ABSTRACT
Popular aspirations for a softening of Cuba's communist dictatorship have intensified on the island since 2006, when Fidel Castro yielded power to his brother Raul. To an extraordinary degree, they were stimulated by Raul, who set out to rule differently. Cubans were soon relieved no longer to be called on to march in mass demonstrations or assemble to witness long, impassioned speeches as they had under Fidel. The need for change was urgent when the octogenarian Castro orchestrated the succession and was even greater by the end of his 12-year presidency.2 The economy was stagnant, impaired by inefficiencies and low productivity, deep-seated corruption, a withered agricultural sector, meager export revenue, and a paucity of needed foreign investment. Cuba's demographic trends are “alarming and worsening,” according to Sergio Díaz-Briquets, who has written extensively about population issues.
