This summer I spent three weeks in Cuba doing conservation work and I failed to see any sign of socialism providing a decent life for the many. Instead, money made by the economy (and there must be plenty, much of Cuba is very fertile agricultural land) is poured into posh tourist hotels and a propaganda campaign that practically deifies Castro and Che Guevara. You could credit their government with excellent healthcare and educational services, but what good is that when the hospitals fall down and most of the university graduates leave the country on the basis that they can earn more cleaning toilets in Miami than they can in the highest paid jobs in Havana?
The only money people there can get outside of government restricted earnings is from tourists (which only aids those in tourist areas- poverty in most of the countryside is widespread). And the more tourists come, handing out extravagant tips left, right and centre, the harder it is for the government to persuade people that Cuba really is doing well out of socialism. Edited at: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 5:02:31 AM
