POSC 350 – LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS (SPRING 2012)
Dr. Charles Blake
Miller 2129 – 568-6344 – BLAKECH@JMU.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: M 4-5pm, TuWThF 10:30-11:30am, and by appointment

This essay must be typed and double-spaced.  The essay cannot be longer than 4800 characters (including spaces). Please include a separate title page with your name, course number, etc.; do not write your name on the pages containing the essay itself.

You are neither required nor encouraged to consult outside readings in preparing this essay. You are required to write a concise, yet comprehensive essay that reflects your thoughtful consideration of course readings and discussions.  Please manage your schedule so that you have time to proofread and to revise your essay.  Everyone wins when you revise...

ESSAY TOPIC: 

When Raúl Castro replaced his brother Fidel as the leader of the Cuban government in 2006, many people wondered if this change in leadership would lead to a considerable expansion of economic freedom and market-driven economic activity in Cuba. Some speculate that Raúl Castro is an admirer of the economic transformation of China that began with the shift in Chinese Communist Party leadership to Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s. The 3/24/12 edition of The Economist includes a special report on Cuba with the title “Revolution in Retreat.”

By 2022, do you think that Cuba will have an economy in which (as in China) half or more of the country’s economic activity will take place in the private sector? Why or why not? In your essay, regardless of your position on this question, in building your argument you must include some consideration of:

• socioeconomic policies & outcomes during Raúl Castro’s leadership
• potential voices & forces that promote a continuation of the command economy
• potential voices & forces that promote an increase in the Cuban private sector

There is no single, “correct” answer to this question; I want you to build a concise yet detailed argument for your point of view.  You must take a position on one side or the other of the question posed.  No matter which way you argue in your essay, be sure to include at least three major points in favor of your position and three GOOD counterarguments.  Do not waste everyone’s time by including the counterarguments that are the easiest to attack while avoiding more persuasive positions.  Your essay should make it clear why your reasons are more convincing than the counterarguments.  Use specific information from course materials on Cuba – especially (but not exclusively) from the Sánchez book – to build your analysis.