Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

With nearly 111,000 square kilometers Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea. It is located only 180 kilometers off Florida on the American continent. Since 1976 the República de Cuba has been subdivided into 14 provinces of almost equal size and one special municipality (Isla de la Juventud). The total population is 11.3 million; 2.2 million live in the capital Havana. The official language is Spanish. For a long time Cuba was ruled by Spain, but since the end of the nineteenth century it has been under American hegemony. In 1959, the authoritarian dictatorship of Batista was overturned in a guerilla war under the command of Fidel Castro. Subsequently a socialist government was established. Fidel Castro became president and continued to adhere to communism even in the 1990s after the systems in the Soviet Union and its satellite states had broken down. As support from the Soviet Union ceased, Cuba faced a severe economic crisis. The so-called “Período Especial en Tiempos de Paz” brought considerable restrictions. Increasing tourism led to some relief, but the temporary toleration of the US dollar as currency was abandoned. For health reasons, Fidel Castro delegated the power to his younger brother Raúl in 2006. Since then there has been great uncertainty about the political future of the country. Even at the beginning of the twenty-first century Cuba is – in accordance ... log in or subscribe to read full text