ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Cuba. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Cuba. Cuba achieved independence from Spain in 1898 as a result of the Spanish-American War. The Republic of Cuba was established in 1902, but was under US tutelage under the Piatt Amendment until 1934. In Cuba the executive branch controls the judiciary. Cuba under Castro has one of the highest per capita rates of imprisonment for political offenses of any country in the world. In the post-Soviet era, the rights of Cubans to own private property and to participate in joint ventures with foreigners have been recognized.
