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LunarOrbit · 56-60, M
Cuba is beautiful.
I think the beaches are some of the best in the world.
The people are humble and proud.
Its a shame how politics has crippled that country.
I think the beaches are some of the best in the world.
The people are humble and proud.
Its a shame how politics has crippled that country.
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@LunarOrbit was worse under fulgencio batista
LunarOrbit · 56-60, M
@Guitarman123 Yes. Much worse
MightyLion · 22-25, M
Cuba before Fidel Castro was the most advanced country in Latin America. With the 8th highest wage in the world.
In 1900, the first known streetcar in Latin America traveled in Havana.
Also in 1900, the first automobile arrived in Havana, before any other Latin American country.
Renee Mendez Capote, a Cuban writer, was the first Latin American woman to drive a car.
In 1900, Cuban fencer Ramon Fonts was the first Latin American Olympic Champion.
In 1906, Havana was the first city in the world to have direct telephonic dialing (without using an operator).
First Latin American X–Ray Department was established in Havana in 1907.
On May 19, 1913, the first airplane flight in Latin America was made by Cuban pilots Agustin Parla and Domingo Rosillo, which lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes between Cuba and Key West.
In 1915, the first Cuban peso was minted with a value since its first day equal to the dollar, and on many occasions until 1959, surpassing in one penny the value of the American dollar.
In 1918, Cuba was the first country in Latin America to enact a divorce law in favor of couples with problems.
Cuban Jose Raul Capablanca was the first Latin American to win a World Chess Championship and at the same time, the first World Chess Champion born in an underdeveloped country. He won all World Chess Championships between 1921 and 1927.
In 1922, Cuba was the second country in the world to inaugurate a radio station (PWX) and the first country in the world to broadcast a musical concert and a radio news program.
Cuban Esther Perea de la Torres was the first woman radio announcer in the world.
In 1928, Cuba had 61 radio stations, 43 of them in Havana, being fourth in the world, only surpassed by the United States, Canada and the Soviet Union. Cuba was first in the world in number of radio stations per inhabitants and territorial extension.
In 1933, the beauty of the Cuban woman was made evident when the son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Prince of Asturias Alfonso de Borbon y Battenberg, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne and married Cuban born Edelmira Sampedro Robato.
In 1935, Cuba became the biggest exporter of radio scripts and recordings for Latin America. Cuban Felix B. Caignet created “soap operas” and radio series.
In 1937, Cuba for the first time in Latin America enacted the 8 hours Working Day Law, the minimum salary law and the university autonomy.
In 1940, Cuba was the first Latin American country to choose a black President, elected by democratic and universal vote and by an absolute majority when most of the Cuban people were white. It did it 68 years earlier than the United States.
In 1940, Cuba enacted one of the world‘s most advanced Constitutions of that era. The first in Latin America to recognize women‘s right to vote, equality between races and sexes and women‘s right to work.
The first Latin America feminist movement appeared in Cuba at the end of the 1930s. Spain did not recognize for Spanish women the right to vote, the custody and control of her children, the right to a passport or the right to open a bank account unless authorized by their husbands, until 1976. Cuba was ahead of Spain by 36 years.
In 1942, Ernesto Lecuona, a Cuban, was the first Latin American to be Musical Director of a world movie producing company and the first Latin American to be nominated for an Oscar.
In 1946, Cuban Zoila Galvez was the first Latin American woman to sing in La Scala in Milan, Italy. The second one was Marta Perez in 1950.
In 1950, Cuba was the second country in the world to formally broadcast television signals. The biggest stars in all America, that did not have such advance technology in their countries, went to Havana to perform in front of Cuban cameras.
In 1950, Damaso Perez Prado, a Cuban musician, reached a world record not equaled even by Elvis Presley or The Beatles when his song “Patricia”, a mambo, stayed for 15 consecutive weeks in the American Hit Parade.
In 1951, a Cuban, Desi Arnaz became the most important producer in the American television industry and also the first one in the world to use a third camera in television programs.
The first world‘s hotel to have central air conditioning was the Riviera Hotel, built in Havana in 1951.
The first world‘s apartment building to be constructed with reinforced concrete was the FOCSA Building, erected in Havana in 1952.
In 1953, in that FOCSA Building the worlds‘ most modern television studios at that time were constructed: C.M.Q. Television.
In 1954, Cuba had one cow per person. It was third in Latin America (after Argentina and Uruguay) in per capita meat consumption.
In 1955, Cuba was the second country in Latin America with the lowest rate of infant mortality (33.4 deaths for every one thousand births).
In 1956, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the second country in Latin America with the lowest index of illiteracy (only 23.6%). Haiti had 90%, Spain, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, 50%.
In 1957, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the number one country in Latin America in number of doctors per capita (1 for each 957 persons) with the highest percentage of dwellings with electricity (82.9%) and dwellings with their own bathroom (79.9%) and the second in Latin America (after Uruguay) in per capita daily caloric intake (2870).
In 1957, Havana was the second city in the world to have 3D and multiscreen cinemas (Radiocentro Movie Theater).
In 1958, Cuba was the second world‘s country to broadcast television in color and had the third color TV channel in the entire world.
In 1958, Cuba was Latin America‘s country with more automobiles (160,000, one for each 38 persons). The country with more electrical house appliances. The country with more kilometers of railroad lines by Km² and second in total numbers of radios.
During the 1950s, Cuba was in second and third places in Latin America in per capita income, surpassing Italy and more than twice as much as Spain. Notwithstanding its small size and its population being only 6.5 millions, in 1958 it was in the 29th place among the world economies.
