I'm one of them, the Cuban dictatorship has gotten worse over years and more brutal, the cuban government is the enemy of its own people and asphyxiates any piece of freedom we have there. Is not the U.S or any other country but pure malice of the government that do not want to give up the power and sacrifices a whole country if necessary to remain there.
The amount of ignorance (bought the dictatorship propaganda) and even malice of foreigners commenting about cuba here (because Cuba has been always the flag of the Left) is staggering.
And BTW is not the 10% only, is around the 20%, close to 2 million cuban's has left in this last 2 years. Everyone is escaping that sinking ship.
The government is fully militarized and even complaining about your kid's food can land you in jail for 10 years.
> the Cuban dictatorship has gotten worse over years and more brutal, the cuban government is the enemy of its own people and asphyxiates any piece of freedom we have there.
As someone who thinks of himself as left and is aware of the left's fondness of cuba, could you give some examples?
(specifically, things that are the result of government policies, not the embargo)
- You can get 5 years in prison just for going to the street with a sign[1]
- Cuba sends doctors to other countries, claiming to be a humanitarian nation. However, they violate the human rights of the doctors they send without any mercy [2]. Fun fact: I have a family member who worked as a Cuban doctor in Africa. Despite earning only $200 while the government kept the rest, this person decided not to return. As punishment for ending the exploitation, they were not allowed to visit their family for more than 10 years.
On July 11, 2021, people took to the streets demanding change. The result? Brutal repression.[3]
I wonder what a sensible way forward for Cubans is, and their government. What would it take for the US to lift sanctions (I assume a radical shift within Cuba's government), and for Cuba itself (as a whole) to restructure their government in a way that would benefit them and everyone.
Cuba would be a great travel destination.
Their cigars aren't as on par anymore as far as I know, but there's potential there, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic basically make the best ones last I checked.
I've been smoking cigars for the past 15 years. I was lucky enough to have smoked only cuban cigars (which are legal where I'm from), so I know them very well.
Nicaragua and Dominican Republic are garbage compared to Cubans, still to this day. Several times while in the US (where I've lived in the past few years) I tried to smoke non-cuban cigars. Not once I found something that was remotely close to the worse cuban I've had.
My basic understanding is because of two factors:
1. The tobacco doesn't grow anywhere else like it does in Cuba. It's an island with very specific combination of soil and weather that can't be replicated. The tobacco leafs are huge in Cuba and that makes a big difference when making a cigar which ideally should use as few leafs as possible.
2. The best workers that know how to select, blend and roll a cigar are still all in Cuba. Other countries tried to replicate but they don't come close in terms of skills and knowledge.
I don't have sources for the two factors above but my experience tells me it adds up.
I only heard people complimenting non-cuban cigars here in the US. Nowhere else. Which sounds fair or else the entire cigar industry would have gone bankrupt without access to the best stuff. Overtime you won't find people in the US who understands what a cuban cigar is like because they have no exposure to it.
While the tobacco itself is unbeatable, Cuban cigars have quality control issues. You regularly run into draw issues, for example. Aging is typically required for best experience, which also isn't easy.
I smoke Olivas and Arturo Fuentes regularly, despite having access to Cubans.
It's been a while since I visited places outside the US, but one of the shocking things was travel ads for Cuba everywhere.
From what I can tell, US-Cuban relations seem to be at the whim of the US President. Most of the US population doesn't care; most of the rest of the world has fine relations with Cuba, but isn't going to pressure the US. Nobody is sending missiles to Cuba anymore.
A bunch of Floridians who are, or are descended from, folks who had their land and businesses seized during the revolution are holding grudges and won’t let go of them until they’re given their stuff back or a ton of money, which, this far on, isn’t happening.
Florida is important in Presidential elections.
US elections are structured such that dumb stuff like a relatively small—but loud—and also hopeless interest in a single US state can influence policy and make a whole bunch more lives worse for no good reason.
