corruption

Cuba’s ranking in EIU’s Democracy Index

December 16, 2011

Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) just released its report Democracy Index 2011: Democracy Under Stress. Per the report: “The index provides a snapshot of the state of democracy worldwide for 165 independent states and two territories—this covers almost the entire population of the world and the vast majority of the world’s independent states (micro states are [...]

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Corruption probe in military-run business

December 13, 2011

Reuters reports: Cuba has detained top executives of the powerful military-run Tecnotex company, broadening a corruption investigation that has already shuttered three foreign firms, according to foreign business sources. Tecnotex’s director Fernando Noy was among those arrested, according to a foreign businessman who deals with the company. “They went right into the Tecnotex office and [...]

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Privileged children of the revolution

November 26, 2011

Today’s edition of The Wall Street Journal carries an excellent article on the privileged lives of the Chinese Communist Party’s offspring: The offspring of party leaders, often called “princelings,” are becoming more conspicuous, through both their expanding business interests and their evident appetite for luxury, at a time when public anger is rising over reports of official corruption [...]

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Risky business

November 16, 2011

The Economist weighs in on the risk of foreign businesses operating in Cuba:  Standing beside Belarusian tractors and Chinese machine parts at Havana’s annual trade fair last month, Rodrigo Malmierca, Cuba’s foreign trade minister, said the presence of 3,000 executives from over 60 countries proved the appeal of joint commercial ventures with the Cuban government. [...]

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Corruption or not paying their cut? (Updated)

October 17, 2011

The Cuban government arrested the managing director of a British investment fund in Havana. Reuters reports, Amado Fakhre, a Lebanese-born British citizen, was arrested in an “investigation by Cuban authorities of corrupt practices among the Communist island’s state businesses and their foreign partners.” Fakhre worked for Coral Capital Group Ltd, a venture partner in Havana’s upscale Saratoga [...]

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Sociolismo

September 15, 2011

Corruption in socialist Cuba sometimes takes the form of a generalized “I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine” system that rewards friends and family of government officials; this is known as sociolismo, a take-off on socio (buddy) and socialismo. —Sergio Díaz-Briquets and Jorge F. Pérez-López. 2006. Corruption in Cuba: Castro and Beyond. University of [...]

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