Cuba: The True Red Fort

Health care is an important sector. The present coronavirus crisis shows clearly how much relevance this sector has. ‘Health is wealth’ is not an irrelevant slogan. It really has a serious message. Brilliant is those who invest in health. Cuba is one such visionary. Its prime focus areas are education and health. Now, the world benefits from the policy of this true red fort. At this moment, many countries across the world enjoy the support of doctors from this Caribbean country. These doctors remain as strong pillars of support for these countries in their fight against the dangerous virus outbreak. These countries owe Cuba for the successful defence they have put forth against the virus outbreak.

Cuba is not a financially powerful country. Its main wealth, apart from its tourism sector, is its skilled labour force – especially its doctors. Considering the service this small country gives to the world at this time of crisis, it is pertinent to give them something back as a token of gratitude. In this edition, this interesting Latin American country is explored. The article attempts to see this country through a prism - different from what has been used to view this country till this date. Let’s see how it looks through this!

Cuba has a not-so-impressive past. Like any Latin American country, it has gone through several ups and downs. The colonisation by Spain, the SpanishAmerican war, the protectorate rule by the US and the dictatorship by Fulgencio Batista are some of the downs. The fortune of the country changed forever when the red star emerged in its sky in the year 1959 through the 26th of July Movement. The Communist Party of Cuba, under the leadership of Fidel Castro – one of the most powerful political leaders the world has ever seen, assumed the seat of power of the country in the aforesaid year.

The Communist Party rule was also not easy. It faced several threats from its neighbour, the US – which is the apostle of the ideology of Capitalism. The Cuban Missile crisis was the severest of those threats. It was the time when the world lived under the fear of the possible escalation of a deadly nuclear war between the USSR and the US.