A Comparative Look at Socio-Economic Conditions in Pre-Castro and Present Day Cuba
Poseidon 55
Cuban History,Socio-Economics,Governments, Cultural and much more in :
http://xld.com/public/cuba/cuba.htm
-----------------
Poseidon 55 wrote:
>
> From: Anibal <haniba...@webtv.net>
> Subject: Against All Hope
> Date: Tuesday, July 24, 2001 10:56 PM
>
> Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
> posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or
> its management.
>
> Against All Hope: The Prison Memoirs of Armando Valladares
> Government Opinion (Published) Keywords: (CUBA) THE POWER OF THE HUMAN
> SPIRIT. LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW CASTRO RUNS HIS JAILS
> Source: Amazon.com
> Published: 1970's Author: Armando Valladares
> Posted on 04/27/2000 16:21:51 PDT by
>
> Against All Hope : The Prison Memoirs of Armando Valladares
> by Armando Valladares, Andrew Hurley (Translator)
> *****An Enormously Powerful Book April 25, 2000
> Reviewer: David C. from Los Angeles, CA
> I am gratified to learn that this book is soon to be released in
> paperback. I read the hardback version about 13 years ago, and it was a
> very moving experience. This man's story constitutes an indictment of
> Castro's regime very similar to Solzhenitsyn's indictment of Soviet
> Russia in The Gulag Archipelago. There was no right to trial, just
> imprisonment on the word of an unknown informant. In many ways, the
> treatment of the Cuban prisoners was more cruel than the Gulag, because
> Castro did not have the aid of a harsh climate to kill his enemies. I
> will never forget reading that two groups as disparate as homosexuals
> and Seventh-Day Adventists were both alike consigned by Castro to his
> prison camps.
> The recent Elian Gonzales controversy, although a very complex and
> tragic situation, revealed that most Americans have no real grasp of the
> nature of Castro and his regime. I wish this book were required reading
> for all Americans. -- This text refers to the Paperback edition.
> ******************************* *****
> A long lasting hope in everlasting pain August 11, 1999
> Reviewer: paul...@hotmail.com from England
> Armando Valladeres, a man not many people have heard of, wrote this
> account of the acute sufferings in Cuban prison camps during a period of
> history that can only be described as without hope. The story that is
> told, is a story of one man's release from solitary confinememt and the
> worst immaginable conditions a man could ever endure. From the very
> first page, the reader is posed a moral question: Is this one man's
> struggle against an oppressive regime or is it man's srtruggle against
> brutality,torture and hatred? This is a book to remember. This is a
> story which God revealed to Castro and the world. This is a book which
> remains engraved on my heart and soul. It is a book to rest on your
> bookshelf alongside "Papillon" and Primo Levi's "If this is a man". Viva
> Valladeres! Viva la Libertad!
> ***************************************** *****
> This is the best, most inspirational book I have ever read! June 30,
> 1999
> Reviewer: A reader from New Mexico
> A reader from New Mexico The best book I have ever read! Maybe it was
> the time of my life that I found it. I have read many others since and
> though, I would not say, this one is so much better, still I can't think
> of a better book overall.
> It is so much of an inspiration. His 22 years in Cuban prisons. In the
> end, good triumphs over bad, one man, Valladares. I read this book in
> 1987, lost my copy and then bought another copy last year. Now, how many
> books would you say you would do that for?
> I have spent alot of time in and near Mexico and I can speak Spanish.
> The Latin Culture has intrigued me. In my younger days, I tried to
> understand both sides and be objective. Now, though, this book is an
> indictment against Castro and others in Cuba. I can never look at a
> photo or speech of Castro in the news and not say, "I know the truth!"
> *************************** *****
> Armando inspires those who dare stand against communism. June 22, 1998
> Reviewer: alph...@hotmail.com from New Jersey, USA Reading through the
> pages of this book, I felt stronger than ever, the convictions of those
> who struggle to free Cuba. VIVA CUBA LIBRE!!! --This text refers to the
> Hardcover edition. (out of print)
> *****************************
> Armando inspires those who dare stand against communism. June 22, 1998
> Reviewer: alph...@hotmail.com from New Jersey, USA
> Reading through the pages of this book, I felt stronger than ever, the
> convictions of those who struggle to free Cuba. VIVA CUBA LIBRE!!!
