Background
Espinosa is a graduate of the University of Havana, where he received a degree in economics. He served on Prime Minister Fidel Castro's Economic Advisory Group from 1965 to 1968 before spending fourteen years as the economic adviser at the Cuban embassy in Belgrade, overseeing Cuba's economic and technological cooperation with Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. In 1984, he returned to Cuba to work at the National Bank of Cuba, where he was responsible for trade and tourism.
However, throughout the 1980s, Espinosa increasingly disagreed with national economic policy. When he discussed his views with a colleague in 1992, he was demoted, and four years later was fired. Espinosa began to write critiques of Cuban economic policy which he published overseas. He also hosted a radio program titled Chatting with Chepe (Charlando con Chepe) in which he discussed the Cuban economy; the program was carried on the U.S.-funded station Radio Marti.
Espinosa is married to independent Cuban journalist Miriam Leiva.
Read more about this topic: Oscar Espinosa Chepe
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