BREAKING NEWS

Castro: State to reduce economic role

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

AUGUST 2, 2010 04:33

HAVANA — Raul Castro said Sunday that his government will scale back controls on small businesses, lay off unnecessary workers and allow more self-employment — significant steps in a country where the state dominates nearly every facet of the economy.

Cuba's president, however, squashed notions of a sweeping overhaul to the country's communist economic system in response to the financial crisis it faces.

"With experience accumulated in more than 55 years of revolutionary struggle, it doesn't seem like we're doing too badly, nor that desperation or frustration have been our companions along the way," the president said.

Castro spoke before parliament, which opened its biannual session without Fidel Castro, who has made a slew of recent public appearances of late but missed another chance to share a major public stage with his younger brother.

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