Politics. Florida used to be swing state in Presidential Elections. The Cuban community in Florida loses their shit if President talks about lifting the sanctions and will vote other way. If all Cubans had settled in California or Wyoming, we likely would have lifted sanctions a long time ago since they wouldn't have as much political power. It's why we lifted sanctions on Vietnam so long ago. Vietnamese who fled mostly immigrated to California and can't impact California voting Democrat.
A hostile regime 90 miles from US mainland will be treated differently. Cuba is not some vanilla leftist regime that has no love for America. Cuban intelligence and elite for the past 50 years have been active subverting US interests. A unilateral withdrawal of sanctions would mean rewarding bad behavior. Do not let the small size of Cuba underestimate them, they are behind all major anti-American activity in Latin America. They were are major force supporting Maduro in Venezuela.
Why does not the Communist regime in Cuba "open up"? Because they know the day Cuba becomes a multiparty state with elections -- they have to run out of the country. Both Cuban and Venezuelan elite along with many Caribbean states are active in Drug Dealings and Money Laundering.
Yes, the hawks in US have a role but they are not only active players, there are hawks in Cuba too.
The message is: if you refuse to be our puppet state and play by our rules, we will destroy you for as long as it takes.
Anyone who believes the US acts to punish evil authoritarians in defense of freedom and democracy is delusional. Look at our allies in the middle east.
Why did the US drop 2 nuclear bombs on Japan? Why the US is keeping Israel as their toy? Why the US entered the Vietnam war (hint: no, not to avoid the spread of communism). US is the bad boy of this planet, just because they can.
> What would it take for the US to lift sanctions (I assume a radical shift within Cuba's government), and for Cuba itself (as a whole) to restructure their government in a way that would benefit them and everyone.
It's irrelevant. Hard-line socialist countries don't voluntarily decide to change their government: their countries collapse and start over again.
While sanctions on Cuba are irrelevant to the US these days, it doesn't change the fact that Cuba would be a dysfunctional society in any case. Venezuela was a resource rich nation and 7.7 million people fled (>20% of the population). The Soviet Union was one of the most resource-rich entities in the world, with similar failures.
I find it somewhat astonishing that people in tech—an industry built around the belief that well-built systems can produce good results—are so dismissive of the role of agency when it comes to these issues. Somehow it's America's fault that people are leaving Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico... and left to their own devices, those places would be paradise.
This is true of any regime which refuses to adapt to reality. And in any case it's more or less tautological: a "hardliner" is defined precisely by the refusal to budge even when it might be to their benefit.
Obama opened up travel to Cuba. I went just months after his historic visit. There were still limitations, such as with currency, that made it a somewhat complicated travel destination. It would require more significant changes to make it a go-to vacation spot, but it's generally believed that is within presidential power.
Trump reverted the relationship back to Cold War status when he took office.
If you understand the origin of the sanctions against Cuba, you know the answer to this question is that the US wants control over Cuba and their resources.
There are many similar destinations, and all of them are still poor. Besides, Cuba has already tourists from Canada and Europe.
My guess their best chance is to start manufacturing for cheap. Close to US makes them more competitive. But for this to happen commies government has to go.
In southern europe we call this "Brain drain". It's a global phenomenon it seems, freedom of movement leads to contentration of productive forces to a few global cities, while the rest of the planet is increasingly deserted
Doesn’t brain drain imply the smarter people are moving? I’m not sure that’s what’s happening here. I think it’s anyone who can get out.
When I was in Havana our AirBnB was next to the Spanish embassy. There was a long line every morning of potential emigres waiting for their turn. (I have no idea how the process works when they get to the front of the line, I just was told they were trying to get out of the country legally. )
After spending a couple weeks in Cuba it’s not hard to see why.
The more important thing would seem to be what actually led to the immigration in the first place. In Cuba’s case it seems like widespread corruption and wholesale mismanagement by the government. This particular case doesn’t seem like an inevitable result of globalization but the natural reaction to a terrible government.
What's happening in Cuba has no resemblance to what happens in Southern Europe.
