Fidel Castro is dead
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Xequecal
Trump's Staff
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I'm going to assume this letter was sent before or during the Cuban Crisis. In which case, the US actually was planning to invade Cuba.
Lendarios
Trump's Staff
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As a Cuban, wanting to see change on the island, I am flabbergasted at Obama's pussy shit response.
I'll rather take Trump's approach of your "murderous leader has died", let us now move forward and do business together, or not. Your call Cuba.
I'll rather take Trump's approach of your "murderous leader has died", let us now move forward and do business together, or not. Your call Cuba.
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Adebisi
Clump of Cells
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Frenzied Wombat
Potato del Grande
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Can hardly wait until this dipshit joins the ranks of other NFL'ers that squandered all their money on useless shit, only to appear in reverse mortgage infomercials airing at 3am a few years later.
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TrollfaceDeux
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Yeah Cuba is actually one of few nations who retained some resemblance of unity and culture for the benefit of most. Corruption surely exists but Cuba is really a success story than a failure like Venezuela.
They learned to live within their means despite the embargo and people cooperated with the government in rations. Crimes are not as severe as other Latin America and streets are clean and tiny.
I mean it is a fucking miracle what they pulled off.
Lendarios
Trump's Staff
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I'm not sure if you are joking, or if you are another misinformed Canadian cuckold.
@consensus which one are you?
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Adebisi
Clump of Cells
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Tends to happen when you've deported, imprisoned, and killed all your dissenters.
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Lendarios
Trump's Staff
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Over the past two years over 90k have emigrated to the US. In a nation of 11 million, that is almost 1 percent of the population.
In fact, Cuban total population went down in from 2012 to 2013 due to the massive emigration.
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Szlia
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At the end of the day, Castro was a law student, who, in his early '30s, during the cold war, managed with less than 100 people to topple the US propped dictator of a banana republic (well... a sugar cane republic). Once in power, his government increased dramatically the alphabetization level and the access to healthcare, but, if memory serves me well, things started to go sour when the agrarian reform to move away from mono-culture could not happen because the Soviet Union was really just interested in sugar and, later, when the joined effect of the US blockade and the USSR collapse deeply hurt the cuban economy. On the political side of things, a pretty legitimate paranoia about US (and others) overt and covert attempts to topple or undermine the regime resulted in the persecution and criminalization of dissent. Also, an ego about the size of Jupiter made power transition a non starter (I guess when you are instrumental in transforming an island of the Caribbeans into a lasting symbol of the fight against imperialism, you assist similar revolutions around the globe and you stay in power for decades next to a superpower that wants to get rid of you, your ego tends to grow... and it must have been big to start with to try and topple Batista).
Castro wished himself a sort of enlighted, democratically backed leader, tirelessly working for the cuban people and a beckon for anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism in the world. In truth he was closer to a cunning autocrat, but, while less "dogmatically pure" than Guevara (who condemned soviet imperialism as well as american imperialism), there is little doubt his motivations were part ideological, part patriotic and part egotistical. Apparently, he was also pretty wealthy, but again, what was his and what came with the function is a bit difficult to sort since he never left the function and got to decide what came with it!
Castro wished himself a sort of enlighted, democratically backed leader, tirelessly working for the cuban people and a beckon for anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism in the world. In truth he was closer to a cunning autocrat, but, while less "dogmatically pure" than Guevara (who condemned soviet imperialism as well as american imperialism), there is little doubt his motivations were part ideological, part patriotic and part egotistical. Apparently, he was also pretty wealthy, but again, what was his and what came with the function is a bit difficult to sort since he never left the function and got to decide what came with it!
Szlia
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For historical significance, I am currently reading a transcript of Castro's speech at the UN in 1960. After a dull start where he whines about the way his delegation had trouble with their accommodations, it gets more interesting when he makes a brief history of Cuba as a colony (of Spain and then, de facto, of the US) and when he describes the Cuba they got:
What did the Revolution find when it came to power in Cuba? What
marvels did the Revolution find when it came to power in Cuba? First of
all the Revolution found that 600,000 able Cubans were unemployed -- as
many, proportionately, as were unemployed in the United States at the time
of the great depression which shook this country and which almost created a
catastrophy in the United States. That was our permanent unemployment.
