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Originally Posted by Bluesman
So, basically, just another dictator that passes power through his own family, instead of a rational and orderly transfer of authority according to rule of law and the people's wishes.
Meh. Seen it before, as a matter of fact, we see it every single time another 'people's republic' strongman is replaced by a method other than being toppled.
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First off, I'm glad to have found a place on the internet solely devoted to geopolitics.
Second, nepotism occurs in every society in the world. Heck, the best country in the world that promotes democracy the most might be ruled by only two families for 28 consecutive years. That's not exactly out of place with passing power through families such as was done in medieval times. And then there's the governors and congressmen who resign from their positions and their sons or daughters get appointed to take their place (Murkowski in Alaska being the most glaringly wrong).
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To be honest, Cuba hasn't modernized very much since Castro took over. Add to that the large subsidies paid by the Russians are long since gone.
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And because of that, Cuba had to open themselves up to foreign investment, which has been capitalized on by the Canadians. I remember a couple years ago there was oil discovered there which I think the Canadians got the contract for, and the American oil companies stomped up and down for any congressman that would listen that this embargo was hurting them. :D
Cuba in reality is not as much communist as they were, just like China. They are politically communist but economically they're just "socialists" now. If you don't understand my point, the biggest proof there is that "capitalism won" is China currently with their "state-controlled capitalism" model, and Cuba to a lesser extent. I believe they have something like 3% GDP growth year-over-year, better than most countries in the rest of the world, and it is due to this foreign investment and increases in businesses such as tourism.
I've never understood how any administration can ever claim a moral high ground as the reason for our embargo with Cuba when we have normal relations with China, which leads me to think the only reason the embargo still exists is politics: Cuban exiles live in big numbers in Florida, Cuban exiles hate Castro and his government, and Florida is a toss-up state in general elections.