For businesses looking at the retirement of Fidel Castro asa telltale sign of
Even if
Dr. Jose Azel, senior research associate at the Institutefor Cuban and Cuban American studies at the
?There is no modern infrastructure to support business theway we think of it in terms of technology, power, telecommunications, etc.,?Azel says. ?There is very limited Internet access and only the government hasthat. The people, by and large, have no dependable access to the Internet,though some find ways.?
While this presents a problem for major corporations lookingto set up shop in Cuba, it also spells opportunity for IT vendors, integratorsand solution providers who can fulfill the IT needs of an island many peoplehas pent up entrepreneurial and innovative demand.
In 1994, the Cuban government, in a rare move, startedissuing licenses for private ?paletes,? small privately owned restaurants andcafeterias. Almost overnight,
Porches were stuffed with chairs and tables and young Cubansgot their first real taste of native delicacies such as mamey sapote shakes andguava pie.
It was proof, Cubans say, that communism never completely stifledthe entrepreneurial energy on the island. The enthusiasm and spirit so evidentin Cuban-run businesses in
?A stroll of my native
While most Cuban expatriates greeted the retirement of81-year-old Cuban strongman Castro this week as a victory for openness andbasic human rights, many also wondered what a softening of Cuba?s hard-linecommunism?and warmer relations with the West?might do for business there.
?All of those energies to produce are just waiting,crouching, for the restrictions to loosen –even one millimeter–to conqueragain our streets and porches,? Sanchez insists.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, Cubahas the lowest rate of Internet usage in
Azel says that before
The
?They have to know who are they going to partner with,? Azelsays. ?Under Castro–either Fidel or Raul–you partner with the state, period.You don?t get to choose your employees. The state picks your employees. You paythe state and they pass on 10 or 15 percent of that to the workers.?
Azel advises
He also says companies interested in investing in
?Technology is going to be incredibly important, ultimately,in
?But I must reiterate, I don?t see this happening verysoon,? he says. ?We have a long, difficult way to go.?
Sanchez is equally guarded in her optimism.
?Maybe things will change now,? she wrote after Fidel Castro stepped down.?For me and the young generation, this news comes as a great relief. We’venever had another president, and we saw him as an obstruction to our country’sdevelopment.
?But honestly, the question of a new head of state is notpeople’s greatest concern right now. We’re too preoccupied with the problems ofdaily life,? she says. ?Fidel’s brother has made plenty of speeches aboutmuch-needed reforms for the country, but nothing’s really changed. Raul’s onlymade cosmetic changes which don’t help the population at all.?