Is Cuba more prosperous since it became a communist country?

Question

Is Cuba more prosperous since it became a communist country?

Answer 1

Well, Castro only pronounced himself a communist after threatening behaviour from Washington. He's not a stupid man, and he rightly reasoned that the USA would be unlikely to invade Cuba with the USSR on its side; indeed, this was one of the outcomes of the Cuban Missile Crisis; Cuba would not be invaded by the USA, the USSR would remove its missiles from Cuba and the USA would removed its missiles from the Soviet/Turkish border.

Cuba did actually quite well under a communist policy of government, considering the US embargo, and the US pressure put on nations all over the world to not trade with Cuba. The collapse of the old Soviet Union in the early 90's was a complete disaster for the Cuban economy, as around 90% of their export market dried up almost overnight. They are starting to turn things around now, and the burgeoning tourist trade is their second largest industry after sugar.

I've toured Cuba a lot, and whilst I've found only very few even moderately wealthy people, I've never seen a homeless person, there are no drug problems, nobody is denied access to medical attention (indeed, Cuba has one of the best social medicine sytems in the world), and adult literacy is higher than in the USA at 95%-when Castro assumed power it ran at around 40%.

I don't believe any communist country can be prosperous for long, as the chronic over-manning and general bureaucracy will soon stifle any profit. However I have to say Cuba is still one of my favourite destinations, for its uniquenesss, its generosity of spirit, and the sheer musicianship I always encounter whenever I go. Those guys are so good they make me want to saw my guitar in half.

Answer 2

The Cubans are poor but happy, they have the best health service going, they are very well educated, have perfect teeth, there well fed but the wages are poor but I can honestly say I have never once seen a miserable Cuban, they constantly smile and are some of the nicest people I have ever met in my life.

Answer 3

That depends on how you view prosperity. If its by weath then no. But hey free health service thats got to be good.

Answer 4

Cuba is known for its best educational system, medical care/education and everyone is taken care of. The life expectancy in Cuba is better than North America and Europe.

There are amenities in Cuba. Cubans can own cell phones, TVs and they do have personal computers. No one can dispute this as I personally know those that have them. They have fridges, stoves, nice furniture, showers that don't fall apart (as people think they do)...and I'm not talking about the hotels...this is what you can find in people's homes. People work like in other countries and earn their money and can save to purchase things. People are able to provide for their families.

Just because they're a communist country does not mean that they don't deal with the outside world. Cuba imports and exports. There are business relations with so many other countries...just the US who doesn't want to have anything to do with Cuba.

People's homes are clean and they take pride in their habitat, their clothing, themselves.

Prosperity can be in different forms. In affluential countries, there may be much prosperity financially but losing prosperity in human relations and family connections. In Cuba, people live, have medical care, are able to get things if needed, AND they have close family and friend relationships.

They learn how to work together and stick to each other.

Many struggle in Cuba...but many struggle everywhere else.

Just another angle to look at.

Answer 5

Have you ever even READ anything about Cuba... and HOW POOR IT IS?  why do you think people LEAVE Cuba when they can?... it's not for the prosperity.

Answer 6

No,it is poorer.

Answer 7

No, as in most communist countries only a handful of the ruling elite can be relatively prosperous. There is still rationing of many goods in Cuba,  TV. is a luxury item and personal computers are forbidden and the press is owned and controlled by the Government,  since the collapse of the Soviet Union who subsidised the Cuban economy things are worse than ever so now Cuban government are encouraging foreign tourists to visit Cuba to bring in much needed foreign currency and with the demise of Castro things can only get better.

Answer 8

They were more prosperous during the relations with the former Soviet Union , the Soviets subsidised Cuba on a massive scale. They bought the sugar production above market prices , built social appartments and other infrastructure.

After the Soviet decline during the " Special Period " Cuba lost almost 90% of its export capacity. The Cubans suffered and they recovered by expanding the tourist industry, but I heard from Cubans that the times during the Soviet relations were the most prosperous .

Nowdays , every Cuban can eat , gets free medical treatment and education, gets a subsidised food ration, but they are advancing very slow while other third world countries like China, India, Brazil ,etc. make a fast progress. In a fast changing world the Cuban adjustments are  to slow and I am afraid if they can't adapt whitin 2-5 years a total or partial colapse may follow. The majority of the population is  born after the revolution and is only interested in decent food, clothing, housing and bit luxury such as a TV set and a DVD.

And , yes , there's a small and growing middle class group of people with some wealth , mostly earned in the tourist industry , waiters and (illegal) tourist guides , illegal taxi drivers etc, small (legal) restaurant owners etc.

But the average Cuban worker , working in the construction or medical industry, in the agriculture has a difficult time to meet  ends, it's a daily struggle.

Havanalover

http://www.havana-guide.com