In 1959, Havana was the world city with the greatest number of movie theaters (358), surpassing New York and Paris, which had second and third places respectively.
The only reason Fidel got to power was by lying and saying he would bring back elections. Fidel never said it would be communist and the country was much better before him although it might not have been perfect under Batista and his lack of free elections.
@Guitarman123
In 1900, the first known streetcar in Latin America traveled in Havana.
Also in 1900, the first automobile arrived in Havana, before any other Latin American country.
Renee Mendez Capote, a Cuban writer, was the first Latin American woman to drive a car.
In 1900, Cuban fencer Ramon Fonts was the first Latin American Olympic Champion.
In 1906, Havana was the first city in the world to have direct telephonic dialing (without using an operator).
First Latin American X–Ray Department was established in Havana in 1907.
On May 19, 1913, the first airplane flight in Latin America was made by Cuban pilots Agustin Parla and Domingo Rosillo, which lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes between Cuba and Key West.
In 1915, the first Cuban peso was minted with a value since its first day equal to the dollar, and on many occasions until 1959, surpassing in one penny the value of the American dollar.
In 1918, Cuba was the first country in Latin America to enact a divorce law in favor of couples with problems.
Cuban Jose Raul Capablanca was the first Latin American to win a World Chess Championship and at the same time, the first World Chess Champion born in an underdeveloped country. He won all World Chess Championships between 1921 and 1927.
In 1922, Cuba was the second country in the world to inaugurate a radio station (PWX) and the first country in the world to broadcast a musical concert and a radio news program.
Cuban Esther Perea de la Torres was the first woman radio announcer in the world.
In 1928, Cuba had 61 radio stations, 43 of them in Havana, being fourth in the world, only surpassed by the United States, Canada and the Soviet Union. Cuba was first in the world in number of radio stations per inhabitants and territorial extension.
In 1933, the beauty of the Cuban woman was made evident when the son of King Alfonso XIII of Spain, the Prince of Asturias Alfonso de Borbon y Battenberg, renounced his rights to the Spanish throne and married Cuban born Edelmira Sampedro Robato.
In 1935, Cuba became the biggest exporter of radio scripts and recordings for Latin America. Cuban Felix B. Caignet created “soap operas” and radio series.
In 1937, Cuba for the first time in Latin America enacted the 8 hours Working Day Law, the minimum salary law and the university autonomy.
In 1940, Cuba was the first Latin American country to choose a black President, elected by democratic and universal vote and by an absolute majority when most of the Cuban people were white. It did it 68 years earlier than the United States.
In 1940, Cuba enacted one of the world‘s most advanced Constitutions of that era. The first in Latin America to recognize women‘s right to vote, equality between races and sexes and women‘s right to work.
The first Latin America feminist movement appeared in Cuba at the end of the 1930s. Spain did not recognize for Spanish women the right to vote, the custody and control of her children, the right to a passport or the right to open a bank account unless authorized by their husbands, until 1976. Cuba was ahead of Spain by 36 years.
In 1942, Ernesto Lecuona, a Cuban, was the first Latin American to be Musical Director of a world movie producing company and the first Latin American to be nominated for an Oscar.
In 1946, Cuban Zoila Galvez was the first Latin American woman to sing in La Scala in Milan, Italy. The second one was Marta Perez in 1950.
In 1950, Cuba was the second country in the world to formally broadcast television signals. The biggest stars in all America, that did not have such advance technology in their countries, went to Havana to perform in front of Cuban cameras.
In 1950, Damaso Perez Prado, a Cuban musician, reached a world record not equaled even by Elvis Presley or The Beatles when his song “Patricia”, a mambo, stayed for 15 consecutive weeks in the American Hit Parade.
In 1951, a Cuban, Desi Arnaz became the most important producer in the American television industry and also the first one in the world to use a third camera in television programs.
The first world‘s hotel to have central air conditioning was the Riviera Hotel, built in Havana in 1951.
The first world‘s apartment building to be constructed with reinforced concrete was the FOCSA Building, erected in Havana in 1952.
In 1953, in that FOCSA Building the worlds‘ most modern television studios at that time were constructed: C.M.Q. Television.
In 1954, Cuba had one cow per person. It was third in Latin America (after Argentina and Uruguay) in per capita meat consumption.
In 1955, Cuba was the second country in Latin America with the lowest rate of infant mortality (33.4 deaths for every one thousand births).
In 1956, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the second country in Latin America with the lowest index of illiteracy (only 23.6%). Haiti had 90%, Spain, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, 50%.
In 1957, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the number one country in Latin America in number of doctors per capita (1 for each 957 persons) with the highest percentage of dwellings with electricity (82.9%) and dwellings with their own bathroom (79.9%) and the second in Latin America (after Uruguay) in per capita daily caloric intake (2870).
In 1957, Havana was the second city in the world to have 3D and multiscreen cinemas (Radiocentro Movie Theater).
In 1958, Cuba was the second world‘s country to broadcast television in color and had the third color TV channel in the entire world.
In 1958, Cuba was Latin America‘s country with more automobiles (160,000, one for each 38 persons). The country with more electrical house appliances. The country with more kilometers of railroad lines by Km² and second in total numbers of radios.
During the 1950s, Cuba was in second and third places in Latin America in per capita income, surpassing Italy and more than twice as much as Spain. Notwithstanding its small size and its population being only 6.5 millions, in 1958 it was in the 29th place among the world economies.
In 1959, Havana was the world city with the greatest number of movie theaters (358), surpassing New York and Paris, which had second and third places respectively.
The only reason Fidel got to power was by lying and saying he would bring back elections. Fidel never said it would be communist and the country was much better before him although it might not have been perfect under Batista and his lack of free elections.
