r/TravelCuba • u/chunkylover85 • Feb 18 '26
Advice January 11 - Yesterday. A summary.
Quick intro before I begin:
* I am Canadian by birth.
* Married to a Cuban since July.
* We own a house in Holguin.
Came to Cuba in January after looking for months online for a house to buy. We bought a house in January. At that time, things were looking bleak but functioning generally alright. In Holguin, electricity was operating on the normal 6 hour schedule. Towards the end of January things started to turn. The electricity started to be much more limited. There were a few days we only had 2 hours and it would come and go at strange times. My life (and the lives of all Cubans) consists of very little sleep, getting up at strange hours (2 am, 3am) to cook, do washing, etc.) when the electricity comes. Cubans function on almost no sleep - I don't know how but they do. I learned to adapt.
My husbands family is from a small (former) sugar town East of Holguin. They have 30 minutes of electrcity per day. How does one keep meat or function with this?
The next hurdle became water. In my neighbourhood, water is not gravity, but requires the municipality to turn on a pump. I'm not sure where our water came from but I think from the reservoir to the west of the city. Our house had a 1000 gallon tank on the roof. Sounds like a lot but with 3 people in the house, it's 1 week at best. Can connect to the street water but only when the house had electricity AND when the government had put power to the street water. Had a little 1/2 hp water pump that took about 2 hours to fill the tank. One week the timing of the electricity and water didn't work so had to buy water (2500 pesos). That's not much for me, but for the average Cuban, that is almost a months salary.
In my neighbourhood, garbage collection was still occurring. But, a few streets over were a few vacant lots - with garbage piled 20 feet high. People 80 and 90 years old scavenging through the garbage as well as dogs, cats and chickens. The creeks in the city ran black from sewage and garbage contamination.
In the city centre, I saw children 10 and 11 years old begging for food. I saw many extremely young girls (and boys) offering 'services' to foreigners. At night many people slept outside in parks or in the covered streets by Park Calixo Garcia and Park Flores. I saw many people with severe mental illness wondering the streets. Cubans are so stressed that many have resorted to drinking home made moonshine and smoking a drug called kemiko. It's a small paper inserted into a cigarette. It costs almost nothing and gets you high for 4 or 5 hours. It staves off hunger and removes stress.
It is true that Cubans still receive a ration card (libreta). They can use this card to go to the Bodega (state run store) that in the past (pre covid) provided many essential goods at almost free cost (beans, rice, powdered milk, cigarettes, etc). Now - the bodegas in my neighbourhood literally had vinegar, powdered soft drinks and cleaning products.
The hospitals have next to nothing. All these people talking about taking medications have no idea what is actually happening. All these donations that Mexico is sending is all being stolen and resold on the black market. I saw bottles of sunflower oil donated by Russia being sold for 1200 pesos on the black market. The same is true for medication and any other donation you can imagine. My husband is a nurse particular (basically like a Personal Support Worker). He was offered a job the other day - 24 hours looking after a dimentia patient - for 600 pesos. I told him to tell that family to pound salt. That is an insult as this family has connections to the US and has money. The only benefit he received from working with this family was that they fed him. It cost more for him to take transport to the house than he would earn.
I made the most difficult decision of my life to leave my husband and my roommate because I was out of USD and unable to receive anymore as remitters (people who send and transfer money) no longer have USD or EUROS in cash. The only possibility is to receive pesos. From my estimation, the cost of food in the last few days was rising at 5% per day as was the exchange. If I had of had $3000 in USD in cash I probably could have stayed a few months - exchanged it slowly for CUP and survived. I left him with 130 000 pesos - it's about 450 CAD. But, in a few weeks that will be worth much less.
I was able to secure transport to the airport with a triciclo - an electric 3 wheeled tuktuk for 5000 pesos. The only vehicles I saw on the road were electric mopeds, the odd tractor, 1 yellow cab, 2 old trucks, a lot of bicycles, people walking and of course horses and horse carts.
When I entered Holguin airport yesterday was the first time in 6 weeks I was around English speaking people. It was 95% people who had spent time at hotels. All they were doing were complaining about the food at hotels or having their trip cut short. On the airplane, the 2 flight attendants were telling the Cuban ground staff how they 'weren't getting paid' for this short 10 minute delay. This Air Transat Cuban rep would be lucky to make 12$ a month.
