Castro's insistence on absolute control -- not to mention decades of truancy and no rule of law -- has become an impediment for foreign investment and economic growth.
This is also a good reminder for those who argue that increased foreign trade would somehow benefit the Cuban people.
That's not possible, for the Cuban people are strictly prohibited from engaging in any foreign trade. It's within the exclusive purview of the Castro regime.
In Reuters:
Cuba struggles with foreign investment, growth
Cuba's failure to encourage more foreign investment is crippling its economic performance and putting its goal of sustainable growth in danger unless changes are made, local experts and diplomats said this week.
The communist island is in the midst of market-oriented reforms to its Soviet-style system that supposedly will make the island more investor friendly, but potential investors say the Cubans have not yet put out much of a welcoming mat [...]
Cuba's investment reform plan announced last year spoke positively of foreign investment, promised a review of the cumbersome approval process and stated that special economic zones, joint venture golf courses, marinas and new manufacturing projects were planned.
But there have been more promises than changes and many obstacles to foreign investment remain, diplomats said.
A number of countries and their companies, from China, Russia and Brazil to Singapore and various European Union members, have expressed interest in investing in Cuba despite the U.S. trade embargo against the island, but to no avail.
They said the government is demanding a majority interest in all joint ventures and is dragging its heels or obfuscating in negotiations.
It is a complaint shared by many others, who said the Cubans were insisting on 51 percent ownership of new ventures, which companies do not want because they effectively lose control.
Another diplomat from a European country said even signed agreements languish because of the difficulty of finalizing details, whether it be due to lack of government clarity or changes it wants to make.
