The Shocking Truth About How Cuba Became Insanely Poor

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In this video, we take a deep dive into the history and current state of Cuba's economy. From its origins as a tropical paradise and economic powerhouse, to its struggles with food shortages and economic decline, we explore the key factors that have shaped the country's economic trajectory. From colonization and corporate domination to the impact of Fidel Castro's communist rule, this video offers a comprehensive look at the complex history of Cuba's economy
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- Contents of this video --------------------------------
00:00 - Cuba’s Economy
01:35 - Why is Cuba Still Poor?
01:35 - Let There Be Sugar
05:56 - Cuba's Economic Golden Age?
07:42 - The Revolution
11:18 - The Failed Economic Experiment
14:26 - Cuba's Communist Golden Age
16:04 - The Special Period
20:49 - Why Cuba is Still Poor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CASUAL SCHOLAR IS MADE POSSIBLE BY OUR PATREON COMMUNITY!
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The video you’re watching right now would not exist without the monthly support provided by our generous Patrons:
Talon Hickey, Hayden Haun, Emmanuel Fredenrich, Pulaski, Adrian Willenbücher
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- Sources used ---------------------------------------------
Cuba an American history by Ada Ferrer
cubaonthehorizon.cofc.edu/the-cuban-economy/
cubaonthehorizon.cofc.edu/timeline-of-cuba-history/
www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2016/03/18/cuban-thaw-a-history-of-us-cuban-relations
www.economist.com/the-americas/2021/07/01/cuba-is-facing-its-worst-shortage-of-food-since-the-1990s
www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/04/04/cubas-doctors-are-in-high-demand
www.economist.com/the-americas/2020/04/23/cuba-on-the-edge
www.economist.com/the-americas/2017/04/01/what-the-tourist-industry-reveals-about-cuba
www.usgs.gov/news/national-news-release/updated-information-cuba-mineral-and-petroleum-resources-released
graphics.wsj.com/100-legacies-from-world-war-1/cuban-sugar
hbr.org/2015/08/what-you-might-not-know-about-the-cuban-economy
hbr.org/2016/12/doing-business-in-a-post-fidel-cuba?ab=at_art_art_1x4_s02
#cuba #economy #CubaHistory #FidelCastro #Economics #CasualScholar

[@CasualScholar]

Play Enlisted for FREE on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS®5: playen.link/casualscholaren2022 Follow the link to download the game and get your exclusive bonus now. See you in battle!

[@letsgowinnietheflu5439]

Or More likely then a false flag there was a smoldering fire in a coal bin igniting the the explosion. Your supposedly likely scenario is way down on the list and not very likely

[@paulmiller6378]

Mivkiknvvy

[@jnewcomb1395]

My new wife sold everything and borrowed money to immigrate my to the USA 5-years ago on a F-1 student visa to escape the violence of Brazil where she worked as an ER nurse for 24-years. Her now ex husband abandoned her and their 13- year old daughter after 11-months. She kept her visa valid, managed to survive financially for 5-years, the daughter got straight A’s and just enrolled in college. Self taught herself English and Spanish with no accent. It’s taken 1 1/2 years and a lot of money to obtain the required documentation but soon my wife will be working as a RN with aspirations of becoming a nurse practitioner. Her accent is heavy but we constantly practice correct pronunciation of English words, idioms and phrases. Liz loves the USA and me. I love her dearly and look forward to each and every day with her. ❤

[@luismideleonchannel9]

The video you used for the 2:11 - 2:12 fragment of your upload is from the city of La Antigua Guatemala in Guatemala. This city is not located in Cuba, rather its in Central America, although we have some shared history with Cuba with el Che guevara living here before the Fidel led cuban revolution

[@hexadecimal5236]

10:50 From what I've read, the Bay of Pigs invasion would have succeeded except for one Admiral who committed treason when he refused to support the troops who had landed. The President and the Pentagon ordered him to invade and he refused, instead allowing the marine who had landed to be slaughtered or captured.

[@carlgranados7106]

As a 67 Year old Cuban that came in 1960 you skipped over important part. Cuba had an elected President for the first time but America saw him as too "liberal" (like Democrats are today) and therefore a threat to their interests. They helped a prior dictator hold a coup to come to power. In other words, to the people, Castro seemed to be the only choice they had over a corrupt dictatorship. If America hadn't put in corrupt dictators Castro wouldn't have been there. This American formula had similar results in Central America. This is just a sample of what happens when corporations have too much control over government.

[@Abhinav_Sengupta]

Similar thing happened in Iran

[@carlgranados7106]

@@Abhinav_Sengupta Same thing happened in Vietnam where they tried to put a corrupt prior king back on the throne. Saddam Husain in Iraq is another good example.

[@Nightharmony69]

​@@carlgranados7106 but make liberals, and conservatives understand this. Eating up CIA propaganda

[@hikerJohn]

Same thing is starting to happen in the USA. First they took over the universities and now the government and the FBI

[@alonealoner6036]

like what they did to the Philippines.

[@brianirwin5296]

I have travelled to Cuba on a number of occasions for work. A Cuban once told me the joke, "What do you call a Cuban orchestra when they return from a foreign tour? A quartet."

[@juanteran7003]

I don't get it

[@brianirwin5296]

@@juanteran7003 Hi, Juan. The point was that it was often the case that Cuban choirs, orchestras, ballet companies etc. that went on foreign tours (especially to the free west) would experience defections and return with fewer members.

[@anna-gt2mu]

Eareaera

[@arthas640]

@@brianirwin5296 that's also why there are tons of Cuban sports stars, especially in baseball and boxing, but there aren't nearly as many sports stars _in_ Cuba. I've heard that in Cuban boxing they have a huge issue with boxers basically escaping the first chance they get because they can literally make 100x the money in the US and be free of 99% of the government oversight.

[@mrtower5766]

😂😂😂

[@kryts27]

Apparently Cuba's private motorized transport is still made up of 1950s and 1960s cars made in the US. While this is a testimony of the mechanical skiils of the Cuban mechanics in keeping these antique cars running, this apparently iconic nature of Cuban streets is a real indicator of the isolation of Cuba's island economy for 60 years.

[@RX------538]

It's not isolation, the communist gov't has done business with very developed nation (outside of the US, and not entirely true since the Embargo is BS). The problem is there has never been a prosperous communist gov't, its foundations were not created by an economist, but by an alcoholic social scientist. I wonder how Cuba would be if the revolution hadn't happened. Most likely, akin to Switzerland and the other small rich European countries

[@wdd3141]

I'm amazed that Cuba doesn't have more modern cars made by companies in countries other than the U.S.

[@unnaturalselection8330]

Also a testament to the fact that cars used to be manufactured to far higher standards of quality

[@RX------538]

@@unnaturalselection8330 That is true. Detroit was the richest city in US and deserving of it. Those cars are built like tanks and simple to repair. Today, we built cars like portable phones (actually phone companies are building concept cars). My old man was a mechanic/engineer(patents), and he used to say the more shit (conveniences) you put in a car, the less reliable it will be. Tesla can keep its truck, if I could ever find a jeep from that era, they will bury my ass in it.

[@bradythebirdy4862]

​@Pete-107 the sanctions are absolutely the biggest factor in them being so poor. "Communism" isn't even their economical structure, it hasn't been any countries actual economy. There are social communists, but their economy is socialism.

[@Curlyblonde]

An excellent book describing life pre and post revolution Cuba written by a Cuban exile is " Waiting for Snow in Havana". Makes you understand everything you see and the Cuban mentality when you visit Cuba.

[@JobeeTabs]

We Filipinos learn a glimpse of Cuba in our grade school History class, because our country became a colony of Spain. The Cuban War of Independence 1895-1898 inspired the Philippine revolution against Spain. Hence, the design of flag our 🇵🇭 was also inspired by Cuba 🇨🇺. un grande abrazo hermanos desde las islas Filipinas.

[@jerseycatmews828]

I’m Filipino, just learned about flag origin from you, so interesting, Salamat for education

[@matty_o]

Very interesting

[@JobeeTabs]

@@jerseycatmews828 Cuba was also mentioned in my college years on Rizal subject. Dr. Rizal requested to leave Dapitan and travel to Cuba as a doctor in the Spanish military. In order to study the successes Cuban revolution.

[@TheGeoScholar]

There is a province in Cuba called Pinar del Rio. It used to be called Nuevas Filipinas because laborers from The Philippines went there to work in the tobacco fields.

[@jpjp280]

@@TheGeoScholar i was born there. thats awesome info

[@Ari-ez1vj]

My father was a doctor in Cuba, he escaped on a boat and was caught by the coast guard about halfway to Florida. They brought them back to Guantanamo bay where a lot of them returned to their lives. However my father got the opportunity to work as a doctor in Guantanamo for a few months. They helped him become a resident of the United States, secured him the ability to come to the nation legally, and provided him with a healthy wage. In Miami, my father was homeless; for a while sleeping in churches whenever he could and working wherever would accept him. Until a friendly man named Victor found him one day on a Sunday morning and gave him a place to stay. He was also a Cuban migrant but one that came here very long ago, he was quite good at English. Victor provided my father with a stable home and helped him get enrolled in school to get recertified as a doctor. Victor passed away about 10 years ago, but my family will never forget the kind man that he was. Today you can find hundreds of people just like my father, most of them work very traditional jobs here in America. I worked at my father's office and there was an employee who specialized in neurosurgery, yet she works as an office technician now. The situation in Cuba is very interesting, because though their economy is a shadow of it's former self their education has managed to stay relatively top-notch. They have a lot of very skilled workers in their market who work for an extremely unreasonable price.

