Special Period
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Special Period in Peacetime (Spanish: Período especial en tiempo de paz ) in Cuba was an extended period of economic crisis that began in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet Union and, by extension, the Comecon. The crisis was augmented by the United States embargo against Cuba, which had been in effect since 1962 but was finally codified into law in 1992 and strengthened in 1995 to take advantage of Cuba's new crisis. The economic depression of the Special Period was at its most severe in the early-to-mid 1990s before gradually declining in severity towards the end of the decade.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
The Special Period is defined primarily by the severe shortages of hydrocarbon energy resources in the form of gasoline, diesel, and other oil derivatives that occurred upon the implosion of economic agreements between the oil-rich Soviet Union and Cuba. The period radically transformed the Cuban society and economy, as it necessitated the successful introduction of sustainable agriculture, decreased use of automobiles, and overhauls of industry, health, and diet. Relocalization, permaculture, and innovative modes of mass transit had to be rapidly developed.
The decline of the Special Period was sharp. Contractual shipments of crude oil that had been tankered in from the Soviet Union no longer arrived in Cuba after 1991, and by the next year the Cuban economy was importing and utilizing only around 10% of the crude oil that it had been importing prior to the collapse. Cuban president Fidel Castro appeared on Cuban national television to alert Cubans about imminent energy shortages a mere week before his government received notice from Russia that it had no intention of shipping the quota of discounted crude oil that had been guaranteed Cuba by the Soviet Union.
The oil shortages quickly caused extensive loss of productivity in both Cuban agriculture — which was dominated by modern industrial tractors, combines, and harvesters, all of which required oil to run — and in Cuban industrial capacity. The early stages of the Special Period were defined by a general breakdown in transportation and agricultural sectors, fertilizer and pesticide stocks (both of those being manufactured primarily from oil derivatives), and widespread food shortages, although outright starvation and famine were averted. Australian and other permaculturists arriving in Cuba at the time began to distribute aid and taught their techniques to locals, who soon implemented them in Cuban fields, raised beds, and urban rooftops across the nation. Organic agriculture was soon after mandated by the Cuban government, supplanting the old industrialized form of agriculture Cubans had grown accustomed to.
The Cuban government was also forced to contract out more lucrative economic and tourism deals with various Western European and South American nations, in an attempt to earn the foreign currency necessary to replace the lost Soviet oil via the international capitalist markets. Additionally faced with a near-elimination of imported steel and other ore-based supplies, Cuba closed refineries and factories across the country, eliminating the country's industrial arm and millions of jobs. Alternative transportation, most notably the Cuban "camels" — immense 18-wheeler tractor trailers retrofitted as busses to carry many dozens of Cubans each — flourished. Meat and dairy products, having been extremely fossil fuel dependent in their former factory farming methods, soon diminished in the Cuban diet. By necessity Cubans adopted diets higher in fiber, fresh produce, and ultimately more vegan in character than before the period. No longer needing sugar as desperately for a cash crop — the oil-for-sugar program the Soviets had with Cuba had, of course, dissipated — Cuba hurriedly diversified its agricultural production, utilizing former cane fields to grow fruit and vegetables. The Cuban government also focused more intensely on cooperation with Venezuela once the democratic socialist Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998.
[edit] After the Special Period
As the country began to recover more visibly from the shock of the implosion of their economic underpinning, Castro gradually told the Cuban people that this "Special Period" was over; that it had succeeded in generally maintaining the long life expectancies and health statistics of the nation — figures roughly equivalent to those enjoyed in the United States — and that the country was therefore (relatively) prosperous once again. However, island Cubans continue to live at a much lower overall standard of living than they did before 1991.