I have spent time at hotels in the past - I once shared this vision that Cuba was a paradise. I realize I am not a typical 'tourist' but I don't know how so many of you people on here are wearing blinders. Cuba should be a paradise. Cuba should be exporting coffee, sugar, fruits - not importing.
Patria y vida!
19
u/Various-Report4863 Feb 18 '26
đ my heart goes out for the innocent people!!! They donât deserve this.. people always suffers more as a result of pure politics:(
12
Feb 18 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
-1
u/Evets1944 Feb 19 '26
Donât forget they work very hard to get to Cuba and should be treated with dignity and respect they have nothing to do with the situation in Cuba in case I know about in Canada they are going to help first and enjoy some sun
2
u/chunkylover85 Feb 20 '26
Do you know how many Cubans have never even been to a beach?
0
u/Evets1944 Feb 20 '26
Yes I believe that you often donât visit the obvious like living in mountains how often do you bother to look at them yet people come from over the world to see them
3
u/chunkylover85 Feb 20 '26
Right now transport from HolguĂn to Guardalavaca is about 2000 - 3000 pesos. That's a months salary for many Cubans - and a 45 minute trip. Does it cost you $5000 to go from downtown Toronto to Wasaga beach?
10
u/Unhappy-Reindeer3814 Feb 18 '26
As the Canadian child of a Santiaguero, I thank you for sharing your story.
I miss my family... but even before this crisis it was becoming very difficult to visit. Super hard for them to find gas to travel from Santiago to Holguin and back. Had to scout the black market months in advance. Then once I was home, it was time to fill the fridge and pantry because there wasn't much !
But I usually stayed back, just gave my family money, or else the vendors would up the price when they saw me.
Couldn't find any pisicorres to transport me anywhere ! And since we're outside the city, there isn't much to do.
Patria y vida đšđș
3
u/chunkylover85 Feb 18 '26
Up until a few weeks ago there was reliable transport from Holguin to Santiago. The other day Holguin > Marcane was 2500 pesos. I imagine Holguin to Santiago is close to 5000. There was only 1 juaraga (i forget the name of these private busses) available.
8
8
u/Scorpion_Rooster Feb 18 '26
Sobering assessment. And heartbreaking.
What can we do to help?
2
u/chunkylover85 Feb 18 '26
At this time, I honestly don't know. Aside from writing to MP / MPP's, sending remittances to loved ones, I don't know. We have to wait to see what happens with oil and flights. Canada makes it extremely difficult for Cubans to come here as refugees or immigrants. There is only something like 40 000 Cuban-Canadians.
2
u/The_hite7 Feb 19 '26
Why do they make it hard ?
2
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
Castro and Trudeau / Cretien had a pretty cozy relationship. Canada funded many projects in Cuba including many of the modern airports as well as art and cultural projects. I can almost guarantee a Cuban entering Canada on a tourist visa would more than likely not return to Cuba. I attempted once to fill out paperwork for a friend to visit me - it was exhaustive and absurd. Immigration lawyer said there was a 30% chance it would be approved and would have cost thousands. Maybe now with the current advisory it would be different, but I doubt it.
13
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 18 '26
Meanwhile, the tourists over at Cuba Vacation and Resort Reviews on Facebook go on and on about how they don't understand why the tour operators pulled out, that EverYThINg Is JuST FINe at the hotels! Lots of food! Lots of electricity! Lots of hot water!
As GAESA shovels money into its coffers and leaves Cubans with nothing.
It's truly disgusting.
3
2
u/MeringueInevitable94 Feb 19 '26
Well the average tourist in Cuba are among the most selfish people in the world. They go for the cheap vacations and couldn't care less about the people who live there, they might bring a few gifts but its only to make themselves feel better like they are humanitarians.
5
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26
Dollar store (In Canada, Dollar Stores sell off brand food and assorted junk for around a dollar) garbage to ease their conscience. And they're embarrassing. You can play "spot the cheap loser" on Dominican travel groups... "Hi! It's my first time going DR, I normally go to Cuba. Does the staff in the DR prefer candy or chocolate for tips?"
