Louis, > Oh, I see. We are dealing with gulags, aren't we. I should have realized > that this is what you were getting at. For another version of reality, I > recommend Edward Boorstein's "The Economic Transformation of Cuba"
Both Boorstein's anecdote _and_ the existence of some forced labour in Cuba are beside the point. In spite of its admirable record of achievements in social services, Cuba still has huge economic problems, which threaten the government of the PCC. I think the unfortunate truth is that if the PCC had wanted to achieve anything like full economic development -- on such a small, resource-poor and politically isolated island -- it would have to have resorted to a far greater degree of coercion. That has been the case in the histories of modernisation/development/industralisation in capitalist and state socialist societies alike. It's a no win situation, especially if one is a reasonably humanitarian leftist leader, such as Castro. Chavez is more fortunate in both his geography and his timing. It remains to be seen what he will really do with those advantages.