[@MegaAvinator]

Goes to America and becomes homeless. Sums up the American dream.

[@ShubhamMishrabro]

@@MegaAvinator and his success after that. That doesn't sums up American dream? Ignorant

[@pupysb6267]

My Grandparents on my father's side were university professors in Santiago, they fled to Puerto Rico after the revolution with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The governor at the time, Luis Munoz Marin welcomed the Cuban diaspora and hired many of them as professors at the University of Puerto Rico as many were well educated. Also many became successful businessmen. ✌️

[@pupysb6267]

@@quincyquincy4764 yes...during the 50s the US was torturing Islamists in Guantanamo ..🤦

[@quincyquincy4764]

@@pupysb6267 I never said Islamist. It's possible your government tortured others

[@kuba2ve]

As a Cuban I can tell you this is a pretty accurate summary.

[@richardalvarado-ik9br]

Cuba also has a Catholicism Factor (all Catholic countries are corrupt because of infallible Patriarchal culture). This never gets mentioned just like the 2011 European PIIGS (Portugal, Italy,Ireland, Greece, and Spain,) economic disaster. Bye!!!!

[@Roxy-zc7hv]

awesome

[@judithcampbell1705]

Thank you 💛 for this. I grew up with a girl from Cuba. Her parents brought her to Miami Beach Florida and they escaped from Cuba approximately in 1955-1960. I loved them. Cookie was my best friend. Learned some Spanish too. Cubans are a wonderful people. Beautiful country and culture.

[@zengmaxxing]

I visited Cuba in summer of 2022. Beautiful country with amazing hospitable people but you could just tell there was a significant degree of desperation going on. At times i felt bad being a tourist vacationing while the locals were struggling to get by. Lots of shortages everywhere

[@RWernsing]

So it was like a visit to Detroit? Jamaica? Moscow?

[@garybrunecz7785]

Yet they keep breeding like flies to add to their dire straits...Don't worry America has open southern borders and the Democrats will let in another 50 million refugees before you can say cat in the hat. COME ONE COME ALL, NOW THAT WE ARE THE WORD'S NUMBER ONE IMMIGRATION DUMPING GROUND.

[@zsmith4853]

Please don't forget the fact that the large reason for the desperation is because of US sanctions on Cuba. Since 1959.

[@NicEeEe843]

Gave your money to an evil regime, nice. That money is gonna go back to them

[@NicEeEe843]

@@zsmith4853 excuse me? The reason Cuba is in shambles is communism dummy. We don’t play with evil regimes like in Cuba, Iran, anywhere. Not sure if you’re really dumb or trolling. One nation boycotting Cuba isn’t the reason its bad. It has plenty of other nations they could trade with. One single country not trading with them isn’t keeping them in shambles. It’s communism idiot

[@eduardo2788]

You missed 19 years of democracy 1933-1952, 26 years of economic prosperity 1933-1959, the political repression and the different exodus after 1959.

[@asozialerproletarier]

You know Cuba was a brutal and oppressive US backed military dictatorship till the revolution in 1959 right? And only the elite class of cuba profited from the "economic prosperity". Cuba is today more democratic than it ever was up until the revolution.

[@AwokenEntertainment]

I visited Cuba back in 2015, and so many locals were literally tearing up after learning I was visiting from America.. the hope in their expressions and voices for a rekindling in our government's relationship was one of the strongest emotions I've ever expirenced

[@suyapapi2298]

I call bullshit

[@stuartmoore6310]

@@suyapapi2298 and you're full of it, it is absolutely true. If United States government got its ass out of its head and normalize relations with Cuba that place would be a booming Paradise and the standard of living would rise dramatically. Combine the best of Hawaii and Mexico and you've got Cuba.

[@user-ki3fr7fd4o]

Im in Cuba right now! And American! The people are sooo kind!!

[@KathyJensen-vh2yk]

​@@user-ki3fr7fd4odo they still have the vintage cars

[@tradewalker8187]

bullshit, stop hyperbole anything to get likes

[@MN-pu6qx]

This is an outstanding video. The actions over many years of numerous politicians from Cuba, Russia and USA have been corrupt and deplorable. Of course, the bull-headed arrogance of those politicians would prevent an ounce of introspection.

[@alshirani3964]

I watched this movie, unfortunately the speaker wasn't an impartial person about the whole facts in Cuba. The maker of this movie didn't mention the causes or roots of poverty and inflation in Cuba. One of the major things that he did hide was the American economic sanction on Cuba. He didn't mention about the CIA interference and many other indirect & direct problems that US has had caused on this island....

[@jdluntjr76226]

You pull a Castro you get sanctions period

[@cfernandez-verges9379]

As a Cuban exile myself, I commend you for providing the most accurate and comprehensive, albeit brief, explanation of the Cuban tragedy I’ve yet seen on KZbin. Congratulations!

[@CasualScholar]

I really appreciate it! Thank you for such a nice comment.

[@JoseLuis-tq4tg]

I strongly agree, nothing that I had seen in English comes this close to reality.

[@joem5903]

So you are still a "Cuban exile" 64 years later? Sounds like the "Palestinian refugees." If you AREN"T at least 65 and yo were born ere then you are an American. But I know that Cubans dont feel that way.

[@quangtruongle7823]

Tell me when did you leave Cuba then

[@ILikeGuns1992]

Is it though? What about horrors of communist regime and merciless sanctions by the US?

[@nadines.3453]

I did a trip to Cuba over the year change from 2018 into 2019 and this trip honestly changed my life! It made me so much more humbled. I booked a tour with a cuban company because i didnt want to support foreign companys and we got lucky that no one else booked out date so we had a tourguide for ourself, the changed the travel style a bit we hadnt a big bus but mostly taxis or private people the tourguide knew who drove us from a to b! We flew with a very old Antonov from a small national airport outside Havanna to the east coast and drove back...got to meet the family of the tourguide, stayed at small Casa paticulares got nice but small breakfast here all very much like we were part of their family for a day or two. Geting to know them and their life the good but also a lot of bad sides, the smile on peoples face when we got them food (basic stuff where kids in germany are mad if they dont get strawberry jogurt, they were just happy to get 1 cup jogurt the kind that was in stores this week) and it made me sad to see how much food we waste in western world and see people there starv or wait for hours to buy a bread...

[@gannswan2898]

Do you mind sharing the name of the company you booked this tour with? Thanks!

[@salvadorvizcarra769]

“The Economic Blockade that United States imposed on Cuba, and which has been uninterrupted for more than 60 years, is product of the revenge of Dulles brothers against Fidel Castro, as a result of Castro expropriating the United Fruit Company (UFCO), more than 50,000 hectares of cultivation (Sugar Cane). Allen Dulles (CIA Director), and his brother John Foster Dulles (US Secretary of State), were a shareholder in UFCO, and were on the payroll for more than 20 years. Both Bros. demanded payment from Cuban Gov’t for the land expropriated at ridiculously high amount, when United Fruit Co. had obtained these large estates for $7 dollars per hectare and demanded compensation for $4,800 dollars per hectare. Castro was also asked to pay the cost of hotels, houses and casinos owned by the New York Mafia and other figures of high politics in the US. As Cuba does not pay, the Economic Blockade continues. “If we can't assassinate Castro, let's assassinate his economy”. Now, 12 Presidents have passed in the White House, and the Blockade continues. Castro, Dulles Bros., Meyer Lansky, Kennedy, LBJ and all that generation have already died; they are no longer here. And the Economic Blockade continues. Why? Why, if Castro NEVER affected the interests of the US people? Castro affected the interests of the New York Mafia, the UFCO and the interests of the Dulles Brothers. The Castro Gov't affected the interests some companies (6 companies), that conspired to assassinate him, but not affected the US People. (It would be an example to say that Mexico imposed an Economic Block on the US, cuz the US Gov’t confiscated properties from “El Chapo”, or from the Mexican Drug Trafficking Cartels). Castro never seized property from US citizens. Castro only seized the property of the New York Mafia. So, why? If perhaps the reason for the Blockade was cuz Fidel Castro was an ally of USSR, well, USSR has not existed for more than 30 years either. Then why? What is the reason for continuing with this Economic Blockade against Cuba? The answer to these questions, in any case, would be: "Cuz a dark power within the US wants to impose itself in Cuba, violating its sovereignty, in the same way that it has done and continues to do so throughout the world with the weakest nations". No common citizen of the US has anything against the Cuban people, but a certain sector of the Government's High Politics does…” Now, If you want to know about the atrocities and massacres of the UFCO and the CIA in Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, all the Caribbean and Central America, consult Wikipedia: “Wars of the Banana Republics”. (From Stephen Kinzer book: “The Brothers”). Write the latter that appears in parentheses, and verify this information right here on KZbin. Or, do the same and search for it on Google. In History Channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6aYoYqbbciEidE “Batista y la Mafia en Cuba”. .

[@luislaplume8261]

Fidel Castro was much worse than General Batista and the Mafia who was there. He allowed no private property and businesses whatsoever. Everything was the property of the State. I pray for the fall of Communist Cuba despite it being the birthplace of my and my late parents.

[@D.A.A.321]

Well, there’s yet another “life-changing” journey story from a western princess, who apparently needed to witness extreme poverty elsewhere to feel humbled 😂. Seriously though, wtf did you think was going on before that trip?