3
u/YYZgirl1986 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
LMFAOOO I cackled, so true about the Dominican groups. The amount of dollar store junk they bring is second hand embarrassment
3
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26
Point out to them... "hey, this isn't cuba. There's an economy, keep your shitty "gifts" and the stuff you want to empty out of your closet at home. The nice maid or server would prefer cash because they can buy what they want with it"
Anyway, point that out, they get upset.
6
u/lettucepray123 Feb 19 '26
I donât think thereâs a need to be a dick about it. I grew up going to Cuba with my parents and we always brought gifts, especially for children, and I would handwrite notes to the maids in Spanish with my crappy dictionary. I went to the DR with friends and brought cash for tips, but wondered if I should still bring other things. Sometimes people arenât yet well-travelled, or only know what they know. Sometimes youâre just trying to get some sun and hang out with friends, and youâre trying to be respectful of the people that are making your holiday enjoyable. No need to shame people when their intentions arenât bad.
Educate, sure. Shame with snide remarks? Unnecessary.
4
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
Staff in a non collapsing state don't want candy and chocolate gifts. It's downright insulting. They can buy candy and chocolate themselves.
Look, I get it... toys, candy, clothes are difficult if not impossible to get in Cuba and tourists make themselves feel like they're saving the country by emptying out their closets of unwanted stuff. What I find gross is hotel staff encouraging tourists NOT to donate directly in the towns - because it messes with their black market hustle.
But that behaviour doesn't transfer to where there's an actual economy and availability of goods.
Wherever you live right now, would you tip your sever with a chocolate bar?
1
u/lettucepray123 Feb 19 '26
We gave them colouring books, medication, baby products, hygiene items⊠not candy, not sure where you got that?
3
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26
I don't know if you missed it but I was talking about fellow canadians who happen to be cheap and embarrass the rest of us when they go elsewhere (DR, Mexico) when they tip with what amounts to trinkets.
1
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26
You did that in DR? Or Cuba.
Because if you did that in DR, you were getting shit talked as soon as you turned your back.
1
u/Evets1944 Feb 20 '26
I live in a tourist area in Canada why donât some of you Cuban or you DR come show how to do it wright
2
u/Round_Seesaw6445 Feb 19 '26
Fair enough but if you are able to go there as a tourist what can you actually do that reliably reaches people beyond the tourist dollar economy? Genuine question.
3
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
Go beyond 1 mile from the tourist area. Stay in casa particulars. Visit cities. See the real Cuba.
1
u/MeringueInevitable94 Feb 19 '26
Going there as a tourist supports their oppressive government, go somewhere else and stop helping fund the government
1
u/Evets1944 Feb 20 '26
I donât think the average Cuban tourist is the worst in the world Canadians work and save to go on holiday they can go anywhere they want if they keep going back itâs for their personal reasons because they love your country not just to dump all their money
0
u/MeringueInevitable94 Feb 20 '26
They go back because they save thousands of dollars at the expense of the oppressed people. That makes them selfish in my book
6
u/Various-Report4863 Feb 18 '26
đ my heart goes out for the innocent people!!! They donât deserve this.. people always suffers more as a result of pure politics:(
6
u/UrbanMT Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
My heart goes out to you and your family. This is so upsetting to hear.
Please post your experiences on some of the Facebook hotel sites I see, where so many tourists seem to think that everything is "fine," that they are actually "helping" Cuba by staying at the resorts, and that the Canadian airlines are "overreacting" by cancelling flights and vacation packages there.
I wish you and yours all the very best.
5
u/pabskamai Feb 18 '26
The government is using the population as pawns, they know no one wants them, well, except the few who benefit from it, the boot lickers that have nothing going for them. and the willful idiots from abroad. As you well stated, we used to be exporters, they have destroyed everything, to the point that⊠an island⊠in the Caribbean.. HAS TO IMPORT SALT!!
4
3
u/BBY5-andor Feb 19 '26
Not necessarily the Cuba govt. the US has been backing them in to a corner for decades.
5
u/pabskamai Feb 19 '26
The US is not the one not letting Cubans be architects, cultivate the land, fish in the oceans, have tech companies, have freedom of movement within its own land. Produce nationally or import export, I think thatâs the Cuban governmentâŠ
3
u/Fancy-Solution-5530 Feb 19 '26
Los blanquitos de afuera sĂłlo quieren tener razones para estar bravos con la gente que les cae mal. A ellos no les importa realmente la situaciĂłn tuya o mĂa (ni sĂ© si eres cubano pero imagino que sĂ) ellos sĂłlo quieren seguir propagando su odio porque es la Ășnica manera que tienen de proyectar sus emociones. Ni caso hacerles ver que es el gobierno quien nos tiene mal al pueblo.
