I think you are underestimating the flow of cubans the US is getting. A total of 49,500 Cubans became legal permanent residents in FY2008. The vast majority of Cubans in the USA fled decades after the revolution. 160K in 1960, 600K in 1980, 1.1 million in 2013. Those are immigrants, not ethnic cuban americans.
That is a good point. Most the Cubans I know have been in America for at least 35 years, if not from the time of the revolution. The point holds (and we will never know), how many left as a result of the embargo from the USA? Like most things, the reality is a shade of gray.... a lot of older Russians want a return to Communism, even though millions were killed by Stalin. I know Iraqis that would rather have Hussein in power because he at least kept order and limited religious extremists.
Don't have the vitriol some have for Castro, but it's past time. Interested to see if there will be a shift from Raul now that the shadow of his brother no longer looms. Rapid change will come with Raul's death, and it'll probably be pretty messy unless he puts them on a reform track now. It's critical times now. I'd hate to see them fall back into economic colonialism like the revolution never happened, but they need to rejoin the world somehow.
That literacy stat came from the CIA but you have anecdotes from people who have some axes to grind so of course those are more sound that stats from the CIA and WHO. Anyway your own article supported my point that Cuban doctors are well trained. If the education system was so bad that wouldn't be the case. I'm curious do you have a problem with people who pay more getting better health care? And what ideology would that be? I've said several times Castro was a repressive dictator but I guess you only see absolutes. And your argument doesn't help them. Painting Castro as nothing but evil led to 50 years of embargo, attempted invasions and assasinations that didn't improve the lot of most Cubans. It only made the regime stronger while most Cubans suffered.
Raul Castro has already said he will step down in 2018 and turn things over to younger leaders. I think he is far more pragmatic than Fidel Castro and that Cuba is on the path of the PRC and Vietnam and within a decade or so will be a more market oriented economy with an authoritarian state. It could also go the way that Taiwan and SK where economic liberalization leads to democracy but that is probably too much to expect. The biggest problem I see though is if the Trump Admin. goes back to the previous policies As I stated above the policies of demonizing the Castro regime and trying to undermine them with the embargo failed. Trying to do those will likely just lead to the regime retrenching.
No they come from the UN and it is the result of a one verbal question survey 'Can you read and write?' and I'm willing to bet it was administered by Cubans under Castro's thumb. No. I have a problem with terrible healthcare and people pushing for it. Don't all you liberals hate 'fake news' this week. shouldn't you touting the tourism healthcare system as the Cuban healthcare system fall in that bucket? socialism. Yea everyone is poor and starving in Cuba but Castro says they got great education and healthcare despite all the archaic diseases they have. makes sense. Castro is evil, but i'm painting your socialist beliefs as evil and stupid.
The link I cited was this. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2103.html Really so the doctors administering the healthcare to tourists aren't Cubans? Perhaps Cuba is importing doctors. Anyway this is a very odd line of criticism for you to take that the health care system is horrendous because those who can pay more get much better service. It sounds to me like you would prefer a system that had a more equal level of care. Each to their needs... Sigh.. I've called Castro's Cuba a repressive regime said they are an economic basketcase and hoped they make economic reforms towards capitalism but since I since I won't condemn everything about them or accept slanted anecdotes that makes me a socialist. Absolutes indeed.
That is the CIA using the UNESCO numbers from the UN. they are not CIA numbers. do you even know what socialism is? there is no paying more to get more in a socialist healthcare system.... The government elites and tourists do not take part in the socialist healthcare system. its what Cubans refer to as 'the tourism apartheid' . A normal Cuban is legally not allowed to go to the same hospitals as the Canadians and tourists you speak of. It is an entirely different system. A normal Cuban has to go to the socialist shithole hospital with no running water and no medicine. you are arguing the merits of their socialist healthcare system and education system.... yes that makes you a socialist.
