Perspectives from Havana: Cuban Economist Ricardo Torres

Like the rest of the world, Havana and Cuba have just completed the first full year of Covid 19. It has done so with the full force of the U.S. embargo on its neck, including additional measures enacted by the Trump administration and so far not modified or removed by the Biden administration. What has Havana been like the past year? What is it like now? What have been the major challenges and achievements?

Ricardo Torres is a professor of economics and Cuban economy with the Center for the Study of the Cuban Economy, at the University of Havana and a consultant to Cuban and foreign companies interested in Cuba. Born in Villa Clara in 1981, he got his Ph.D. in Economic Sciences from the University of Havana in 2011. Has has a biweekly column at Progreso Semanal. He has been a government scholar at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo (2007-2009) and research scholar at Harvard University (2011), Ohio State University (2012), Columbia University (2013) and American University (2015). He has participated in conferences and courses in several countries in Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic), United States, Europe (Spain, France, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands), Asia (Japan, China, Singapore, Vietnam) and Africa (Morocco, South Africa). He has also edited and authored several books and papers on the Cuban economy. Among his most recent publications are Policies for Economic Growth: Cuba’s New Era in Cuba’s Economic Change in Comparative Perspective (Brookings Institution, 2014), No More Free Lunch: Reflections on the Cuban Economic Reform Process and Challenges for Transformation (Springer, 2014) and Miradas a la Economía Cubana. La actualizacion siete años después (Ruth Casa Editorial, La Habana, 2018).

First of five conversations from Havana. Introduced by Merriam Ansara; moderated by Gloria Caballero and Sandra Levenson. Sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action, Center for Cuban Studies, and Latin America Solidarity Committee of Western Massachusetts

Thanks for watching! Please like and subscribe!