At 50, Cuba's revolution showing its age

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN: At 50, Cuba's revolution showing its age
January 1, 2009
Morgan Neill, CNN Havana Bureau Chief


A Cuban youth passes a Havana storefront poster touting the 50th anniversary of Fidel Castro's Cuban revolution.

HAVANA, Cuba (CNN) -- Thursday marks the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, when Fidel Castro and a group of guerrillas toppled a longstanding U.S.-backed dictator. But January 1, 1959, was a long time ago. In Cuba today, when people refer to "the revolution," they often mean the country's aging, established government. After so many years, people's hopes for the revolution's future are hardly revolutionary.

"I hope that it continues to move forward, because this country needs development. We're really behind," said a student who did not give his name. "More opportunities in the economy and in transportation," another man said.

But there was a time when the goals were much loftier. In the first days of 1959, when Castro and his bearded rebels rolled into Havana on tanks and other captured vehicles, they talked of sweeping changes -- an end to corruption, justice for the poor and independence from foreign domination. A half-century later, their achievements are a mixed bag.

The government often points to free health care as a measure of its success. "Cuba is a global medical power," said Joaquín García Salabarría, the vice minister of public health. "Nobody can doubt that." Also touted by the government: education. Literacy rates are among the world's highest, and access to higher education is widespread. But students question why they can't travel freely, and why their access to the Internet is so limited.

Most Cubans can barely make ends meet, and while the government blames a U.S. trade embargo imposed in 1962, critics say it's just bad management. They say the gains of the revolution have come at too heavy a cost.

Dissident groups say Cuba holds more than 200 political prisoners, an accusation the government denies. Television, radio and newspapers are all controlled by the state.

Cuba marks the 50th anniversary of the revolution with a new president, Raul Castro, who officially took the reins in February because of the prolonged illness of his brother, Fidel Castro. But this year, Raul Castro faced three devastating hurricanes, rising prices for food imports and plummeting prices for nickel, one of Cuba's most important exports. In a speech this week, the president warned Cubans -- who on average earn the equivalent of less than $20 a month -- to prepare for belt-tightening....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/12/31/cuba.anniversary/index.html#cnnSTCText

[Daveparts]

1. Corporate News Network

CNN the Corporate News Network a division of Time Warner, founders of the phrase garbage in, garbage out. Their tactic to assess the success or failure of the Cuban revolution is to compare Cuba in a vacuum. To pick and choose statistics which add to it’s argument.

“Dissident groups say Cuba holds more than 200 political prisoners, an accusation the government denies. Television, radio and newspapers are all controlled by the state.”

A ridiculous statistic since the United States has held close to 1000 political prisoners in Cuba not to bring them to justice but to exempt them from justice. To subject them to torture and mal treatment does CNN really think it wise to talk about political prisoners held in Cuba. Maybe CNN thinks you won’t make the connection between the two?

CNN then gives with one hand and takes with the other,

“The government often points to free health care as a measure of its success. "Cuba is a global medical power," said Joaquín García Salabarría, the vice minister of public health. "Nobody can doubt that." Also touted by the government: education. Literacy rates are among the world's highest, and access to higher education is widespread. But students question why they can't travel freely, and why their access to the Internet is so limited.”

Free health care, we don’t have free healthcare in America that’s why 13,000 Americans a year die each year from inadequate or unavailable healthcare. But students question why they can’t travel freely? Are those Cuban students or American? Because my government says I can’t go to Cuba and governments of all stripes limit who can enter or leave their countries borders. China limits Internet access and they are our pals so why condemn Cuba for the same thing?

“Most Cubans can barely make ends meet,” most Americans can barely make ends meet. “while the government blames a U.S. trade embargo imposed in 1962, critics say it's just bad management. They say the gains of the revolution have come at too heavy a cost.”

OK, critics and they, who are they CNN? They are people without names it could be Santa Claus or it could just be the Heritage foundation.

Let’s compare Cuba to her neighbors instead of in a void. Cuba has a higher literacy rate than Columbia, Guatamala, Belize, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Mexico and Nicaragua.

Infant mortality, Cuba 5.92 deaths per thousand live births, Bolivia it’s 49.9 deaths per live births in Colombia it is 19.51 in Mexico 19.1 deaths per thousand. In the United States where we pay through the nose for health care it is 6.3 deaths per thousand live births. So little Cuba with its aging faded revolution manages to bring babies into the world at a better rate than the United States and does it for its people for free.

How about National debt? Cuba’s is 31 billion dollars; Mexico’s is 179 Billion despite having 11 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Colombia is 41 billion dollars; Nicaragua owes 7.9 billion in debt while being one of the poorest countries in the world its annual revenues of 1.1 billion means it owes almost a decade of revenues to foreign banks. The United States external debt stands at a whopping 12 trillion dollars and climbing.

Cuba has managed all that it has with a belligerent super power 90 miles from its shores. By comparing Cuba to her neighbors it would appear that the better a countries relationship with the United States the worse the condition they would find themselves in.