In Southern Europe, talent leaves for better job opportunities and higher salary. In Cuba, people are literally fleeing to achieve basic human rights and 21st century quality of life.
I'm not sure if you've been to Cuba before, but having visited in the late 2010s, it's a caricature of life in a communist dictatorship.
Internet wasn't allowed, except for in certain public parks at certain times of the day, only on phones with certain websites, and with dial-up speeds.
The sum total of fresh food in grocery stores was 1 type of government ham, 1 type of government cheese, eggs, a few fruits, and that was basically it.
I could go on. It's a beautiful island country, but please don't fall for the silly idea that US sanctions or european-style "brain drain" have anything to do with the reason Cubans are leaving.
Authoritarian communist dictatorships are no joke.
Whatever the reason, it's not so far fetched to assume the brightest are the first to leave. Or maybe the bravest, the most confident... I don't know. But better anyway.
That should put pressure on the deserted areas to increase compensation or offer better CoL in return for production. Similarly, it increases demand on housing and other services in global cities, putting pressure on the workers to move to greener pastures. Of course none of this works as intended due to outsized govt. intervention and corruption.
Frequently the country people are leaving also benefits. Many emigrants send money back to family. Some amount of emigrants moves back and bring what they learned with them. I've read the argument by Bryan Kaplan that this is a big factor why Puerto Rico is doing better than most of the island surrounding it.
Of course Cuba being Cuba makes all these benefits harder or undesirable.
taken a step further, you can consider that cities have very lower birth rates compared to the country side, meaning the intelligent people move to the cities, where they will produce less offspring.
This leaves the gene pool itself deserted. Spandrell controversially wrote about this, calling cities "iq shredders".
Cuba was hit extremely hard by the COVID crisis, is my understanding.
Not just internal policies and procedures, but consider that tourism is Cuba's #1 industry. And not many of us Canadians, etc. were heading down there spring 2020, winter 2021 or even winter 2022...
I see it as complete opposite. They did it because they could: for a long while, U.S. admitted virtually everyone as a refugee without even an attempt to cook up a plausible story. That happened only in 2022-2024.
It's a no brainer to see no one ever wanted to live in Cuba. Trick is having a place to go. Until the politically opportunistic immigration loophole was closed this year, they had.
> Trick is having a place to go. Until the politically opportunistic immigration loophole was closed this year, they had.
What loophole changed?
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 still applies. They get automatic Green Cards. Not sure it is fair to call legislation implicitly giving them work permits and a path to residency a loophole.
As a Cuban that is currently living in Cuba, I think it might be useful to voice my opinions, as I have read some comments here which I consider less than accurate in some respects. To avoid typing too much, I'll summarize with... bullet points?
* The published figure of 10 million people is already outdated. First, they are official figures, which means that they are not telling the truth. Second, six months have elapsed; which means the actual number of residents is less than 9 million.
* Not only a large amount of people are gone, but most of them are young, productive people; lots of them professionals in several critical aspects of a functioning society. Where I work I'm only one of the few that remains in my activity (IT & IT adjacent).
* Also gone are many of the more... reactive? brave? People that voiced discontent with the government and just chose to leave. What remains are relatively elderly people that are very conformist, or simple are not brave enough to voice their concerns.
* Is Cuba a dictatorship? No.
* Is Cuba a totalitarian state? Absolutely. The Cuban Communist Party is the only one allowed, as is written in the (relatively recent) Constitution. Even more than that, it exists above the Constitution, so this texts has no value at all.
* Are there human rights violations in Cuba? Yes, no doubt.
* Does the US embargo negatively impacts Cuba? Absolutely. Every single day, for the common people, that is. The elites? The top dogs of the Party? Of course they are unaffected; they are your run of the mill corrupt people in power, and they can have anything.
* Can Cuba trade with other countries? In theory, yes... in practice, it is very difficult. In addition, Cuba is a minuscule market that interests no one. China, for instance, has very little presence in Cuba, despite we being "allies". But they don't care.
