Social and Solidarity Economy in Cuba

Rafael J. Betancourt is associate professor in the Center for Demographic Studies at the University of Havana.Jusmary Gómez Arencibia is associate professor of sociology at the University of Havana.

The views of Cuban social scientists about the flaws and aspirations of the national economy are generally not well known. This edited volume is a useful guide to the perspectives of a network of Cuban academics and policy makers about how to animate what they describe as a stagnant economic system. Nineteen essays describe why, even with the limitations imposed by the United States embargo, the Cuban economy needs structural, legal, and cultural changes. The general approach proposed is to enhance social responsibility and solidarity through the greater involvement of workers and, where appropriate, community members in economic planning. Some writers advocate for the expansion of cooperative enterprises that exist outside the private and state sectors, along with other strategies such as community-based budgeting and cross-sector partnerships. [The] volume is worth reading by anyone interested in socialist economic development; the challenges of moving past the bureaucratic, top-down limitations and inefficiencies of state enterprises; and expanding private enterprise to draw workers and community members into economic decision-making. Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.

• Chapter 1 Socialism Is the Solution, Not the Problem. A Solidary and Socially Responsible Formula for a Prosperous Economy, by Enrique Gómez CabezasChapter 2 Now More than Ever, a Social and Solidary Economy Is Necessary to Build Socialism in Cuba, by Rafael J. BetancourtChapter 3 The Social and Solidarity Economy: Integrating Bases, Experiences and Possible Projections for Socialist Development in Cuba, by Ovidio D’Angelo HernándezChapter 4 The Foundations of Popular and Solidarity Economics as Fulfillment of the Social Property of All People in the Socialist Transition, by Luis del Castillo SánchezChapter 5 Participatory Budgeting: A Management Tool for Local Development in Cuba, Seen from the Experiences of the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, by Orestes J. Díaz Legón and Maidolys Iglesias PérezChapter 6 The Inclusion of Vulnerable Groups as Subjects of Development: Proposals from the Viewpoint of the Solidarity Economy, by Geydis Fundora Nevot and Reynaldo Miguel Jiménez GuethónC