communist Party controls all aspects of life including restricting civil liberties and political rights. Nevertheless, the modernization efforts and the end of hostilities with the US indicate future potential for the island nation. Future transition into a mixed economy will also foster economic growth and development of Cuba even though the country has a long way to go to attain democracy.





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