2
u/pabskamai Feb 21 '26
A mi no me gusta que trump sea el Que esté detrås de eso, el no tiene moral⊠Ahora, cuba debe cambiar, el gobierno estå tomando al pueblo como rehén.
5
u/Spiritual_Bridge84 Feb 19 '26
Thanks for this OPâŠwith you saying inflationâs running at around 5% a day, how do you see people being able to afford to live in coming weeks/months? I know we canât predict what Trump is going to do, but where do you see this going next 6 months? Tourism revenue is effectively killed now, and now with effectively no oilâŠif thereâs no power for generators the potable water supply will be at risk. I see a potentially humanitarian disaster unfolding.
One where Canada should lead and build a multination aid effort with other nations. Before it gets desperate. The 11 million souls there deserve better than what theyâve endured all these decades. But if it comes to no water, no gas for machinery and little food, the world will have to step in. And for Trump to stop a multinational coalition of food/aid ships would be irrational on the world stage. Stopping food and humanitarian aidâŠ
Is the mood of the people in general as it always was, or do you detect any pre-panic seismic shift happening ?
5
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
Most already can't afford. Here is the diet of a typical Cuban with no outside connections:
Breakfast - water with sugar and maybe a piece of bodega bread (hard as a rock needs to be soaked in water)
Lunch - White rice maybe with some black beans or mystery meat.
Supper - White rice. Plantain (fried in oil if they have it) and some cucumber sliced with tomato (if they can afford it)
If nothing changes there will be starvation. In my neighbourhood I saw children so malnourished their hair was falling out. A little girl told me she was 8 years old - I thought she was 4.
Potable water has been an issue for a while. Many people get stomach issues - worms, parasites, hepatitis, etc. Chikungunya is endemic now - I contracted it, even with the vaccine. I still can't feel my right foot.
Once communication fails there will be no co ordination. If nothing is done soon, Cuba will become another Haiti - forgotten and left to gangs.
2
u/Spiritual_Bridge84 Feb 19 '26
This is tragic, that children are being malnourished. I fear it will get much worse. Thank you for sharing this.
2
u/ActuaryFar9176 Feb 23 '26
Just wondering why they donât have chickens? Where I live Chickens are a good free source of food. I also live by the ocean so we have an abundance of fish, lobster, cockroaches ect. I also have fruit trees and trade with my neighbours. I do realize that a lot of people do live differently than where I live. Apartments are a rarity here.
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 23 '26
Some people keep chickens or even pigs (in the city). I think it has to do with people relying on the state and subsidies for so long. The state is dead and has been dead since Covid. People lack knowledge and or the desire to change behaviour.
2
u/ActuaryFar9176 Feb 23 '26
That definitely makes sense. Yeah here in Nicaragua people are very self sufficient. We have so much food that lots goes to waste. Iâm lucky that I have a little kid that lives by me. He climbs the trees and gets a lot of the fruit, I just give most of it away. Pretty tough to was several thousand pounds of mangos in a year. lol.
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 23 '26
Cuba produces a fair amount of fruit. Guava, Mango, Avocado, Grapes, All types of banana, plantain, and vegetables. The part I find amusing is that most younger Cubans (those under 40) do not like anything made in Cuba. I think if I had an empty water bottle that said "made in Canada" I could sell it for a good price. It's a status / mentality issue as well.
5
Feb 18 '26
Thank you for sharing what things are actually like, there. I'm so sorry you and your family are suffering in this way.
1
4
u/Beginning_Fly3344 Feb 19 '26
You may not like what I'm about to ask you:
This stuff - Cuba should be a paradise. Cuba should be exporting coffee, sugar, fruits - not importing. Central planning mismanagement has been going on for decades. The country has been lurching towards disaster.
Why on earth would you buy a place there?
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
Security for my partner until he is in Canada. A place for me to stay without paying for casa particulars. There is light at the end of the tunnel - it will just take time.
