The “bicitaxi”—part bicycle, part taxicab—emerged in the 1990s, when authorities allowed a variety of private businesses to operate alongside government industries. Bicitaxis represent just one drop in a wave of private enterprise currently sweeping the nation, with the government’s backing. In 1968, President Fidel Castro called small businesses “parasites.” But today, the government increasingly regards entrepreneurs as partners who contribute to the nation’s economic well-being.