> *******************************
> This book will show you how cruel Castro really is... April 28, 1998
> Reviewer: ab...@microsoft.com from Redmond, Washington
> If you ever wanted to know more about the horrible crimes that are still
> happening in Cuba's prisons, this is the book for you. Also, this book
> will show you how the human spirit can be the factor that will decide
> your survival "against all hope". A similar book is "I will die free" by
> Noble Alexander. Both are very impressive.
> *****************************
> Fantastic eye-opening book! April 8, 1998
> Reviewer: woo...@aol.com from San Francisco CA
> This is a must read if you want to understand more about Cuba and it's
> political prisoners. This book is not only a page turner but it is full
> of hope and inspiration. A true testament to the power of the human
> spirit. Get it, read it, and learn more about how Castro runs his jails.
> --
> *******************
> makes you feel pain, passion, rage and love February 6, 1998
> Reviewer: low...@citrine.indstate.edu from terre haute, IN
> An excellent biography of one man's fight to survive and maintain his
> humanity while in the depths of mankind's most torturous depths. Gives
> those who never had a chance to speak of the horror of the loss of
> freedom a chance to be heard. Should be required reading.
> *******************
> A stunning documentary from the inside of Cubas Prisons July 31, 1997
> Reviewer: A reader
> This book presents the truth about the Communistic regime of Cuba. It
> reports about the terrible conditions in the Cuban prisons, the
> biological experiments performed on the prisoners, and the ruthless
> killing of Cuban dissidents. What make this book so catching, is that
> Armando Valladares never gave up, never lost his faith, even though most
> of his friends died in the prisons. This book gave me fantastic insight
> about how the communistic society works
> The hardback is out of print but you can go to Amazon.com linked above
> and put your order in for the paper back.
> 1 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:21:51 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | Top | Last ]
> To: Map Kernow
> Please give your review.
> 2 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:22:22 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
> To: All
> I think our education is sorely lacking about Cuba.
> Please keep this bumped.
> If a clearer understanding of the how Cubans are suffering under Castro,
> is the only thing that is rescued in the end, from Elian's escape from
> Communist Cuba,
> we need to take it, guard it and spread the word.
> 3 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:32:05 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | Top | Last ]
> To: magellan
> BUMP!
> 4 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:40:12 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> I have a copy, and it's harrowing reading. The "drawer cells," for
> example - imagine a chest of drawers with people in it and you get the
> idea. Incredible story. Anyone who calls Cuba a "Workers' Paradise"
> would be rapidly cured upon reading it.
> 5 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:40:57 PDT by Billthedrill
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
> To: Billthedrill
> Thank you Billthedrill.
> I hope everyone who has read it will add one thing that stuck in their
> mind about this book.....about life under Castro.
> 6 Posted on 04/27/2000 16:44:33 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | Top | Last ]
> To: All
> I haven't read this book, but Cincinatus has (he gave away his copy a
> long time ago). Here are his comments:
> "I remember the book being important not so much for what it says (after
> all, there's nothing in here that isn't also documented in a hundred
> other memoirs of prison life under communism, notably the works of
> Solzhenitsyn), but for its timing and the context of the early
> seventies. In those days, anti-communists were on the run -- we had
> abandoned Vietnam to its fate, Pol Pot (the poor man's Hitler) was
> running amok in Cambodia, an ill-advised detente with the USSR masked
> the true hideousness of that regime.
> Valladeres dared to show the world Castro's true face. It was a picture
> not many wanted to see -- and apparently, still don't. But it's impact,
> especially among the nascent conservative movement on campuses was
> astounding. Then, "radicals" (the 70's euphamism for "communists") were
> very much in control, a tendancy that has gotten worse with time. Books
> like Against All Hope validated everything that we always believed about
> Castro. Ever since, I've never had the slightest doubt that our national
> policy should be, now and always, the complete destruction of that
> little bastion of Stalinism. More's the pity that it isn't."
