Raul Castro issues stern warning to entrepreneurs

Posted on Saturday, 12.21.13



Raul Castro issues stern warning to entrepreneurs

BY ANDREA RODRIGUEZ AND MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS



HAVANA -- President Raul Castro issued a stern warning to entrepreneurs

pushing the boundaries of Cuba's economic reform, telling parliament on

Saturday that "those pressuring us to move faster are moving us toward

failure."



Castro has legalized small-scale, private businesses in nearly 200

fields since 2010, but has issued tighter regulations on businesses seen

as going too far or competing excessively with state enterprises. In

recent months, the government has banned the resale of imported hardware

and clothing and cracked down on unlicensed private videogame and movie

salons.



Castro threw his full weight behind such measures in an address to the

biannual meeting of the communist legislature, saying "every step we

take must be accompanied by the establishment of a sense of order."



"Inadequate controls by government institutions in the face of illegal

activities by private businesspeople weren't resolved in a timely

fashion, creating an environment of impunity and stimulating the

accelerated growth of activities that were never authorized for certain

occupations," Castro said.



He told lawmakers that Cuba wants better relations with the U.S. but

will never give in to demands for changes to Cuba's government and

economy, saying "we don't demand that the U.S. change its political or

social system and we don't accept negotiations over ours."



"If we really want to move our bilateral relations forward, we'll have

to learn to respect our differences," Castro said. "If not, we're ready

to take another 55 years in the same situation."



Cuba blames a half-century-old U.S. embargo for strangling its economy

but Castro's government has also acknowledged that it must reform the

state-run economy with a gradual opening to private enterprise. Many

Cubans have enthusiastically seized opportunities to make more money

with their own businesses, but new entrepreneurs and outside experts

alike complain that the government has been sending mixed messages about

its openness to private enterprise.



The conflicting signals were apparent in Cuba's handling of the dozens

of private home cinemas and video game salons that sprung up around the

country this year, drawing crowds of young people willing to spend a few

dollars for access to the latest home entertainment technology imported,

purportedly for private use, by Cubans returning from the U.S., Canada

or other countries.



The government denounced the cinemas as spreading uncultured drivel to

the young, and ordered them closed last month for stretching the

boundaries on the kinds of private businesses allowed under reforms

instituted by Castro. Then came the backlash, with entrepreneurs

bemoaning thousands of dollars in lost investment and moviegoers saying

they were exasperated by heavy-handedness toward a harmless diversion.

The official reaction was swift, and unprecedented.



An article in the Communist Party newspaper Granma on last month

acknowledged there was wide disapproval of the ban, and hinted it was

being rethought. The same Granma article also offered a full-throated

defense of the ban on the reselling of imported hardware and clothes.



Castro appeared to justify all of the recent moves to clamp down on

private enterprise.



"We're not ignorant of the fact that those pressuring to move faster are

moving us toward failure, toward disunity, and are damaging the people's

confidence and support for the construction of socialism and the

independence and sovereignty of Cuba."



Several Cubans interviewed on the streets of Havana said they generally

approved of Castro's speech but wanted more details on economic reforms,

and a softer line toward the U.S.



"I would have liked to know exactly what pace of reform we're going to

follow," said Daniel Mora, a 72-year-old retired state worker. "And he

told the United States that we're ready for another 55 years of

blockade, but I'm not ready for that. I'm 72 and I'd like to see the

light at the end of the tunnel before I die."



Castro praised the Cold War ties between Cuba and South Africa's

anti-apartheid movement but did not mention his handshake with President

Barack Obama at Nelson Mandela's funeral this month.



He lamented that growth would come in at 2.7 percent for 2013, nearly a

full percentage below the predicted 3.6 percent. He said growth for 2014

was expected to be 2.2 percent.



It is nearly impossible to know on the true size of Cuba's economy

because Cuba uses two currencies, a convertible peso for tourists that's

pegged to the U.S. dollar and a Cuban peso worth about 4 cents, and the

government doesn't clearly distinguish between them in economic statistics.



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Anne-Marie Garcia contributed to this report.



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Michael Weissenstein on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mweissenstein



Andrea Rodriguez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ARodriguezAP



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