“In a major departure from established economic policy, the Cuban government has announced it will allow foreign investors into Cuba’s retail and wholesale industries for the first time since Fidel Castro nationalized those industries in 1969.
The move comes as Cuba faces one of its worst economic crises and a new wave of protests against the communist government in Havana. Though the communist government had recovered much of its political footing since unprecedented protests broke out all over the island last July over quality of life and repression of artists and musicians, the regime has seen its standing slip over the last month. Protests have emerged across the country as Cubans have voiced their discontent with days-long blackouts that have hit rural and interior areas of the island. Notable videos have circulated on social media of protests in Santiago de Cuba, Cienfuegos, and Holguin provinces as Cuba have taken to the streets in the dead of night.”