As Cuba gives capitalism a try, experts ponder future

MEXICO CITY (By William Booth, Washington Post) - As Cuba embarks on a bold new experiment - firing 500,000 state workers and letting them plunge into freer markets - experts in the region are watching to see whether the communist government and its baby entrepreneurs can salvage the economy without sacrificing the nation's "socialism or death" model.

The government layoffs, amounting to 10 percent of the 5 million state employees in Cuba, represent the most significant economic changes since President Raul Castro took over from his ailing older brother, the semi-retired maximum leader Fidel, in summer 2006.

"It is a major step forward," said Wayne Smith, former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba and a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy. "But they have little choice but to try something because the economy is going down the tubes."