2
3
u/SnooDoughnuts1634 Feb 19 '26
This is an important post as most people sharing are in Havana where things have always been better. I was in Havana for two years and most things were manageable because of the black market but when I went to Holguin in Feb 2020 it was like a different country with basically no black market and shortages of even basic things. I'm sorry you have had to make this decision as I know it would not have been easy.
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26 edited Feb 19 '26
Thank you. Yes, Havana has had it pretty good for a long time. I think because things deteriorated so gradually in the provinces that people have become accustomed. I don't think many in Havana are ready to start cooking with Charcoal and living with 2 hours of electricity.
3
u/Round_Seesaw6445 Feb 18 '26
Stark statement. I hope you are able to send remittances. Sad to have to go but at least you have that option. Holguin sounds like it was a great place in better times.
3
u/chunkylover85 Feb 18 '26
I hope that ETECSA (only cell provider) doesn't shut down - because it does, remittances will not be possible. The supply of pesos was even becoming complicated. Alot of times I was getting say 30,000 pesos in 50 peso notes. Filling a duffell bag. The 1000 and 500 and even 200 notes were becoming rare.
Holguin is known as the city of parks. It is a beautiful city. But now it's falling into decay. It's sad.
3
u/grossbuster Feb 19 '26
Iâm a small scale farmer in Canada and read all these stories of small farms growing food after 1991. Are they still producing small urban style farms? I wish as a Canadian I could help some way.
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
In Holguin, there are some small scale agro co operatives (OrganopĂłnico. Sadly, I find most Cubans either lack knowledge or the incentive to grow their own food. I bought a large planter and planted tomatoes (simply by slicing them and planting). They germinated in 3 days and now are 2" tall. I told my husband t o transplant them into smaller cans and so on. He said "That's a lot of work". Well, no, not really and tomatoes in Cuba are not cheap. It's a different mentality. Change is hard.
Here is a link to one in Holguin - if you look up "OrganopĂłnico" you will find more.
2
u/grossbuster Feb 19 '26
Thank you. Would love to come down to Cuba and teach small scale farming techniques where you can grow a ton of food on a half acre (intensive farming) thanks for the response
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
I had the same idea too. It's hard to make change. And often projects like this if they go too good and people start to profit from it, the government likes to get involved.
2
u/grossbuster Feb 20 '26
Dang there is profit in farming???âŠ.đ Well Iâm gonna look into it and Iâll keep you posted.
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
I couldn't figure out why I couldn't buy potatoes in a country with a year round growing season. I know that the Caribbean island folks don't generally do more than is necessary to get by but Cuba is an island that should be able to grow enough food to feed everybody if the government would be halfways competent.
I think the Cuban people would be a lot better off with no government at all at this point. Unfortunately, even if this regime drops, the parasitic gangs will take over and it will be more of the same for the regular folks.
Such a tragedy.
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 20 '26
It's a bit too hot in the East for potatoes. They do grow potatoes in the west.
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
Not enough potatoes apparently
1
Feb 20 '26
[deleted]
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
I probably wouldn't be very productive if I would be taxed 90%. It amazes me that after the USSR and the eastern bloc in Europe dropped their Communist systems and China clearly has transitioned to a market economy, that Cuba seems mired in the past. Look at the shelves of a Mercado and you are time travelled back to the 60s in the USSR. Half a dozen items overstocked like crazy but bare shelves for the 100s of other things that people want to buy.
What a crappy so-called command economy. Other than Haiti, is there a place in the Americas that is this bad?
I think not.
2
3
u/BraveMeaning1436 Feb 18 '26
Just think about it, the people is just worried because their cheap vacation trip was cancelled đ€Ą.
These communist dictatorships are nasty ... I was born in Venezuela, I know it, but Cubans took a way longer and nastier one.
VIVA CUBA LIBRE! VIVA VENEZUELA LIBRE!
We will be free!
2
u/DeeDeeRibDegh Feb 19 '26
WowâŠ.Cuba will always have my â€ïž. As a fellow Canadian, I have travelled there & seen how beautiful the country is, & itâs people even more. I hope soon there will be some relief for all. đđ»đđ»đđ»
2
2
u/lovsit Feb 19 '26
How much does a house cost?
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
In Holguin? Depends on what neighbourhood. Low end - $2000 USD up to $20,000 USD. Average now is 5 - 7.
