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Cuba And DR, More Alike Than Different!
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AZB said:
Prefaced by saying that I personally think the time has come to end the US embargo of Cuba; isn't it strange that we can blame this for 100% of their problems, although everyone else in the world trades with them. On the other hand, there are those who complain that sanctions against other countries are/were ineffective because not everyone participated fully.
I've gotta believe that the problems in Cuba go way beyond just the embargo.
Castro trades with practically all nations in the world, in addition, he receives free oil from Venezuela in exchange for doctors and advisers. During the last two years the US has sold Cuba hundreds of millions in food items and paper and cows etc. They even had an American farmer's fair in Havana. The US embargo is mostly limited to refusing Castro credit and not allowing Americans to go there as tourists. Sales are for cash only, or so they tell us. Besides, Europeans invest as much as they want in Cuba. So, the "embargo" IS NOT the main cause of Cuba's problems. It is FC's policies. If Cuba were a blockaded country or if it were under the kind of embargo that was imposed on Iraq, then I would agree, but that has never been Cuba's case. Those who say "the embargo" is the main cause, are not familiar with either Castro's policies nor his intentions or modus operandi.
Even the worst dictator always manages to leave something positive. When he's gone, there will be more doctors than in other Latin countries. Right now, many are not even practicing or are serving in other countries, others, like Escott said, and this applies to all kind of profesionals, are serving as prostitutes, or taxi drivers, or selling sandwiches in order to survive, sometimes along with their careers, sometimes instead.
So AZB, you may be very knowledgeble in some areas, but Cuba is not one of them. Also, Castro imposed food rationing in 1962, one full year before Kennedy declared the embargo on trade with Cuba. I do agree with you, however, that the whole embargo question has become a political tool in the US in order to gain votes from Cuban Americans because that is the the official way of showing "displeasure" with the Castro dictatorship. That is the only purpose of the embargo today. Also, the US does trade with other nations whose govts. are not good. So, the embargo has become more symbolic than anything else. Castro also uses it as an excuse for anything that goes wrong and to portray himself as a victim. This in turn, plays into his propaganda as an adversary of the US which makes him big in the eyes of many uninformed people around the world. Like Collin Powell recently said, Castro is basically a threat to Cubans, not to the US. Nor is the US really interested in getting him out of power, he's been there for 46 years in January and will probably die in power.
Even the worst dictator always manages to leave something positive. When he's gone, there will be more doctors than in other Latin countries. Right now, many are not even practicing or are serving in other countries, others, like Escott said, and this applies to all kind of profesionals, are serving as prostitutes, or taxi drivers, or selling sandwiches in order to survive, sometimes along with their careers, sometimes instead.
So AZB, you may be very knowledgeble in some areas, but Cuba is not one of them. Also, Castro imposed food rationing in 1962, one full year before Kennedy declared the embargo on trade with Cuba. I do agree with you, however, that the whole embargo question has become a political tool in the US in order to gain votes from Cuban Americans because that is the the official way of showing "displeasure" with the Castro dictatorship. That is the only purpose of the embargo today. Also, the US does trade with other nations whose govts. are not good. So, the embargo has become more symbolic than anything else. Castro also uses it as an excuse for anything that goes wrong and to portray himself as a victim. This in turn, plays into his propaganda as an adversary of the US which makes him big in the eyes of many uninformed people around the world. Like Collin Powell recently said, Castro is basically a threat to Cubans, not to the US. Nor is the US really interested in getting him out of power, he's been there for 46 years in January and will probably die in power.
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