Letter sent about Cuba

[colombiano]

The following letter below was sent to me in a question I had to someone who had been to Cuba. Please read and tear it apart if you like. I would like any and all info and logic availble to refute attitudes of this nature. Thank You.

Fidel is tolerated. Since Jan 1, 1959 there have been 3 generations of Cubans who have lived under his rule, many people have no other choice or opportunity to do any thing about their situation.
The Cuban economy has been propped up by various outside forces for over 45 years, first it was the Russians, this lasted for close to 30 years, Also a first along with the Russians was the nationalization of many foreign investment and the (forced) abandonment of personal property in Cuba, mostly by the exiles who fled to the US and other countries in the early 60's. When the USSR collapsed, times were very difficult in Cuba, the infrantstructure was in a state of decay and this started the era of tourism and the by 1994 the acceptance of the US dollar. Fidel I feel started the tourist trade with a Jump start from European "Males". By the mid 90's tourism was on its way to becoming a very important economic segment. The next economic boost was the remitinance that can be sent from family members in the US to relatives in Cuba, then on the Cuban side Fidel set up Dollar shops which sell various durable goods at high prices for dollars only, so the relatives in Cuba are caught between a rock and a hard place, they can get dollars from relatives in the states, about 1 billion a year, or from contact with tourists, taxi drivers, restaurant workers, hustlers on the street, then they can only spend them for goodies at the government store.
I don't think it so much that the US wants to impose Capitalism on the Cuban people as we know it, perhaps more of a free market such as China, but also freedom of the press (this does not exist in Cuba, both the newspaper and TV are controlled by the government). I could go into depth about the limited free market in Cuba, did you know for example that if you own a car, perhaps you inherited it from your grand father, that you cannot sell it, also there is a very limited spectrum of occupations that you can legally engage in that is not controlled by the government. A license is required for just about everything, there are about 70 licensed book sellers in Cuba, art or being an artist or musician is about the only occupation that you can engage in that the government doesn't completely control.

You University probably has a license that would allow study in Cuba, the current regulation is that you partake in a full academic schedule for a full semester, the old rule was a 2 or 6 week course was OK, if you have the time to spend a full semester in Cuba do so, you'll appreciate America a lot more.

[Knowledge 6 6 6]

Very interesting letter, I find little wrong with it.

However, America is imposing capitalism onto Cuba - they want to see Fidel fall so that Cuba can be 'integrated' into the free market. Essentially both economic and cultural imperialism are on America's agenda.

As for Fidel and freedom of the press - it's true. There isn't freedom of the press in Cuba. But remember, the 'freedom' the press in North America is distorted, bourgeois-represented interests. Everything the media does up here is skewed so that the working class will put more reliance into them without really seeing that our news is skewed, controlled and manipulated to the benefit of bourgeois interests. Our news is about concerning ourselves with things that probably will never affect us.

I've been to the Caribbean before, not to Cuba, but to another island. And I can tell you from my experience, that I missed Canada's rules and regulations. Though Canada's laws can very well be one-sided and discrimination can be faced consistently, the country's policies are much better. The governments of most islands in the Caribbean are not very tolerating, and can deport you at any given time. Even if you were born on the island, but not a local, they can disown you and make you take the heritage of your birth-mother. It's not healthy.

I like Canada because I can criticize the government as much as I want. I can write books against the Canadian government, I can post on this forum against the government, I can even set up a communist political party! I don't think that political freedom exists in Cuba. It's totalitarian rule plainly put.

[MKS]

The Monroe Doctrine strikes again. The US has been implementing a brutal practice of influence and dominance in Latin America for many years. Almost all of the South American governments have been propped up by the American government.

Also Cuba is a socialist nation and in a Socialism wealth and personal property are not important. Also poverty in Cuba and its dependence on foriegn help is a result of brutal embargos and a continued terror war by the CIA and American Governement. Political freedom cannot exist in a socialist nation, ideally it should not exist, because Socialism is the desired end.
Che Guevera wrote on the "new man", a man that desires not personal gain but the gain of the people as a whole. People who desire wealth will never accept socialism because they will never accept modesty. They will always want more.
Economic difficulites are prevelant in every nation including America (remeber the Great Depression?)
Fidel to me is a hero for resisiting American rule and remaing a beacon for resistance throughout the world. Life isnt perfect in Cuba, nor is it in America.
Cuba has a 97% literacy rate
Education is fully funded by the State up to and including the doctorate level.
Cubas healthcare system is one of the best in Latin America and some say better than Canada and other European nations.

[NovelGentry]

Free Press doesn't exist here either, both TV and newspaper are controlled by the bourgeoisie.

Edit: Just to point this out further... I've long maintained the status of Cuba as State Capitalist -- the question is of course whether you want to trade government control for class control by the bourgeoisie, which in effect might equate to the same thing, unless your system of government a) truly represents everyone b) is feasibly made up of everyone, that is, a direct democratic process.

