The Blockade & Cuba

Monday, 18 April 2016

After my 16 March Brunei posting I’ve been travelling a lot – London, Guatemala, Cuba, Panama, New York – and then back to Australia. So a bunch of rather late postings (and in no particular order) over the next week or two. Starting with Cuba, where I turned up soon after Obama’s visit and the Rolling Stones concert.

▲ Close to the Plaza de la Revolucion I spotted this propaganda billboard about the US blockade announcing that the blockade was the ‘longest genocide in history.’ Oh come on, get a life, the blockade was pretty stupid, not very nice and very ineffective, but it was certainly not the worst genocide although it might have been the most ineffectual genocide.

If they wanted Coca Cola they could go to Mexico, Airbus would supply aircraft, the Spanish would build hotels. There was nothing they couldn’t find somewhere. All the stuff that went wrong was basically down to ratty economics and that was all down to Fidel.

▲ Well here’s someone who helped get around that cursed blockade, Chavez of Venezuela. Except he’s dead now and the Venezuelan economy is going down the gurgler.