Cuba: A development model that proved the doubters wrong

[Judi Lynn]

Cuba: A development model that proved the doubters wrong
Cuba's unique approach to the eradication of extreme poverty sets it apart from other Latin American and Caribbean countries, but the challenge now is how it evolves

Posted by
Jonathan Glennie Friday 5 August 2011 07.00 BST
guardian.co.uk

The fundamental instinct at the heart of Cuba's revolution in 1959 was that slower wealth creation and limited political repression were a price worth paying for fairer distribution, and the consequent eradication of extreme poverty. It may not have been articulated as such, but that is how it has played out.

Along with South Korea, Cuba probably has one of the most impressive and distinctive stories to tell in the annals of modern development. Apart from achieving near 100% literacy many years ago, its health statistics are the envy of many far richer countries. It is a small country, but not too small – with 11 million inhabitants it is the same size as Bolivia and four times the size of neighbouring Caribbean island Jamaica.

No other similar country adopted Cuba's approach to development, although some tried, and the differences between poverty in Cuba and other Latin and Caribbean countries are stark. While average income has grown in Cuba at a similar speed to other Latin American countries such as Bolivia, Colombia and El Salvador, the poverty and social conflict still experienced in the mainland countries is very apparent. In Cuba, the extremes of opulence and misery are banished in favour of a generalised level of wealth, best described as "enough to get by".

Cuba has certainly forfeited any chance of becoming an economic powerhouse because of the egalitarian policies it adopted, but that possibility was always a long shot anyway. Holding out for some kind of big economic takeoff may be a fool's game for most countries – and that might be one of the most important lessons for other countries that want to log the kind of development statistics Cuba has achieved. As former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide said of his country's aspirations, Haiti was not seeking grandeur but the more limited ambition of moving "from misery to poverty with dignity".

More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/aug/05/cuban-development-model