@Guitarman123
LunarOrbit · 56-60, M
@MightyLion I appreciate your opinion
MightyLion · 22-25, M
The facts aren't opinions. But I guess a high standard of living equaling an advanced country might be opinion to some. @LunarOrbit
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion weird how your ignoring thst under batista cuba suffered mass unemployment and that he forced people out of their lands to make way for American army bases. Made Havana a seedier las Vegas to appeal to mobsters. He also during the revolution tortured between 2 and 20 thousand innocent Cuban citizens who he suspected of being rebel supporters. He'd being under americas thumb beforehand and even they thought he was too much and deserted him. Castro won the revolution because he had the support of the people who were sick of batista and his dictatorship. Under castro those lands that were under American military rule was redistributed back to Cuban workers. Unemployment shrunk considerably, literacy rate increased from 60 to 96 per cent and because of healthcare becoming free the life expectancy improved to round the same as americas
Gloomy · F
@MightyLion
A high standard of living but not for everyone and not everywhere. Castro liberated Cuba and had the support of the people. Had the Soviet Union not been dissolved Cuba would be doing much better.
Under Castro unemployment and homelessness shrunk, he improved healthcare and education and threw the Capitalists and traitors who sided with US military regime out of the country.
Castro and Che were great men.
On the eve of Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, Cuba was neither the paradise that would later be conjured by the nostalgic imaginations of Cuba's many exiles, nor the hellhole painted by many supporters of the revolution. These revolutionaries recall Cuba as "the brothel of the Western hemisphere" -- an island inhabited by a people degraded and hungry, whose main occupation was to cater to American tourists at Havana's luxurious hotels, beaches and casinos.
Inequalities
There were, however, profound inequalities in Cuban society -- between city and countryside and between whites and blacks. In the countryside, some Cubans lived in abysmal poverty. Sugar production was seasonal, and the macheteros -- sugarcane cutters who only worked four months out of the year -- were an army of unemployed, perpetually in debt and living on the margins of survival. Many poor peasants were seriously malnourished and hungry. Neither health care nor education reached those rural Cubans at the bottom of society. Illiteracy was widespread, and those lucky enough to attend school seldom made it past the first or second grades. Clusters of graveyards dotted the main highway along the foothills of the Sierra Maestra, marking the spots where people died waiting for transportation to the nearest hospitals and clinics in Santiago de Cuba.
Two Worlds
Racism also blighted Cuban society. The island's private clubs and beaches were segregated. Even President Fulgencio Batista, a mulatto, was denied membership in one of Havana's most exclusive clubs. "One might best summarize the complex situation by saying that urban Cuba had come to resemble a Southern European country (with a living standard as high or surpassing that of France, Spain, Portugal and Greece) while rural Cuba replicated the conditions of other plantation societies in Latin America and the Caribbean," according to analyst Mark Falcoff.
Inequalities
There were, however, profound inequalities in Cuban society -- between city and countryside and between whites and blacks. In the countryside, some Cubans lived in abysmal poverty. Sugar production was seasonal, and the macheteros -- sugarcane cutters who only worked four months out of the year -- were an army of unemployed, perpetually in debt and living on the margins of survival. Many poor peasants were seriously malnourished and hungry. Neither health care nor education reached those rural Cubans at the bottom of society. Illiteracy was widespread, and those lucky enough to attend school seldom made it past the first or second grades. Clusters of graveyards dotted the main highway along the foothills of the Sierra Maestra, marking the spots where people died waiting for transportation to the nearest hospitals and clinics in Santiago de Cuba.
Two Worlds
Racism also blighted Cuban society. The island's private clubs and beaches were segregated. Even President Fulgencio Batista, a mulatto, was denied membership in one of Havana's most exclusive clubs. "One might best summarize the complex situation by saying that urban Cuba had come to resemble a Southern European country (with a living standard as high or surpassing that of France, Spain, Portugal and Greece) while rural Cuba replicated the conditions of other plantation societies in Latin America and the Caribbean," according to analyst Mark Falcoff.
A high standard of living but not for everyone and not everywhere. Castro liberated Cuba and had the support of the people. Had the Soviet Union not been dissolved Cuba would be doing much better.
Under Castro unemployment and homelessness shrunk, he improved healthcare and education and threw the Capitalists and traitors who sided with US military regime out of the country.
Castro and Che were great men.
Gloomy · F
@MightyLion The revolutionary government made significant changes benefiting workers and, in particular, women. One of the first obstacles for the new government to tackle was illiteracy. More than half of Cubans were illiterate, disproportionately women.
Before the revolution, only 12 percent of women were employed and only 19.2 percent of the work force in 1953 were women. Prostitution was encouraged by the old, neocolonial Cuban government.
However, government-led social programs changed this dramatically. Before the revolution, there were only 2,000 nurses in the country. By 1999 there were close to 80,000 women nurses. In 1953, there were only 403 women physicians. In 1999, there were 34,600. Cuba educates more doctors than anywhere in Latin America—half of whom are women.
Today, women in Cuba are 44 percent of the labor force. They are 66.4 percent of all technicians, mid-level professionals and higher-degree professionals. They make up 72 percent of all education workers, 67 percent of health workers and 43 percent of all science workers.
Before the revolution, only 12 percent of women were employed and only 19.2 percent of the work force in 1953 were women. Prostitution was encouraged by the old, neocolonial Cuban government.
However, government-led social programs changed this dramatically. Before the revolution, there were only 2,000 nurses in the country. By 1999 there were close to 80,000 women nurses. In 1953, there were only 403 women physicians. In 1999, there were 34,600. Cuba educates more doctors than anywhere in Latin America—half of whom are women.