> 7 Posted on 04/27/2000 17:11:00 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> BTTT!
> Will be going on my 'must-read' list.
> 8 Posted on 04/27/2000 17:32:43 PDT by ArmstMDA
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
> To: ArmstMDA
> Thanks and bump!
> 9 Posted on 04/27/2000 17:58:08 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> "Ever since, I've never had the slightest doubt that our national policy
> should be, now and always, the complete destruction of that little
> bastion of Stalinism. More's the pity that it isn't."
> 100% total agreement to Cincinatus...and 100% heartfelt gratitude for
> all you have contributed, CW, to informing and motivating and inspriring
> this fight for freedom for Elian, and for All Cubans!
> 10 Posted on 04/28/2000 07:25:35 PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | Top | Last ]
> To: Freedom'sWorthIt
> fight for freedom for Elian, and for All Cubans!
> Understanding Communism and Castro will be what kills Communism.
> Democrat-Socialists from our own government, admiring and supporting a
> dictator and pander to a philosophy that enslaves people,
> is not what will save the Cuban people anymore than it has saved
> American people who think dependance on government will set them free.
> 11 Posted on 04/28/2000 07:40:24 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> "Understanding Communism and Castro will be what kills Communism"
> Yes. May the people of Cuba treat Fidel Castro and his chief lieutenants
> to the same fate that met those other favorit Communists: Cousesceau and
> his love wife Bruno.
> 12 Posted on 04/28/2000 11:49:21 PDT by Freedom'sWorthIt
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> Thank you CW! This is the book that really opened my eyes up about
> Castro's Cuba. I knew instinctively that it was a murderous thugdom, but
> somehow reading of the horrific tortures done on a real person, just
> like you and I, hammers things home.
> Many times I sat there on the verge of vomiting, and alternatively on
> the verge of tears, as I read passage after passage of the tortures of
> Castro's monsters.
> I cannot recommend this book enough to anyone who is interested in a
> real look into the black soul of communism. Valladares was vilified
> after release by Castro's agents in America. They ridiculed him and
> accused him of fabricating the tales of his torture. Sadly, the smear
> campaign had some success, as there are so many useful idiots here in
> America.
> Again: BUY THIS BOOK! READ IT! You will never be the same.
> 13 Posted on 04/28/2000 12:13:25 PDT by Zviadist
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | Top | Last ]
> To: Zviadist
> Thank you so much for your review.
> anyone who is interested in a real look into the black soul of communism
> It better be many, because we're getting A REAL GOOD LOOK at how many
> people in our government, media and schools have been pulling us into
> Communism.
> 14 Posted on 04/28/2000 12:30:57 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> I think our education is sorely lacking about Cuba.The establishment
> wants to keep it that way.
> 15 Posted on 04/28/2000 12:47:12 PDT by oyez
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
> To: oyez
> And sadly, too few seem to notice or care.
> 16 Posted on 04/28/2000 12:50:48 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> BUMP
> 17 Posted on 04/28/2000 19:47:23 PDT by cutexx
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | Top | Last ]
> To: cutexx
> Sometimes it feels like we're tapping back and forth to each other on
> the prison cell walls.
> 18 Posted on 04/29/2000 02:02:18 PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
> [ Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | Top | Last ]
> To: Cincinatus' Wife
> It can get depressing allright, but then people like you come along and
> make things a little better :) Thank you for understanding the deep
> hatred the cubans have for castro. When your loved ones have gone
> through that kind of torture, there is no way you could ever think of
> "dialogoue."(sp)
> 19 Posted on 04/29/2000 17:51:02 PDT by cutexx
>
> Thanks for posting this book review, I will buy it and share it with my
> family so that they will not be deceived by the American media love
> affair with a Communist dictator, Castro.
>
> When your loved ones have gone through that kind of torture, there is no
> way you could ever think of "dialogoue."