Three million out of a population of somewhat over 6,000,000 did not have
electric lights and did not enjoy the advantages and comforts of
electricity. Three and a half million out of a total of slightly more than
6,000,000 lived in huts, shacks and slums, without the slightest sanitary
facilities. In the cities, rents took almost one third of family incomes.
Electricity rates and rents were among the highest in the world.
Thirty-seven and one half percent of our population were illiterate; 70
per cent of the rural children had no teachers; 2 per cent of population,
that is, 100,000 persons out of a total of more than 6,000,000 suffered
from tuberculosis. Ninety-five per cent of the children in rural areas
were affected by parasites, and the infant mortality rate was therefore
very high, just the opposite of the average life span.
On the other hand, 85 per cent of the small farmers were paying rents
for the use of land to the tune of almost 30 per cent of their income,
while 1 1/2 percent of the landowners controlled 46 per cent of the total
area of the nation. Of course, the proportion of hospital beds to the
number of inhabitants of the country was ridiculous, when compared with
countries that only have halfway decent medical services.
Castro Speech Data Base - Latin American Network Information Center, LANICmarvels did the Revolution find when it came to power in Cuba? First of
all the Revolution found that 600,000 able Cubans were unemployed -- as
many, proportionately, as were unemployed in the United States at the time
of the great depression which shook this country and which almost created a
catastrophy in the United States. That was our permanent unemployment.
Three million out of a population of somewhat over 6,000,000 did not have
electric lights and did not enjoy the advantages and comforts of
electricity. Three and a half million out of a total of slightly more than
6,000,000 lived in huts, shacks and slums, without the slightest sanitary
facilities. In the cities, rents took almost one third of family incomes.
Electricity rates and rents were among the highest in the world.
Thirty-seven and one half percent of our population were illiterate; 70
per cent of the rural children had no teachers; 2 per cent of population,
that is, 100,000 persons out of a total of more than 6,000,000 suffered
from tuberculosis. Ninety-five per cent of the children in rural areas
were affected by parasites, and the infant mortality rate was therefore
very high, just the opposite of the average life span.
On the other hand, 85 per cent of the small farmers were paying rents
for the use of land to the tune of almost 30 per cent of their income,
while 1 1/2 percent of the landowners controlled 46 per cent of the total
area of the nation. Of course, the proportion of hospital beds to the
number of inhabitants of the country was ridiculous, when compared with
countries that only have halfway decent medical services.
ZyyzYzzy
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Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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lol the closest thing the US ever had to a colony outside the continental US was Hawaii.
Any idealization of Castro is disgusting at best. Its like saying Hitler was a good guy because he ended hyper inflation and took unemployment to zero. Get the fuck out of here with that dumb shit. Castro was a fucking monster and more than rightfully deserves to be vilified like one. Obama and his pussy ass "history will be the judge" response should be ashamed of himself.
Any idealization of Castro is disgusting at best. Its like saying Hitler was a good guy because he ended hyper inflation and took unemployment to zero. Get the fuck out of here with that dumb shit. Castro was a fucking monster and more than rightfully deserves to be vilified like one. Obama and his pussy ass "history will be the judge" response should be ashamed of himself.
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Szlia
Member
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Big Phoenix, Castro thinks you are deceiving yourself and are ridiculous
The Cubans who fought for our independence and at that very moment were
giving their blood and their lives believed in good faith in the joint
resolution of the Congress of the United States of April 20, 1898, which
declared that "Cuba is, and by right ought to be, free and independent."
The people of the United States were sympathetic to the Cuban struggle
for liberty. That joint declaration was a law adopted by the Congress of
the United States through which war was declared on Spain. But that
illusion was followed by a rude awakening. After two years of military
occupation of our country, the unexpected happened: at the very moment
that the people of Cuba, through their Constituent Assembly, were drafting
the Constitution of the Republic, a new law was passed by the United States
Congress, a law proposed by Senator Platt, bearing such unhappy memories
for the Cubans. That law stated that the constitution of the Cuba must
have an appendix under which the United States would be granted the right
to intervent in Cuba's political affairs and, furthermore, to lease certain
parts of Cuba for naval bases or coal supply station.
