Summary: <p>Cuba and the United States officially opened embassies in one another's country this week. But for years, there's been a U.S. presence in Cuba by another name: "The U.S. Interests Section."</p> <p>What does this change signify?</p> <p>U.S. capitalism has been creeping its way into communist Cuba since the 1990s. They called that decade the "<a href="http://history.emory.edu/home/documents/endeavors/volume1/Brendans.pdf">Special Period</a>," when the fall of the Soviet Union drained Cuban coffers and forced the economy to get creative. In 1993, using U.S. dollars was decriminalized and a mixed economy, combining elements of socialism and free market capitalism, emerged in a recession-plagued island. Then in 2011, private ownership was <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/11/10/142212426/in-cuba-door-opens-to-residential-property-market">legalized</a> when the government allowed ordinary Cubans to buy and sell homes.</p> <p>With the embargo still in place and travel restrictions still technically in place, what's changed now? </p> <p><em>Money Talking </em>host Charlie Herman asks <a href="http://ftalphaville.ft.com/meet-the-team/cardiff-garcia/">Cardiff Garcia</a> from the Financial Times and <a href="http://qz.com/author/tfernholz/">Tim Fernholz</a> from Quartz, both of whom recently traveled to Cuba, for their view on the island's economy, and what this week's news means for the Cuban people. </p>