I don't know how this could unfold in the future, except with a total collapse. I really wish the end of the embargo, and the possibility of open an free elections. We, common people, are at the mercy of US politics and being managed by inmensely incompetent leaders. We could debate all week on who's at fault here, who threw the first stone, but, as of this moment, that would be sterile. This country will be gone.
Argentino here. I think Venezuela is going through the same issues. We had A LOT of Venezuelan immigrants in Arg and Chile and they said the same thing you're saying: that people leaving were the "brave, smart, willing to work people" and the ones remaining were the scum.
Can I ask you what are the reasons you decide to stay?
Im in a similar situation than GP. Leaving can be expensive and dangerous, more so if one does not have support on the other side. I have people that directly depend on me (little kids, elderly parents) and not just financially. Some people may say "you can help them better when you are out, send remittances, get them out too" but its just complicated.
I do have the opportunity to leave, yes. But, on the one hand, there's immediate family that depends on me (and not just economically.) On the other hand, I'm approaching an age which I feel does not makes me very hireable, so to speak, despite my 30+ years of experience in the field.
Yes, the situation is dire; and I'll be here to witness how this unfolds :|
In the past, when Fidel Castro was alive and in full posession of his faculties, you could easily say that he was a dictator. Everything of importance was designed, implemented, and micro managed by him. The man was a megalomaniac and, and history would show, also incompetent; but boy, the cult of personality goes deep here, not only in mass media but many of the sicophants.
Today the Secretary General has no power. Everybody knows that; along with the fact that he is also a puppet with the charisma of bucket half filled with sand. Guidance and executive power come first from the Central Committee; which I'm sure follows "tips" and "recommendations" from Raúl Castro (Fidel's brother), a man that should be effectively retired. Everybody knows that's not the case.
However, and being honest, I really don't care about labeling this place as a dictatorship or not (it is a fuzzy concept for me, and I won't fight hard for one or the other). Unless there's a clear definition, labels are sometimes subjective. Hell, this is not even a communist country, despite what they themselves like to present; this is not the dictatorship of the proletariat. And never was.
When I was there the painted picture I was taught was different than what I saw.
I am not a dictator in my house. No one would say that either. They would say I do make the rules and have final authority. Can I determine our living conditions? Yes. I try to run a good house and love those under my care. We are communists in practice. Not by name.
> Hardliners have grown worried that the experiment with capitalism could threaten the government’s tight grip on power, and the Cuban military, which used to control most foreign currency coming into the island, is viewing these companies as competition, sources in Cuba said.
How much blame does the military have for the mass exodus of Cubans?
The military is where all the real power is concentrated, and not because of being military per se. They have no might whatsoever in relation to other countries... they probably have two working jets from the 1970s, four boats with rotting hulls, eleven pistols, and eight rifles. However, they do have a shadow and parallel economic system that exists beyond public scrutiny. By design. Quoting the Treasury Department: Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is a Cuban military-controlled umbrella enterprise with interests in the tourism, financial investment, import/export, and remittance sectors of Cuba’s economy. GAESA’s portfolio includes businesses incorporated in Panama to bypass CACR-related restrictions.
Those people can, and do, summon whatever resources they need to do whatever they want. In particular, the idea that Cuba should be a tourist destination has made them build hotels left and right, bleeding other services dry. And by services, I mean, everything else. That's why everything is in decay, collapsing, and why people choose to leave (one of the reasons, of course).
The United States is singular in its ability to assimilate immigrants. It is our one true superpower. The people who come to our country, like these Cubans fleeing their country, often come from societies where they lack freedoms Americans take for granted. Many Americans scarcely even acknowledge these freedoms but immigrants with their outside eye see them clearly. In doing so they refresh our founding ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
As a fourth generation American and midwesterner, I welcome these Cuban immigrants.
This is false. The US does not interfere with Cuban internal economy nor does the US Cuban trade embargo prevent Cuba from trading with other countries. Cuba’s disastrous economy is a direct consequence of the policies of its communist government, not external forces.
