Jose Azel

Jose Azel is a Cuban exile scholar, currently a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami. He is dedicated to in-depth analyses of Cuba’s economic, social, and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies, and has published extensively on Cuba-related topics. Azel is author of Mañana in Cuba: The Legacy of Castroism and Transitional Challenges for Cuba, published in March 2010. Mañana in Cuba has received acclaim from scholars, businessmen, and government officials, including Carlos Alberto Montaner, Carlos Gutierrez, James Cason, and Jaime Suchlicki, among others.

Azel was one of the founders of Pediatrix Medical Group, the nation’s leading provider of pediatric specialty services and served as its first Chief Financial Officer. He co-founded and serves as Board Chairman of Children’s Center for Development and Behavior, an organization dedicated to providing therapies for children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders. Azel was an Adjunct Professor of International Business at the School of Business Administration, Department of Management, University of Miami.

He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. Dr. Azel has a comprehensive general management background integrating broad functional experience in corporate governance, organizational development and finance.

Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Peter Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.

Publications

"New Reforms another Masquerade." The Miami Herald. November 21, 2010. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/11/21/1935727/new-reforms-another-masquerade.html

"Cuba, ¿hacia el capitalismo?" El Nuevo Herald. November 15, 2010 http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/11/15/838326/jose-azel-cuba-hacia-el-capitalismo.html

"Manual for the Perfect Cuba Transition" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Herald. October 15, 2010. http://www.elnuevoherald.com/2010/10/15/820012/jose-azel-manual-de-la-transicion.html

"Spain Leads Charge to Weaken EU's Resolve." The Miami Herald. October 11, 2010. http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/10/11/1867300/spain-leads-charge-to-weaken-eus.html#storylink=fbuser

"Cuba's Pre-existing Condition." Foreign Policy. October 4, 2010. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/10/04/cubas_pre_existing_condition?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4caa454d9d56a766%2C0

“Cuba’s Foreign Policy: the Logic of Intransigence.” Cuba Focus. Issue 118. 2010.

“In Defense of Carrots and Sticks.” Cuba Brief. ICCAS. 2009.

“Fidel Plays the Race Card.” Cuba Focus. Issue 108. Cuba Transition Project. ICCAS. 2009.

“Cuban-Americans and the ‘Anti-Embargo’ Poll.” Cuba Focus. Issue 104. Cuba Transition Project. ICCAS. 2009.

“How to Think About Change in Cuba: A Guide for Policymakers.” Cuban Affairs Quarterly Electronic Journal. Volume 3, Issue 3. September 2008.

“Cuban-Americans and Foreign Direct Investments in Post-Castro Cuba: ‘An Ace in the Hole’.” Cuban Affairs Quarterly Electronic Journal. Volume 3, Issue 1. Feb 2008

“In Cuba’s Future: Democracy or Kleptocracy?” Cuba Focus. Issue 97. Cuba Transition Project. ICCAS. 2008.

“After Raul, que?” Cuba Focus, Issue 94. Cuba Transition Project. ICCAS. 2008.

“Investing in Post-Castro Cuba: Are Cuban-Americans the Ace in the Hole?” Cuba Focus, Issue 91. Cuba Transition project. ICCAS. 2008.

“Cuba’s Future: Democratic Reforms Key to Real Change.” Cuba Focus, Issue 90. Cuba Transition Project. ICCAS 2008.

“The CBI and Competitive Strategy: an International Business Perspective.” North South. The Magazine of the Americas. I, no. 2. North-South Center. Coral Gables: University of Miami, August/September 1991.

“The Year(s) After: Long-term impact on Florida due to changes in Cuba.” Cuban Exiles in Florida: Their Presence and Contribution, Antonio Jorge, Jaime Suchlicki, and Adolfo Leyva de Varona, eds., Coral Gables: Research Institute for Cuban Studies, Institute of Interamerican Studies, Graduate School of International Studies, University of Miami, 1991.

“The Promise and the Failure of the Caribbean Basin Initiative,” in Promoting Investment and Exports in the Caribbean Basin. Paper and Proceeding. Washington, D.C.: Organization of American States, 1989.

The Caribbean Basin Initiative: An Assessment. Paper presented at the Sixth Annual Caribbean Basin Conference sponsored by the Department of the Navy in 1988.

“The Caribbean Basin Initiative and its Impact on Latin American Perceptions of the United States,” prepared for Ideas ‘92 2, no.1. North-South Center and Latin American Studies Program. Coral Gables: University of Miami, Fall 1988.

“The Bahamian Elections of 1987: A Preliminary Assessment,” in Latin American Electoral System Project. Institute of Interamerican Studies Graduate School of International Studies. Coral Gables: University of Miami, June 1987.

José Azel, Of Forest and Trees or Should the United States Trade with Cuba, Working Paper Coral Gables: University of Miami Graduate School of International Studies, Institute of lnteramerican Studies, 1986.

Editor, IIAS News. Periodical of the Institute of Interamerican Studies, Graduate School of International Studies. Coral Gables: University of Miami, Issues: No.10 (Spring 1986), No.11 (Fall 1987), No.12 (Spring 1988).