[@cubandollbabymunecacubana]

@@gannswan2898 🙄🙄🙄🙄

[@traildude7538]

I lived in Miami for a year, working at a Lutheran church where the congregation was primarily Cuban, and I fell in love with the people and the culture. The priest/pastor there managed to make several trips a year to Cuba, always taking Bibles, clothes, and gifts from people in the congregation to relatives in Cuba. When Pope John Paul II visited Cuba I and many others were excited, thinking that U.S. President Bill Clinton would use the event to open up relations with our neighbor, and were disappointed and angry when it became clear that Clinton lacked the vision to recognize the opportunity. That later presidents have done little to change things I find both idiotic and tragic.

[@brianruisanchez1123]

Obama tried and the PCC did not want any open relationship with USA.

[@EugeneDelRiego]

As a Cuban immigrant now living in the US I truly enjoyed this video. It would be awesome to see a more in depth documentary on this topic.

[@lawbringer9857]

Another Gusano. i bet you voted for Trump.

[@eduardo2788]

@@lawbringer9857 another claria who doesn't know shit about my country

[@PeruvianPotato]

@@lawbringer9857 You do realize how racist you sound saying that only Hispanics can vote Democrat, right?

[@lawbringer9857]

@@PeruvianPotato Only a weasley little Gusano would vote for a racist party like the republicans.

[@PeruvianPotato]

@@lawbringer9857 "racist party" Can already tell you're under 16 and you're projecting your insecurities. Good to know

[@pelagiuslobo5474]

You criminally forget the 1933 Revolution, Batista's first dictatorship then elected presidency, and the Autentico's dismal fall.

[@robotnikkkk001]

=COUP WAS SUPPORTED BY THE US,ISNT THAT........AT LEAST APPROVED.....AND SO ON AND SO ON =BUT......IN FACT,CUBA MUST'VE BEEN GIVEN A STATUS SAME OF PUERTO RICO.......AND OUTRIGHT US CITIZENSHIP AND TURNING CUBA INTO A STATE.......BECAUSE OF IT'S ONLY WAY TO GO ON HAWAII'S WAY OF PROSPERITY

[@guru47pi]

...Tell me you didn't watch until the 7:30 min mark without telling me you didn't watch the video.

[@kendellfriend5558]

@@guru47pi it’s more complicated than just Fulgencio Batista taking power. It should have been explained in the video he was explicitly backed by the US because he matched their interests. It shouldn’t just be said in passing conversation. That aspect is very important and another reason why Castro was able to take power because it fueled even more anger towards the US.

[@guru47pi]

@@kendellfriend5558 I continue to refer you to my original comment: actually watch the fucking video.

[@rauljimenez8132]

Batista was like Cuba’s poor version of Mulato Barack Hussein Obama, the rich Whites Elites like Fidel Castro took him out.

[@xPancakes4lyf]

it's important to point out the economic down turn after the Cuban revolution was exacerbated by the US government claiming over 80 - 90% of all agricultural and arable land, the telephone and communication lines, and took 2/3rds of all the sugar fields after occupying the country. as a result of Castro returning the means of production back to the people, the American government tried to overthrow the government like it did to with the banana republic, to reinstall a Capitalist leader back into the Cuban gov now known as the failed coup 'the pay of pigs' also it was America that restricted travel from cubans to america. they purposely restricted the number of visas handed out to cubans, as well as blocking food, medicine, supply's that the people would of needed to have a stable economy effectively crippling cuba on purpose, all because they weren't capitalists

[@LUIS-ox1bv]

Right, as if having Communists being next door neighbors should not prevent business being carried on as usual. Typical commie, BS.

[@biggpete100]

"The US government" didn't "claim" 80-90% of arable land, that's a lie. Private companies based in the US owned a lot of the arable land in Cuba, and there's a difference. And those companies paid a fair price for that land, nobody forced the Cubans to sell it. American companies invested a lot of money in Cuba building hotels, oil refineries, and more. This is the reason Cuba was rich prior to Castro, as explained in the video. When Castro stole American property, the American government stepped in to defend its citizens by placing embargos on Cuba. Also let's not forget that Castro wanted to allow the Soviet Union to put nuclear weapons on Cuba pointed directly at the US. Americans have a right to defend our property and our safety. Cuba being poor is 100% the fault of Cubans and nobody else. You're poor because you are thieves who stupidly stole property from hard working citizens of the most powerful nation on earth located very close to you, and because you have zero understanding of economics, trade or how to be a good neighbor in general.

[@user-oi1xx1mw8j]

So things were good until Castro came with his anti- American rhetoric and policies?

[@adrianafernandez3935]

I'm Cuban, and I found your video very accurate and unbiased. I think the situation now is similar or worse than during "periods especial". Latest news. Rusia has leased lots of land for 30 years as payment for all the money they dished out and did not get paid back. What they plan to use that land for....worries me. I think it is a geopolitical move....

[@kristoffer3000]

accurate and unbiased? You must be commenting under the wrong video.

[@nigelwilliams5653]

He must be what the fuck Castro did america for they to say in this video he's brutal eh?

[@lilxango9049]

@@kristoffer3000found the communist pig 👍🏿

[@bugsabc956]

​@kristoffer3000 Notice how the ACTUAL Cuban says this is accurate. But you, some 45 IQ nitwit from a first world country who has never experienced poverty in their life, disagrees. Socialism will never work. Stop believing in fairy tales and grow up.

[@kristoffer3000]

@@jaredlalonde2078 If you seriously believe the hilariously obvious bullshit that's being peddled then I have no other choice than to ask you to seriously examine your mental faculties because they are simply not present.

[@michaelimbesi2314]

The explosion of the Maine wasn’t a false flag operation. The ship most likely suffered a magazine explosion, something that was not-unheard of in the era. The chemistry of propellants in that era was not fully understood and some of them were not completely stable in the long term, especially when exposed to long periods of high temperature.

[@fusionreactor7179]

Well it wasn’t Spain’s doing and it also happened to be extremely f****g convenient for the Yankees

[@michaelimbesi2314]

@@fusionreactor7179 No, it really wasn’t convenient. It was actually really inconvenient. The US Navy in the 1890s was not anything like the modern one. It was very small and chronically underfunded. The USS Maine was one of only 5 battleships that it had. Losing the Maine represented a significant reduction in the navy’s combat power and a loss of valuable and expensive piece of military hardware. And perhaps most notably, blowing it up would have been completely unnecessary if Congress wanted to go to war to colonize Cuba. The yellow press had already whipped up plenty of anti-Spanish sentiment. The country wouldn’t have *needed* to blow up one of its own warships and kill its own sailors as an excuse. The idea that the Maine was a false flag is patently ridiculous.

[@rartu]

Why did William Randolph Hearst send his reporters there immediately before the Maine explosion?

[@danditto6145]

@@rartu Because he had spent years trying to whip up war with Spain. His reporters were there when war happened, because they had been active against Spain for a long time.

[@aidanaldrich7795]

@@michaelimbesi2314 The USS Maine wasn't a false flag because it likely exploded accidentally. However, I'm 95% sure that the US rushed to blame Spain in order to expand their territory and navel power

[@juliomiranda7013]

Very educational video. Thank you. Just wanted to point out that many of the clips showing "the people of cuba" are in fact clips from Guatemala, not Cuba. I understand the creator of the video needed filler clips to create the full video and that's fine, but just wanted to point out to those who don't know that most of the closeups of people shown are in fact not Cubans.

[@chacmool2581]

I caught that too. If you know Latin America, you can easily pick out the visual incongruencies. The landscape, the people, etc.

[@juliomiranda7013]

@@chacmool2581 yeah I mean, I'm actually Cuban. I could tell from a mile away those weren't Cubans from the way the dressed and the way they looked. Then I looked more closely and a street sign gave it away as being Guatemala

[@joseenriquediazramos9398]

I came here to do this exact comment, as a Cuban is very easy to tell the people in the video are not Cubans.

[@landynillar]

Very very well broucher of Cuba history

[@chacmool2581]

@@juliomiranda7013 No soy cubano. Aún así es obvio que no es Cuba ni cubanos. 😉

[@ManoloRalda]

The video that you used at 2:11 minutes of the cobblestone streets with modern cars and a bus in the background is not from Cuba but from Antigua, Guatemala as can clearly be seen by the red banner in the upper left on the screen.

[@m4_patriot374]

Dudes gotta find stock camera footage from somewhere I guess.

[@anthonysegura4741]

"Cuba es su gente" are the words that I've heard lately. The one thing this turmoil of power could not take from them was the exceptional people that Cubans are. I have met quite a few Cubans all over the world and the one thing they have in common is the gentle charisma that they have brought with them. A big hug to the Cuban struggling to this very day.

[@realestateinfonet9041]

Superb documentary! Thank you very much for making it & sharing it with us!

[@ar1-23x6]

If Cuba were left to thrive on it own then Miami would definitely not have been anywhere near as big as it is today.

[@robotnikkkk001]

=NOPE......IN ORDER OF DOING THAT,CUBA MUST'VE BEEN GIVEN A STATEHOOD,LIKE HAWAII .........RADICAL??--YES.......BUT ONLY STATEHOOD AND CITIZENSHIP OF ALL IT'S LOCALS WAS THE REAL CAUSE OF HAWAII TO THRIVE........BECAUSE OF THAT'S HOW THINGS WORK.....AND WOULD VE BEEN WORKING FOR CUBA

[@seanthe100]

It still would've expanded just wouldn't be speaking Spanish

[@uwot1300]

@@robotnikkkk001 native Hawaiians would disagree

[@LouisSubearth]

@Master Robotnik Ststehood only works if there's a land connection to the mainland because of the Marine Merchant Act. Otherwise, statehood or any form of colonial and/or territorial status with the USA would only increase the cost of living, as seen in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Alaska and other US territories.

[@rexx9496]

Cocaine built Miami in the 80s.

