William LeoGrande, Professor of Government at Washington, D.C.’s American University and a noted expert on Cuba, has analyzed the repeated assertion by many, including this blogger, that 60% of the Cuban economy is controlled by the Cuban military’s holding company Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA).[1]
LeoGrande sets forth his analysis and concludes that GAESA’s revenue constitutes 21% of total hard currency income from both state enterprises and the private sector, 8% of total state revenue, and just 4% of GDP (Anuario Estadístico 2015).
This suggests that President Trump’s recent announcement of a future regulation banning U.S. companies from engaging in business with such Cuban entities may not have as a significant adverse effect on the Cuban economy as originally thought.
As always, comments of agreement or disagreement are encouraged.
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[1] LeoGrande, Does the Cuban Military Really Control Sixty Percent of the Economy, HuffPost (June 28, 2017).