This just does not seem plausible. Sure, I understand the claim that Cuban statistics are falsified because the Cuban government is obviously biased about whether "Cuba is good", but the claims about Cuban emigration are coming from groups that are very distinctly anti-Cuban themselves; why should I trust them to tell the truth about Cuba, particularly when lying about your enemies is incredibly effective, common, and completely unpunished?
> A stunning 10% of Cuba’s population — more than a million people — left the island between 2022 and 2023, the head of the country’s national statistics office said during a National Assembly session Friday, the largest migration wave in Cuban history.
Is Cuba's national statistics office "distinctly anti-Cuban"?
The published figure of 10 million people is already outdated. First, they are official figures, which means that they are not telling the truth. Second, six months have elapsed; which means the actual number of residents is less than 9 million.
Readit News
As someone who thinks of himself as left and is aware of the left's fondness of cuba, could you give some examples?
(specifically, things that are the result of government policies, not the embargo)
[1] https://havanatimes.org/features/luis-robles-the-cuban-youth...
[2] https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/07/23/cuba-repressive-rules-do...
[3] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/five-things-y...
Cuba would be a great travel destination.
Their cigars aren't as on par anymore as far as I know, but there's potential there, Nicaragua and Dominican Republic basically make the best ones last I checked.
Nicaragua and Dominican Republic are garbage compared to Cubans, still to this day. Several times while in the US (where I've lived in the past few years) I tried to smoke non-cuban cigars. Not once I found something that was remotely close to the worse cuban I've had.
My basic understanding is because of two factors: 1. The tobacco doesn't grow anywhere else like it does in Cuba. It's an island with very specific combination of soil and weather that can't be replicated. The tobacco leafs are huge in Cuba and that makes a big difference when making a cigar which ideally should use as few leafs as possible. 2. The best workers that know how to select, blend and roll a cigar are still all in Cuba. Other countries tried to replicate but they don't come close in terms of skills and knowledge.
I don't have sources for the two factors above but my experience tells me it adds up.
I only heard people complimenting non-cuban cigars here in the US. Nowhere else. Which sounds fair or else the entire cigar industry would have gone bankrupt without access to the best stuff. Overtime you won't find people in the US who understands what a cuban cigar is like because they have no exposure to it.
While the tobacco itself is unbeatable, Cuban cigars have quality control issues. You regularly run into draw issues, for example. Aging is typically required for best experience, which also isn't easy.
I smoke Olivas and Arturo Fuentes regularly, despite having access to Cubans.
It's been a while since I visited places outside the US, but one of the shocking things was travel ads for Cuba everywhere.
From what I can tell, US-Cuban relations seem to be at the whim of the US President. Most of the US population doesn't care; most of the rest of the world has fine relations with Cuba, but isn't going to pressure the US. Nobody is sending missiles to Cuba anymore.
When Florida was a swing state, that was enough to make every presidential candidate be pro embargo.
Now that Florida is a red state, it might be different.
Or are they?
https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/12/americas/russian-navy-cuba-in...
Most of the rest of the world didn't get Soviet nuclear missiles pointed at them by Cuba.
As a practical matter, Americans can travel to Cuba without much trouble. Several of my friends have gone.
Florida is important in Presidential elections.
US elections are structured such that dumb stuff like a relatively small—but loud—and also hopeless interest in a single US state can influence policy and make a whole bunch more lives worse for no good reason.
AFAIK that’s basically the story.
Why does not the Communist regime in Cuba "open up"? Because they know the day Cuba becomes a multiparty state with elections -- they have to run out of the country. Both Cuban and Venezuelan elite along with many Caribbean states are active in Drug Dealings and Money Laundering.
Yes, the hawks in US have a role but they are not only active players, there are hawks in Cuba too.
Anyone who believes the US acts to punish evil authoritarians in defense of freedom and democracy is delusional. Look at our allies in the middle east.
Democrats took an L for freedom, prosperity and common sense and Republicans capitalized to win back the presidency.
Careful visiting if you want to use the ESTA to visit the United States.
https://ogletree.com/insights-resources/blog-posts/u-s-visa-...