Zenith and Eclipse:
A Comparative Look at Socio-Economic Conditions
in Pre-Castro and Present Day Cuba
===========================================
Archive Site for State Department information prior to January 20, 2001.
This site is not updated.
RETURN to the current State Department web site.
Zenith and Eclipse:
A Comparative Look at Socio-Economic Conditions
in Pre-Castro and Present Day Cuba
Released by the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, February 9, 1998.
Methodology | Health | Education | Consumption | Production | Mass Media
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION
An enduring myth is that 1950's Cuba was a socially and economically
backward country whose development was jump-started by the Castro
government. In fact, according to readily-available historical data, Cuba
was a relatively advanced country in 1958, certainly by Latin American
standards and, in some areas, by world standards. The data appear to show
that Cuba has at best maintained what were already high levels of
development in health and education, but at an extraordinary cost to the
overall welfare of the Cuban people. These include access to "basics" such
as adequate levels of food and electricity, but also access to consumer
goods, the availability of which have increased significantly in other Latin
American countries in recent decades.
It is true that Cuba's infant mortality rate is the best in Latin America
today, but it also was the best in Latin America -- and the 13th lowest in
the world -- in pre-Castro Cuba. Cuba also has improved the literacy of its
people, but Cuba had an excellent educational system and impressive literacy
rates in the 1950's.
On the other hand, many economic and social indicators have declined since
the 1959 revolution. Pre-Castro Cuba ranked third in Latin America in per
capita food consumption; today, it ranks last. Per capita consumption of
cereals, tubers, and meat are today all below 1950's levels. The number of
automobiles in Cuba has fallen since the 1950's -- the only country in Latin
America for which this is the case. The number of telephone lines in Cuba
also has been virtually frozen at 1950's levels. Cuba once ranked first in
Latin America and fifth in the world in television sets per capita. Today,
it barely ranks fourth in Latin America and is well back in the ranks
globally.
Cuba's rate of development of electrical power since the 1950's ranks behind
every other country in Latin America except Haiti. Cuba is the only country
in the hemisphere for which rice production today is lower than it was four
decades ago. By virtually any measure of macroeconomic stability, Cuba was
in far better shape in 1958 than it is today. Finally, the Castro government
shut down what was a remarkably vibrant media sector in the 1950's, when the
relatively small country had 58 daily newspapers of differing political hues
and ranked eighth in the world in number of radio stations.
METHODOLOGY
This paper assesses Cuba's level of development in a variety of economic and
social indicators during the revolutionary period (1959-present), especially
relative to that of other countries during the same period. It relies most
extensively on UN data, particularly from the statistical yearbook and
demographic yearbook, which are considered among the most prestigious data
compendiums in the development field. Trade data is derived from the IMF's
Direction of Trade Statistics, which provides a consistent data series
dating back to the 1950's. For the various international comparisons and
rankings listed below, only those countries acquiring independence prior to
1958 and having relatively consistent data available for the period
1955-present have been included. (The former stipulation excludes many
highly-developed Caribbean countries from consideration.)
HEALTH
The health care system is often touted by many analysts as one of the Castro
government's greatest achievements. What this analysis ignores is that the
revolutionary government inherited an already-advanced health sector when it
took power in 1959.
Cuba's infant mortality rate of 32 per 1,000 live births in 1957 was the
lowest in Latin America and the 13th lowest in the world, according to UN
data. Cuba ranked ahead of France, Belgium, west Germany, Israel, Japan,
Austria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal, all of which would eventually pass Cuba
in this indicator during the following decades.
Today, Cuba remains the most advanced country in the region in this measure,
but its world ranking has fallen from 13th to 24th during the Castro era,
according to UN Data. Also missing from the conventional analysis of Cuba's
infant mortality rates is its staggering abortion rate -- 0.71 abortions per
live birth in 1991, according to the latest UN data -- which, because of
selective termination of "high-risk" pregnancies, yields lower numbers for
infant mortality. Cuba's abortion rate is at least twice the rate for the
other countries in the table below for which data are available.