[@_yk9ch9hw5q]

Before 1959, Cuba was one of the most developed countries in Latin America and showed socioeconomic indexes higher than those of many regions in the center of the United States or southern Europe, reference areas for ordinary Cubans, which were not usually compared with their Central American or Caribbean counterparts. 1- The first public lighting system in all of Latin America (including Spain) was installed in Cuba in 1889. 2- Cuba was the first nation in Latin America and the third in the world (after England and the US) to have a railway, in 1837. 3- Cuba was the first Latin American nation to apply ether anesthesia in 1847. 4- The first world demonstration of an industry driven by electricity was in Havana in 1877. 5- The first tram that was known in Latin America, circulated in Havana in the year 1900. 6- Also in 1900, before any other Latin American country, the first automobile arrived in Havana. 7- The first city in the world to have telephone with direct dialing (without the need for an operator) was Havana in 1906. 8- In 1907, the first X-ray department in Latin America opened in Havana. 9- In 1922 Cuba was the second nation in the world to inaugurate a radio station, PWX, and the first nation in the world to broadcast a music concert and present a radio newscast. In 1928 Cuba already had 61 radio stations, 43 of them in Havana, ranking fourth in the world, surpassed only by the US, Canada and the Soviet Union. In 1935 Cuba became the largest exporter to Latin America of scripts and radio recordings. 10- In 1925, with less than 200 plants, the nascent Cuban nation produced more than 5 million tons of sugar. At that time, most of the mills and farms were in the hands of foreigners, but already by the end of the 1950s, of the 161 mills working, 131 were owned by Cubans with 60% of the total production. 11- The Delicias mill became the largest in Cuba, with a milling capacity of 780,000 arrobas of cane per day. In 1952 it produced 1,383,653 bags of sugar. 12- In 1937 Cuba decreed for the first time in Ibero-America the Law of eight-hour workday, the minimum wage and university autonomy (the latter eliminated by Castro at the beginning of his tyranny). 13- In 1940 Cuba approved the most advanced of all the constitutions in the world of that time. It was the first in Latin America to recognize the right to vote for women, equal rights between the sexes and races, and the right of women to work. 14- The first country in the world that built a hotel with central air conditioning was Cuba. It was the Hotel Riviera, in 1951. And also the first building in the world built with reinforced concrete was made in Havana: the Focsa, in 1952. 15- In 1954 Cuba had one cow for every inhabitant, and ranked third in Latin America (after Argentina and Uruguay) in per capita meat consumption. 16- In 1955 Cuba was the second country in Latin America with the lowest infant mortality: 33.4 per thousand births. 17- In 1956 the UN recognized Cuba as the second country in Latin America with the lowest illiteracy rate (only 23.6%). Haiti had 90%, Spain, El Salvador, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, 50%. 18- In 1957, the UN recognized Cuba as the best country in Latin America in number of doctors per capita (1 for every 957 inhabitants), with the highest percentage of electrified homes (82.9%) and homes with their own bathrooms (79.9%). and the second country (after Uruguay) in caloric consumption per capita daily. 19- In 1957 Havana became the second city in the world to have 3D cinema and multi-screens (Cine Radio Centro, today Yara) 20- In 1958, according to the Statistical Yearbook of Cuba, there were 7,567 public (free) and 869 private primary schools on the island, that is, 8,436 in total. Of the public schools, 1,206 were in the countryside. In the mid-50s, public education had 25,000 teachers, and private education 3,500. There were seven times as many public teachers as private ones. 21- In 1958 Cuba was the second country in the world to broadcast color television. 22- In 1958 Cuba is the Latin American country with the most automobiles (160,000, one for every 38 inhabitants) and the sixth in the world in the average number of automobiles per inhabitant. 23- Cuba was in 1958 the country that had the most electrical appliances. The country with the most kilometers of railway lines per square km, and in the total number of radio receivers. 24- Despite its small size and that it only had 6.5 million inhabitants in 1958, Cuba was ranked 29th among the largest economies in the world. What would have happened then if Cuba had followed the democratic course that Batista took and the Constitution of 1940 had been respected? Can you imagine the development that Cuba would have today?

[@jabaltariq4606]

How much of the "development" of which you speak was due to US corporations involvement in the Cuban economy?

[@_yk9ch9hw5q]

@@jabaltariq4606 Castro's multi-account henchman, Cuba, in 1958, 62% of the sugar mills were owned by Cuban citizens; 37% from US consortia and the remaining 1% from Spain and France; and that the 1952 harvest was for more than 7 million tons of sugar (in 2010 it barely reached 1.1, it was announced in May). During the fifties Cuba came to contribute 21.37% of world sugar production with a territory the size of the Baja California peninsula. Carlos Rafael Rodríguez would have told him that in health, education, transportation, telephony, railways, radio and TV, and of course, in sugar and tobacco production, Cuba was then and in almost everything, one of the two, sometimes the third and sometimes often the first country in Latin America, in those areas and some more. Cuba was self-sufficient in the consumption of sugar, milk, coffee, tobacco, tropical fruits and beef (since 1940); and practically self-sufficient in seafood, pork, tubers, vegetables, poultry, eggs, and shoe production. When Fidel Castro took power in Cuba, there were 6,325,000 head of cattle, of which 940,000 were dairy cows (the fifth largest producer in the region, according to the UN), for a population of six million; the data is from 1961, published by the Agrarian Reform Institute. For the period 1986-1989, they themselves reported that the per capita production of bovine meat had fallen by half compared to the level of 1958. The year 2000 is almost disastrous: there are fewer head of cattle than in 1946: 4,110,200 -the figure includes dairy cattle, if any. For a population 2.5 times larger. The figures are from the Statistical Yearbook of Cuba, reported by Óscar Espinosa Chepe (Cuba / Revolución o involución, Madrid, Aduana Vieja, 2007). The author is an economist, independent journalist, former official of the Banco Nacional de Cuba, former diplomat; imprisoned in 2003. Everything indicates that most of the bovine population has already gone through butcher shops: by 2010, at least 80% of the food consumed in Cuba is imported from the United States: chicken, corn, wheat, soybeans and powdered milk. While the fifteen countries with the highest milk production in Latin America increased their production by 228% during the period 1958-1996, Castro's Cuba increased its milk production by 11%. Despite the fact that in Castro's Cuba only those under seven and over 65 years of age drink milk, it is necessary to import milk. In 1958 Cuba was also self-sufficient in the consumption of evaporated and condensed milk. It is evident that today even the dairy cows ended up in the butcher shop. The authors of A Study on Cuba (University of Miami, 1965) state that the importation of meat from Canada and the United States began in 1960, when, incredibly, the authors say, it was sent to slaughterhouses to be studded, before the imminent famine. On the other hand, in pre-Castro Cuba, the import of fresh bovine meat was suspended in 1940, the year in which self-sufficiency was achieved and exports began (there was never foot-and-mouth disease in Cuba). From the 1940s to 1958, the kilogram of beef cost an average of 51.5 cents and annual consumption was 112.4 pounds per capita. At that time, Cubans had the highest protein intake in Latin America, after Argentina and Uruguay; more than 80% of the livestock was owned by Cuban citizens.

[@_yk9ch9hw5q]

Today countries do not care who owns the capital, what they are looking for is that there are investments in the country, regardless of the country they are from, Castro's multi-account henchman. Castro's own tyranny today tries to attract capital, only that its history of stealing other people's property and the fact of being a bad debt payer does not help it.

[@cubano669]

Do you guys know that if you own a cow in Cuba yo can't kill it to eat or sell the meat? The government put a tag on one of the cow ears and come to check the cow every month. The government owns all the cows, if you kill one and they catch you you go to prison for 30 years. Yet they don't sell the meat in the market for the population they have a notebook for each family to receive the monthly food including meat, one pound of everything for each person in the family, other than that you have to buy it un the "black market" illegally and overpriced think about what you make working in a month for just a pound of meat, oil to cook, etc. That my friends is socialism, if you want to go and live pure socialism go to live in Cuba so you finally learn the lesson and don't vote for Democrats again in your life.

[@Diego-fd3we]

@@jabaltariq4606most of the businesses were owned by Cubans 💀 Americans would just open shop but that doesn’t mean the majority were gringos most Cubans before the revolution were rich even though it had lots of poverty also many black Cubans were wealthy also. And Cuban rich were more wealthier than the very millionaires living here in the U.S

[@s.s.p.9680]

Cuba had more TVs per capita than the US in 1958.

[@Whatt787]

Cuba is so slummy that they only recently got the Internet lol

[@s.s.p.9680]

@@Whatt787 I'm speaking about Cuba before 1959. In 1959 Cuba went from richest to poorest country.

[@Whatt787]

Cuba is just one big huge decaying slum

[@s.s.p.9680]

@@Whatt787 Now, not in 1958.

[@karlseider8156]

I love your stuff, dude! Keep up the quality content!!

[@viviantejada]

Studied abroad in Cuba in 2016. A beautiful and resilient country that will forever have my heart

[@xy5870]

Si claro

[@Deathbyfasting]

Vieja

[@chikisnice2979]

Sorry but the Cuban people are not heroic, they are a bad example for the rest of Latin America. Conformism and resignation should never be an option for any people who want to progress. That is not resilience, it is the self-sacrifice of the Cuban people towards their dictators and that should not be repeated anywhere on this planet.

[@albertoc2046]

@@chikisnice2979 western rat 😂😂

[@alfredosenalle9284]

@@chikisnice2979 That's easy to say from far away. If you lived there as a regular Cuban you would soon realize the absolute control and terror that the dictatorship had over the people.

