Social Policies and Decentralization in Cuba: Change in the Context of 21st Century Latin America (Series on Latin American Studies)

Synopsis

Cuba Has Long Been A Social Policy Pioneer In Latin America. Since The 1959 Revolution, Its Government Has Developed Ambitious Social Policies To Address Health Care, Higher Education, Employment, The Environment, And Broad Social Inequalities, Among Other Priorities. Cuban Strategies Emphasized Universal Rights And Benefits, Provided Free Of Financial Cost To Users, And Implemented Under Centralized And Unitary Policy Design. Following The Soviet Union?s Collapse In 1991, Funds For These Policies Came Under Strain, Although Systematic Efforts Have Been Made To Sustain Them. Poverty Rates And Inequality Have Risen. Access To Higher Education Has Become More Difficult. Access To Health Care Has Become Less Reliable. Environmental Policies Are Both More Salient And More Difficult To Sustain. The Government Has Resisted Privatization Policies, But Has Sought To Decentralize The Implementation Of Various Policies, Fostering Non-state Cooperatives As Well. At The Same Time, Many Latin American Governments Have Experimented With New Social Policies That, In This Century, Reduced Poverty Rates Significantly And In Some Countries Somewhat Reduced Various Inequalities. Still Facing Severe Economic Challenges, Cuba May Look To Learn From The Policies Of Its Latin American Neighbors, In Some Instances For The First Time Ever. This Book Analyzes These Issues Comparatively And In Depth. 1. Introduction: Social Policy And Economic Change In Cuba / Jorge I. Domínguez -- I. Deliberating Over Social Policy -- 2. Alternative Development And Alternatives To Development: The Decentralization Process In Contemporary Cuba / Geydis Elena Fundora Nevot -- 3. Social Inequalities: Sites Of Transformation For Community Actors And Social Policy / María Del Carmen Zabala Argüelles -- Ii. Experimenting With Organizational Designs -- 4. Municipalization And Social Policy In Cuba / Mayra Espina Prieto -- 5. Nonfarm Cooperatives In The Current Cuban Context: Challenges And Perspectives / Reynaldo Jiménez Guethón And Niurka Padrón Sánchez -- Iii. Social Policy Issue Areas: Education, Health Care, And Environment -- 6. Education And Employment In Cuba: Congruity Or Disequilibrium? The First Fifteen Years Of The Twenty-first Century / Dayma Echevarría León And Mayra Tejuca Martínez -- 7. Looking At Health Care In Cuba: Social Policy In A Context Of Widening Social Inequality / Susset Fuentes Reverón -- 8. Environmental Policy And Management Of Water Resources: Challenges And Perspectives / Marta Rosa Muñoz Campos -- Iv. The Latin American Social Policy Context -- 9. The Impact Of Remittances On Poverty And Inequality For Cuba: Lessons From Latin America / Lorena G. Barberia -- 10. The Micro-foundations Of Non-contributory Social Policy In Latin America / Soledad Artiz Prillaman. Edited By Jorge I. Domínguez [and 3 Others] ; [with Contributions By] Soledad Artiz Prillaman [and 12 Others]. Includes Bibliographical References.