| ▲ | yanhangyhy 2 days ago |
| I forgot where I saw this claim, but it said that China has actually encouraged Cuba to carry out a similar kind of economic transition, yet it was rejected, so the only things China has been able to do are to provide aid in areas such as food and electricity. Socialism is not necessarily unworkable; rather, in a world full of forces trying to destroy you — for example, under decades-long economic blockade by the United States — it is impossible for Cubans to live a normal life. The results brought by socialism may not be better than capitalism under such conditions. Of course, turning toward the United States could be even worse, meaning that a large amount of Cuba’s wealth would be transferred to and controlled by the U.S., and a pro-American regime would be established. It would be similar to how nobody cares about the Philippines, one of the poorest countries with the highest proportion of prostitution in the world, which has a U.S.-style political system, and nobody cares about the lives of the many “free” people living in slums. Solar energy is something remarkable. It not only provides the basic necessities of life, but also gives countries and their people greater autonomy. I hope Cuba can hold on until the day it can develop its economy normally, and until the day the United States declines. |
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| ▲ | miguelxt a day ago | parent | next [-] |
| Why not compare it to the DR? Neighbor right next door with similar demographics to Cuba but closer economic and political system to that of the US. Not doubt the embargo has done some damage to the wellbeing of the island, but the self imposed economic system makes things far worse. |
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| ▲ | thiagoharry a day ago | parent [-] | | Sure. But why only DR? We also have Jamaica and Haiti near Cuba. The Human Development Index: Dominican Republic: 0,776
Cuba: 0,762
Jamaica: 0,720
Haiti: 0,554 Only Cuba is socialist. The other three are capitalist. Considering that Cuba suffers from sanctions, like Haiti, it is impressive how they managed to achieve an HDI almost as high as the DR, a value considerably higher than the average in the Caribbean. |
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| ▲ | u_sama a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| >decades-long economic blockade by the United States myth, an incredible myth, the US has a package of sanctions and an embargo, Cuba is free to trade with other nations. The reason of the economic powerty and Cubans not being able to live a normal life is mostly self-inflicted (by their government, not the people) from an extractive elite who kept the old colonial system but just changed hands and drapings, with who is on top, plus the disastrous results of marxsist-leninist economic policies who are blind to reality |
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| ▲ | defrost a day ago | parent | next [-] | | Not a myth, and as for > Cuba is free to trade with other nations. The embargo was reinforced in October 1992 by the Cuban Democracy Act and in 1996 by the Cuban Liberty and Democracy Solidarity Act (known as the Helms–Burton Act) which penalizes foreign companies that do business in Cuba by preventing them from doing business in the U.S.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_embargo_against_...* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helms%E2%80%93Burton_Act I'm not seeing when the Helms–Burton Act was set aside. | | |
| ▲ | u_sama a day ago | parent [-] | | 1: You are like 1 search away from seeing the reality of the embargo, Title III which is the mechanism by what you can sue the companies was suspended by every president since Clinton just after the law became effective in 1996, until Trump let the suspension lapse on May 2, 2019. So for all that time the law was effectively useless. [1] 2: In 2000, Congress passed the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act (TSRA), which authorized sales of food, medicines, and medical equipment to Cuba. So basically how it is a blockade or a siege. 3:Spain trades with Cuba. Canada is one of Cuba's biggest export markets. China is a top partner. The Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy all trade. The EU passed a "Blocking Regulation" making compliance with Helms-Burton a criminal offence in some member states 4: Almost 2 Billion $ of remittances are sent every year from Cubans abroad, and like 1.8 of that comes from the US. If there is an blockade, how can the money go into the island. All of the issues of Cuba are due to its endemic government, the external conditions are just a reaction to that. Talk with some Cubans about the reality of Cuba and you will get the story. [1]: https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/publications/title-iii... |
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| ▲ | cherry_tree a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | How would a country do business with Cuba? They are debanked from the global financial system due to US sanctions on any business who trades with Cuba They can’t trade in US dollars, the global currency that nations most typically use for international trade They can’t follow normal shopping lanes because boats going to Cuba have to stay away from US ports for 180 days Any company can be sued by any American alleging they have benefitted Cuba Also, the United Nations has voted unanimously multiple times to drop the sanctions on Cuba- only USA and Israel vote no. To say that it’s a myth that Cuba has been adversely affected by the US actions is plainly stupid. | | |
| ▲ | nradov a day ago | parent [-] | | Why should the USA be forced to do business with a communist dictatorship? Countries are free to trade or not with other countries as they choose. They're welcome to set up their own alternative financial systems and currencies. Not our problem. The blame here is 100% on the Cuban government. If they want to improve conditions for their people then all they have to do is free the political prisoners, institute multi-party liberal democracy, and adopt free-market capitalism. If they took those simple steps then it would bring tremendous benefits to their country even if US sanctions remained in place. | | |
| ▲ | cherry_tree a day ago | parent [-] | | Did you read my post? I didn’t ask for the USA to trade goods or services with Cuba. Certainly didn’t say anything about forcing such trade. | | |
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| ▲ | yanhangyhy a day ago | parent | prev [-] | | When Chinese leaders met with Che Guevara and others, they were not very optimistic about their revolution either; they lacked a deeper understanding of socialism and respect for realism. This may also be related to the character traits of Latin Americans, which differ from the practices in Laos, Vietnam, and China. There are no detailed data showing exactly how much negative impact the U.S. blockade and sanctions have had on Cuba’s economy. After all, the U.S. has long-arm jurisdiction capabilities in almost every domain, and it is very easy to use private channels to influence other countries and economic entities in their dealings with Cuba(Considering the United States’ notorious human rights record and its multiple assassination attempts against former Cuban presidents). for a small country, in the current U.S.-dominated, power-based international system, facing such unilateral hostility and sanctions undoubtedly adds many extra difficulties to their development. Whether their development is good or bad, they do not deserve such suffering. The United Nations has held multiple votes on Cuba’s situation, and almost always the United States and Israel oppose lifting the sanctions. The world stands with Cuba, but unfortunately, some people do not. | | |
| ▲ | u_sama a day ago | parent [-] | | The suffering does not come from external actors but it is imposed by the regime itself, the lack of pragmatism and flexibility from the government, as well as their corruption, makes them horrible people to deal with even for China and Russia.
I stand with Cubans as a nation, but now with Cuba the state, one can make the difference when talking to Cubans. The UN represent Cuba the state and not the nation, and unlike China or Vietnam the government does not reflect its population wishes. |
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| ▲ | UtopiaPunk a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] |
| It's amazing Cuba has lasted so long, despite being utterly hated by their neighbor, the most powerful country in the world. Both capitalism and communism really only "work" when many countries work together. Cuba is committed to the communist project despite the USA all but suffocating the country through trade embargoes. The relationship between Cuba and the USSR was always complicated, but with the fall of the USSR, the communist network went to shambles. It will be interesting to see how Cuba's future plays out as China grows in power and influence. IMO, Cuba just has to keep the candle burning. China and Cuba do have a positive relationship today, and I can only assume that the threat of China is a counterweight to any rash ideas the current USA administration might have in mind for Cuba. Fun fact: Today, we tend use the term "first world" as a synonym for developed nations that are fairly wealthy, and "third world" for developing nations that are poor. But did you know there was a "second world"? It was the USSR and those aligned with it. The first world was the USA and its allies during the Cold War. The third world was basically everyone not aligned with either USA nor USSR. |
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| ▲ | rayiner a day ago | parent | prev [-] |
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