In other words, under a law passed by the legislative body of a foreign
country, Cuban's Constitution had to contain an appendix with those
provisions. Our legislators were clearly told that if they did not accept
the amendment, the occupation forces would not be withdrawn. In other
words, an agreement to grant another country the right to intervene and to
lease naval bases was imposed by force upon my country by the legislative
body of a foreign country.
[...]
Then began the new colonization of our country, the acquisition of the
best agricultural lands by United States firms, concessions of Cuban
natural resources and mines, concessions of public utilities for
exploitation purposes, commercial concessions of all types. These
concessions, when linked with the constitutional right -- constitutional by
force -- of intervention in our country, turned it from a Spanish colony
into an American colony.
Colonies do not speak. Colonies are not known until they have the
opportunity to express themselves. That is why our colony and its problems
were unknown to the rest of the world. In geography books reference was
made to a flag and a coat of arms. There was an island with another color
on the maps, but it was not an independent republic. Let us not deceive
ourselves, since by doing so we only make ourselves ridiculous. Let no one
be mistaken. There was no independent republic; there was only a colony
where orders were given by the Ambassador of the United States.
giving their blood and their lives believed in good faith in the joint
resolution of the Congress of the United States of April 20, 1898, which
declared that "Cuba is, and by right ought to be, free and independent."
The people of the United States were sympathetic to the Cuban struggle
for liberty. That joint declaration was a law adopted by the Congress of
the United States through which war was declared on Spain. But that
illusion was followed by a rude awakening. After two years of military
occupation of our country, the unexpected happened: at the very moment
that the people of Cuba, through their Constituent Assembly, were drafting
the Constitution of the Republic, a new law was passed by the United States
Congress, a law proposed by Senator Platt, bearing such unhappy memories
for the Cubans. That law stated that the constitution of the Cuba must
have an appendix under which the United States would be granted the right
to intervent in Cuba's political affairs and, furthermore, to lease certain
parts of Cuba for naval bases or coal supply station.
In other words, under a law passed by the legislative body of a foreign
country, Cuban's Constitution had to contain an appendix with those
provisions. Our legislators were clearly told that if they did not accept
the amendment, the occupation forces would not be withdrawn. In other
words, an agreement to grant another country the right to intervene and to
lease naval bases was imposed by force upon my country by the legislative
body of a foreign country.
[...]
Then began the new colonization of our country, the acquisition of the
best agricultural lands by United States firms, concessions of Cuban
natural resources and mines, concessions of public utilities for
exploitation purposes, commercial concessions of all types. These
concessions, when linked with the constitutional right -- constitutional by
force -- of intervention in our country, turned it from a Spanish colony
into an American colony.
Colonies do not speak. Colonies are not known until they have the
opportunity to express themselves. That is why our colony and its problems
were unknown to the rest of the world. In geography books reference was
made to a flag and a coat of arms. There was an island with another color
on the maps, but it was not an independent republic. Let us not deceive
ourselves, since by doing so we only make ourselves ridiculous. Let no one
be mistaken. There was no independent republic; there was only a colony
where orders were given by the Ambassador of the United States.
Lendarios
Trump's Staff
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Cuba was a defacto colony of the USA from 1904 to the mid 50s. Dont let @Lithose version of history fool you.
You can say both, you can say that Castro turned the revolution into a dictatorship and an economic collapse, and you can say the island was under the thumb of the US for the first half of the 20th century.
You don't have to love Castro to see the reasons why he rose to power.
You can say both, you can say that Castro turned the revolution into a dictatorship and an economic collapse, and you can say the island was under the thumb of the US for the first half of the 20th century.
You don't have to love Castro to see the reasons why he rose to power.
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Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Looks like he learned well. Talks about being forced to give up to the US, happily forced cubans to give up their land to him.
Did Americans move the Cuba and start settling it? No.
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