Horse transport in Cuba in the 1990s. Source/Attribution: Nick, available here.
The 1980s: An Economy Built on Soviet Generosity
During the 1980s, Cuba’s economy was deeply integrated into the socialist bloc. The Soviet Union provided substantial subsidies through preferential trade terms — buying Cuban sugar at prices well above the world market and selling oil at discounted rates. These inflows averaged nearly 23 percent of Cuba’s GDP between 1985 and 1988, reaching as high as $4.3 billion annually in some estimates.
The arrangement allowed Cuba to re-export much of the subsidized Soviet oil for hard currency, which often accounted for more than 40 percent of the country’s total export revenues. Sugar remained the dominant export, but the economy was highly centralized, with the state controlling nearly all production and distribution. Official statistics showed average…
