Life in Communist Cuba

[JimG]

In 1959 when dictator Fulgencio Batista left the island, the country was happy. People thought life would improve. Instead, within a year, life began to get worse. Suddenly, food became scarce—in Cuba, of all places! And not just food, everything: shoes, toothpaste, books, deodorant, cars, gasoline, furniture, comic books, toys, nails, pencils, hammers. Store shelves were empty. People had to form long lines when a store got a shipment. To make things worse, there were always the stooges in line who would start pro-government chants, which everybody was expected to join.

The schools added a new innovation to education: brainwashing. The new regime wasn’t just praised by the teachers and the textbooks. Children were encouraged to spy on and denounce their parents to their teacher if they overheard a wrong comment. The teacher would then pass on the information to the newly created secret police.

Excerpts from an article by Armando Simon here.

 

[Athanasiy]

The social and economic system in Cuba is certainly a failure, but there are a lot of positive factors in people.
Especially physicians pleasantly surprise with their social projects.
I once read article as paradoxically poverty had a positive effect on health in Cuba.
In the period of devastation in Cuba has become much less diabetes and cardiovascular disease, scientists say…
This for 5-8 years of abstention from over-eating and hiking instead of transport, the mortality from type 2 diabetes decreased by 50%, and from heart attack - by a third.
There was a gasoline crisis there, so in 90th Cuba has acquired in China 1, 5 million bicycles. With the growth of Cuban economy from the beginning of 21 mortality from diabetes, heart attack and stroke again began to grow.
It turns out that the benefits of civilization negatively affect our health. But the output is - to reduce body weight, to abandon many products sold in a supermarket, to walk on foot or on a bicycle. So the question is - are there many who are ready for such a feat for the sake of health?

 

[Sarcelle]

The social and economic system in Cuba is certainly a failure, but there are a lot of positive factors in people.
Especially physicians pleasantly surprise with their social projects.
I once read article as paradoxically poverty had a positive effect on health in Cuba.
In the period of devastation in Cuba has become much less diabetes and cardiovascular disease, scientists say…
This for 5-8 years of abstention from over-eating and hiking instead of transport, the mortality from type 2 diabetes decreased by 50%, and from heart attack - by a third.
There was a gasoline crisis there, so in 90th Cuba has acquired in China 1, 5 million bicycles. With the growth of Cuban economy from the beginning of 21 mortality from diabetes, heart attack and stroke again began to grow.
It turns out that the benefits of civilization negatively affect our health. But the output is - to reduce body weight, to abandon many products sold in a supermarket, to walk on foot or on a bicycle. So the question is - are there many who are ready for such a feat for the sake of health?

I for one already fast several times a week, for spiritual reasons, but there could be health benefits.

I am more than willing to give up my car but public transportation in my place is abysmal and the roads discourage pedestrians.

The US is far too car dependent. Of course it’s a challenge to walk in extreme weather.

 

[Bradski]

I went there last year for a couple of weeks. The people all seemed healthy and well fed. (and very friendly). The markets had plenty of food and I didn’t see what you might call poverty as I’ve seen in various countries in S E Asia.

The only noticeable third world problems I saw were poor roads and transport.

 

[Latias]

I went there last year for a couple of weeks. The people all seemed healthy and well fed. (and very friendly). The markets had plenty of food and I didn’t see what you might call poverty as I’ve seen in various countries in S E Asia.

The only noticeable third world problems I saw were poor roads and transport.

I don’t know how prevalent anti-Cuba propaganda is prevalent in Australia, but it is a safe inference that it is not as strong as in the US. Still your experience does not match the negative propaganda, right?

 

[Bradski]

I don’t know how prevalent anti-Cuba propaganda is prevalent in Australia, but it is a safe inference that it is not as strong as in the US. Still your experience does not match the negative propaganda, right?

I’m not aware of any anti-Cuba propaganda down here. There was a rally in the city a few months ago in reaction to Obama’s moves to ease sanctions. The rally was calling for Australia’s backing for that.

