HOUSE OVERSIGHT 025095 the direction of reconciliation, have created an atmosphere of triumphalism regarding the economic future of Cuba loaded with good expectations. 2. According to the surveys, support for Obama's measures is notably of the majority in both the United States and Cuba, but there are reasons to believe that a substantial percentage of Cuban exiles also support it. 3. As part of this approach, it's expected that some or many foreign companies will explore the possibility of investing in the Island. There is significant human capital available in Cuba: over eight hundred thousand university students and a generally healthy and educated populace. 4. The Cuban government, after 56 years of continuous exercise of power, appears solidly in control of the situation, without any person or group whatsoever that visibly challenges its authority with any possibility of success. 5. After Hugo Chavez's election to the presidency of Venezuela at the end of 1998, that oil- producing country transferred to Cuba enormous amounts of resources. The economist Carmelo Mesa-Lago calculates the annual amount of aid at its highest point as thirteen billion dollars. 6. A quarter century after the disappearance of the Communist block, the Castro government, together with North Korea, has shown itself to be the exception to the rule: It has maintained control without renouncing the principles of Marxism-Leninism and the single party system, although cautiously attempting to modify its productive apparatus. 7. In that spirit of "reforms-within-the-system," in April 2010 Raul Castro presented what are known as Guidelines, outlining his reform of the State, creating spaces for foreign investment and "freelancers." 8. The most important or most visible institutions in Cuban society, such as the Armed Forces and the Assembly of the People's Power, appear to fully support the steps taken by the president, General Rail Castro, in the direction of a re-enco