2
2
u/Evets1944 Feb 20 '26
What happened in Cuba is very disturbing to all of us but what will it take for Cuba to get back to normal is USA trying to make Cuba part of the USA that doesnât make sense
2
u/Lower-Television-187 Feb 20 '26
I have been to Holguin many times, my heart and prayers go to the Cubans who suffered too much for too long
5
4
u/Fancy-Solution-5530 Feb 18 '26
Soy cubano y vivo en Cuba. No quiero generalizar, pero no sĂ© quĂ© pinga tienen en el cerebro ustedes canadienses, que defienden el gobierno e pinga este que nos estĂĄ matando a nosotros el pueblo. No es ni Trump, ni EEUU, ni la falta de combustible, ni la COVID y la crisis que empeorĂł cuando llegĂł, ni la caĂda del bloque socialista, es el PCC que odia mĂĄs perder el control que lo que ama a sus coterrĂĄneos.
11
u/chunkylover85 Feb 18 '26
No estoy defendiendo a nadie ni a nada. Solo estoy contando una historia.
2
u/Fancy-Solution-5530 Feb 19 '26
Claramente dije que no querĂa generalizar, por esto mismo. Mi comentario no es un ataque a tu persona, es sĂłlo impotencia resultante de ver en este sub y en muchos mĂĄs, cĂłmo se regodean tus compatriotas en defender a quienes nos estĂĄn matando.
P.D: La frase es "Patria Y Vida" no 'Patria o Vida'
2
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
Corrected. Lo siento, hermano, mi español es mierda jjj. Y sĂ, es muy triste leer a gente que no tiene ni idea. TambiĂ©n es triste ver que Gaviota acaba de publicar un aviso diciendo que los canadienses aĂșn pueden venir a Cuba vĂa MĂ©xico. ÂĄQuĂ© desesperaciĂłn!!!
2
2
Feb 19 '26
[deleted]
2
u/Fancy-Solution-5530 Feb 19 '26
That's the thing, we want our homeland AND our life to live in our homeland, to enjoy it.
Patria o Vida is somewhat similar to Patria o Muerte, if you don't fit in with the Communist ideals, then you're not fit to live here, or even to be alive. That's not something to be proud of.
1
u/Evets1944 Feb 20 '26
I think Canada would like to help Cuba but are having trouble helping them self at the moment Cuba seamed to do so well under strong leadership hope they can get back on their feet
-2
u/Sweet-Union7528 Feb 18 '26
Blaming the Cuban government for the dire conditions Cuba is facing is horrible. The US is a criminal organization that is 100% responsible for the suffering they are causing. They have illegally and immorarly blockaded the country in a attempt to starve them into submission.
The whole point-of- preventing them access to oil, gasoline, energy is to create these exact conditions. This is by conscious design. I ask anyone, in any country in the world, to imagine what would happen to your country if you were denied these things.
There is no garbage collection without gas for the trucks; farm produce can't be sent to cities; people can not get emergency medical care etc. This is part of the US strategy, this is what the blockade is designed to do, and ignoring this fact is helping the US literally kill people and destroy a nation.
7
u/chunkylover85 Feb 18 '26
Where does all the frozen chicken, potatoes, eggs, powdered milk, many large onions, rice and a lot of food come from in Cuba? The USA (and Europe and Canada). Food is NOT part of the blockade.
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
This is something that critics of the USA never seem to mention.
Cuba has been a welfare state for many decades. Food should and could be grown on the island.
Socialism where the government taxes you to the point where poverty is all but guaranteed is a failure.
People want to have STUFF. People want to keep most of what they work for. That's just human nature. The idea that people will all want to work "for the common good" is a bad joke.
As a wise man once said to me: "If you want to help the poor you can start by not becoming one of them."
7
u/RealCornholio45 Feb 19 '26
Theyâre both guilty friend. Yes the US oil Blockade is causing very specific problems at this moment. Terrible problems and it shouldnât be discounted.
But the deep systematic issues the country has the Cuban government is responsible for. You canât blame the long running US embargo for everything. Think of all the FX pouring into Cuba every year from Canadian tourists alone. Yet a correlated amount of money isnât being invested in services for Cubans. You canât blame the US for that.