 

[SuperLuigi]

The social and economic system in Cuba is certainly a failure, but there are a lot of positive factors in people.
Especially physicians pleasantly surprise with their social projects.
I once read article as paradoxically poverty had a positive effect on health in Cuba.
In the period of devastation in Cuba has become much less diabetes and cardiovascular disease, scientists say…
This for 5-8 years of abstention from over-eating and hiking instead of transport, the mortality from type 2 diabetes decreased by 50%, and from heart attack - by a third.
There was a gasoline crisis there, so in 90th Cuba has acquired in China 1, 5 million bicycles. With the growth of Cuban economy from the beginning of 21 mortality from diabetes, heart attack and stroke again began to grow.
It turns out that the benefits of civilization negatively affect our health. But the output is - to reduce body weight, to abandon many products sold in a supermarket, to walk on foot or on a bicycle. So the question is - are there many who are ready for such a feat for the sake of health?

Or people could just act more responsibly for their health utilizing first world technology…

 

[JimG]

I’m sure things must be getting better in Cuba because of all the Floridians who risk their lives in small boats trying to gain entry. Still, Indira has a steady job, and she “had hung her Che photograph inside the apartment because she appreciated the revolution’s intentions, though acknowledging that in practice it had flaws.” Nothing that a little capitalism couldn’t cure.

Here’s a more recent look at working class Cuba.

 

[Bradski]

I’m sure things must be getting better in Cuba because of all the Floridians who risk their lives in small boats trying to gain entry. Still, Indira has a steady job, and she “had hung her Che photograph inside the apartment because she appreciated the revolution’s intentions, though acknowledging that in practice it had flaws.” Nothing that a little capitalism couldn’t cure.

Here’s a more recent look at working class Cuba.

I think Beyer needs to get out more.

They are currently building apartments in Hong Kong (and you cannot get more capitalist than that place) just over half the size of the one mentioned in that article in Havana.

‘Around the corner from where I live in North Point, Henderson Land is building flats ranging in size from 163 sq ft to 170 sq ft.’ scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2018561/when-hong-kong-flats-are-size-parking-space-something-deeply

I lived there for two years in a place not much bigger than a decent sized hotel room.

And I stayed with three families in Cuba, in Havana and two other towns. If you get out from the obviously run down centre of Havana, conditions are much better. And no-one pays $3 for a beer. Unless you’re a tourist in a high end hotel. Drink with the locals and you’ll pay cents and you’ll still be paying a lot more than they are (there’s a tourist currency and a local one at an exchange rate of 24:1).

If you want to see some honest poverty, then go to Myanmar or Cambodia, parts of Vietnam or India. Given the choice, I know where I’d prefer to live.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I went there last year for a couple of weeks. The people all seemed healthy and well fed. (and very friendly). The markets had plenty of food and I didn’t see what you might call poverty as I’ve seen in various countries in S E Asia.

The only noticeable third world problems I saw were poor roads and transport.

It’s improved a lot. My buddy just went there, spent a week and came back with glowing reports, especially because it was quite inexpensive compared to other vacation spots.

In contrast, I had another friend who decided to sail there with his wife and another couple on their sailboat for a brief stay about 10 years ago. When they arrived they went to a restaurant in Havana to eat and were told that there was no food. Thinking it was just the restaurant that had run out, they got up to go elsewhere, only to find that there was no food anywhere in town. Apparently the food boats or trucks or whatever drops off food had not arrived. It was a day or so before they were able to get any food.

 

[Athanasiy]

Especially I have respect for Cuban doctors.
After the Chernobyl tragedy, Cuba hosted for free Ukrainian children who were undergoing health rehabilitation there.
Cuban doctors are known for taking part in volunteer missions (despite the economic difficulties inside the country)and this is very commendable.

 

[chloride]

I was there about 6-7 years ago, in the poorer Holguin province. Plenty of food and drink to be had. Infrastructure was obviously slowly degrading from the heyday of Cuban construction (when Soviet money and supplies were given to Cuba for pennies on the peso). Overall though, it seemed like Cuba has done better than some of it’s other Caribbean neighbours.

It was strange though, I will say that. Communism seems to be quite literally slowly fading in Cuba - murals of Che, Castro, Lenin and Marx slowly fading and peeling in the tropical sun, with no one interested in repainting them. I think perhaps even the island administration has come to terms with the slow fall of Communism. It’ll leave with a whimper, not a bang, it seems.