Today, women in Cuba are 44 percent of the labor force. They are 66.4 percent of all technicians, mid-level professionals and higher-degree professionals. They make up 72 percent of all education workers, 67 percent of health workers and 43 percent of all science workers.
LunarOrbit · 56-60, M
@Gloomy Well said Gloomy.
MightyLion · 22-25, M
@Guitarman123 @Gloomy
The American Base you talking about I'm assuming is Guantanamo and if I'm remembering correctly I believe it was given to the U.S. as payment for helping Cuba achieve its independence in the Spanish American War. So it was give Guantanamo Bay or be like Puerto Rico and Cuba wanted its freedom.
Weird how you're talking about Batista as if Fidel Castro and the current communist government aren't far worse when all this has happened under it:
Fidel Castro shattered - through mass-executions, mass-jailings, mass larceny and exile - virtually every family on the island of Cuba. Many opponents of the Castro regime qualify as the longest-suffering political prisoners in modern history, having suffered prison camps, forced labor and torture chambers for a period of 3 times as long in Fidel Castro’s Gulag as Alexander Solzhenitsyn suffered in Stalin’s Gulag.
Over 20 TIMES as many people (and counting) have died trying to escape Castro’s Cuba as died trying to escape East Germany over the Berlin Wall and other deadly barriers.
Fidel Castro helped train and fund practically every terror group on earth, from the Weathermen to Puerto Rico’s Macheteros, from Argentina’s Montoneros, to Colombia’s FARC, from the Black Panthers to the IRA and from the PLO to AL Fatah.
According to the scholars and researchers at the Cuba Archive, the Castro regime’s total death toll-from torture, prison beatings, firing squads, machine gunning of escapees, drownings, etc.-approaches 100,000. Cuba’s population in 1960 was 6.4 million. According to the human rights group freedom House, 500,000 Cubans (young and old, male and female) have passed through Castro’s prison and forced-labor camps. This puts Fidel Castro political incarceration rate right up there with Stalin.
The Military Production Aid Units started by Fidel in Cuba between 1965 & 1968 were forced labor camps. There are no verifiable figures, but it can be said that there were more than 25,000 men usually of young military service age sent for various reasons to be re-educated. Some were Jehovah Witnesses and many were Homosexuals sent there for being just that who became subject to all sorts of abuse including evil scientific experiments.
Fidel Castro jailed and tortured political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin during the Great Terror. He murdered more Cubans in his first 3 years in power than Hitler murdered Germans during his first 6.
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara beat ISIS to the game by over half a century. As early as January 1959 they were filming their murders for the media-shock value as can be seen in the image to the right where they both are tying someone they are about to kill. Fidel Castro is a terrorist and killer.
He even wanted Russia to shoot missiles at the United States which would have killed millions. He had the Cuban people's support at the beginning because he said he was going to bring back free elections. Fidel was very much supported by the United States and even received money from them and United States companies like Coca-Cola I believe. He even went to New York to meet some CNN guy and gave him a medal and said the revolution wouldn't have happened without him because of all the support he received. That's why he had to get missiles involved. He knew that after such a disgusting traitorous lie and revealing that he wanted to put a trash system in Cuba the only way he would stay in power was by threatening the world with WW3.
Isn't it obvious and clear to see that Fidel was a horrible man? No one likes him and those who do are Cubans who want a free bag of chicken so they won't starve or delusional Communists who think they will live in a world of equality with Communism when it is impossible to all be equal in the world we live in because that's just how things are.
As you can see from above this is what happens when you live in the insufficent system called Communism. You rely on everyone and since it's so inefficient the way the system works you never make enough to pay anything back. This is why they are embargoed by the US. You can't do business with a country that doesn't pay anything back and steals businesses and money in the name of equality. And it seems like the government will soon reap what it sows as I've also read online that this court case could also lead to an international embargo. So we will see just how good this system is when they have no one to depend on but themselves.
Cuba in the 1950s could have probably survived just fine not receiving anything from abroad with one cow per inhabitant and fishing the seas around it since it is an island surrounded by water with great fertile lands. However, Communism doesn't take advantage of all these good things they just blame everything on the embargo. And even if the US embargo was lifted none of the money borrowed from US banks would go to the Cuban people, the streets would stay filthy and buildings collapsing. They would use just enough to feed them the garbage food they buy from overseas. They would either just take the money for themselves or use it to repay all the European debts that way they can keep scamming overseas. And when the US wants its money back they would just say they are too poor. Predictable as always.
Also, you talk about stolen land that was under military rule that was given back to Cubans. Don't you know that Castro stole Billions of dollars worth in people's businesses and houses and animals far exceeding whatever you're talking about? Will all those people get their properties back and all that was stolen by Fidel?
Cuba had the 8th highest wage in the world in general and 7th for agricultural workers. The garbage they get paid now is not even in the top 20. There were even more Americans living in Cuba than Cubans in the United States because people wanted to live in Cuba because of how advanced it was. I'm Cuban so I have old family members that have told me about what it was like before. One who was lower middle class told me there was always food in the fridge and that getting a doctor to come to your house was super cheap. And others have told me that Cubans could even go to Miami on ferries and work and vacation in the U.S. and be back all in the same day.
As for Cuba's medical system if it isn't obvious by now Fidel inherited a system that was already very advanced and it would have kept advancing more and more anyways at the rate it was going. Cuba had the second lowest index of illiteracy in Latin America lower than even Spain the country from which it got its language. Every country has some level of illiteracy and Communism isn't the solution to it as countries that had higher illiteracy rates than Cuba in the 1950s like Spain are doing much better than Cuba now in just about every aspect. After all, you don't see the Spanish leaving on pieces of trash that float to escape Spain, do you? Actions speak louder than words.
