“In Cuba, families get one dozen eggs per month,” my friend said. “So what do they eat?” I asked. “They starve.”
I was in New York recently talking with a friend who left Cuba in 2021. She first moved to Uruguay, then made her way to the United States two years ago.
There are still a few lefties in America that idealize Cuba. But they don’t know anything about it — she does.
So this morning, I was fascinated to read that a revolution may be brewing in Cuba. From Bloomberg:
Almost unnoticed amid the drama and crisis that hit Latin America every week, in the last days of February the Cuban government asked the United Nations for aid to address a growing food shortage.
The unprecedented cry for help from a communist regime that has always prided itself on its social welfare model captures Cuba’s dire economic straits. Hurt by tightened US restrictions, decaying domestic production, a weak post-Covid tourism industry and indifference from its allies, the island is living through its worst economic days since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. A string of blackouts brought people into the streets last weekend, shouting for “food and power” — a rare display of social unrest since the turmoil that shook the island in July 2021, which the regime contained with crushing force.
“I’m Hungry”
You can watch actual video from the protests posted on Twitter, below.
It’s hard not to be moved by the Cuban people’s plight. Their chant, “I’m hungry,” is the most basic of human needs.
Here in the United States, we have everything. Sadly, we probably throw away enough food to feed Cuba and several other countries.
So I hope that our government comes through in a major way for Cuba, despite our political differences.
Toppling the Regime is Harder Than You Think
But as bad as the situation in Cuba is, I doubt the government will fall any time soon.
“No one has guns,” my friend explained when I asked her if the government would fall. And despite my serious concerns on US gun policy, I have to admit — she was making sense.
Perhaps there is some middle ground between a disarmed, powerless populace and the violence we see in America today.
What Would It Take to Get Rid of the Regime?
What it would take to get rid of the Communists in Cuba would be somebody with guns turning against the government. That means the military and police.
To my knowledge, there is no indication of the military or police turning against the regime. I’m guessing they’re better fed than those poor people protesting.
We often think that if a society becomes poor and desperate enough, a revolution happens. But that’s not really true.
How Revolutions Really Work
Around Christmas in 2022, I read a fascinating little book. It’s called Revolutions: A Very Short Introduction.
In this book, Professor Jack Goldstone of George Mason University traces countless revolutions from Ancient Greece to the present. The upshot: poverty alone won’t get rid of a bad government.
You also need the elites to turn against the regime. Those elites have the power, the money, and the weapons.
And it’s going to take a lot of all 3 to get rid of a dictator as brutal as Cuba’s Miguel Diaz-Canel.
Wrap-Up
If we start to see Cuban elites openly criticize the regime, and police and military start to disobey orders from Diaz-Canel, a revolution could happen. But until then, I’m afraid the Cuban people are in for more of the same.
What do you think of the situation in Cuba? Leave a comment and let us know!
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Photo: “Cuba” by szeke is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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