The 26th of July Movement, as it would later be called, carried out several violent attacks, including the assault on the Moncada Barracks, which left 22 people dead and many others injured. The leaders of this attack justified their actions in a manifesto titled History Will Absolve Me (1953). In this document, they argued that violence was necessary to address six critical issues:
“The problems of land reform, industrialization, housing, unemployment, education, and public health. These six issues would have been the central focus of our efforts, along with the pursuit of public liberties and political democracy” (History Will Absolve Me, 1953).
Addressing "The Land Problem"
The regime implemented four agrarian reform programs that included the forced confiscation of farmland, sugar mills, and agricultural businesses. As few farmers willingly gave up their land, these confiscations were often enforced through the use of militias and Ministry of Interior forces. For context, during the Soviet Union's agrarian reforms, only 1% of arable land was voluntarily surrendered. Many farmers were displaced and relocated to so-called "captive towns." Even prominent landowners who had supported the fight against Batista, such as Julio Lobo, were not spared.
Food rationing, introduced decades ago, remains in place to this day. For example, in 1940, Cuba had 5.3 million head of cattle; today, that figure has fallen to fewer than 3.5 million. In 1958, sugar production reached 5.78 million metric tons; in contrast, current production struggles to exceed 300,000 tons. Additionally, agricultural diversity has sharply declined, and fresh milk, beef, fish, and seafood have largely disappeared from the Cuban diet.
The Industrialization Problem
The government expropriated all Cuban, Spanish, Canadian, British, and American businesses without compensation. It then began importing machinery and fuel from the Soviet Union (USSR) and other socialist countries, disregarding the significant distances involved and the inferior quality of these products. Importation eventually became unsustainable when payment was demanded. Additionally, accounting systems were eliminated in businesses, leading to a complete lack of financial oversight.
By 2022, industrial production had fallen to just 38% of what it was in 1989. Most industries, except for a few located in the Mariel Special Economic Zone—about which no detailed information is available—operate with outdated technology due to decades of neglect and lack of investment in modernization.
The sugar industry, once a cornerstone of the Cuban economy, now operates at only 4.6% of its former capacity. This collapse has had severe economic and social consequences, including the loss of export revenues and widespread unemployment.
The Education Problem
The government shut down all private schools, including those operated by churches. While thousands of new schools were initially opened, many were later closed. Teachers' salaries were drastically reduced, and those deemed ideologically unreliable were expelled. Furthermore, the education system was severed from any sources of information not pre-approved by the state.
Currently, no Cuban university ranks among the top 500 in Latin America, with the exception of the University of Havana. In recent years, the university’s climb in the rankings has raised questions due to its seemingly inexplicable nature.
The Housing Problem
The government confiscated all infrastructure and most residential properties, including those owned by individuals with more than two homes, particularly in non-urban areas. In addition, the commercial framework supporting construction and infrastructure maintenance was dismantled, resulting in the disappearance of construction companies and service providers.
Rents and wages were reduced to levels that made maintaining and modernizing housing impossible. Currently, the average annual housing construction rate is just two units per 1,000 inhabitants. The homes that are built are often located in developments like Alamar, known for their bleak and unappealing aesthetics. Furthermore, the modernization and maintenance of essential infrastructure, such as water systems, sanitation, roads, bridges, and railways, were abandoned, exacerbating the deterioration of living conditions.
The Unemployment Problem
Unemployment was “resolved” by increasing the workforce in state-owned enterprises, regardless of their production levels or productivity. However, wages were reduced to disgracefully low levels. The penal code introduced prison sentences for “pre-criminal dangerousness,” targeting those who neither worked nor studied. According to official statistics, Cuba's unemployment rate is near zero, although nearly all jobs are state-dependent.
The Healthcare Problem
While developed countries have an average of 3 to 4 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, Cuba boasts 12. However, this is offset by severe shortages of essential resources, including medications, ambulances, doctors, and basic hospital supplies. At the same time, the government exports medical services to allied countries under exploitative conditions for the professionals involved.
Cuban doctors often work under what has been described as forced labor conditions. They cannot leave the country without government approval. Those who apply for permission to emigrate must wait five years without practicing their profession. Doctors who choose not to return to Cuba face an eight-year ban on re-entry, and their families are prohibited from leaving the country during that period.
The Problem of Public Liberties and Political Democracy
Cuba's political system dismantled its Congress, Senate, and political parties, abolishing private property through uncompensated expropriations of large, medium, and even small businesses. Elections were eliminated, and entering or leaving the country without approval from the Ministry of the Interior (MININT) was prohibited. Thousands of individuals were forcibly exiled.
Further restrictions included banning the sale of homes, closing all independent media outlets, and imprisoning or executing thousands of people. Contact with relatives who had emigrated was restricted, and mail services with the United States were suspended. The buying and selling of land were prohibited, national and international trade was disrupted, and the principle of habeas corpus was abolished.
The judiciary was subordinated to the Communist Party, effectively eliminating the separation of powers. Thousands of young people were conscripted into mandatory military service, and concentration camps were established for “antisocial elements,” including homosexuals. Public criticism of the government was prohibited, and thousands of individuals were imprisoned, making Cuba one of the countries with the highest incarceration rates globally.
Additional Consequences
The state eliminated transparency in governance and reduced wages to levels far below the extreme poverty threshold defined by the United Nations. Independent labor unions were dissolved, and food rationing was introduced, limiting purchases to a single point of sale and restricting people’s movement. The convertibility of the Cuban peso was abolished, and the currency was changed, causing those with savings to lose them entirely. Furthermore, the importation of private vehicles was banned.
The Cuban government has imposed an extensive list of prohibitions that affect virtually every aspect of social and economic life.
The Impact of Decades of Policies
As a result of these policies, spanning nearly 70 years, Cuba has experienced the deliberate destruction of infrastructure, goods and services production, trade, and respect for human rights. The free flow of information was disrupted, and the social fabric was dismantled, fostering distrust among individuals. These measures have accelerated a process of population decline in Cuba, which has intensified since 2013.
References
Waddell, B. J. (n.d.). La Historia me absolverá. Retrieved from https://www.benjaminjameswaddell.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/La-Historia-me-absolvera.pdf
United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/es/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
National Office of Statistics and Information of Cuba. (n.d.). Statistical Yearbooks of Cuba. Retrieved from
http://www.onei.gob.cu/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). (n.d.). Data and statistics on agriculture and food. Retrieved from https://www.fao.org/statistics/en/
Original article in Spanish: ForesightCuba