Also, racism can happen in any country. Cuba's president before Fidel like you said was mixed and got voted in by the majority of the public. And the constitution was very much against racism. Also there was no public segregation system going on in Cuba like in the US with jim crow. Now if you have a private business in the 1950s you probably could get away with choosing who you want and don't want in it for whatever reason but that doesn't define the whole country. Much of Cuban culture is very much African-influenced and some of Cuba's most popular artists at the time like Bola de Nieve and Celia Cruz were black. They both had to leave Cuba because Communism is trash and Celia Cruz was banned from ever returning to Cuba by Fidel. Cuba by no means was a radically racist country before Fidel. I have even been told by family members that there is more racism now in Cuba than there ever was in the 1950s. Not many blacks make it out of Fidel's system so their only bet is to prostitute themselves to whatever tourists will want them and hopefully they will get food or something in return. Many blacks aren't even permitted to work at hotels or in the tourist industry for the simple fact that they are black because them being black might scare off European tourists and cause a loss of money to the government. And if you want to talk about prostitution I can assure you it is much worse now than it was when Cuba had the 8th highest wage in the world. Nowadays tourists sleep with women by giving them Nike t-shirts to sell and I've seen tourists encourage this in youtube videos also.
[media=https://youtu.be/yofJD3-s-7k]
During the times of Spanish rule in Cuba while black people were slaves the Spanish would give them one day of freedom to do what they wanted. So they would have parades and carnivals and would celebrate their African religions in the ways they wanted. After the end of slavery, these carnivals kept happening. But this time it wasn't just black people but people of all races in Cuba would join these carnivals and celebrate from night to morning. And they would build their own floats and everything. The African cultures were so preserved that people even identifed themselves with different African tribes and would compete in the parades to see which tribe would win. Cuba's Chinatown was also home to a very large Chinese-Cuban population. The China Town was actually started by wealthy Chinese immigrants who fled the United States to escape racism and soon Chinese from China also came flocking. They even had their own Chinese architecture in their China Town. In the video, you can see a carnival in Havana, Cuba from the 1950s with whites, blacks, and Chinese all coming together to celebrate. Doesn't look like a country that has two completely different worlds due to racism to me.
Also in the link below you will see images of Castro tying farmers and people who disgareed with them up and shooting them. He would tie them up at times with his bare hands like you see in the photo and watch them get killed right in front of him like nothing. You call this a good man? Also viewer discretion is advised with the images as they are graphic
https://therealcuba.com/?page_id=55
Statistically, Cuba was also named the most miserable country in the world a couple years back with Venezuela right under it. And Cuba also has one of the highest rates of suicide if not the highest in Latin America.
All in all Communism in Cuba is undoubtedly a failure. A failure that caused millions such as myself to lose their home. A failure so bad that many die at sea in shark-infested waters on piles of floating trash because they'd rather risk absolute death than to live another day under communism. Batista wasn't perfect and Cuba needed free elections but Fidel and Communism is not the answer. Actions will always speak louder than words. Cubans did not lose everything under Batista and most certainly weren't leaving on rafts to escape. Cuba was the most advanced Spanish-speaking country in the world in the 1950s surpassing Spain and all other Spanish speaking countries all while being the last country to gain its independence from Spain. That is something the revolution tries to hide because it knows it will never accomplish what the Republic of Cuba did not even in 200 years.
And Cuba was a very advanced country if it isn't obvious by how much the United States had invested in it even going as far as planning Las Vegas there. Things that would never happen if Cuba was as bad and unadvanced as you say. And also a lot of those facts are very inaccurate and exaggerated lies used by Fidel and his supporters after all lying is the only way he got into power.
If Communism was the answer and everyone wanted it why would he lie? Wouldn't Cubans have supported him? The truth is they wouldn't because they wanted free elections NOT communism.
But oh well in the end the truth will always be the truth. You can watch videos of Cuba in the 1950s and then watch videos of Cubans now and see with your own eyes which system is better.
The American Base you talking about I'm assuming is Guantanamo and if I'm remembering correctly I believe it was given to the U.S. as payment for helping Cuba achieve its independence in the Spanish American War. So it was give Guantanamo Bay or be like Puerto Rico and Cuba wanted its freedom.
Weird how you're talking about Batista as if Fidel Castro and the current communist government aren't far worse when all this has happened under it:
Fidel Castro shattered - through mass-executions, mass-jailings, mass larceny and exile - virtually every family on the island of Cuba. Many opponents of the Castro regime qualify as the longest-suffering political prisoners in modern history, having suffered prison camps, forced labor and torture chambers for a period of 3 times as long in Fidel Castro’s Gulag as Alexander Solzhenitsyn suffered in Stalin’s Gulag.
Over 20 TIMES as many people (and counting) have died trying to escape Castro’s Cuba as died trying to escape East Germany over the Berlin Wall and other deadly barriers.
Fidel Castro helped train and fund practically every terror group on earth, from the Weathermen to Puerto Rico’s Macheteros, from Argentina’s Montoneros, to Colombia’s FARC, from the Black Panthers to the IRA and from the PLO to AL Fatah.
According to the scholars and researchers at the Cuba Archive, the Castro regime’s total death toll-from torture, prison beatings, firing squads, machine gunning of escapees, drownings, etc.-approaches 100,000. Cuba’s population in 1960 was 6.4 million. According to the human rights group freedom House, 500,000 Cubans (young and old, male and female) have passed through Castro’s prison and forced-labor camps. This puts Fidel Castro political incarceration rate right up there with Stalin.
