Cuba's policy for not letting people leave the island?

[Drace]

Can someone educate me on this?

[manic expression]

The revolutionary government of Cuba has always supported the freedom of movement for Cuban citizens. The Mariel Boatlift is a famous example of this: In 1978, President Carter said Cuba was a prison house, and that everyone there was kept against their will. In response, the Cuban government threw open the gates of emigration, allowing thousands to leave for the US. Thousands of convicts answered the call, while the vast, vast majority of Cubans elected to stay. The result? Carter asked the Cuban government to reverse its policy, which was done. So in reality, the US imperialists couldn't handle the consequences of an "open gate" policy while the Cuban revolutionaries had no problem with it.

In terms of freedom of movement for residents, Cubans who live in Cuba are allowed to travel and oftentimes do; I met a Cuban resident on vacation in New York City this past summer, as a matter of fact.

[Drace]

Thanks, do Cubans have a paid vacation as did the Soviet workers?

[The Idler]

The revolutionary government of Cuba has always supported the freedom of movement for Cuban citizens. The Mariel Boatlift is a famous example of this: In 1978, President Carter said Cuba was a prison house, and that everyone there was kept against their will. In response, the Cuban government threw open the gates of emigration, allowing thousands to leave for the US. Thousands of convicts answered the call, while the vast, vast majority of Cubans elected to stay. The result? Carter asked the Cuban government to reverse its policy, which was done. So in reality, the US imperialists couldn't handle the consequences of an "open gate" policy while the Cuban revolutionaries had no problem with it.

In terms of freedom of movement for residents, Cubans who live in Cuba are allowed to travel and oftentimes do; I met a Cuban resident on vacation in New York City this past summer, as a matter of fact.Why would Cuba need to throw open the gates of emigration if it always supports freedom of movement for Cuban citizens?
And why would Cuba oblige Jimmy Carter without insisting on the lifting of the economic blockade unless ending the emigration was mutually beneficial?

[btpound]

Why would Cuba need to throw open the gates of emigration if it always supports freedom of movement for Cuban citizens?
And why would Cuba oblige Jimmy Carter without insisting on the lifting of the economic blockade unless ending the emigration was mutually beneficial?

I don't know anything about this situation, but I don't see it as that strange. Maybe by "throw open the gates" probably meant offering to pay their travel expenses. And they probably did it to make Carter look like a fool, or make Castro look like a saint. Either one is a reasonable assertion.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Can anyone else help alleviate any of the other myths of Fidel Castro & Cuba, for example like if Fidel was an actual dictator or not. Because, out of every leader that I've tried defending against U.S. propaganda, Castro was & still is hard to try & understand because of numerous years of propaganda in this country.

[Drace]

Can anyone else help alleviate any of the other myths of Fidel Castro & Cuba, for example like if Fidel was an actual dictator or not. Because, out of every leader that I've tried defending against U.S. propaganda, Castro was & still is hard to try & understand because of numerous years of propaganda in this country.

Don't be quick to call it propaganda and myth until you have the knowledge to think otherwise. Else wise its just dogma.

[Winter]

http://www.cubatruth.info/ :lol:

[The Vegan Marxist]

Thanks winter. this helped me a lot, though I've found the majority of the sites links to be inactive, but the information itself is easily found on my own when known what to look for. Thanks again.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

The revolutionary government of Cuba has always supported the freedom of movement for Cuban citizens. The Mariel Boatlift is a famous example of this: In 1978, President Carter said Cuba was a prison house, and that everyone there was kept against their will. In response, the Cuban government threw open the gates of emigration, allowing thousands to leave for the US. Thousands of convicts answered the call, while the vast, vast majority of Cubans elected to stay. The result? Carter asked the Cuban government to reverse its policy, which was done. So in reality, the US imperialists couldn't handle the consequences of an "open gate" policy while the Cuban revolutionaries had no problem with it.

