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Chapter 30. Cuba: Lessons from a Forced Decline
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Ted
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Jan 12, 2014 10:43PM
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This chapter describes the changes that occurred in Cuban society following the dissolution of the Soviet Union starting in 1990. These changes were initially unintentional, brought about by the cessation of economic aid and supplies of oil, both of which had been helping to sustain Cuba for many years. Following upon these sudden difficulties, additional hardships were introduced by the U.S. government’s 1992 “Cuban Democracy Act”, which added new economic sanctions to those already in place by prohibiting foreign subsidiaries of U.S.-based companies from trading with Cuba.
The introductory section notes that since 1960 the U.S. has spent over $500 million “trying to destabilize the Cuban government”, and concludes
This long-term U.S. effort forced Cuba to adapt to severe shortages of oil, medicine, and food after 1990. As a result of more than 20 years of such privations, Cuba now serves as an example of a country that has survived and thrived with very limited fossil fuel resources.
CUBA’S SPECIAL PERIOD
Between 1989 and 1993 Cuba’s GDP fell 35%, exports dropped 75%, electrical blackouts became common, and a decline in food imports caused severe food shortages. In 1990 Cuba announced implementation of a series of contingency planes, austerity measures, and rationing, which had originally been drawn up for use during wartime. These programs were collectively referred to as the Periodo Especial (Special Period).
During the early years of the Special Period, daily energy intake fell from 2899 calories to 1863 calories per person. Fuel shortages forced people to walk or ride bicycles. The percentage of physically active adults increased from 30 percent to 67 percent. The average adult lost 9-11 pounds.
The availability of medical supplies and equipment was dramatically reduced. A report from the American Association of World Health noted that “a humanitarian catastrophe was averted only because the Cuban government has maintained a high level of budgetary support for a health care system designed to deliver primary and preventive health care to all its citizens.”
The authors describe how the Special Period initiatives brought about changes in the transportation and agricultural systems, changes which were forced by the energy shortage Cuba had to deal with.
CUBA’S ENERGY RESPONSE
Responding to the drop in oil imports from the Soviet Union, Cuba has implemented the following initiatives:
1993 - The National Energy Sources Development Program, with goals of (first) increased energy efficiency, followed by reduced energy imports and maximized domestic energy sources. “Off-grid schools, health clinics, and social centers were electrified with solar panels.”
1997 – The Cuban Electricity Saving Program and the Energy Saving Program of the Ministry of Education were launched, with the goal of reducing electricity consumption “in all Cuban households, industries, and enterprises.”
2005 – The parliament passed the Cuban Energy Revolution (CER) program. The CER’s goal was to guarantee sustainable development of the economy and energy invulnerability. It had five objectives.
1. Increased energy efficiency and conservation. (CFL light bulbs and newer more efficient small appliances were distributed, and cooking with electricity rather than with kerosene was encouraged by distribution of millions of rice and pressure cookers.)
2. Improving the availability and reliability of electrical service. (Decentralization of the energy system, moving toward distributed generation)
3. Renewable energy. (Distributed generation led to regional approaches via wind farms, hydropower, solar PV panels, solar water heating, biogas and biomass from reforestation and sugar cane.)
4. Developing Cuba’s own oil and natural gas resources (which are small).
5. International cooperation. (Cuba is exporting the CER to other countries, working with Bolivia, Honduras, Lesotho, Mali, South Africa and Venezuela.)
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT and SURVIVALBILITY
Cuba excels in three areas which benefit all its citizens.
1) Medical Care. Not only is medical care free, Cuba has more physicians per person than any other nation in the world, 6.4 per 1000 people (the U.S. has 2.67). Cuba has 5.9 hospital beds per 1000 people (U.S., 3.1). Medical expenditures in Cuba are 11.8 percent of GDP (U.S., 16.2 percent). 37,000 Cuban doctors practice in about 50 countries around the world. A 2012 report by the NGO Save the Children (headquartered in London) ranked 165 nations of the world on a Women’s Index (health status, educational status, economic status, political status) and a Mother’s Index (children’s well-being, and the four previous measures). Among 80 mid-level developing countries, Cuba ranked second and first on these Indices.