The Military Production Aid Units started by Fidel in Cuba between 1965 & 1968 were forced labor camps. There are no verifiable figures, but it can be said that there were more than 25,000 men usually of young military service age sent for various reasons to be re-educated. Some were Jehovah Witnesses and many were Homosexuals sent there for being just that who became subject to all sorts of abuse including evil scientific experiments.
Fidel Castro jailed and tortured political prisoners at a higher rate than Stalin during the Great Terror. He murdered more Cubans in his first 3 years in power than Hitler murdered Germans during his first 6.
Fidel Castro and Che Guevara beat ISIS to the game by over half a century. As early as January 1959 they were filming their murders for the media-shock value as can be seen in the image to the right where they both are tying someone they are about to kill. Fidel Castro is a terrorist and killer.
He even wanted Russia to shoot missiles at the United States which would have killed millions. He had the Cuban people's support at the beginning because he said he was going to bring back free elections. Fidel was very much supported by the United States and even received money from them and United States companies like Coca-Cola I believe. He even went to New York to meet some CNN guy and gave him a medal and said the revolution wouldn't have happened without him because of all the support he received. That's why he had to get missiles involved. He knew that after such a disgusting traitorous lie and revealing that he wanted to put a trash system in Cuba the only way he would stay in power was by threatening the world with WW3.
Isn't it obvious and clear to see that Fidel was a horrible man? No one likes him and those who do are Cubans who want a free bag of chicken so they won't starve or delusional Communists who think they will live in a world of equality with Communism when it is impossible to all be equal in the world we live in because that's just how things are.
Accusations of bribery, an imprisoned Cuban bank official and Interpol all feature in a high-stakes case against the Cuban government set to start Monday in the United Kingdom’s High Court.
The legal battle is over a portion of Cuba’s unpaid commercial debt dating back to the 1980s. If Cuba loses, it could ultimately cost the island nation billions in long overdue payments — and, in a worst-case scenario, lead to the seizure of government-owned assets such as oil tankers and in-bound wire transfers.
Investment fund CRF1, originally called the Cuba Recovery Fund, is suing Cuba for roughly $72 million in principal and past due interest on two loans it now owns. They were originally granted to the Caribbean island nation by European commercial banks in the 1980s, and were denominated in German Deutschmarks, a currency that no longer exists.
This is the first time Cuba is facing legal action for what is estimated to be about $7 billion in outstanding commercial loans from the 1970s and 1980s. If CRF wins this case on this small slice of that debt, it could lead to further lawsuits from creditors with claims rising into the billions. Any unpaid judgments could lead to asset seizures.
If they don’t reach a deal, Cuba could then face yet another court fight over whether it finally has to pay. If CRF is successful, it could lead to many other creditors filing suit, with claims rising into the billions.
Cuba would be unable to borrow in the international capital markets until its debts are settled. According to the World Bank, Cuba’s gross domestic product in 2020 was $107 billion, slightly larger than New York City’s budget. The country has managed to survive for decades on the largess of other sympathetic governments: the former Soviet Union, Venezuela and China. But with Venezuela financially strained and China facing a weaker economy, those lifelines look increasingly undependable.
Because of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, American investors are prohibited from owning and trading Cuban debt, which frustrates some frontier-market hedge fund managers in the U.S. They argue that holding Cuban debt would better serve U.S. foreign policy interests because it would give Americans a seat at some future negotiating table.
The legal battle is over a portion of Cuba’s unpaid commercial debt dating back to the 1980s. If Cuba loses, it could ultimately cost the island nation billions in long overdue payments — and, in a worst-case scenario, lead to the seizure of government-owned assets such as oil tankers and in-bound wire transfers.
Investment fund CRF1, originally called the Cuba Recovery Fund, is suing Cuba for roughly $72 million in principal and past due interest on two loans it now owns. They were originally granted to the Caribbean island nation by European commercial banks in the 1980s, and were denominated in German Deutschmarks, a currency that no longer exists.
This is the first time Cuba is facing legal action for what is estimated to be about $7 billion in outstanding commercial loans from the 1970s and 1980s. If CRF wins this case on this small slice of that debt, it could lead to further lawsuits from creditors with claims rising into the billions. Any unpaid judgments could lead to asset seizures.
If they don’t reach a deal, Cuba could then face yet another court fight over whether it finally has to pay. If CRF is successful, it could lead to many other creditors filing suit, with claims rising into the billions.
Cuba would be unable to borrow in the international capital markets until its debts are settled. According to the World Bank, Cuba’s gross domestic product in 2020 was $107 billion, slightly larger than New York City’s budget. The country has managed to survive for decades on the largess of other sympathetic governments: the former Soviet Union, Venezuela and China. But with Venezuela financially strained and China facing a weaker economy, those lifelines look increasingly undependable.
Because of the U.S. embargo against Cuba, American investors are prohibited from owning and trading Cuban debt, which frustrates some frontier-market hedge fund managers in the U.S. They argue that holding Cuban debt would better serve U.S. foreign policy interests because it would give Americans a seat at some future negotiating table.
As you can see from above this is what happens when you live in the insufficent system called Communism. You rely on everyone and since it's so inefficient the way the system works you never make enough to pay anything back. This is why they are embargoed by the US. You can't do business with a country that doesn't pay anything back and steals businesses and money in the name of equality. And it seems like the government will soon reap what it sows as I've also read online that this court case could also lead to an international embargo. So we will see just how good this system is when they have no one to depend on but themselves.
