On Thursday, having dictated the life of his fellow citizens for the past twelve years, Raul Castro will step down as Cuba’s leader.
Sadly, the end of the Castros won’t be the liberation of Cuba’s people from communist dictatorship. A longtime communist party loyalist, Miguel Díaz-Canel, will take over from Raul and ensure that the island’s preserved dystopia, a relic of the Cold War, stumbles forward.
But while it’s inevitable that useful idiots such as Bernie Sanders, Chris Williamson and Jeremy Corbyn will lament Castro’s departure, the Castro legacy is self-evident.
Let’s start where so many others defend Cuba — its healthcare system. The statistics Cuba offers as proof of its medical superiority come from the Communist Party, not honest statisticians. And its supposedly amazing provision of service does not match with testimony from either Cuban expatriates or those few objective researchers who have been able to access Cuba.
Rather, medicines and medical equipment are subject to “chronic” shortages. Although the Cuban government blames the United States for these shortages, the overlords cannot explain why needed items are not purchased from other Latin American nations or from Europe.
Then there’s the economy. Average wages are significantly lower than in other, formerly poorer neighboring nations. Evidencing the desperation of many residents, prostitution and child prostitution are now booming subsets of the western tourism trade.
This is Fidel and Raul’s legacy: a ruined paradise marked by the suffering of millions.
I will celebrate when Raul follows his brother and Che Guevara and ends up in the ground, but even that won’t be the end of the nightmare.
