The Communist Dictatorship in Cuba essays

The Communist Dictatorship in Cuba essays Cuba is a communist dictatorship, with Fidel Castro as the head of state. It does not have an independent judiciary nor does it have free elections. So the people of Cuba would be considered subjects to the country. Fidel Castro led a rebel army to overthrow the Cuban government and achieved victory in 1959. Cuba's communist revolution, with Soviet support, was exported throughout Latin America and Africa during the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. The country is now slowly recovering from a severe economic recession following the withdrawal of former Soviet subsidies, worth $4 billion to $6 billion annually, in 1990. Havana blames its difficulties on the US embargo in place since 1962. Cuba is a multiracial society with a population of mainly Spanish and African origins. The largest organized religion is the Roman Catholic 85%, Santeria 15%, a blend of Protestants, Jewish, Santerian, and native African religions. Roman Catholicism, is the most widely practiced religion in Cuba. Officially, Cuba has been an atheist state for most of the Castro era. However, a constitutional amendment adopted on July 12, 1992, changed the nature of the Cuban state from atheist to secular, enabling religious believers to belong to the Cuban Communist Party (PCC). Cuba is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania with a population of 11,730,400 (October 2002). The labor force is comprised of agriculture 23%, industry 24%, services 53% and they have an unemployment rate of 6%. Industries include sugar, petroleum, food, tobacco, textiles, chemicals, paper and wood products, metals (particularly nickel), cement, fertilizers, consumer goods, agricultural machinery. Cuba like all countries is comprised of many races of people. Ethnic divisions in Cuba include Mulatto 51%, European descent 37%, African descent 11%, and Chinese 1%. Cuba remains racially divided between the white haves and the black and mixed-race have-nots. It is safe to say Cuba is conflictual political cu...