Cuba in the 1950s could have probably survived just fine not receiving anything from abroad with one cow per inhabitant and fishing the seas around it since it is an island surrounded by water with great fertile lands. However, Communism doesn't take advantage of all these good things they just blame everything on the embargo. And even if the US embargo was lifted none of the money borrowed from US banks would go to the Cuban people, the streets would stay filthy and buildings collapsing. They would use just enough to feed them the garbage food they buy from overseas. They would either just take the money for themselves or use it to repay all the European debts that way they can keep scamming overseas. And when the US wants its money back they would just say they are too poor. Predictable as always.
Also, you talk about stolen land that was under military rule that was given back to Cubans. Don't you know that Castro stole Billions of dollars worth in people's businesses and houses and animals far exceeding whatever you're talking about? Will all those people get their properties back and all that was stolen by Fidel?
Cuba had the 8th highest wage in the world in general and 7th for agricultural workers. The garbage they get paid now is not even in the top 20. There were even more Americans living in Cuba than Cubans in the United States because people wanted to live in Cuba because of how advanced it was. I'm Cuban so I have old family members that have told me about what it was like before. One who was lower middle class told me there was always food in the fridge and that getting a doctor to come to your house was super cheap. And others have told me that Cubans could even go to Miami on ferries and work and vacation in the U.S. and be back all in the same day.
As for Cuba's medical system if it isn't obvious by now Fidel inherited a system that was already very advanced and it would have kept advancing more and more anyways at the rate it was going. Cuba had the second lowest index of illiteracy in Latin America lower than even Spain the country from which it got its language. Every country has some level of illiteracy and Communism isn't the solution to it as countries that had higher illiteracy rates than Cuba in the 1950s like Spain are doing much better than Cuba now in just about every aspect. After all, you don't see the Spanish leaving on pieces of trash that float to escape Spain, do you? Actions speak louder than words.
In 1955, Cuba was the second country in Latin America with the lowest rate of infant mortality (33.4 deaths for every one thousand births).
In 1956, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the second country in Latin America with the lowest index of illiteracy (only 23.6%). Haiti had 90%, Spain, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, 50%.
In 1957, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the number one country in Latin America in number of doctors per capita (1 for each 957 persons) with the highest percentage of dwellings with electricity (82.9%) and dwellings with their own bathroom (79.9%) and the second in Latin America (after Uruguay) in per capita daily caloric intake (2870).
In 1937, Cuba for the first time in Latin America enacted the 8 hours Working Day Law, the minimum salary law and the university autonomy.
In 1940, Cuba was the first Latin American country to choose a black President, elected by democratic and universal vote and by an absolute majority when most of the Cuban people were white. It did it 68 years earlier than the United States.
In 1940, Cuba enacted one of the world‘s most advanced Constitutions of that era. The first in Latin America to recognize women‘s right to vote, equality between races and sexes and women‘s right to work.
The first Latin America feminist movement appeared in Cuba at the end of the 1930s. Spain did not recognize for Spanish women the right to vote, the custody and control of her children, the right to a passport or the right to open a bank account unless authorized by their husbands, until 1976. Cuba was ahead of Spain by 36 years.
In 1956, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the second country in Latin America with the lowest index of illiteracy (only 23.6%). Haiti had 90%, Spain, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, 50%.
In 1957, the U.N. recognized Cuba as the number one country in Latin America in number of doctors per capita (1 for each 957 persons) with the highest percentage of dwellings with electricity (82.9%) and dwellings with their own bathroom (79.9%) and the second in Latin America (after Uruguay) in per capita daily caloric intake (2870).
In 1937, Cuba for the first time in Latin America enacted the 8 hours Working Day Law, the minimum salary law and the university autonomy.
In 1940, Cuba was the first Latin American country to choose a black President, elected by democratic and universal vote and by an absolute majority when most of the Cuban people were white. It did it 68 years earlier than the United States.
In 1940, Cuba enacted one of the world‘s most advanced Constitutions of that era. The first in Latin America to recognize women‘s right to vote, equality between races and sexes and women‘s right to work.
The first Latin America feminist movement appeared in Cuba at the end of the 1930s. Spain did not recognize for Spanish women the right to vote, the custody and control of her children, the right to a passport or the right to open a bank account unless authorized by their husbands, until 1976. Cuba was ahead of Spain by 36 years.
Also, racism can happen in any country. Cuba's president before Fidel like you said was mixed and got voted in by the majority of the public. And the constitution was very much against racism. Also there was no public segregation system going on in Cuba like in the US with jim crow. Now if you have a private business in the 1950s you probably could get away with choosing who you want and don't want in it for whatever reason but that doesn't define the whole country. Much of Cuban culture is very much African-influenced and some of Cuba's most popular artists at the time like Bola de Nieve and Celia Cruz were black. They both had to leave Cuba because Communism is trash and Celia Cruz was banned from ever returning to Cuba by Fidel. Cuba by no means was a radically racist country before Fidel. I have even been told by family members that there is more racism now in Cuba than there ever was in the 1950s. Not many blacks make it out of Fidel's system so their only bet is to prostitute themselves to whatever tourists will want them and hopefully they will get food or something in return. Many blacks aren't even permitted to work at hotels or in the tourist industry for the simple fact that they are black because them being black might scare off European tourists and cause a loss of money to the government. And if you want to talk about prostitution I can assure you it is much worse now than it was when Cuba had the 8th highest wage in the world. Nowadays tourists sleep with women by giving them Nike t-shirts to sell and I've seen tourists encourage this in youtube videos also.