In terms of physicians and dentists per capita, Cuba in 1957 ranked third in
Latin America, behind only Uruguay and Argentina -- both of which were more
advanced than the United States in this measure. Cuba's 128 physicians and
dentists per 100,000 people in 1957 was the same as the Netherlands, and
ahead of the United Kingdom (122 per 100,000 people) and Finland (96).
Unfortunately, the UN statistical yearbook no longer publishes these
statistics, so more recent comparisons are not possible, but it is
completely erroneous to characterize pre-Revolutionary Cuba as backward in
terms of healthcare.
WORLD: INFANT MORTALITY
(DEATHS PER 1,000 LIVE BIRTHS)
1957
1990-95
JAPAN
40
4
ICELAND
16
5
SWEDEN
18
5
FINLAND
28
5
SWITZERLAND
23
6
BELGIUM
36
6
GERMANY (A)
36
6
NETHERLANDS
18
7
AUSTRALIA
21
7
DENMARK
23
7
UNITED KINGDOM
24
7
CANADA
31
7
IRELAND
33
7
FRANCE
34
7
LUXEMBOURG
39
7
AUSTRIA
44
7
SPAIN
53
7
NORWAY
21
8
ITALY
50
8
UNITED STATES
26
9
ISRAEL
39
9
GREECE
44
10
PORTUGAL
88
10
CUBA
32
12
MALAYSIA
76
13
(A) - FOR 1957, INCLUDES ONLY FRG.
SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS.
EDUCATION
Cuba has been among the most literate countries in Latin America since well
before the Castro revolution, when it ranked fourth. Since then, Cuba has
increased its literacy rate from 76 to 96 percent, which today places it
second only to Argentina in Latin America. This improvement is impressive,
but not unique, among Latin American countries. Panama -- which ranked just
behind Cuba in this indicator during the 1950's -- has matched Cuba's
improvement when measured in percentage terms.
LATIN AMERICA: LITERACY RATES (A)
(PERCENT)
LATEST
AVAILABLE
1950-53
1995
ARGENTINA
87
(B)
96
CUBA
76
96
CHILE
81
95
COSTA RICA
79
95
PARAGUAY
68
92
COLOMBIA
62
91
PANAMA
72
91
ECUADOR
56
90
BRAZIL
49
83
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
43
82
EL SALVADOR
42
72
GUATEMALA
30
56
HAITI
11
45
(A) - DATA FOR 1950-53 ARE AGE 10 AND OVER.
DATA FOR 1995 ARE AGE 15 AND OVER, REFLECTING
A CHANGE IN COMMON USAGE OVER THIS PERIOD.
(B) - 1947 DATA, THE LATEST AVAILABLE, ARE
FOR AGE 14 AND OVER.
SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS.
CONSUMPTION
Rationing has been a staple of Cuban life since the early 1960's. During the
early 1990's, Cuba's food consumption deteriorated sharply, when massive
amounts of Soviet aid were withdrawn. On its own without Soviet largesse and
abundant food imports, Cuban agriculture was paralyzed by a scarcity of
inputs and poor production incentives resulting from collectivism and the
lack of appropriate price signals. In pre-Castro Cuba, by contrast, food
supplies were abundant. The 1960 UN Statistical yearbook ranked
pre-Revolutionary Cuba third out of 11 Latin American countries in per
capita daily caloric consumption. This was in spite of the fact that the
latest available food consumption data for Cuba at the time was from
1948-49, almost a decade before the other Latin American countries' data
being used in the comparison. Looking at the same group of 11 countries
today, Cuba ranks last in per capita daily caloric consumption, according to
the most recent data available from the UN FAO Indeed, the data show Cuba
with a poorer food supply situation than even Honduras.
