Main Informations about Cuba
- Language spoken: Spanish
- Capital: La Habana
- Currency: Cuban Peso (CUP)
- Habitants: 11,26 millions (2021)
- Cost of living: The average cost of living in Cuba is 21% less expensive than in France.
- Border countries: Haiti, the nearest neighboring country, is 48 miles (77 km) to the east, across the Windward Passage; Jamaica is 87 miles (140 km) to the south; the Bahamas archipelago extends to within 50 miles (80 km) of the northern coast; and the United States is about 90 miles (150 km) to the north across the Straits of Florida.
- What is Cuba famous for? Cuba is known for producing high-quality cigars, rum and coffee, and is home to classy, vintage cars. It is also known for its beautiful beaches, lush forests, and interesting cities.
The News
In August 2021, the island’s communist government, which until then only knew state-owned companies, decided to open the economy to private “micro, small and medium-sized enterprises” (Mypimes). This announcement seems good because it was in the middle of an economic crisis, the worst in thirty years under the effect of the pandemic and the strength measures of the American embargo.
And, for the first time since Cuba allowed its citizens to own private businesses in 2021, a sizable group of about 70 Cuban entrepreneurs—some of whom are already selling millions of dollars’ worth of goods and services on the island—have arrived in Miami to gain business advice from successful Cuban Americans and hear from U.S. officials about how to work around the island’s trade embargo.
Some Cuban who reached the American citizenship helped plan the trip with renewed hopes by supporting a thriving business community on the island, they could help change Cuba for the better, improving the economic sector and generating employees.
What do Cuba’s businesses want from the U.S.?
The group companies want those men and women from various provinces, some of whom have never been to the United States, to get included in own businesses, in several sectors such as transportation, construction, software development, clothes and beauty products and manufacturing. Akerman attorneys and representatives from the U.S. Departments of State, Treasury, and Commerce provided an explanation of the rules governing the export of commodities by American businesses to the Cuban private sector to the attendees of the Miami event this week.
What about a Cuban American who wants to have a business in Cuba?
Unless the person possesses legal permanent residence in Cuba, it is likewise a no. If the Cuban government agrees, that may change. Cuban officials stated last week that they are going in that route to a delegation of Cuban Americans who were meeting with Cuban leader Miguel Daz-Canel in New York.
By Santiago Suárez