Post #4296634

2026-07-31 21:52 UTC

@Miro_Collas@masto.ai @Peter_Link@expressional.social oh I know about that campaign. We had our own here too during the first era, with Chávez in power (the "Misión Robinson", and "Misión Ribas" among other projects). But guess what? In both Cuba and here they came to an end and didn't keep educating people (Cuba's campaign for example was the shortest of the two, even when the regime has been in power for longer over there). After that, salaries for teachers got so low that nobody wants to teach anymore (this applies to both countries). Also education got infected by mediocrity since neither students or the teachers can say anything "subversive". That combination: low salaries, the lack of maintenance for schools (a consequence of corruption), the people's need to make money in anyway to survive (which makes young kids go to work), censorship, etcetera... Has caused a drawback in both countries and people are more and more uneducated. I saw it myself: at the first uni I went to, the transportation to go and come back home was free. We also had a free library. Then with the intention of censoring and "punishing" our university, the government made the uni have to sacrifice both services. I had to quit, in order to find a second job. And my youngest neighbor (14) is not going to school (she sells fruit on the road).

Replies (1)

@Peter_Link@expressional.social 2026-07-31 22:54

@soberaim@todon.nl @Miro_Collas@masto.ai Sam, Some of your observations are correct, but your narrative is far off from reality. Yes, Cuba has problems with retaining teachers (mainly due to economic suffocation from the US), but neutral observers have admitted that the cultural and educational level of Cubans is very high. Look at how #Cuba reacted to COVID-19. They used their resources through close collaboration and came up with 2 vaccines that were hugely successful in Cuba. And they went on to help other Global South countries by sharing them at very low cost. And in 2021, when the mainstream media went on a feeding frenzy about the July protests, the Cuban leadership acknowledged shortcomings and spoke to many people directly about them. One rioter was killed. Compare that level of "repression" to Colombia or other Latin American countries when street protests break out. And it is widely known that the US was funding groups to use social media in an organized way to spread disinformation.

Open ##4296632