LATIN AMERICA:
PER CAPITA FOOD CONSUMPTION
(CALORIES PER DAY)
LATEST
DATA
1954-57
1995
MEXICO
2420
3135
ARGENTINA
3100
3110
BRAZIL
2540
2834
URUGUAY
2960
2826
CHILE
2330
2769
COLOMBIA
2050
2758
PARAGUAY
2690
2560
VENEZUELA
1960
2442
ECUADOR
2130
2436
HONDURAS
2260
2359
CUBA
2730
(A)
2291
(A) - FOR 1948-49.
SOURCE: UN FAO FOOD BALANCE SHEETS
A closer look at some basic food groups reveals that Cubans now have less
access to cereals, tubers, and meats than they had in the late 1940's.
According to 1995 UN FAO data, Cuba's per capita supply of cereals has
fallen from 106 kg per year in the late 1940's to 100 kg today, half a
century later. Per capita supply of tubers and roots shows an even steeper
decline, from 91 kg per year to 56 kg. Meat supplies have fallen from 33 kg
per year to 23 kg per year, measured on a per capita basis.
Although some would blame Cuba's food problems on the U.S. embargo, the
facts suggest that the food shortages are a function of an inefficient
collectivized agricultural system -- and a scarcity of foreign exchange
resulting from Castro's unwillingness to liberalize Cuba's economy,
diversify its export base, and pay off debts owed to its Japanese, European,
and Latin American trading partners during the years of abundant soviet aid.
This foreign exchange shortage has severely limited Cuba's ability to
purchase readily-available food supplies from Canada, Latin America, and
Europe. The U.S. Embargo has added, at most, relatively small increases in
transportation costs by forcing Cuba to import food from non - U.S. sources
elsewhere in the hemisphere.
The statistics on the consumption of nonfood items tell a similar story. The
number of automobiles in Cuba per capita has actually fallen since the
1950's, the only country in the hemisphere for which this is the case.
(Unfortunately, the latest available data for Cuba are from 1988.) UN data
show that the number of automobiles per capita in Cuba declined slightly
between 1958 and 1988, whereas virtually every other country in the
region -- with the possible exception of Nicaragua -- experienced very
significant increases in this indicator. Within Latin America, Cuba ranked
second only to Venezuela in 1958, but by 1988, had dropped to ninth.
The 1988 data on automobiles also reveal that countries in Asia and Europe
that once ranked far behind Cuba in this measure have since surpassed Cuba
by a wide margin. Japan, with four cars per 1,000 inhabitants in 1958, was
far behind Cuba (24) that year, but by 1988, Japan's number had grown to
251, whereas the figure for Cuba remained frozen at its 1958 level. Similar
comments could be made for Portugal (increased from 15 in 1958 to 216 in
1988), Spain (increased from six to 278), and Greece (increased from four to
150). Indeed, Italy's 29 cars per capita was not far ahead of Cuba's 24 in
1958, but by 1988, Italy boasted 440 cars per capita, whereas the figure for
Cuba was unchanged from the 1950's.
LATIN AMERICA: PASSENGER CARS PER CAPITA (A)
(CARS PER 1,000 INHABITANTS)
Average
Annual
Growth
1958
1988
(PERCENT)
ARGENTINA
19
129
6.6
URUGUAY
22
(F)
114
5.3
VENEZUELA
27
94
4.3
BRAZIL
7
73
8.1
MEXICO
11
(C)
70
6.4
PANAMA
16
(B)
56
4.3
CHILE
7
52
6.9
COSTA RICA
13
47
(C)
4.4
CUBA
24
23
-0.1
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
3
(B)
23
(G)
7.3
COLOMBIA
6
21
(D)
4.3
PARAGUAY
3
(C)
20
6.5
PERU
7
(E)
18
3.1
ECUADOR
2
15
7.0
BOLIVIA
3
(C)
12
4.7
GUATEMALA
6
11
2.0
EL SALVADOR
7
10
1.2
NICARAGUA
7
(B)
8
0.5
HONDURAS
3
6
2.3
(A) - FOR MOST COUNTRIES, EXCLUDES POLICE AND
MILITARY CARS.
(B) - EXCLUDES ALL GOVERNMENT CARS.
