October 21, 2003

Cuban Healthcare

Some people quickly tout Cuba's Healthcare System as one of the wonders of Castro's Revolution. They have a 100 percent literacy rate and free healthcare is a favorite line for Castro supporters. Of course, these people don't have family in Cuba, and they don't receive monthly letters asking for everything from aspirin to tampons to antibiotics.
Well, it seems the healthcare issue is getting worse. Now Castro is trading doctors for, get this, oil. Yes, it's all about the oil. Venezuelan oil. And Chavez, Castro's favorite groupie/prodigy, is more than happy to comply.

HAVANA, October 17 (www.cubanet.org) - Two family medicine offices in Alamar, east of Havana, have been closed because the attending doctors are to be sent to Venezuela as part of Cuba's program of aid to that country.

An Alamar resident said that the Popular Power (local government) delegate told neighbors on Tuesday that they would have to make do with the one remaining family medicine office. "Now we will have to come up with a better gift for the doctor," said the man.

The two doctors are being sent to Venezuela to participate in the Inside the Neighborhoods program put in motion by the Chávez government with Cuban doctors.

Posted by Val Prieto at October 21, 2003 07:55 AM


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