In terms of freedom of movement for residents, Cubans who live in Cuba are allowed to travel and oftentimes do; I met a Cuban resident on vacation in New York City this past summer, as a matter of fact.

I am grateful for your example of the Mariel Boatlift.
However, if we are being totally honest, the government of Cuba has not been totally open with regards to it's policy on the freedom of movement. It simply has not always had an open gate policy with regards to emigration, which is perhaps to its detriment if one is judging against principles, but always understandable to a degree given the Capitalist intrigue of the USA just a few miles away. Hard to tell or come to a solid conclusion, as with most things related to Cuba, due to the simple lack of unbiased sources.

[José Gabriel Túpac Amaru]

If you ask bush, he locks them in cages so they can not escape, ask Fidel, he pays for their transport off the island.
You only know if you live their i guess.

[APathToTake]

If you ask bush, he locks them in cages so they can not escape, ask Fidel, he pays for their transport off the island.
You only know if you live their i guess.

I understand where you're coming from, but i think Cuba pretty openly admits to the fact that, although anyone can leave the island, it's a long and strenuous process and not always succesful.

[The Vegan Marxist]

And you've got to keep in mind that one of the main reasons why people from Cuba leave is due to the trade embargo incident that is still taking place by the U.S. on Cuba, which initially is harming not only the people, but the economy as well. So, people are suffering over there, not because of Cuban policy, which if you look at all the records of Cuba, you'd find it to be quite a nice country, but it's because of the prevention that the U.S. is putting upon on the Cuban people.

[José Gabriel Túpac Amaru]

Viva fidel
Long live the revolution.
And yeah, if the criminal blockade etc was dropped Cuba would prosper, more than it already is.

[dar8888]

Viva fidel
Long live the revolution.
And yeah, if the criminal blockade etc was dropped Cuba would prosper, more than it already is.

Comrade Fidel has done an extraordinary job - considering the behemoth that has been stomping on his neck from the beginning.

[chegitz guevara]

The U.S. government only issues (about) 20,000 visas for Cubans each year. Anyone else wanting to emigrate to the US must do so illegally. It's less about keeping people in Cuba as keeping people safe. Hundreds of people drown on their way to Florida each year.

If the U.S. got rid of the policy giving any Cuban who sets foot in the U.S. amnesty, a lot less Cubans would be trying to come here.

The reason they leave is because Cuba is poor and the U.S. is rich. Even if the embargo weren't in place, thousands would still attempt the crossing, just as they do from every other country. Notice that Haiti doesn't have a Cuban refugee problem. In fact, it's the opposite, Haitians fleeing to Cuba.

[dar8888]

The U.S. government only issues (about) 20,000 visas for Cubans each year. Anyone else wanting to emigrate to the US must do so illegally. It's less about keeping people in Cuba as keeping people safe. Hundreds of people drown on their way to Florida each year.

If the U.S. got rid of the policy giving any Cuban who sets foot in the U.S. amnesty, a lot less Cubans would be trying to come here.

The reason they leave is because Cuba is poor and the U.S. is rich. Even if the embargo weren't in place, thousands would still attempt the crossing, just as they do from every other country. Notice that Haiti doesn't have a Cuban refugee problem. In fact, it's the opposite, Haitians fleeing to Cuba.

Yes, the mythical "American Dream" brings in more people for Uncle Sam to oppress.

[José Gabriel Túpac Amaru]

Uncke sam can kiss my ginger ass comrade

[punisa]

interesting topic.
What about traveling to other countries? We usually talk just about Cubans having a hard time getting to the US.
How about the rest of the world? Can a Cuban freely go/travel for example to France, Brazil, Mexico, Serbia or Russia?

If I may add another one - why does Cuba have such strict policy on immigrant workers who would perhaps want to work on Cuba? I understand that it guards workplaces for Cubans and that a large influx of working force could be a problem, but I believe that there are quite a few very skilled workers in the world that would love to live under socialism and bring their expertise along with them, I mainly refer to IT developers, economists and specific managerial sectors.