Cuba: A Voice of Solidarity From Spain

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Excerpts from an editorial in Spain's ABC newspaper by the President of the Community of Madrid, Esperanza Aguirre, entitled "Viva Cuba Libre!":

For all those who love freedom and, most importantly, for Spaniards who love freedom, the existence of such a brutal dictatorship in the nation of the Americas with closest ties to Spain, is shameful and should shock the conscience.

I say that the existence of the Castro dictatorship should shock the conscience of all free Western nations because those of us who enjoy the full exercise of freedom have an inexcusable responsibility to act, so that Cubans can recover the freedom that the Communists have deprived them of during these fifty-four years of tyranny [...]

It is the moral responsibility of all free people to raise their voices against the Communist dictatorship of the Castro's in Cuba. It is unacceptable that Cuba, whose people have demonstrated in their long years of exile an exceptional entrepreneurial and creative ability, continues to languish in economic misery and moral degradation. Cuba must be free sooner than later.

The only positive stemming from the fifty-four years of this Communist dictatorship is that it has become the best practical and irrefutable example of the nefarious effects Communism has on the well-being of its citizens. Similar to the comparison of the poverty and oppression in North Korea, under its Communist dictatorship, when compared to the prosperity of South Korea, its democratic and free market neighbor.

For those who may till be tempted to look for solutions of a Communist or "real Socialist" nature (in these times of crisis that we are living there will always be some), it would be enlightening to look at the statistics of the evolution of Cuba during these fifty-four years of Communism.

In 1958, per capita income in Cuba was $360, double that of Spain at the time. Today, Spain's per capita income is $32,244, while Cuba's (according to the World Bank in 2008) was $5,397*. Even within Latin America, Cuba's per capita income in 1958 was similar to that of Chile, while today Chile's is three times that of Cuba. These statistics should be enough to vaccinate against anyone that still looks at the Castro regime with some sympathy.

That's why, for the freedom and prosperity of Cuba, on this eve of its anniversary of falling into the hands of a Communist dictatorship, we must scream with more strength and hope than ever: Viva Cuba Libre!

(*CHC Editor's Note: The World Bank per capita figure of $5,397 is provided by the regime and obviously overstated. In reality, Cubans' average wage is nearly $20 a month, which would translate to an average income of $240 a year.)