 

[JimG]

I was there about 6-7 years ago, in the poorer Holguin province. Plenty of food and drink to be had. Infrastructure was obviously slowly degrading from the heyday of Cuban construction (when Soviet money and supplies were given to Cuba for pennies on the peso). Overall though, it seemed like Cuba has done better than some of it’s other Caribbean neighbours.

It was strange though, I will say that. Communism seems to be quite literally slowly fading in Cuba - murals of Che, Castro, Lenin and Marx slowly fading and peeling in the tropical sun, with no one interested in repainting them. I think perhaps even the island administration has come to terms with the slow fall of Communism. It’ll leave with a whimper, not a bang, it seems.

If only more capitalism were allowed, things might improve more quickly. I recall seeing a story on 60 Minutes about Cuba involving a segment about Cuban dentists taking a second job selling doughnuts–a tiny bit of entrepreneurship–where they were making more money than in their government job as dentists.

 

[chloride]

If only more capitalism were allowed, things might improve more quickly. I recall seeing a story on 60 Minutes about Cuba involving a segment about Cuban dentists taking a second job selling doughnuts–a tiny bit of entrepreneurship–where they were making more money than in their government job as dentists.

There are many well educated people in Cuba who are underutilized. My tour guide had a degree in architecture. It is the result of Cuba’s dual currency system. Cubans are paid by the government in Cuban pesos, while tourists buy things in convertible pesos, which are pinned at equivalent to the USD. Anything that involves the possibility of receiving convertible pesos, like selling donuts and street food to tourists or working in the resorts, is far more lucrative than government work due to the exchange rate; 26.5:1 at the current rate.

However, I think it may be good to ease out of the current communist system gradually. After the USSR fell, valuable industrial equipment by the warehouse was sold off to insiders and foreign buyers for pennies on the dollar. It may be best to foster small domestic business and industry before throwing the doors open and possibly falling victim to the same exploitation by the politically connected and economically powerful.

 

[Athanasiy]

Poverty is a problem not only in Cuba, but its a problem that many Latin Americans are facing. In 2014, 20.5% of the population of this region lived in slums, in conditions often life-threatening. A high level of crime, poverty and political instability are everyday realities for many Latin Americans.
I have a friend investor living in Ecuador and he says that the situation there for many economically very heavy, аnd in the neighboring Venezuela the economic situation is critical. Some investors are attracted to Panama, others are very attracted to Nicaragua today, but on the whole it can be said that for so many people on the those sides of the planet, life goes on in poverty.

 

[Athanasiy]

Communism does not work on thatside of the planet, but does Capitalism work?
Take, for example, such powerful countries as Brazil and Argentina.
Іt seems that in Latin American capitalism, the market economy forms the appropriate philosophy in world and regional politics: those who have a known advantage win, they can use the most dirty, and therefore effective ways of doing business.
The strongest win, “say the supporters of the” market ". “But at what cost?” - probably answer their opponents.
In Favelas (the so-called slums in Latin America) houses are built from all that is necessary. Typical red bricks connect with pieces of metal, wooden canopies and fabrics - this is the shelter for the local residents.
Mostly people live in small houses or apartments where 6-8 people can sleep.
Comically in the midst of all this, there are huge houses made of marble slabs - mafia bosses try to stay close to the society from which they themselves got out.
In order to build a house here, you will need to find the main one in the local favela and negotiate with him personally. It is clear that there are no documents that confirm the right to own or lease the land, which leads to complete legal insecurity of local residents.
For clean water, slum dwellers have to pay several times more than residents of the USA. "
Conditions are often unsanitary, so hygiene should not always be discussed. Many of those who are unlucky with the shelter, live in cemeteries and garbage mountains, under the walls of chemical plants.
Many slum dwellers do not have access to drinking water.
According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, South America has the highest crime rate in the world.
31% of the committed murders in 2012 accounted for this region.