[@hebneh]

I went on a one-week tour to Cuba in 2012. It was mind-boggling to me to dine at our Havana hotel's breakfast buffet which was the most elaborate and abundant one I've ever seen, while outside the windows of the dining room were shivering feral dogs and threadbare people - the latter being forbidden at that time to even enter any hotel at all. Meanwhile, the official Cuban government propaganda retold of the evil inequities of the pre-revolutionary days...and I could see for myself that they were still very much in effect, and even worse than the 1950s since nobody could even hope to earn enough money to buy stuff, not that there were any consumer goods available anyway.

[@Itried20takennames]

Wow. My first thought was how sincerely sad. And my second was that it reminded me of “Animal Farm,” and the tragedy that revolutions supposedly started to end inequality frequently end up as just a new system of poverty and inequality.

[@Hsalf904]

This is the case in literally every global south country. Cuba largely moved away from tourism because of such social problems created by it and only went back to it as a last resort after they lost all their main trading partners in the Eastern Bloc. If the US lifted the blockade they wouldn’t have to rely on it so much

[@JAI_8]

And yet the only thought any wealthy foreigner has is how to exploit the relative disadvantage so readily witnessed right out the window and enjoy either the profits to be made (by exploiting the cheap and desperate labor and … the the first thought of the new foreign investors supporting the tourism ) or the luxury and comfort within direct view of what should be embarrassing poverty and suffering (by the foreign tourists). Not a thought about or action to alleviate the enforced social and economic hierarchy that makes the tourist enjoyment and ease possible. Like somehow it’s all inevitable and there’s nothing you can do about it, and nor should you? Cuba needs all its sanctions lifted. If a country wants to go socialist then a country needs to be left to do so.

[@hebneh]

@@JAI_8 You're absolutely right that the absurd US embargo should be ended. It's still in place because a great many Cuban (and other Latin American) refugees / exiles in the United States are very right-wing and want to keep punishing a socialistic country. The actual monetary damages suffered by American citizens and companies through Castro's seizures of assets were written off over 60 years years ago and are a long-dead issue. However...the embargo also remains a handy way to blame an outside influence for everything that doesn't work in Cuba, without addressing the flaws of the government created by Castro. Making everyone "equal" in Cuba means that nearly every person is dirt poor and is going to stay that way.

[@JAI_8]

@@hebneh I have little direct knowledge of Cuban expats, but I’ve long suspected the majority of what we hear about Cuba from Cubans is coming from a highly politicized embittered group of economic “right wing” conservatives, and those whose family fortunes were significantly diminished by the revolution and that as a group their families had once been wealthy and privileged and would thus have little good to say about the socialist revolution, with their former “sponsors” and business associates in the USA (and the crony capitalist ideology that had made them relatively wealthy in previous generations) naturally attracting them the the shores of the USA not so many miles away! Thanks for the informative reply.

[@YolandaYang-nb3rp]

It is weird that this video never mentioned the long and harsh sanctions from the USA, which is one of the major factors that leads to Cuba's poverty.

[@wojtek9675]

Why does a socialist country need the ability to trade with a capitalist country to work? Its embargo that only applies to the United States while allowing for food and drugs to be traded. Cuba is free to trade with the rest of the world yet it’s americas fault their poor?

[@KevinEdude]

you mean communism?

[@MMS.04]

@@KevinEdudeNo the economic warfare waged by the US which has been ruled against by every nation in the UN apart from the US and Isreal. The embargo which prevents companies from trading with Cuba and the US at the same time and the same embargo the US has used to deprive the Cubans from oxygen and other medical necessities especially during the pandemic. Also the communist party has no say in who runs the country all political party’s are banned from interfering in democratic votes. Being a member of the Cuban Communist Party is hard you must be elected by your community for your dedication to helping them and others and is basically just a way to show your dedicated and a good person on a CV. The majority of Cubans love their system and defend it only being reinforced by the unjust economic warfare the US has declared for half a century costing Cuba around 15 million a day and some estimates of a trillion dollars since it was imposed.

[@tovarischstalin6332]

​@@KevinEdude no he means the embargo on cuba, you dumb fucking piece of shit

[@John-bi1ts]

America's "sanctions" against Cuba were nothing more than a mass economic withdrawal from Cuba. Cuba was doing fine after the "sanctions" until the new communist dictator took over.

[@Zowiettr]

my dad came from cuba in the 1980s during the mariel boat lift. He had been arrested as a teen in cuba for escaping the mandatory military service, "the military" just meant being used as a slave in the sugar cane fields, cutting sugar cane. He tells me people would hurt themselves to be allowed to leave, and he tried and failed to be by injecting his leg with petrol, he had to run instead but he was caught and then was given to opportunity to leave to the US during the mariel exodus. He was 16. After surviving the trip over here, he was homeless and ended up very involved with selling drugs in miami. Now hes dad to 3 gen z kids who he doesnt understand at all, lotsa trauma, cubans suffer a lot.

[@joxepojoxepin2752]

Was his name Antonio?

[@manjelos]

Happy that he managed to make it in normal life. In Europe many refugees does not have nothing. They do cheap labour in the south of Europe working in agriculture for 10-20$/€ day or go to the northern countries and had to sell drugs to survive and many get addicted and then life goes down

[@Zowiettr]

@@joxepojoxepin2752 no

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

They’re mostly joking with you, “Scarface” joke

[@Zowiettr]

@@IblewuponyourfaceIII Never seen it haha, i just know its notorious for villainizing my dads generation of cuban immigrants in the states

[@michaelwoods4495]

Same as Venezuela, apparently. Before the Great Depression, my grandfather spent some vacations in Cuba. As he told it, he had a KB Lincoln that was shipped there and back for his use. He lost the money in the thirties, though.

[@Sean3456]

Cuba and Venezuela are the only spanish countries that hates Philippines

[@cjay9748]

About the same scenario happened in my country called the Philippines. It was a decent paradise until some things like insurgency, economic restrictions called the 60/40 FDI rule, corruption, and excessive bureaucracy came to reality. All of these issues are the root causes of their outdated system that was supposed to change every 19 years or so.

[@Ella-vx5ix]

Lol stop your propaganda, Marcos regime makes the country worst, their corrupt dynasty ruined everything, good thing PH now escaped from that brink of collapse. Stop blaiming the 60/40 system, blame the corrupt politicians and their corrupt system!

[@mr.battledroid2195]

The Philippines should have remained as a Spanish Australia or New Zealand, gaining peaceful independence around the 70s and 90s

[@Itried20takennames]

Almost any system that only changes every 19 years or so is probably going to become corrupt and outdated. Must be incredibly frustrating, at best, to watch things be mismanaged in your own country….so sorry to hear that.

[@johnscanlan9335]

Unfortunately Filipino culture is the most profoundly screwed up and corrupt society on Earth!

[@lifeeasier3462]

What is the 60/40 FDI rule?

[@Rocket-Raven]

I don't know if you're aware of the existence of the São Paulo Forum (FSP), also known as the Foro de São Paulo. Check what it's about and who is part of it and a lot of latin american politics will start to make sense. Its highly related with when castro announced cuba was all alone and how that dictatorship hasn't collapse for decades despite de lack of economic sustainability (which you briefly mentioned at the end regarding venezuela) ((it's the very thing that connects venezuela and cuba)).

[@marcoa.2912]

Woooh the evil spoopy commie boomers are going to starve you to death. Oooooh don't pay atention to the feudal comparable minimun wages oooooh.

[@seashellbeesaveres7951]

Dude upstairs think he's funny with his satirical reply

[@patrickshanghai2064]

amazing what people can endure. hope Cubans can have a better life soon.

[@omargodoy3700]

The women in line with shawls are not Cuban. That's footage from some country with indigenous population (Amerindian). There's other footage that is clearly not in Cuba--the phenotypes are clearly from Mexico, Ecuador, or Peru.

[@declangraham1864]

It’s shocking how little the US Cuban embargo is mentioned and how much its contributed to Cubas decline. Over 185 to 2 UN countries support ending the embargo meanwhile Cubas lost an estimated 6.35 billion during the Biden administration alone.

[@luisllorens70]

The socialists shouldn't complain about the embargo. They're the ones that said they didn't need the United States. Be careful what you ask for. Right?

[@GardenGhost404]

@@luisllorens70 it’s not about needing the us, it’s about the us government buying out medical companies that do business with Cuba and costing the small island nation to lose over $100 billion yearly in estimated costs.

[@Maruwasa]

it is an astonishing or simply callas and deliberate distortion. The embargo is a large part of why Cuba is where it is today.

[@franknwogu4911]

@@GardenGhost404 what? the us is buying us comapnies? that doesn't make sense

[@alejandroavila2646]

@@GardenGhost404 The US goverment buying medical companies? Who are you trying to mock here?

[@leoft]

Love this video! It really motivated me to think about money in a completely different way. Thank you for sparking this new fire in me

[@Roxy-zc7hv]

I live in Miami which is technically all Cubans.. Cubans are the most kindest people ever. I am Dominican and I can say Cubans showed me nothing but love and acceptance. I love how they are so close to their families and the kids ultimately take care of their parents. That is how traditions were back in the days.. Its truly sad Cuba has stayed stagnant for years but its the Cubans heart and love for his people that keep them always surviving,.. Que viva Cuba!

[@DarKnight-mu3ed]

Just saw your video. I'm a natural born cuban, and living here. You're very accurate in every definition you just mentioned. Excellent job! Cuba shall be free someday! Viva Cuba Libre!

[@sunshinehoward9649]

i love to hear from people in their own countries. Always good to hear from those that live it! Love you friend.

