Mipymes: New Private Economic Actors in Cuba and the Challenge for a Feasible Socialism

Abstract

Cuba is the object of investigation of many studies that seek to understand how the only socialist country in Latin America has endured for more than six decades. We assume that the economic restructuring policies intensified after 2008 are part of the continuity strategy. Thus, the aim of this paper is to explain how the legalization of private Micro and Small Enterprises (Mipymes) in the context of the 2021 crisis falls within the frameworks of updating Cuban socialism. The methodological approach of the research was of a theoretical-explanatory nature with analysis of data collected from primary sources. We verify that the expansion of non-state management has advantages, but also systemic and political-ideological problems that will tend to coexist for a long time to come. Although the adaptive measures incorporate market characteristics, the local development projects generated by the revolution still rule the system. Finally, we understand that the historical pendulum movement between centralization and economic flexibility adopted by the Cuban regime is part of what we understand as feasible socialism or sustainable socialism.