Louis, I'm not taken with the answer that I've "added nothing new" here.
The problem we're all grappling with in this discussion of Cuba is the
pattern of elites (ostensibly progressive) who, acting in the name of
the people, carry out policies that are detrimental to the people.
To say that similar problems arose in Russia during the NEP is "adding
nothing new." The question is what policies can be pursued to break out of
the stranglehold of capitalism.
If the range of choices is limited to emulating the NEP, then prospects
for the future appear pretty bleak, don't they?
Sid