FourStory in Cuba: More Nuanced, Less Naive, Maybe a Little Liquored-Up
by Jim Washburn
Remember when we went to Cuba back in March? We sure do. What a place! While our trip and coverage thereof might serve to dispel some of the stereotypes people have about the socialist island, there are doubtless many details of Cuban life that did not reveal themselves to us through the mojito haze.
The email response to our coverage below was recently forwarded to me by my lovely activist friends Angelo and Marilyn Vassos (you'll find a video interview with them on FourStory somewhere). It's from a Cuban-American acquaintance of theirs, who'd prefer to remain anonymous, as she still has relatives there.
It is a more nuanced and less naïve article than I've read in a long time. He was actually listening and watching people. Usually, when some such article is written it's too emotionalistic because either side has so much invested in maintaining the rightness of their view.
Three points though. There are rich in Cuba, they simply don't show it and no taxi would have taken him to the rich estates that still exist outside of Havana. He would have needed a specific address and specific business to be taken there, possibly with an official in tow. Who are these rich you ask? High political officials and the formerly capitalist, aristocratic families that made their devil's bargain with Fidel in order to retain their businesses and properties. Believe me, the embargo never stopped these folks from going to Europe and bringing back whatever they wanted. Does anyone really think that the Castro family would deprive themselves? Hardly. So what Cuba ends up with is a very small, exclusive, hidden moneyed class, while the middle class is nonexistent and the rest are poor. This is not much different than what my parents knew. Plus ça change, plus 'est la meme chose.
Secondly, the doctor thing. Yes, there is an incredible ratio of doctors to patients, and a lot of the doctors drive taxis and have food stands to make ends meet. The doctors that go abroad do not do so voluntarily--it's not Doctors Without Borders! The doctors have to do a stint in a foreign country without bringing their spouses and children for a minimum amount of time--I think two years. Nobody gets to choose. This was brought up by a right-wing/libertarian blog a while ago--I wish I could remember in which one I saw it. The point was to denigrate the socialist agenda versus letting the market dictate how many doctors are needed. How's that workin for ya?... We have a shortage of doctors because the private interests of insurance and medical schools keep the number of graduates artificially low. Capitalism versus socialism doesn't make much difference when both are corrupted. As an aside, the current universal health care system was already in place before Castro took over. My now 70-year-old aunt was a hematologist in that system and was well acquainted with its benefits both as patient and employee. There's always this implication that Castro put it in place. Not so.
Lastly, no country can be considered a success when its young people are looking for opportunity outside of it since none can be had within it.
Comments
No comments.