Florida to stop being a swing state? We are almost there..
It's irrelevant. Hard-line socialist countries don't voluntarily decide to change their government: their countries collapse and start over again.
While sanctions on Cuba are irrelevant to the US these days, it doesn't change the fact that Cuba would be a dysfunctional society in any case. Venezuela was a resource rich nation and 7.7 million people fled (>20% of the population). The Soviet Union was one of the most resource-rich entities in the world, with similar failures.
I find it somewhat astonishing that people in tech—an industry built around the belief that well-built systems can produce good results—are so dismissive of the role of agency when it comes to these issues. Somehow it's America's fault that people are leaving Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico... and left to their own devices, those places would be paradise.
This is true of any regime which refuses to adapt to reality. And in any case it's more or less tautological: a "hardliner" is defined precisely by the refusal to budge even when it might be to their benefit.
Trump reverted the relationship back to Cold War status when he took office.
If you understand the origin of the sanctions against Cuba, you know the answer to this question is that the US wants control over Cuba and their resources.
There are many similar destinations, and all of them are still poor. Besides, Cuba has already tourists from Canada and Europe.
My guess their best chance is to start manufacturing for cheap. Close to US makes them more competitive. But for this to happen commies government has to go.
Dead Comment
You’re going to need sources on that. Cubans are still the best dollar for dollar.
Open the doors to US investors to exploit every single resource Cuba has to offer.
Kicking out Batista the dictator and closing those doors was the reason sanctions were applied in the first place.
When I was in Havana our AirBnB was next to the Spanish embassy. There was a long line every morning of potential emigres waiting for their turn. (I have no idea how the process works when they get to the front of the line, I just was told they were trying to get out of the country legally. )
After spending a couple weeks in Cuba it’s not hard to see why.
Anyone who can get out is one of the minor definitions of being smart.
Which is the consequence of being sanctioned into oblivion for decades by the global hegemon, much to the dislike of the entire rest of the world.
Great point, and just FYI: "emigration" here.
In Southern Europe, talent leaves for better job opportunities and higher salary. In Cuba, people are literally fleeing to achieve basic human rights and 21st century quality of life.
I'm not sure if you've been to Cuba before, but having visited in the late 2010s, it's a caricature of life in a communist dictatorship.
Internet wasn't allowed, except for in certain public parks at certain times of the day, only on phones with certain websites, and with dial-up speeds.
The sum total of fresh food in grocery stores was 1 type of government ham, 1 type of government cheese, eggs, a few fruits, and that was basically it.
I could go on. It's a beautiful island country, but please don't fall for the silly idea that US sanctions or european-style "brain drain" have anything to do with the reason Cubans are leaving.
Authoritarian communist dictatorships are no joke.
Plenty of folks get started working for the state industry or university. Then they hop on a plane to America via Canada and claim citizenship.
I’m confident there are still traditional political refugees, but they coexist with “company men” wanting more pay.
Of course Cuba being Cuba makes all these benefits harder or undesirable.
This leaves the gene pool itself deserted. Spandrell controversially wrote about this, calling cities "iq shredders".
Not just internal policies and procedures, but consider that tourism is Cuba's #1 industry. And not many of us Canadians, etc. were heading down there spring 2020, winter 2021 or even winter 2022...
It's a no brainer to see no one ever wanted to live in Cuba. Trick is having a place to go. Until the politically opportunistic immigration loophole was closed this year, they had.
What loophole changed?
The Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 still applies. They get automatic Green Cards. Not sure it is fair to call legislation implicitly giving them work permits and a path to residency a loophole.
* The published figure of 10 million people is already outdated. First, they are official figures, which means that they are not telling the truth. Second, six months have elapsed; which means the actual number of residents is less than 9 million.
* Not only a large amount of people are gone, but most of them are young, productive people; lots of them professionals in several critical aspects of a functioning society. Where I work I'm only one of the few that remains in my activity (IT & IT adjacent).