 

[Athanasiy]

Тhe most murders in 2012 occurred in Brazil - 50,108, that is, every ninth murder on the planet.
There are many reasons for this level of crime: economic inequality, weakness of local police and law enforcement agencies, sharp and unorganized urbanization, which has further increased the number of slums in the region. Everyone knows the level of drug trafficking in Latin America. Cocaine from here extends not only across the continent, but also across the ocean.
Slum dwellers are in a state of undeclared, then a real war with local authorities.
Instead of somehow solving the problem of poverty by reforming and improving the economy, people are often simply evicted.( by force)
For example, before the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the city’s municipality decided to demolish a part of the slums the day before the start of the Olympics. As a result of the shelter, about 70 thousand Rio people lost their homes.
It seems that the properties of gangster capitalism in Latin America are present, hence the likelihood of distributism and Christian socialism is possible.

 

[Athanasiy]

The beginning of the XVI century, Latin America for five centuries made a transition from the communal-tribal system to industrial capitalism. However, when in the late XIX century in Latin America was the emergence of industry, in Western Europe and the United States, the period of formation of monopolistic corporations was already lasting. Therefore, the development of capitalist relations in this region had its own specifics: early capitalist relations were connected with the new monopolistic capitalism of investors and protectorates from Europe and the United States.
The United States struggled to reduce the influence of Europeans on the local market (recall that earlier Americans helped the countries of Latin America to throw off Spanish power, and also helped the Brazilians in the fight against the Portuguese). Getting rid of serious competitors, the US was able to establish its control over the development of Latin American economies. This led to financial and economic dominance and placed the countries of the region in dependence on the States.
Later, the countries of Latin America under the pressure of foreign capital were not only dependent on the United States. For example, Great Britain invested heavily in the construction of railways. This country was also the leader among the countries that gave the states of the region bank loans. The USA, France and Germany also actively participated in crediting). Therefore, by the beginning of the 20th century, the socio-economic differentiation was formed among the countries of the region: some of the economies developed, while others seriously lagged behind.
At the beginning of the XX century, in 1907, between the аdvanced countries of the region (Chile, Argentina and Brazil), the arms race began. Thus, the countries violated the 1902 treaty on the limitation of naval weapons.
This conflict lasted until the very beginning of the First World War. All this had a negative impact on the economy of the countries participating in the race, because in order to realize the set goals it was necessary to cut expenses for all other spheres.

By the beginning of the 20th century, in the course of industrial development, a certain number of proletarians had already appeared in Latin American countries.
For example, the manufacturing industry in Argentina in 1914 was 14%, and the proletariat as a whole, including the agrarian sector - up to one third of the employed population.
Many were also engaged in extractive industries, transport, some were plantation workers. All this led to the formation of a labor movement in parallel with accelerated urbanization.
Low level of political literacy of the population, weak and often unorganized spontaneous social and political movements and dependence on foreign economies negatively influenced the establishment of stability in the region. "
Periodic dictatorships met the resistance of broad sections of the population united by democratic ideas (nevertheless they seldom succeeded in changing the system of power, and therefore the political reality of the region in the XIX-XX centuries were “pronunciamento” - coups); Weak bourgeois power could not realize the reforms necessary for the country; Strong influence of latifundists (land aristocracy), who actively supported authoritarian governments, wishing to retain their power and status; The constant intervention of other states seeking to establish control over the political and economic situation in the country - all this to some extent occurred in Latin America throughout the XX century.
“Most Latin American countries should rely solely on their own resources and resources to develop and implement an economic growth strategy,” says Martin Apas. - The growth strategy should be aimed at a constant increase in labor productivity. Only in this case it is possible to provide a sustainable way for the growth of the region in the medium and long term. " And it’s true: Latin America has great resources for the realization of such goals.

 

[Athanasiy]

For example, there are about 10% of the world’s oil reserves, 2/5 - copper ores, and 1/3 - silver. It is important to take into account that resources are distributed unevenly among countries. This can create a serious economic difference, for example, turning Venezuela (which owns almost half of the region’s oil reserves) into a kind of Saudi Arabia, and Paraguay will remain something like Yemen without its own hydrocarbons.
However, all this requires full-fledged structural reforms in both the economy and politics. When will they come? This issue has been open for more than a year.
It is clear that capitalism on the Latin American continent and in the Caribbean basin is not very human, and therefore the еxperiments with Christian Marxism …distributism…socialism (liberation theology) all these had its causes…