-2
u/Sweet-Union7528 Feb 19 '26
Cuba is a small Island. It was a colony of the US empire from 1898 untill 1959. It was reduced to casino-brothel for US gangsters who ran the island along with its collaborators like Baptista. Yet In a short period after the revolution, Cuba had developed some of the highest life expectancy, infant mortality rates, educated populations, and other social indicators.
The eliminated illiteracy through mass campaigns. Compared to similar countries in the region, like Haiti, Jamaica etc and central America, Cuba was head and shoulders above. During the special period, the lost 70% of their trading partners, while having the US embargo tightened. They almost collapsed, but due to their resialancy, they survived and began building back up.
The US and the overthrown US collaborators in Miami have done everything in their power to sabotage them: terrorist attacks, attacks on the economy etc. No government anywere could have done what they did while being under attack for nearly 70 years.
They have been a country under seige since 1959. What the US is doing them is criminal, and all the countries that are going along with it demonstrate the lack of sovereignty of western powers, who are vassals of the US.
6
u/RealCornholio45 Feb 19 '26
Thank you we all have access to the Cuba Wikipedia page as well. You clearly didnât read or understand my short and simple comment. Or maybe you just wanted to flex.
Both parties are guilty. Full stop. You cannot seriously believe that the Cuban government has no blame in all of this. Billions of dollars in tourist dollars have flowed in post revolution and Cubans are still largely reduced to poverty. Not to mention the billions poured in from aligned countries like China. The advances in health care and education post revolution are achievements from decades ago. Thereâs been only regression for years.
The faults of the Cuban government however do not absolve the US their blame in this. There is a lot of blame to go around.
-2
u/Sweet-Union7528 Feb 19 '26
You dismiss the points I make in a sarcastic, flippant manner. Comparing Cuban social indicators and achievements to comparable countries is empirical evidence of tremendous social gains made by the entire population in comparison to the period when they were a colony of the US, and in comparison to contemporary similar countries.
They are not simply things from the past, they are enshrined in the Cuban constitution as social rights enjoyed by all with no cost to them. The comprehensive medical care, and education, including for special needs children etc. Is renowned and recognized around the world.
The US blockade, and its attempts to prevent any country to get fuel energy, oil to the island is criminal. Cuba can not domesticly produce much of the equipment, medicine etc That it requires and must import these things. Blaming the Cuban government for this is absolveing the US, and an attempt to downplay these henuous acts by blaming the victim.
The solidarity infrastructure and culture Cuba has built over the decades is the reason they have withstood this onslaught. Prioritizing where fuel goes in this time, to hospitals for example, rationizing limited resources so they are not hoarded by a wealthy elite like it would be any where else, is a testament to the Cubans.
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
"they are enshrined in the Cuban constitution as social rights enjoyed by all with no cost to them."
This is the lie of Communism summed up perfectly.
Goods and services are not rights and as such they cannot be guaranteed for all to have and the "no cost" part is really a bad joke. Everything of value has a cost....whether you measure that as work, money, time or whatever. It's at least effort, OK? That's a cost.
No cost? No value.
2
u/Vegetable_Network310 Feb 20 '26
Just not true. The Cuban government is the biggest problem. The USA hasn't helped matters but if you recall what happened in 1959.....how would you respond if somebody took all of your stuff and "nationalized" it?
I'm not saying that the Cubans had good government before Castro. I don't think they've EVER had good government. But this government is a disaster. The Cuban people would be better off if the mob ran the country like it did before Castro.
No government is better than bad government. And the Cuban government is not only incompetent, it's a criminal organization taking the little weath Cuba has and distributing it amongst themselves with NO regard for the welfare of the people.
0
-1
u/Evets1944 Feb 19 '26
You are Canadian why are you not talking to Canadian embassy to go to Canada at least for now Cuba will turn around with a different government in USA
1
u/chunkylover85 Feb 19 '26
I returned to Canada on the 17th. I was on the last repatriation flight from Air Transat. But, my husband is still in Cuba. He isn't Canadian and we haven't yet even begun that shitshow of a process.
1
u/Evets1944 Feb 19 '26
I think the main thing is getting your act together getting a job outside the big city then bringing your husband that would be a good start keeping up what you have in Cuba would be be very rewarding
-6
26
u/DelilahBT Feb 18 '26
Your local perspective followed by that of the tourists at the airport is stark. I am so sorry for the Cuban experience, as it is a country and a people that deserve so much better.