Published October 1970 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Communism Proving Disastrous to Cuba Shortly after Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, he promised his countrymen that communism would prove to be the economic salvation of Cuba. But now, after more than 11 years of Castro and communism, Cuba is faced with an economic crisis that is proving disastrous for the tiny nation. The failures of the communist regime in Cuba have become so apparent that Castro himself admitted them in his annual message to the people on July 26. In a four-hour speech, Castro noted that only 32 percent of the Cuban population of almost 8.3 million persons is currently employed in productive capacities. That startling figure has had its effects on the Cuban economy. The 1970 harvest of sugar cane-Cuba's most important crop-fell almost two million tons short of expectations; and authorities both in and out of Cuba are now predicting that the 1971 sugar harvest will be even lower. In an unsuccessful attempt to increase the production on state-owned sugar plantations, Cuba has transferred thousands of workers from jobs in industry to jobs in agriculture. The result has not only failed to increase agricultural output, but has also hampered industrial production. Tire production, for example, has fallen off 50 percent in the past two years; and there is presently a 23 percent shortage in cement and related products. The basic reason for Cuba's economic collapse can be traced to communism itself. People have been funnelled into jobs not of their own choosing, and their financial rewards have been dictated by the state rather than by their productive efforts. Frustrated by such regimentation and the general lack of opportunities under a communist regime, an estimated 600,000 Cubans have fled the country; and the morale, initiative, and incentive of those unable to leave have deteriorated under the heavy hand of communism. Major factories in Havana and other large cities experience a 20 percent rate of absenteeism daily, a fact that has contributed to both the lower production and lower quality of Cuban goods. Castro, himself, has mentioned the low quality of footwear products over the past 18 months and has appealed in vain for the workers in that particular industry to improve their product. The lesson being learned by Cubans is one that the peoples of Iron Curtain countries in Europe have learned by living under communism's stifling rule. Through dehumanizing the individual and making him a slave of the socialist state, communism destroys all the opportunities and freedoms that make a society free, productive, independent, and a worthwhile one in which to live. OCT 14 1970