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I have several interviews that were done with Castro and he has usually been very open. He has said that when the revolution started out there were so many things that they wanted to accomplish. Many of them they would and many of them they would never relize. So, they set out to raise the literacy level and when computers came out they made sure that all school children were computer literate. Medical. They scored huge with that.
He has also admitted that when they first started out they believed whole heartedly in communism. Brothers and all that jazz. They quickly learned that the Soviets had no intention of helping them achieve this but wanted them to be another sugar plantation. And from what he has said, he was trying to save the country from exploitation from one side and found himself trying to save the country from the other side as well.
Cuba is a beautiful place. And the only people that can't visit are Americans, everyone else goes. Americans can get around it, but that is besides the point. I think that it is going to be a struggle for them to figure out how to keep themselves from being exploited again.
Surprise, surprise! They were propped up by the old Soviet Union, why should this surprise anyone? No more money from the good old boys from the SU=economic collapse.
It is working, sure it took over 50 years to achieve, but hey, nothing is perfect. All the while the Soviet Union collapsed 20 years ago, along with the Eastern European Block, and China has been Walmarts biggest supplier since the late 90's.
They should have collapsed at the same time as the Soviet Union. At a time when western money poured into the old SU and into eastern Europe making a resurgence of communism impossible, we did not do the same for Cuba. The boycott has given them an extra 20 years of communism.
I suspect these are the senile babblings of a very old and tired man. Not that they are not accurate. But I find it hard to believe El Maximo would declare his life's work, his entire reason for being, a failure.
Cuba is no more a threat than it is some kind of humanistic paradise. Its just another half-baked dictatorship run by a bunch of goons in uniforms. Castro is Batista with charisma. Enough charisma that he actually duped millions on the right and left into believing that he was something else.
I suspect these are the senile babblings of a very old and tired man. Not that they are not accurate. But I find it hard to believe El Maximo would declare his life's work, his entire reason for being, a failure.
Cuba is no more a threat than it is some kind of humanistic paradise. Its just another half-baked dictatorship run by a bunch of goons in uniforms. Castro is Batista with charisma. Enough charisma that he actually duped millions on the right and left into believing that he was something else.
No, actually I think it's the first time he's ever told the truth!
No, it was not the US embargo. Way more than that crumbled Cuba but it took a long time before it was finally admitted.
The Cuban economy is primarily based on agriculture and tourism. They have lost a lot of potential money due a lack of investment in their infrastructure. (Take a hint America )
The Cuban economy is primarily based on agriculture and tourism. They have lost a lot of potential money due a lack of investment in their infrastructure. (Take a hint America )
Lack of investment due to the Cuban government's insistence on taking a 50% stake in hotels and other ventures. Most rational economic actors do not want a partner whom is clueless with regards to basic market principals.
Old Havana is lovely in a distressed, ramshackle way and the old cars and music have their charms. However, tourists may not return after witnessing a a viscous police force and a tourist-resident apartheid system.
Admonishing America to take a hint is most ironic considering America supported Batista and his chicanery.
I know many will say that the Cuban model hasn't worked because of the embargo but why was the embargo put in place? I don't think it was simply because the country under Castro was socialist but because the country has been a very oppressive country under Castro. Castro's Cuba hasn't ranked too well as far as human rights.
For example:
Quote:
Cuba remains one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, second only to China, with 24 independent reporters behind bars. Those who try to work as independent reporters are harassed, detained, threatened with prosecution or jail, or barred from traveling.
Actually, I believe Castro was talking about a young woman he keeps company with. She is a model and does not desire to work. He is very bitter about it.
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yay socialism win!
