[lbo-talk] Cuba's painful transition from sugar economy

[Cseniornyc at aol.com]

Jim Devine ponders: "getting out of sugar makes sense, but why isn't there  
investment in
some new kind of agriculture or industry in the countryside? is  it the
blockade?"
JD
Comment :The only reason you are asking this question is because you  haven't 
bothered to look for the abundant Cuban economy data and reports such as  
hose by numerous UN agencies and research centers and instead swallow whole  
those pro neo-lib articles Ulhas regularly posts in his ongoing campaign of  
vilification of Cuba.
Of course there has been investment in agriculture. Forced to abandon  
chemical fertilizer based crops it switched to organic based agriculture through  
new land management and he introduction of urban crops.For this UN's FAO  
recently mentioned Cuba as a world example.
As for industry, Cuba is also extremely well known for its very advanced  
bio-tech industry which in contrast to most of well VC funded US bio-tech, it  
does offers already a variety of vaccines and heart drugs to 35 different  
countries.
It is important ,especially as an economist, not to be dazzled and confused  
by gizmo/ widget counting of the kind Ulhas does for India, and realize that  
Cuba has been pursuing a strategy of development via the service sector  
:education, health services and tourism in addition to a vigorous fishing  
industry. Cuba exports hundreds of medical doctors to Brazil,Venezuela and  Africa and 
trains many foreign students in the field.Also her international  centers for 
rehab medical programs and plastic surgery have a large  international 
market, etc,
Cristobal Senior
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