Symposium “Pathways From Socialism: Agriculture in Post-1990 Nicaragua and Cuba” October 11, 2004

Selmira Flores (left) and Professor Laura Enríquez at the symposium, along with two empty chairs, representing the two Cuban speakers who were denied visas to attend the event.

Nicaragua and Cuba have each experienced a shift in their overarching political and economic agendas since 1990. In Nicaragua the shift has represented a retreat from socialism, while in Cuba it has represented a reconfiguring of socialism. This symposium will examine one area of policy-making — agriculture — to analyze the impact of this shift on the economy and those who engage in agricultural production.

Speakers:

“Changes in Nicaragua’s Agriculture Since 1990: The Atlantic Coast”
Selmira Flores is a Social Researcher at NITLAPAN-Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), Managua. She has conducted extensive research on gender and economic development and the situation of agriculture and agricultural marketing in Nicaragua.

-Download the Powerpoint presentations (#1 and #2) used by Ms. Flores

“Small Farmers and Technological Change in Cuba”
Lucy Martin is a Sociologist-Researcher at the Centro de Investigaciones Psicológicas y Sociológicas (CIPS), La Habana. She conducts research on social structures and the inequalities that arise from them, focusing particularly on small farmers.

-Download paper on which this portion of the symposium is based (.pdf file)

“Cooperatives: A Key Line of Agrarian Development in Cuba”
Armando Nova is an Economist at the Centro de Estudio de la Economía Cubana, Universidad de La Habana. He has studied the cooperative sector in Cuban agriculture, farmers’ markets in the post-1990 period and the sugar and citrus industries and their international linkages.

-Download paper on which this portion of the symposium is based (.pdf file)

Presider: Laura Enríquez is Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley. Dr. Enríquez has conducted extensive research on Nicaraguan and Cuban agriculture in the context of each country’s larger political and economic agenda.