[@kxkxkxkx]

Don't let the G2 hear you 👀

[@salvadorvizcarra769]

“The Economic Blockade that United States imposed on Cuba, and which has been uninterrupted for more than 60 years, is product of the revenge of Dulles brothers against Fidel Castro, as a result of Castro expropriating the United Fruit Company (UFCO), more than 50,000 hectares of cultivation (Sugar Cane). Allen Dulles (CIA Director), and his brother John Foster Dulles (US Secretary of State), were a shareholder in UFCO, and were on the payroll for more than 20 years. Both Bros. demanded payment from Cuban Gov’t for the land expropriated at ridiculously high amount, when United Fruit Co. had obtained these large estates for $7 dollars per hectare and demanded compensation for $4,800 dollars per hectare. Castro was also asked to pay the cost of hotels, houses and casinos owned by the New York Mafia and other figures of high politics in the US. As Cuba does not pay, the Economic Blockade continues. “If we can't assassinate Castro, let's assassinate his economy”. Now, 12 Presidents have passed in the White House, and the Blockade continues. Castro, Dulles Bros., Meyer Lansky, Kennedy, LBJ and all that generation have already died; they are no longer here. And the Economic Blockade continues. Why? Why, if Castro NEVER affected the interests of the US people? Castro affected the interests of the New York Mafia, the UFCO and the interests of the Dulles Brothers. The Castro Gov't affected the interests some companies (6 companies), that conspired to assassinate him, but not affected the US People. (It would be an example to say that Mexico imposed an Economic Block on the US, cuz the US Gov’t confiscated properties from “El Chapo”, or from the Mexican Drug Trafficking Cartels). Castro never seized property from US citizens. Castro only seized the property of the New York Mafia. So, why? If perhaps the reason for the Blockade was cuz Fidel Castro was an ally of USSR, well, USSR has not existed for more than 30 years either. Then why? What is the reason for continuing with this Economic Blockade against Cuba? The answer to these questions, in any case, would be: "Cuz a dark power within the US wants to impose itself in Cuba, violating its sovereignty, in the same way that it has done and continues to do so throughout the world with the weakest nations". No common citizen of the US has anything against the Cuban people, but a certain sector of the Government's High Politics does…” Now, If you want to know about the atrocities and massacres of the UFCO and the CIA in Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, all the Caribbean and Central America, consult Wikipedia: “Wars of the Banana Republics”. (From Stephen Kinzer book: “The Brothers”). Write the latter that appears in parentheses, and verify this information right here on KZbin. Or, do the same and search for it on Google. In History Channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6aYoYqbbciEidE “Batista y la Mafia en Cuba”. .

[@RonaldYglesias]

As a Cuban political refugee I can say this is probably one of the best videos explaining the Cuban situation. It would have been nice to see more on the human rights situation. Thank you 🙏 Merry Christmas 🎄

[@EmperorOf]

gusano

[@RonaldYglesias]

@@EmperorOf HP tú madre

[@matheusvillela9150]

Ok gusano

[@RonaldYglesias]

@@matheusvillela9150 do you need a sponsor to move to Cuba? I’ll sponsor you, it will be my gift to whatever country you come from.

[@matheusvillela9150]

@@RonaldYglesias Ok gusano

[@skranhund993]

as a cuban i am happy to see people talk about this. Patria y Vida.

[@landynillar]

Patria y Vida

[@clauskodaxis5165]

Patria y Vida 💞 🇨🇺🖤

[@franklinnorth7708]

We go to Cuba every other Winter, Spanish was my first language. We take an extra suitcase with clothing and stuff to give to the Cubans, Wendy gave some stuff to a Local who remembered us 3 years later. Wendy works at the local School here in Canada and collects all the discarded school supplies, we give those to the Cubans, I bring Sports equipment for Baseball . I love watching the Cuban teams play, their fields are not manicured to pool table perfection, they are like playing on a Cow pasture, the ball can pitch and roll in any direction, but they are always on it. that is what makes them such good players. Although we are underweight in luggage on arrival, somehow after giving 50 pounds of stuff away, we are always overweight on departure, another $20 to the Cuban Govt.

[@thedustykeratometer8570]

Incentives are off. As Charlie Munger used to say “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome.”

[@RoodBull_SAMA]

Being here now for almost 8 years, about to leave tomorrow actually. I can tell with confidence that most Cubans who are capable elect to leave by any means necessary, there's so much going that the embargo isn't enough to blame everything on, so many people are leaving on the daily it's crazy out here.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

"actually"

[@aprotosis]

True you can't blame the embargo on *everything*, but most things, yes. Which is odd that this video treats it like a footnote. Pretty much all the absurd compromises and economic fluctuations in Cuba, starvation, energy crisis, etc. is a direct result of the embargo.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

@aprotosis Nah. They've had time to restructure their economy. The Cunan government has made the embargo the scapegoat for Cuba's woes, when in fact it's the corrupt government.

[@aprotosis]

@@jamesmcinnis208 How exactly do you think an island nation can restructure their economy when the strongest nation on the planet has prohibited them from having any meaningful trade partners for over 60 years? Especially when the only given answer from those outside powers is to allow colonial capitalism to effectively steal their resources and exploit their labor piecemeal? A modern nation cannot survive without trade.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

@aprotosis They trade with Canada, Spain, Germany and others. The US doesn't prevent that.

[@martasanchez2651]

I am a cuban, that fled as a child and raised in Florida, story is told in a great way

[@Roxy-zc7hv]

70% of cubans live in mIami Im dominican and I consider myself a Cuban since I grew up here lol

[@zsmith4853]

Please don't forget the fact that the large reason for the desperation is because of US sanctions on Cuba. Since 1959.

[@alfredosenalle9284]

What sactions ? The only sanctions the US put on Cuba was to freeze Cuban communist money in the US as an answer to the communist regime taking over US companies in Cuba. Also not being able to trade between Cuba and the US....the so called "embargo". HOWEVER , Cuba trades , buys and sells whatever they need or want from any other country in the world. Cuba's two biggest trading partners México and Canadá. You see , those "santions" that the Cuban communist dictatorship claims , are just an excuse they give to the world , the real reason is the failure of an obsolete Marxist style economy that had never worked. People like you who believe and support the Cuban communist dictatorship , only prolong the hunger , misery and suffering of the Cuban people , while those in the communist party dictatorship lie to the world and live a privileged life.

[@brianruisanchez1123]

Wrong! It’s call a totalitarian Communist dictatorship. Hotels for tourists in Cuba are not lacking of anything, certain stores also are full of imported products that Cubans need, they just can’t afford them because the government raises the prices on them irrationally. Trust me I lived there and I speak to friends there everyday.

[@hammiranda]

Its really sad what happened to Cuba and Venezuela which were once in the top 20 richest country.

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

Should of left them under the Spanish Empire, Spain did a better job

[@kxkxkxkx]

Spain is a beautiful, happy place 😚 can't wait to go next week!!!

[@salvadorvizcarra769]

“The Economic Blockade that United States imposed on Cuba, and which has been uninterrupted for more than 60 years, is product of the revenge of Dulles brothers against Fidel Castro, as a result of Castro expropriating the United Fruit Company (UFCO), more than 50,000 hectares of cultivation (Sugar Cane). Allen Dulles (CIA Director), and his brother John Foster Dulles (US Secretary of State), were a shareholder in UFCO, and were on the payroll for more than 20 years. Both Bros. demanded payment from Cuban Gov’t for the land expropriated at ridiculously high amount, when United Fruit Co. had obtained these large estates for $7 dollars per hectare and demanded compensation for $4,800 dollars per hectare. Castro was also asked to pay the cost of hotels, houses and casinos owned by the New York Mafia and other figures of high politics in the US. As Cuba does not pay, the Economic Blockade continues. “If we can't assassinate Castro, let's assassinate his economy”. Now, 12 Presidents have passed in the White House, and the Blockade continues. Castro, Dulles Bros., Meyer Lansky, “Lucky” Luciano, Frank Costello, Kennedy, LBJ and all that generation have already died; they are no longer here. And the Economic Blockade continues. Why? Why, if Castro NEVER affected the interests of the US people? Castro affected the interests of the New York Mafia, the UFCO and the interests of the Dulles Brothers. The Castro Gov't affected the interests some companies (6 companies), that conspired to assassinate him, but not affected the USA People. (It would be an example to say that Mexico imposed an Economic Block on the US, cuz the US Gov’t confiscated properties from “El Chapo”, or from the Mexican Drug Trafficking Cartels). Castro never seized property from US citizens. Castro only seized the property of the New York Mafia. So, why? If perhaps the reason for the Blockade was cuz Fidel Castro was an ally of USSR, well, USSR has not existed for more than 30 years either. Then why? What is the reason for continuing with this Economic Blockade against Cuba? The answer to these questions, in any case, would be: "Cuz a dark power within the US wants to impose itself in Cuba, violating its sovereignty, in the same way that it has done and continues to do so throughout the world with the weakest nations". No common citizen of the US has anything against the Cuban people, but a certain sector of the Government's High Politics does…” Now, If you want to know about the atrocities and massacres of the UFCO and the CIA in Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Colombia, Cuba, all the Caribbean and Central America, consult Wikipedia: “Wars of the Banana Republics”. (From Stephen Kinzer book: “The Brothers”). Write the latter that appears in parentheses, and verify this information right here on KZbin. Or, do the same and search for it on Google. In History Channel: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g6aYoYqbbciEidE “Batista y la Mafia en Cuba”.