[Anarky]

>>Fidel is tolerated. Since Jan 1, 1959 there have been 3 generations of Cubans who have lived under his rule, many people have no other choice or opportunity to do any thing about their situation.<<

That&#39;s an odd statement. People who allegedly have no choice are in a position to tolerate? Your friend needs to make up his mind on which characterization he prefers.

>>The Cuban economy has been propped up by various outside forces for over 45 years, first it was the Russians, this lasted for close to 30 years<<

That is true. The Cubans were dumb not to make thmesleves as self sufficent as possible.

>>Also a first along with the Russians was the nationalization of many foreign investment and the (forced) abandonment of personal property in Cuba, mostly by the exiles who fled to the US and other countries in the early 60&#39;s.<<

Yes, they nationalized foreign investment. The level of foreign investment in Cuba was outrageous and it kept the masses in grinding poverty. Tell your freind "tough shit" on this point.

>>When the USSR collapsed, times were very difficult in Cuba, the infrantstructure was in a state of decay and this started the era of tourism and the by 1994 the acceptance of the US dollar. Fidel I feel started the tourist trade with a Jump start from European "Males". <<

It was a difficult time, but Cuba turned a lot of it around in a decade, even as the USA cruelly tightened the embargo. Cuba&#39;s accomplishments in becoming self-reliant on food production, for example, was remarkable. The tourist trade is a given for any nation in the Caribbean.

The US Dollar is the international currecy of choice. Your friend&#39;s point here says little more than that Cuba decided to become part of the world economy.

I don&#39;t get the European males reference.

>>By the mid 90&#39;s tourism was on its way to becoming a very important economic segment. The next economic boost was the remitinance that can be sent from family members in the US to relatives in Cuba, then on the Cuban side Fidel set up Dollar shops which sell various durable goods at high prices for dollars only, so the relatives in Cuba are caught between a rock and a hard place, they can get dollars from relatives in the states, about 1 billion a year, or from contact with tourists, taxi drivers, restaurant workers, hustlers on the street, then they can only spend them for goodies at the government store.<<

The importance of the remittances has been oversated in my view. But your friend is wrong about the dollar stores. Those stores were first established for the tourists. But the Cuban people started to demand that they wanted to shop in them as well.

>>I don&#39;t think it so much that the US wants to impose Capitalism on the Cuban people as we know it, perhaps more of a free market such as China, but also freedom of the press (this does not exist in Cuba, both the newspaper and TV are controlled by the government).<<

Your friend is naive. The USA would use capitalism to rob China tomorrow if it could get away it. But China is too big to piss off. Cuba would be a dependency today if it weren&#39;t for Castro.

Although there isn&#39;t a free press in the USA, it is relatively more free than in Cuba.

>> could go into depth about the limited free market in Cuba, did you know for example that if you own a car, perhaps you inherited it from your grand father, that you cannot sell it<<

Hogwash. Individuals get cars when workers in factories and citizen groups vote for them to have them. Usually, the people who get them do so because of their industriousness, sacrifce and dedication.


>> I also there is a very limited spectrum of occupations that you can legally engage in that is not controlled by the government.<<

So?

>>A license is required for just about everything, there are about 70 licensed book sellers in Cuba, art or being an artist or musician is about the only occupation that you can engage in that the government doesn&#39;t completely control.<<

This is silly. Any activity that any government permits is controled by the govt. This is a non-point.

>>You University probably has a license that would allow study in Cuba, the current regulation is that you partake in a full academic schedule for a full semester, the old rule was a 2 or 6 week course was OK, if you have the time to spend a full semester in Cuba do so, you&#39;ll appreciate America a lot more.<<

Most people who go there come away w/ a different view.

[redstar2000]

I would like to emphasize the points made about "free speech". Except for the internet, neither the U.S. nor Canada has free speech for ordinary people...especially if they are radically critical of capitalism.

To speak up and be heard in North America requires a very large sum of money of your own or someone who does have a very large sum of money and who agrees with you and is willing to pay the tab.

And sometimes, even that isn&#39;t enough. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that television stations, radio stations, and mainstream publications can flat out refuse to sell time/space to present views they don&#39;t like.

Further, even on the internet, they can shut you down if they want to. Last year, a whole bunch of IndyMedia sites were arbitrarily shut down by the FBI.

The server for this site is located in Germany, and Germany has a "law enforcement" treaty with the United States. If the FBI made a formal request to the German Government, it&#39;s likely that German authorities would shut this board down...and there wouldn&#39;t be dick we could do about it&#33; We&#39;d have to start over completely from scratch with the board hosted in one of the remaining countries that the FBI can&#39;t get to.

Get it through your head: there&#39;s no such thing as "free speech"...anywhere&#33;

http://www.websmileys.com/sm/cool/123.gif

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Yes, Redstar makes a good point.
Nobody in any society ever has had the freedom to threaten the existance of that society verbally or physically.

And enstating a "free market" like what has been done in China is capitalism. In fact, that is the definition of capitalism and just about the worst thing Cuba can do.