“Under the U.S. blockade, acquiring needed medical supplies and equipment is very difficult, but Cuba has shown that people’s health does not depend on a high cost medical system.” (At the end of this section, p. 341, the authors note that the life expectancy in Cuba is 77.7 years, just below that of the U.S. (78.4 years); and infant mortality in Cuba (4.8 deaths per 1000 live births) is well below the U.S. rate of 6.06 deaths.)
2) Education.
Education in Cuba is free. The country ranks second in the world in the share of GDP allocated to education, at 5.5 percent. The United States, ranked first, spends 13.6 percent … Average length of time in primary, secondary, and tertiary schools is 18 years for Cuba, 15 years for the United States. Cuba, with 2 percent of the population of Latin America, has 11 percent of the scientists.(view spoiler)
… A World Bank study notes:The record of Cuban education is outstanding: universal school enrollment and attendance; nearly universal adult literacy; proportional female representation at all levels, including higher education; a strong scientific training base, particularly in chemistry and medicine; consistent pedagogical quality across widely dispersed classrooms; equality of basic educational opportunity, even in impoverished areas, both rural and urban. In a recent regional study of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba ranked first in math and science achievement, at all grade levels, among both males and females. In many ways Cuba’s schools are the equal of schools in OECD countries, despite the fact that Cuba’s economy is that of a developing country
3) Agriculture.
Cuba has achieved high levels of success with a unique form of ecological agriculture. There are about 140,000 high-level professional and medium-level technicians, dozens of research centers, agrarian universities and their networks, government institutions such as the Ministry of Agriculture, scientific organizations supporting farmers, and farmers’ organizations. Farmers and gardeners in Cuba are well educated and receive excellent remuneration.
Urban farms and gardens have become a significant part of Cuba’s agricultural system. Rural farmers, in cooperation with Cuban researchers, have developed a unique form of agroecology science. From 1988 to 2007 the use of agrochemicals for vegetables, beans, roots and tubers declined by between 55 and 85 percent. Cuba’s average daily dietary energy supply, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, was recently over 3200 kcal, the highest of all Latin American and Caribbean countries. “This has been achieved while Cuba continues to decrease its per capita CO2 generation and without the assistance of the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.”
The CUBA PARADIGM
“Cuba represents a paradox. It is a materially poor country that has First World education, literacy, and health care. It is … low in environmental burdens, but its standard of living … is very low … In 2006, Cuba was the only country in the world rated as having “sustainable development” in WWF’s Living Planet Report.”
“A revolution of consciousness would involve the acknowledgement, strongly resisted by richer nations, that CO2 emissions are directly related to material consumption. Cuba represents an alternative, where material success as measured by energy consumption is secondary, while other quality-of-life issues are given priority.”
Some comments
(1) It seems likely to me that the lifestyle of the developed nations, which embraces the materialistic, consumer model perpetrated my modern capitalism, cannot survive to the end of this century.
The unanswerable question is, what will survive? I think this chapter makes clear that the Cuba model is one which could survive.
The obvious criticism of the Cuba model is that it is lacking in freedom. Examination of this issue in the discussion of sustainability is really beyond what I can do here. It strikes me as a fit subject for a book, not a comment.
(2) Setting aside the issue of freedom, I believe that the Cuba paradigm is almost a best-case scenario for sustainability. After all, when the members of society can look forward to education, health care, and a healthy and sustaining food system, the necessities of life are taken care of. Perhaps we will have to go through a period of being satisfied with the necessities before a time will come when a lifestyle including much more than the necessities becomes possible again.
(3) Despite the immorality, as I perceive it, of the decades long attempt by the U.S. to inflict punishment on the Cuban government, which of course has inflicted punishment on the Cuban people primarily, I almost hope that this policy does not change. Largely because of it the Cuban people live in a society where income inequality is much less than in most developed nations, and where the scourge of consumerism is not present. As well, they live in a society where education, health care, and sustainable diets are available equally to all.
No doubt many in Cuba wish they had a higher standard of living, and that is perfectly understandable. But what price would they pay for this? A hard question to answer.
What a marvellous description of Cuban economics, sciences, quality of life, and ecological achievements. I would very much like to copy and paste this to a desktop folder I keep on subjects which interest me....would that be okay with you Ted?
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