What world leader said “The state has no business getting involved in a matter between two individuals”?

November 8th, 2011

So what world leader said this? Raul Castro of Cuba of course!:

Like the new law permitting home salesgoing into effect this week, the changes headline President Raúl Castro’s efforts to remodel Cuba’s hobbled economy and spur the private sector. After decades in which ownership of such big-ticket items was frozen, the efforts promise to flush money into the market at a time when Cuban officials are trying to stimulate private enterprise and move hundreds of thousands of workers off the public payroll.

“The state has no business getting involved in a matter between two individuals,” Mr. Castro told the National Assembly last December, criticizing complex rules and “irrational prohibitions” that he said bred corruption.

“If I have a little car,” he added, “I have the right to sell it to whomever I want.”

But like several of Mr. Castro’s other changes, the new law created a pocket of economic liberty in a market that remains tightly controlled. Cubans can purchase and own more than one used vehicle, and they will no longer lose their car if they emigrate.

Economic liberty coming to Cuba. Go figure.