(C) - INCLUDES POLICE CARS.
(D) - INCLUDES CARS NO LONGER IN USE.
(E) - 1957.
(F) - 1956.
(G) - 1987.
SOURCE: UNITED NATIONS.
Telephones are another case in point. While every other country in the
region has seen its teledensity increase at least two fold -- and most have
seen even greater improvements -- Cuba's has remained frozen at 1958 levels.
Today, Cuba has only 3 telephone lines per 100 people, placing it 14th out
of 20 Latin American countries surveyed in 1994 and far behind countries
that were less advanced than Cuba in this measure in 1958, such as Argentina
(today 14 lines per 100 inhabitants), Costa Rica (13), Panama (11), Chile
(11), Venezuela (11), and several others.
Cuba also has not kept pace with the rest of Latin America in terms of
radios per capita. During the late 1950's, Cuba ranked second only to
Uruguay in Latin America, with 169 radios per 1,000 people. (Worldwide, this
put Cuba just ahead of Japan.) At that time, Argentina and Cuba were very
similar in terms of this measure. Since then, the number of radios per
capita in Argentina has grown three times as fast as in Cuba. Cuba also has
been surpassed by Bolivia, Venezuela, El Salvador, Honduras, and Brazil in
this indicator. Today, Cuba ranks just above average for Latin American
countries.
In terms of television sets per capita, 1950's Cuba was far ahead of the
rest of Latin America and was among the world's leaders. Cuba had 45
television sets per 1,000 inhabitants in 1957, by far the most in Latin
America and fifth in the world, behind only Monaco, the United States,
Canada, and the United Kingdom. In fact, its closest competitor in Latin
America was Venezuela, which had only 16 television sets per 1,000 people.
Today, Cuba has 170 televisions per thousand, behind Uruguay (232 per
capita), Argentina (220), and brazil (209). Of these three countries,
Uruguay in 1957 had fewer than one television per 1,000 people, and
Argentina and Brazil each had five per 1,000 people -- far behind Cuba's 45
per capita.
PRODUCTION
Post 1959 Cuba falls short in areas of industrial production once
prioritized by Soviet client states, such as electricity production.
Although Cuba has never been a regional leader in public electricity
production per capita, its relative ranking among 20 Latin American
countries has fallen from eighth to 11th during the Castro era. In fact, in
terms of the rate of growth for this measure, Cuba ranks 19th of 20
countries in the region, with only Haiti showing less accelerated
development.
Cuba is the only country in Latin America whose production of rice has
fallen since 1958, when it ranked fourth in the region in production of this
staple. Two of the countries ranking ahead of Cuba in rice production in
1958 -- Colombia and Peru -- have since seen their rice production grow by
more than three fold. Cuba's Caribbean neighbor, the Dominican republic, has
increased its rice production by four fold since 1958. Perhaps even more
telling are Cuba's yields per hectare in rice production. Whereas the
Dominican Republic has increased rice yields from 2100 kg per hectare in
1958 to 5400 kg per hectare in 1996, Cuba's yields today are only 2500 kg
per hectare, a negligible increase from the 2400 kg per hectare registered
in 1958, according to UN FAO data.
LATIN AMERICA: RICE PRODUCTION
(1,000 MT)
Average
Annual
Growth
1958
1996
(PERCENT)
BRAZIL
3829
10035
2.6
COLOMBIA
378
1787
4.2
ECUADOR
176
1346
5.5
PERU
285
1203
3.9
ARGENTINA
217
974
4.0
URUGUAY
58
868
7.4
VENEZUELA
22
733
9.7
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
99
555
4.6
MEXICO
240
455
1.7
BOLIVIA
11
296
9.1
PANAMA
86
230
2.6
CUBA
261
223
-0.4
NICARAGUA
33
219
5.1
COSTA RICA
34
186
4.6
CHILE
102
154
1.1
PARAGUAY
20
119
4.8
HAITI
42
(A)
96
2.3
EL SALVADOR
27
51
1.7
HONDURAS
21
41
1.8
GUATEMALA
11
33
2.9
(A) - 1959.