* Also gone are many of the more... reactive? brave? People that voiced discontent with the government and just chose to leave. What remains are relatively elderly people that are very conformist, or simple are not brave enough to voice their concerns.
* Is Cuba a dictatorship? No.
* Is Cuba a totalitarian state? Absolutely. The Cuban Communist Party is the only one allowed, as is written in the (relatively recent) Constitution. Even more than that, it exists above the Constitution, so this texts has no value at all.
* Are there human rights violations in Cuba? Yes, no doubt.
* Does the US embargo negatively impacts Cuba? Absolutely. Every single day, for the common people, that is. The elites? The top dogs of the Party? Of course they are unaffected; they are your run of the mill corrupt people in power, and they can have anything.
* Can Cuba trade with other countries? In theory, yes... in practice, it is very difficult. In addition, Cuba is a minuscule market that interests no one. China, for instance, has very little presence in Cuba, despite we being "allies". But they don't care.
I don't know how this could unfold in the future, except with a total collapse. I really wish the end of the embargo, and the possibility of open an free elections. We, common people, are at the mercy of US politics and being managed by inmensely incompetent leaders. We could debate all week on who's at fault here, who threw the first stone, but, as of this moment, that would be sterile. This country will be gone.
Can I ask you what are the reasons you decide to stay?
Yes, the situation is dire; and I'll be here to witness how this unfolds :|
(thanks a lot reading me!)
Would you clarify what you mean by this? Does the first secretary of the Communist party no longer have de facto dictatorial power?
Today the Secretary General has no power. Everybody knows that; along with the fact that he is also a puppet with the charisma of bucket half filled with sand. Guidance and executive power come first from the Central Committee; which I'm sure follows "tips" and "recommendations" from Raúl Castro (Fidel's brother), a man that should be effectively retired. Everybody knows that's not the case.
However, and being honest, I really don't care about labeling this place as a dictatorship or not (it is a fuzzy concept for me, and I won't fight hard for one or the other). Unless there's a clear definition, labels are sometimes subjective. Hell, this is not even a communist country, despite what they themselves like to present; this is not the dictatorship of the proletariat. And never was.
I am not a dictator in my house. No one would say that either. They would say I do make the rules and have final authority. Can I determine our living conditions? Yes. I try to run a good house and love those under my care. We are communists in practice. Not by name.
How much blame does the military have for the mass exodus of Cubans?
The military is where all the real power is concentrated, and not because of being military per se. They have no might whatsoever in relation to other countries... they probably have two working jets from the 1970s, four boats with rotting hulls, eleven pistols, and eight rifles. However, they do have a shadow and parallel economic system that exists beyond public scrutiny. By design. Quoting the Treasury Department: Grupo de Administración Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is a Cuban military-controlled umbrella enterprise with interests in the tourism, financial investment, import/export, and remittance sectors of Cuba’s economy. GAESA’s portfolio includes businesses incorporated in Panama to bypass CACR-related restrictions.
Those people can, and do, summon whatever resources they need to do whatever they want. In particular, the idea that Cuba should be a tourist destination has made them build hotels left and right, bleeding other services dry. And by services, I mean, everything else. That's why everything is in decay, collapsing, and why people choose to leave (one of the reasons, of course).
Lol Cuban here. This is disingenuous. By definition and in theory, a military dictatorship and a uniparty "republic" are not the same.
In practice, it is very much the same. They are extremely dangerous, oppressive regimes that are dominated by few families.
As a fourth generation American and midwesterner, I welcome these Cuban immigrants.
Maybe in the past, but now other countries now have wayyy more immigrants: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states_by_im...
Shows foreign born 15% of USA. Countries like Australia have 30% foreign born immigrants.
> A stunning 10% of Cuba’s population — more than a million people — left the island between 2022 and 2023, the head of the country’s national statistics office said during a National Assembly session Friday, the largest migration wave in Cuban history.
Is Cuba's national statistics office "distinctly anti-Cuban"?
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/un-votes-end-us-embar...
Deleted Comment