The Cuban Special Period

The Special Period

Resulting from the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the subsequent collapse of socialism in the USSR and Eastern European countries (associated with the Perestroika process applied by Mikhail Gorbachev), Cuba lost almost 90% of its commercial partners. The fore-mentioned process was also applied in Cuba from 1986 on, known as "rectification of errors", with the objective of reducing bureaucracy and granting greater power of decision to the lower levels. The disappearance of Soviet subsidies was a crippling blow to the island's economy, unleashing a profound crisis that embodied a strategy based on bigger rationing and limitations.

During the first years of the 1990s, the island went through one of its most difficult times ever: the Special Period. Many industrial sectors came to a standstill as a result of a lack of fuel, raw materials and spare parts. Water and power cuts became part of Cuban everyday life; transport was almost non-existent, the supply of basic food items plummeted and salaries only satisfied few needs. In 1991 the USSR removed technical and military personnel from Cuba. The crisis worsened in 1994, after new restrictions were imposed on the US embargo in the form of the Torricelli Bill. This bill prohibits American companies in third countries to trade with Cuba, as well as prohibiting any ship that have been to Cuba from entering US ports for six months. In the 4th Congress of the Party, it was agreed to continue on the socialist path with the adoption of new economic reforms.