I have to agree. Cuba just a few step above North Korea. Pretty much even with them with the propaganda the government feeds the citizens.

>>When you argue in favor of Cuba on anything it just makes me wonder.<<

I think you're misconstruing my argument. I'm saying Cuba was bad, it's still bad, just in different ways. More oppresive, but with much less extreme poverty but at the cost of nearly the entirety of the middle class - although ironically it has more skilled and educated workers.

The old guard in Miami have gone too far in romanticizing the Batista period, in my opinion.

I've been to Jamaica, I've been to Aruba. Economically, I don't think Cuba would be much better off than those two islands.

I still think Castro is evil.

That's my opinion.

>> Economically, I don't think Cuba would be much better off than those two islands.<<

They might have been, there's no reason they couldn't have gone the Costa Rica route after the initial revolution (and would have been much better off if they had). They started from a better position than most of the other countries in the Caribbean and have a larger population - which helps a lot. Depends on how much they managed to diversify away from cane production. Given the political and economic power that the sugar industry had in Cuba, it's unlikely (but possible).

>>I still think Castro is evil.<<

Don't disagree.

Using your bottom link Switzerland first, US tied with Netherlands at 6th and Cuba at 143rd. Hmmm.