The Role of Co-operatives in Transforming Cuba’s Economy

Cuba’s experiment with co-operativism within a socialist economic system offers important lessons for the co-operative movement. Co-operatives as defined by the International Co-operative Alliance Statement of Co-operative Identity (ica.coop) typically function within capitalist market systems where they face pressures from competition with investor owned businesses, and institutions designed to support and protect investors. Co-operatives often face isomorphism, they may encounter barriers accessing finance, and they may succumb to capitalist market logic in their hierarchical governance systems. Co-operatives in capitalism often identify as non-capitalist or anti-capitalist, but rarely as socialist. This chapter explores the underlying features of socialist co-operatives, and discusses the role of co-operatives in the Cuban transformation of its socioeconomic model. The particular emphasis is on the ability of co-operatives to maintain focus on human development, thereby continuing the legacy of the Cuban Revolution.