[@IblewuponyourfaceIII]

@@salvadorvizcarra769 False dichotomy, it was the United States government & the CIA who placed Castro & Communism to rule over Cuba. And the CIA is controlled by the UK’s MI6. The British Royals have been playing you since the Spanish-American Revolution against Spain.

[@erikvaldes4293]

I wish this was in spanish so I could watch it with my dad. Thank You for educating people on my country. God bless 🙏🏽

[@run4ever102]

Glad you made that KZbin post about this or I’d have never saw it! Really interesting!

[@KimoKapaku]

I really wnjoy your videos. Me gusta tu videos. Donde esta todos gentes? Its like a ghost town!

[@enriquevaldeza]

The saddest part was just when the US lost its backyard brothel ….

[@sisyphusofephyra7801]

My grandparent was a farmer in Cuba before the revolution when he was 6 they kicked his family out of his house and burned his house same shit happened to my grandmother.

[@matheusvillela9150]

Who did that and when

[@sisyphusofephyra7801]

@@matheusvillela9150 it was in the province of sanctis spiritus he was kicked by the rural police.

[@matheusvillela9150]

@@sisyphusofephyra7801 But was that before or after the revolution?

[@sisyphusofephyra7801]

@@matheusvillela9150 before

[@matheusvillela9150]

@@sisyphusofephyra7801 Thank you for clarifying

[@diddypablo2006]

I am a Cuban that escaped, this is a great video showing both sides of the argument, and saying the truth that partisan media won't, the Cuban government never really meant well, they loved power so much, they never let go.

[@fidelcatsro6948]

power, yum yum!

[@Diego-fd3we]

YUM YUM power. Even though they’re system failed and they nationalized almost everything they still haven’t changed their system bec if pride and ignorance

[@dy97]

I will dare to say that this is probably the most accurate summary video on Cuba´s situation. Even if you used stock videos that are not from Cuba, it still has my approval. I am Cuban, born and raised, with 24 years of experience living in that sh!th0le. 👌

[@_yk9ch9hw5q]

The 1940 Constitution gave a great boost to the development of Cuba, as it brought political stability to the country and put Cuba on the path of economic growth. Grau and Prío began that Cuban economic development that was spreading to the provinces as well, and later with Batista it became more accelerated, since under the coup Batista many of the great construction works were carried out in Havana, which gave it enormous modernity, and it caused a rapid growth of the middle classes in the country that began to disappear from 1959 with the violent seizure of power by the later tyrant Fidel Castro and Cuba being dragged towards communism, then beginning the favelization of Cuba and the conversion of all Cubans in an increasingly miserable town, in addition to the physical and social destruction of Cuba. The Cuban people need to rediscover the Constitution of 1940, which from 1952 under Batista and from 1959 under Castro, was trampled on, because its democratic postulates and respect for freedoms made it annoying for its dictatorial powers.

[@Diego-fd3we]

I’m Cuban and truth is. Cuba never had good presidents, the only good ones I remember was one who became president of the republic of arms (founded by Manuel Céspedes when he freed his slaves gave a speech to 500 people and incited the Cuban independence movement) even Mario Garcia Cubas third president is highly respected but in the same time hated because almost all of Cubas president have history with corruption. Even though they did good things and Mario even is honored for being a great Cuban leader during WW2 or 1 I believe. But in my opinion those men were never destined to be Cubas leaders. Jose marti and Manuel Céspedes and Antonio maceo were hell even maximo Gomez. But one day cuba will have the leader that it’s supposed to have and cuba will sit in the throne of the Caribbean like we did during our glory days

[@_yk9ch9hw5q]

@@Diego-fd3we The purpose of a "president" (head of state) and a ruler is to bring development to the nation but above all, to UNITE the people as much as possible and establish and respect the FREEDOMS of the people, something that the Castro tyranny did. On the contrary, it pulverized the Cuban nation and divided Cubans like never before. Never before 1959 were so many Cubans looking for a way to leave Cuba. The tyrant Fidel Castro enthroned HATE among Cubans, even within families. That is why the Castro tyranny is condemned to disappear, despite the hope that it initially brought to the people but that the tyrant Castro betrayed by lying to the people.

[@sionbarzad5371]

Been a couple times to cuba and man I loved the country side. Its a very diverse country, with some mind blowingly beautiful vistas. Hope I will return some day 😍

[@nathanthanatos3743]

The Maine was a brand new ship (commissioned 1895) and sunk in 1898 with most of her crew. We know after analysis a century later that she probably blew her own magazine, but it sure as shit wasn't 'most likely a false flag'.

[@keithbolender9233]

but theAmericans used it as a reason to enter into the CUban war of independence, resulting in US colonialism over Cuba for 60 years.

[@nathanthanatos3743]

@Keith Bolender yes, and that's acknowledged in our history books; this doesn't diminish the fact of this channel mischaracterizing the incident and adding connotations which do not comply with the fact of the event.

[@toddlane1970]

I agree completely. The most likely root cause was a coal bunker fire. As far as I am concerned this channel lost all credibility with just that statement, for which there is absolutely no support. I find it very sloppy and have to wonder what other utter nonsense is lurking in the videos.

[@pj-vu3cn]

Who would invest in a town that sits in the shadow of an active volcano that's constantly belching.

[@yuicel10]

Great job love the video ty.

[@tholmes8474]

You forgot this, you forgot that! = we demand more in depth doc. thanks for your work i ask for pt.2 please.

[@charlesburke2379]

Cuba even slipped from top spot in world Cigar production. A spot they held unchallenged for a hundred years. The high quality Cuban tobacco proved dependent on the magic touch of a small group of now deceased farmers. Something their "revolutionary" replacements have found impossible to duplicate.

[@kxkxkxkx]

Cuban cigars are trash 💯 have been for years

[@LUIS-ox1bv]

Yes. I think the Dominican Republic has cornered a great share of that product.

[@Curlyblonde]

It was the American Mafia Crime Families led by Meyer Lansky that built and controlled the best hotels, casinos, night clubs and horse racing tracks with a nominal kick back to the government. After they had their money and assets seized by Castro and Guevara, they turned their full investment attention and their control more to Las Vegas, though they had already started to build casinos there.

[@EpilepticBob]

14:19 Did he just say Comic Con? I can’t unhear it 😂

[@davidpetersen6694]

Great research on this project! I have been watching local Cuban KZbinrs to learn Spanish. The conditions of the local people outside of the tourist sector is alarmingly poor! Why I wondered. Now I know. I pray for better days for these wonderful citizens! 😎 Viva la Cuba!

[@waynelust9431]

Cuba went into rapid decline once the Soviet Union collapsed and no longer provided financial support. Now 2 years of Covid restrictions has decimated their one main source of foreign currency, tourism. Power outages for most of the day and soaring inflation, has the population starving.

[@dianemitchell1717]

This is the result of the United States foreign policy which favors corporate interests. Castro appealed to Eisenhower to accept the revolution. He was prepared to have a pro democracy government some accommodations for the workers, etc. He was rebuffed and went the full communist route.

[@kxkxkxkx]

@@dianemitchell1717 maybe if Cuba favored corporate interests instead of Communist enslavement they wouldn't be broke and starving..? 😅 "Company" comes from "con pan" because you break bread with your co-workers... Ain't no bread in Cuba tho tovarisch💯

[@chuckyxii10]

@@dianemitchell1717 The US under Eisenhower did support the revolution and quit supplying arms to the Batista regime at a critical moment when they could have crushed the revolution. The US/Cuba divide didn't come until after the revolution was successful and Castro started appropriating the property of US citizens. The embargo was a bit of an over-reaction but the reality is it is not why Cuba is poor. Central planning based around non diversified exports is. The embargo is actually pretty leaky and loads of places still trade with Cuba but the value of Cuban exports has diminished. They mostly export tobacco and sugar. Sugar is not as valuable as it once was due to cheap high fructose corn syrup, and tobacco is now competing with loads of other South American countries. It didn't help that Cuba reduced quality standards in tobacco to try and produce more of it, Cuban Cigars used to be considered particularly high value but not anymore which really hurts its value. Tourism suffered a similar fate due to Covid. Cuba's own reluctance to allow foreign capital is also hurting them. In order to diverify into other industries they need people with money to build the factories and infrastructure, but no one is gonna do that if the Cuban government is going to nationalize any profitable industry. People think foreign investment is bad because they assume its just exploitation and there surely would be to some degree but it is also what gets an economy started. The US actually became as wealthy as it has due to foreign investment in the early 19th century building factories and railroads when it was still the equivalent of a third world shit-hole.

[@Diego-fd3we]

@@dianemitchell1717how dumb can you be ?

[@doge.a.cat2002]

Great analysis, though I would have liked to see stuff about Miguel Diaz-Canel, the leader since 2021 who's also the first non-Castro in charge since the revolution. He allowed private businesses to open up last year, though I haven't heard much of a follow up since.

[@rioluna6058]

"private"

[@KungaTV]

the end sums him up pretty much, all he cares about is staying in power

[@jamaicansunitedforchange5745]

@@KungaTV isnt that all politicians?

[@b.a.2406]

@@jamaicansunitedforchange5745 Are all countries in such bad shape as Cuba is? Not all politicians are dictators working for an authoritarian regime.

[@jamaicansunitedforchange5745]

@@b.a.2406 you ignore the sanctions put on Cuba as a big factor to their lack of economic development despite these sanctions they have managed to make a lot of strives in areas of research and more

[@ragmarsegundo7866]

This article would have been better without the editorial slant, rather steep near the end. As Elliot Ness would say, "the facts, Ma'am, just the facts."

