Despite the multiple challenges Cuba has faced over the last 54 years, thanks to the leadership of Fidel, and now Raul Castro, its people have managed to avoid, overcome, and even advance in their development, Cuban Ambassador Jorge Lamadrid said here.
As part of a series of lectures devoted to the topic of change in Latin America, the head of the Cuban embassy in Argentina analyzed the issue as part of his final lecture "The New Challenges of the Revolution," given yesterday evening.
"The main challenge the island has faced is the constant political, economic, military, and subversive aggression and threat to which it has been subjected over the last five and a half decades, the source of the significant problems we have faced," said the diplomat.
Despite these attacks, the country now has one doctor per 130 inhabitants, one nurse per 211 and one dentist per 800, parameters that put it in the top ranks of public health worldwide, he said.
Lamadrid said the Cuban government and people are currently undertaking major projects which all on their own are a major challenge; transforming its economy, state and administrative structure, under the principle of ensuring that no one is left vulnerable.
In a process aimed at making the economy more sustainable through citizen participation, the country has introduced new market and production mechanisms, such as cooperatives, so far limited to agriculture, and to service sectors in urban areas, he said.