Embargo: The Cuban Revolution

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Schmidt 7
Although the US embargo and its ultimate consequences were outside the control of Castro, the economic isolation of Cuba and following economic decline can be directly related the
Revolution.
A full assessment of the economic impact of the Revolution must also include an analysis of social equality and the division of individual wealth. Before the Revolution there was much social inequality. This can be linked to discrimination, which“…was based not only on race but more importantly on class, leading many scholars to define the pre-revolutionary period as that of a color/class system” (Holmes Web). Many people were excluded from educational opportunities on the grounds of race and class and therefore unemployment rates were …show more content…
This, in creating social equality, reduced unemployment and led to improved distribution of wealth and a better standard of living despite the damage sustained to the national economy.
“Here are some basic facts about Cuba’s economic situation:
1. Between 2001 and 2003, the Cuban economy grew at an average annual rate of 2.9%; between 2004 to 2007, the figure was 9.3%. In 2008 GDP growth dropped to 4.1% and in
2009 to 1.4%.
2. Cuba’s earnings from the export of goods have been hard hit by the fall in commodity prices – primarily nickel (40% of total exports in 2009) but also sugar (13%).
3. At the same time the cost of key imports (fuel and food) has risen significantly. As a result, Cuba’s balance of payments for the export and import of goods is heavily in deficit
– in 2009 it was $6.5 billion.
4. This deficit is only balanced by the massive export of services. This is made up of tourism receipts ($2.2 billion gross in 2007) and payment (mainly from Venezuela) for the provision of medical personnel (estimated at over $5 billion in 2007). One inescapable problem of this heavy reliance on the export of services is that it is largely

Schmidt 8 dependent on factors outside Cuba’s control, i.e., Chavez and the …show more content…
Another very important source of hard currency is remittances from Cubans living abroad, mainly in the U.S. These are estimated at $600 million to $1 billion annually. The downside, however, is that the remittances create a division between those Cubans who have access to them and those who don’t.
6. Food comprises a large part of Cuba’s imports (17% in 2009). 70% of its food is imported. In 2008 it spent $2.2 billion on importing food –567,000 tons of rice and
246,000 tons of dried beans cost it $700 million. Replacing expensive imports with locally produced food is a major objective of the Cuban government. A big part of this is to encourage more people to take up farming and make the conditions of agriculture much more attractive.
7. At the beginning of 2009 a crisis in servicing its foreign debt ($19.5 billion) led the government to freeze around $1 billion in the bank accounts of foreign firms. A lot of these funds are still frozen” (Holmes Web).
I personally feel that the Cuban Revolution was a disaster. The evidence shows in the terrible steps of the current economy. I’m hoping that there will be an opening for the Cubans to be able to go freely and the U.S. to be able to visit the country. If there were to be an opening
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