SOURCE: FAO YEARBOOK (UN)
Foreign Trade AND BALANCE OF PAYMENTS
Cuba's exports have not kept pace with other countries of the region. Of the
20 countries in the region for which comparable IMF data are available, Cuba
ranks last in terms of export growth -- below even Haiti. Mexico and Cuba
had virtually identical export levels in 1958 -- while Mexico's population
was five times Cuba's. Since then, Cuba's exports have merely doubled while
Mexico's have increased by almost 130-fold, according to IMF statistics.
Cuba's exports in 1958 far exceeded those of Chile and Colombia, countries
which have since left Cuba behind. The lack of diversification of Cuba's
exports over the past 35 years also is remarkable, when compared with other
countries in the region.
Cuba's enviable productive base during the 1950's was strengthened by
sizable inflows of foreign direct investment. As of 1958, the value of U.S.
foreign direct investment in Cuba was $861 million, according to United
States government figures published in 1959. Adjusting for inflation that
foreign investment number amounts to more than USD 4.3 billion in today's
dollars.
Contrary to popular perception, U.S. investors were not focusing on the
sugar industry in the 1950's. U.S. firms began to gradually sell their Cuban
sugar holdings to Cuban firms beginning in 1935. By 1958, U.S. firms owned
fewer than 40 of Cuba's 161 mills. While U.S. firms were moving away from
sugar, they were rapidly investing in a range of other ventures, especially
in infrastructure development. According to U.S. government statistics, 41
percent of U.S. direct investments in Cuba were in utilities as of 1958.
LATIN AMERICA: TOTAL EXPORTS
(MILLION USD)
Average
Annual
Growth
1958
1996
(PERCENT)
MEXICO
736
95991
14
PANAMA
23
2722
13
ECUADOR
95
5243
11
COSTA RICA
92
3826
10
CHILE
389
15396
10
BRAZIL
1243
47747
10
PARAGUAY
34
1282
10
HONDURAS
70
2469
10
ARGENTINA
994
23794
9
COLOMBIA
461
10437
9
GUATEMALA
103
2330
9
PERU
291
5854
8
BOLIVIA
65
1216
8
URUGUAY
139
2397
8
VENEZUELA
2319
23149
6
EL SALVADOR
116
1020
6
NICARAGUA
71
621
6
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
136
886
5
HAITI
48
181
4
CUBA
732
1831
2
SOURCE: IMF DIRECTION OF TRADE STATISTICS.
As the numbers above imply, Cuba had a very favorable overall balance of
payments situation during the 1950's, contrasted with the tenuous situation
today. In 1958, Cuba had gold and foreign exchange reserves -- a key measure
of a healthy balance of payments--totaling $387 million in 1958 dollars,
according to IMF statistics. (That level of reserves would be worth more
than 1.9 billion USD in today's dollars.) Cuba's reserves were third in
Latin America, behind only Venezuela and Brazil, which was impressive for a
small economy with a population of fewer than 7 million people.
Unfortunately, Cuba no longer publishes information on its foreign exchange
and gold reserves.
MASS MEDIA
It is no exaggeration to state that during the 1950's, the Cuban people were
among the most informed in the world, living in an uncharacteristically
large media market for such a small country. Cubans had a choice of 58 daily
newspapers during the late 1950's, according to the UN statistical yearbook.
Despite its small size, this placed Cuba behind only Brazil, Argentina, and
Mexico in the region. By 1992, government controls had reduced the number of
dailies to only 17.
There has also been a reduction in the number of radio and television
broadcasting stations, although the UN no longer reports these statistics.
However, it should be noted that in 1957, Cuba had more television stations
(23) than any other country in Latin America, easily outdistancing larger
countries such as Mexico (12 television stations) and Venezuela (10). It
also led Latin America and ranked eighth in the world in number of radio
stations (160), ahead of such countries as Austria (83 radio stations),
United Kingdom (62), and France (50), according to the UN statistical
yearbook.
[End of Document]