[media=https://youtu.be/yofJD3-s-7k]
During the times of Spanish rule in Cuba while black people were slaves the Spanish would give them one day of freedom to do what they wanted. So they would have parades and carnivals and would celebrate their African religions in the ways they wanted. After the end of slavery, these carnivals kept happening. But this time it wasn't just black people but people of all races in Cuba would join these carnivals and celebrate from night to morning. And they would build their own floats and everything. The African cultures were so preserved that people even identifed themselves with different African tribes and would compete in the parades to see which tribe would win. Cuba's Chinatown was also home to a very large Chinese-Cuban population. The China Town was actually started by wealthy Chinese immigrants who fled the United States to escape racism and soon Chinese from China also came flocking. They even had their own Chinese architecture in their China Town. In the video, you can see a carnival in Havana, Cuba from the 1950s with whites, blacks, and Chinese all coming together to celebrate. Doesn't look like a country that has two completely different worlds due to racism to me.
Also in the link below you will see images of Castro tying farmers and people who disgareed with them up and shooting them. He would tie them up at times with his bare hands like you see in the photo and watch them get killed right in front of him like nothing. You call this a good man? Also viewer discretion is advised with the images as they are graphic
https://therealcuba.com/?page_id=55
Statistically, Cuba was also named the most miserable country in the world a couple years back with Venezuela right under it. And Cuba also has one of the highest rates of suicide if not the highest in Latin America.
All in all Communism in Cuba is undoubtedly a failure. A failure that caused millions such as myself to lose their home. A failure so bad that many die at sea in shark-infested waters on piles of floating trash because they'd rather risk absolute death than to live another day under communism. Batista wasn't perfect and Cuba needed free elections but Fidel and Communism is not the answer. Actions will always speak louder than words. Cubans did not lose everything under Batista and most certainly weren't leaving on rafts to escape. Cuba was the most advanced Spanish-speaking country in the world in the 1950s surpassing Spain and all other Spanish speaking countries all while being the last country to gain its independence from Spain. That is something the revolution tries to hide because it knows it will never accomplish what the Republic of Cuba did not even in 200 years.
And Cuba was a very advanced country if it isn't obvious by how much the United States had invested in it even going as far as planning Las Vegas there. Things that would never happen if Cuba was as bad and unadvanced as you say. And also a lot of those facts are very inaccurate and exaggerated lies used by Fidel and his supporters after all lying is the only way he got into power.
If Communism was the answer and everyone wanted it why would he lie? Wouldn't Cubans have supported him? The truth is they wouldn't because they wanted free elections NOT communism.
But oh well in the end the truth will always be the truth. You can watch videos of Cuba in the 1950s and then watch videos of Cubans now and see with your own eyes which system is better.
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion if castro stole billions of dollars then surely cuba would have been a major first world country under batista. He offered political asylum to black panther members during a particularly hostile race tensions in America. The ussr placed missiles in cuba because America had previously placed their own missiles in Turkey that were specifically aimed at Moscow. Those prisoners were surviving batista soldiers who were placed on trial for their crimes commited against the cuban people who wanted revenge and blood so castros executioner a former American soldier called Herman marks carried out the killings of those soldiers as again that's what the vast majority of the cuban people wanted as they had lived miserably under batista who had taken that position forcibly after losing it in a vote. Ed sullivan called castro the Latin Robin Hood. Exactly, the proof is that although Cuba has plenty of problems its considerably better than under batista as unemployment is low, homelessness is next to zero, handled covid far better than America did, castro sent out doctors and soldiers to South Africa to help Mandelas fight with apartheid South Africa. Cuba wasn't advanced under batista but was riddled with high unemployment whilst batistas pockets got fuller thanks to American mobsters. Today cuba is the most developed 3rd world country and I repeat next to zero homeless which is quite different to the homeless rate in America. The embargo placed on Cuba was done so with the absolute intent of America destroying its economy
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion after castro took power the vast majority of those who did leave leave were the minority that had benefitted under batista and left so by plane as castro allowed any citizen to leave. America sent many cubans back in an attempt to overthrow castro which lead to the failed bay of pigs invasion
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion apart from one photo that kinda shows castro, all the others make no indication to back up what that article claims
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion you really should learn about communism before stating an opinion about it as it makes you sound like someone who copies and pastes right wing fear mongering
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion the truth is majority of cuba supported castro as they saw it as a far better alternative than batistas ruling. Castro never truly considered himself a communist and only claimed to be one because of the ussr helping cubas economy from sinking under americas pressure. Its funny that people call castro and che racist when they offered far more help to black people than America was doing as they were too busy demonising the black panthers, martin Luther King and especially malcolm x who all had the brains to stand up to racism in America and the articulation to encourage black Americans to be proud of their heritage and fight the system. The IRA was a result of british colonialism
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@MightyLion cuba is a small country with a small economy which America was abusing for its sugar as well as placing military bases. Without that embargo it would stand a much better chance of standing on its own two feet as they would be able to do businesses with other countries which because of that embargo they are unable to do so because otherwise the other countries wouldn't be able to do business with America
Guitarman123 · 31-35, M
@Guitarman123 torturing and murdering innocent citizens because you suspect them of being supporters of castro is worse than not perfect but flat out evil and based on severe paranoia. The fact that your ignoring that part of Cuban history shows me that you have historical amnesia because it would reflect on America in an incredibly bad way as it should do as destroying a 3rd world countries economy because it wants liberation from American imperialism and to establish a socialist society which america sees as scary simply because it puts people above profits which America hates as it prefers wasting 800 billion dollars on its military and advocating private property over helping homeless people and those living in poverty