The “Necessary Evil”: State and Non-State Sector Interactions in Cuba and Effects on Public Services

• Main Author: Laura Lyons
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Portland State University 2018-12-01
• Series: Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs
• Subjects: Cuba; Economic Reform; Public Services; Lineamientos Reform; Private Sector Development; Education
• Online Access: https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/27580

Five years after Lineamientos reforms were approved by the 2011 Communist Party Congress, the effects are beginning to emerge. The development of the private or non-State sector in particular has begun to cause shifts in the economic, social, and political landscape as Cuba continues to adapt to and implement these changes. This paper explores the effects of the expansion of the non-State sector on the delivery of State-run public services, especially education, health care, and other social services. Four possible orientations between the State and non-State sector are explored in general and in the context of existing literature on Cuba, and are discussed in light of observations and interviews from a two-week academic field study in Cuba. Implications for public policy and leadership are discussed in the conclusion.