According to BBC News... "Cuba's government has announced that it is legalising small and medium-sized private businesses."
Of course the devil is in the details, but they are reportedly doing this to try to stimulate their stagnant economy.
As these slow but steady positive changes have been implemented in Cuba, Venezuela has gone the other way and is now on the brink of economic ruin.
In an interesting article for Reason Marian Tupy of Human Progress compared Chile’s success after turning away form Socialism and Venezuela’s decline after turning more toward Socialism.
“The story of Chile’s success starts in the mid-1970s, when Chile’s military government abandoned socialism and started to implement economic reforms. In 2013, Chile was the world’s 10th freest economy. Venezuela, in the meantime, declined from being the world’s 10th freest economy in 1975 to being the world’s least free economy in 2013 (Human Progress does not have data for the notoriously unfree North Korea).” More…
Of course the elite under the Socialist regimes live like kings, while the working class can’t even dream of living a middle class existence.
As Martin Guevara (yes, Che’s nephew) pointed out a few years back:
“Why is it so difficult for us to condemn any excess, crime, violent act or abuse committed by self-proclaimed leftists, revolutionaries or communists? What part of our brain falters or becomes anesthetized when the time comes to protest against these injustices?”
“In any case, it appeared that Fidel was approaching his hour of shame. If there is anything that Fidel hates worse than not being the center of constant attention it is losing face. He cannot bear for anyone to know the truths of his life. He doesn't want the world to know that he drinks Castilian wines that cost more than 200 euros a bottle every day, even as he asks his people to sacrifice all for the revolution.” More…
In a nutshell, the benefits of Socialism might be fewer than under Capitalism, but all of them - like the 200 Euro bottles of wine - accrue to the Government leaders and the people they supposedly care so much about wait in food lines like in Venezuela today.
