Q: How Does Cuba Survive?

A: Ingenuity

     
      Ever since the pivotal World War Two year of 1942, the U. S. government's Voice of America has been one of the world's best and most respected media sources -- radio, television, print, and online. It's an excellent source of information regarding international events and nuances that affect the U. S. government and its citizens. This week I thought the Voice of America helped answer my question: How in the world has Revolutionary Cuba survived against overwhelming odds since 1959? 

      Greece, the world's Cradle of Democracy, has about the same amount of people as Cuba -- 11.2 million. Greece is a cherished member of the 28-nation European Union. Greece has enjoyed decades of peace and decades of having total access to the world's export-import commerce and full access to the world's crucial banking and lending giants. Yet, Greece has gone totally broke and is begging the world for hand-outs. Puerto Rico, like Cuba, is a Caribbean nation that the U. S. gained dominance over after the easy victory over Spain in the Spanish-American War of 1898. In fact, Puerto Rico is a U. S. Territory with all the support that designation entails. Yet, Puerto Rico has gone bankrupt and is wreaked with crime and unemployment. Cuba, on the other hand, since 1962 has faced from the U. S. the world's longest and cruelest economic embargo, not to mention the military attack at the Bay of Pigs, the unchallenged terrorist bombing of its Cubana Flight 455 civilian airplane, and other enmity. Yet, Revolutionary Cuba has survived all that hubris from a neighbor that happens to be the world's economic and military superpower. How is that possible? I believe the answer is: Cuban grit and, especially, Cuban ingenuity. I believe a major report on Voice of America this week agrees.

       This week, on July 14th, Voice of America highlighted a major Associated Press article entitled: "Cuba's Mariel Port, Economic Zone Lure 1st Foreign Firms." The photo above shows a worker at the Mariel Port located 28 miles southwest of Havana and a mere 90 miles due southwest of Key West, Florida. The article began this way: "At Cuba's new mega-port project west of Havana, shipping containers are stacked five-deep the length of its 2,300-foot dock alongside four massive China-built off-loading cranes." Another recent Voice of America report across its vast network was entitled: "Europeans Rush To Seek Cuba Deals In Light Of U.S.-Cuba Thaw." Mariel is now a world-class deep-water port after a billion-dollar refurbishment with the help of Brazil. The "Special Economic Zone" within the sprawling complex is seeking and getting investments from international companies. It is a key to Cuba's ingenuity and economic survival. Cuba has already built a new road and a new railroad line between Havana and Mariel to enhance the port.

      Ana Teresa Igarza is the Director of Cuba's Mariel Port and its Special Economic Zone. That's means she is one of the most important people on the island, along with other women such as Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs, and 26-year-old Cristina Escobar, Cuba's most ubiquitous and most influential journalist. Women such as Celia Sanchez, Haydee Santamaria, and Vilma Espin -- after all -- were vital to the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. Ms. Igarza is busy these days handling requests from foreign companies interested in investing in the Mariel complex. For example, Alabama-based Cleber, LLC is trying to get permission from the U. S. government to build a factory at Mariel that would build tractors, which are badly needed on the island to increase its food production. Ms. Igarza says that she has accepted five bids in recent months from foreign companies -- two from Mexico, two from Belgium, and one from Spain. She thinks that is a good start, especially with other major nations such as China, Russia, Vietnam, and France interested in Mariel. Ms. Igarza told the AP, "The first ones are the trickiest," and she already has the first five. A brilliant economist and an excellent promoter, Ms. Igarza touts three prime reasons foreign companies should consider Mariel: {1} Cuba's well-educated, healthy population; {2} eager workers and low labor costs; and {3} its enticing strategic location and dominance of the entire Caribbean.

       This www.stratfor.com map shows just how "strategic" the Port of Mariel is, just 90 miles from the Florida Keys. But Cuba itself is extremely "strategic" as the largest and most dominant country in the Caribbean, due south of the United States and west of Mexico. It has eleven million well-educated and healthy citizens; there is very little crime on the island; and the U. S. government has confirmed that Cuba routinely cooperates with the U. S. Coast Guard in the ongoing battle against drug and human trafficking. The ultra-modern Mariel Port is 59-feet deep and able to accommodate deeper-draft ships than other regional ports, including the Port of Havana. In other words, Ana Teresa Igarza seems to have reason to expect the Special Economic Zone at the Mariel Port to be a key to Cuba's economic survival.

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