Same Name, Different Man

Fidel Castro's brother, Raul, is Cuba's new leader, and he is doing his best to try and appease the residents of Cuba but relaxing the import rules that are typically rather strict. Because of this stringency, for many years, people in Cuba have had considerably less to consume than other comparable countries. But now, Raul Castro has made moves towards allowing more goods to enter the market, which will no doubt put a dent in the black market, and hopefully weather some of the illegal activity that goes on there. The rift between the government and consumers and producers is still large and there is a long way to go until all parties will be appeased. Here is an article that speaks to this fact:

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/03/13/766046.aspx