Not the building. Not the rattan chairs in the soaring lobby. We just manage. They pay us to manage the hotel,'' says Roberto A. Ferrari, the Swiss-Argentine general manager. A new foreign facade is emerging in Cuba.
Billboards tout foreign products.
Names like Casio, Unilever and Volvo are everywhere. Mercedes-Benz taxis ply the streets, carrying foreign businessmen. But, as at the Habana Libre, there is less than meets the eye to the blitz of foreign participation in the Cuban economy. Since Cuba opened its doors to foreign companies in the early 1990s, investment has risen far less than expected. Investors complain of ambiguous rules, stifling bureaucracy and state companies that pay their bills late.