[@merlinidlehands3302]

IM NOW 68 and Born in America I thought when Obamoa was friendly with Cuba we were gonna be friends I ALWAYS wanted to Visit Cuba ever since I was little

[@glorfification]

This video is about Cuba, why is there a picture of Justin Trudeau on the thumbnail?

[@steve3131]

In honor of his REAL father.

[@mwanikimwaniki6801]

@@steve3131 😭😭😭😭😭

[@Septic552]

As a Puerto Rican I’m glad I don’t have this problem here

[@mljrotag6343]

Pretty solid summary. The last 5 minutes is 100% spot on.

[@alexlents4689]

I wouldn’t really call it *insanely* poor. In 2022, it had a nominal GDP per capita of $13,128, slightly above the global average of $12,648, and a Human Development Index of .764 (considered high).

[@rangelfamily4047]

Around 2:14 you show video of Guatemala saying its Cuba...

[@Cherb777]

Very informative video on the history of Cuba. Unfortunately you forgot to mention the effects of the pandemic, their constant changes in monetary policy and most recently their agreement with China. Which have further stressed the system and added to the political strife between United States and Cuba. Recent decisions by the government to start buying US dollars and encouraging private investment from abroad are positive the outlook here for the future of Cuba still seems bleak. More Cubans have fled the island in the last 18 months than at any point in the country's history.

[@richardjosephus6802]

And that same Gov can just nationalize those investments again.

[@animeloco13]

@@richardjosephus6802 they can't actually. It would require amending the constitution which also requires voting referendums with the citizens here. The government here isn't totalitarian friend, we have elections and democracy.

[@richardjosephus6802]

@@animeloco13 In Cuba? LOL Right the same kind that go on in Russia.

[@animeloco13]

@@richardjosephus6802 do you think Russia and Cuba have the same economic and political systems? They're two completely different countries dude. Hell even Canada and most of Europe acknowledge that Cuba is a constitutional republic. It's just the US that says its totalitarian, which it is not.

[@richardjosephus6802]

@@animeloco13 both are command economy's. And both dear leaders get to do what they want. They both have rubber stamp legislatures, that ok what they are told to do so.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

A comparative study of Cuba and Taiwan (Formosa) is a worthwhile exercise.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

A realistic retrospective will reveal that the United States gained significant intelligence from Soviet involvement in Cuba. That same dynamic has been operative in Taiwan for decades with technological and strategic advantages accumulating much in favor of the Peoples Republic of China.

[@douglassauvageau7262]

Taipei has been a stalwart practitioner of practical pragmatism. Taipei could jump into the Beijing sphere of influence at the drop of a hat. Havana has been a 'lost-child' looking for love and security. The current U.S. Administration is in a unique position to cement a new relationship with Latin America with Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff leading that 'charm-offensive'.

[@phoenix5054]

One chose the US and the other the Soviet Union. That’s all that needs to be said.

[@aloneil1089]

No it's not. Very inaccurate. A better comparison would be Cuba compared to El Salvador, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua. Inlude crime rates, Healthcare, literacy, and drug crimes, and progress to combat climate change. Cuba starts to look pretty good.

[@dpeasehead]

@@aloneil1089 And non of those countries can blame communism or socialism for their shortcomings and large refugee out flows. I have noticed that all of the documentaries which focus on communism seem to be okay with the race based chattel slavery which went on in Cuba until nearly 1900 and with the race and color hierarchy which continues to exist in Cuba and in all of the rest of the ex-slave states in the Americas to this day.

[@AC-zq9tv]

This is so sad 😭 I wish this never happened to Cuba, it would have been one of the most developed countries today. It breaks my heart seeing how cruel politics can be and the innocent people are the ones who suffer

[@Evega607]

Don't blame it on anybody , cubans made a choice and to this day stubbornly keep going in the same direction. Stop and think whose fault it is.

[@landynillar]

This is the most accurate description of what happened to my country,

[@ILikeGuns1992]

Is it though? What about horrors of communist regime and merciless sanctions by the US?

[@landynillar]

I do not know if the horrors of communist in Cuba where as bad as in Korea, china or communist Russia but, it happened in Cuba. and , if you add "the missile crisis" as dressing to that merciless salad of sanction , it will add a taste of shamelessness too

[@Gentleman-Of-Culture]

I love this Channel. Superb content and the engaging narrative. Nearly hitting 200k subs 👍 Love from Lithuania ♥️

[@SnoopyDoofie]

Except that this channel has very poor viewer-to-subscriber conversion ratio. KZbin is filled with channels like this. When you have 4x more video views than you have subscribers, you're not producing good enough quality. It's just another bland Wikipedia-article-to-KZbin channel. Nothing new or inspiring or enganging for most to want to subscribe to.

[@kristoffer3000]

@@SnoopyDoofie This is more of a fed to youtube video though

[@henrysantos121]

*Great documentary well done*

[@DanielAllen68]

I wish people could see the big picture 😢, great job ty

[@tedjohnson64]

Fascinating video! I actually went to a pretty good school system (USA), but until now the only thing I knew about Cuba’s role in history was the Cuban missile crisis.

[@jamesmcinnis208]

"actually"

[@elmohead]

American school system is rubbish fyi

[@hankkingsley9300]

Did they teach you how JFK almost got us all killed

[@MegaJellyNelly]

The u.s school system is subpar in regards to learning about other countries

[@_________.]

@@MegaJellyNellyno it isn’t

[@josephupton3601]

My father's first name was "Tony". He came to Miami in the 80's during the boat lift. He had it tough at first...working as a dish washer. But then he got an opportunity to work in pharmaceuticals. Everything went well until one fateful night he was murdered by Colombian thugs. I'll never forget him.

[@joxepojoxepin2752]

Yeah i remember him. The son of a b**ch killed his best friend and your auntie Gina.

[@davosgroup9744]

I thought you were going to say Scarface, it almost sounded like the movie

[@lynncoffey529]

@@davosgroup9744 OMG... same!

[@barrybritcher]

I was waiting for someone to post this lol. Did he kill his friend Manny ?

[@josephupton3601]

@@barrybritcher All I know is that the same night that my father was killed by Colombians his best friend Manny was shot to death by persons unknown. Manny's wife was my father's sister. She was also murdered and her body was found in the same house where my father was murdered. I blame all of this on Donald Trump since Donald Trump, according to Biden and Pelosi, is responsible for all the evil in the world.

[@orimorad769]

I like the fact that you talk about the world wide embargo that’s been going on for 60 years but still insisting that it’s Cuba’s economy that needs to change and not what is probably the most hermetic embargo in the world

[@triplea7536]

Right, because you need a capitalist country to make you successful, cause being subsidized billions of dollars a day by the soviet union wasn't enough. If you're just not gonna listen then go listen to your commie propaganda elsewhere loser.

[@bugsabc956]

That is the biggest leftist cope ever. No, it's not "muh embargo" other countries have fuck tons of embargos on them as well.

[@aaronkcmo]

not cuba's economy, their human rights abuses are what needs to change. not hard to understand.

[@mikekostrzewski7813]

They will get their open market when they reform the government so that the communist party doesn’t have an iron hand on the country. The ruling class is at fault there.

[@triplea7536]

@@aaronkcmo the fact you think that proves that it's at least hard for YOU to understand

[@Hakaimono]

Slight correction, oh wait no its a huge correction, the us sending womd into turkey is what prompted the soviets to send womd to cuba. It happened, but the order matters.

[@kitrichardson2165]

It’s interesting to see how you were corporations were basically exploiting the entire country and the solution would’ve been to pass laws banning American ownership in the same way other countries have banned Chinese ownership. These corporations are soulless and grasping, and what was going on in Cuba 1950s despite all of their prosperity, was completely unfair to the Cuban people.

[@QuantumNoir]

Cuba was the original Vegas and it competed with the US on tvs per capita half a century ago. They still had a shockingly strong medical sector too.

[@legoweapons8117]

That thing of the strong medical sector is a lie medic personal doesn't know how to use modern equipment

[@Diego-fd3we]

Cuban millionaires were wealthier than Americans millionaires. 29th largest economy in the world surpassing Japan, Spain and Austria and had one of the lowest infant mortality in Latin America

[@CatalanIndiano]

“Negrers. La catalunia esclavista” (outing Feb.2023; english subtitles)

[@maxscameraguy]

Very disappointed that you didn't talk about Africa and Cuba's investment in Africa.

[@belen3732]

I think at this point it is safe to say that the economic sanctions did nothing good for either nations and further alienated Cubans from Americans.

[@xaviercopeland2789]

Not really, but maybe I don’t see that because I lived in Miami for a while, but Cubans love the US there, and I was treated really well in Cuba when I went.

[@larrysherk]

America has been trying its best to strangle Cuba since the day Fidel arrived. We have no concern whatsoever for the lives of Cubans. That was what concerned my brave hero Ana Belén Montes, who just got out of prison last month. Sixteen years she worked to help Cuba dodge the torture the DIA had planned for them.

[@randomuser2461]

comecon I always wondered if there was something funny behind comic books.

[@sucraloss]

Your intro animations are so smooth, are you making them by yourself or are you adapting from something else? Great work!

[@CasualScholar]

Thank you so much! I’m making them myself and just using Adobe aftereffects with the geo layers 3 plug-in!

[@sucraloss]

Very cool thank you for answering!

[@ROXANNE708]

Another awesome video! Keep up the great content! You ROCK!

[@tommunyon2874]

Michener in his book "Iberia" stated that former Spanish colonies tended to swing between authoritarianism or anarchy with few alternatives in between.

[@justanotherwhitegirla7093]

The Blowback Podcast has a really good series about Cuba.