Jose Alvarez Ph.d.

Fidel Castro's Agricultural Follies: Absurdity, Waste and Parasitism Jose Alvarez Ph.d.

Although the title of this book may imply otherwise, this book is not only about Castro?s agricultural projects. They are used as examples of his leadership style during almost 50 years. When faced with the task of evaluating Castro?s follies, it is very difficult to escape the temptation of using a little Cuban humor. It could not be otherwise. Fidel Castro promised to take Cuba to the top place on this planet on almost every commodity. By doing so, he was making fun of his people and the rest of the world. He was offending their intelligence. He was exposing himself to ridicule and scorn. Don Quixote de Birán exercised absolute power over Cuba?s economy. In agriculture, he did so through the so-called «Fidel?s Special Plans. ». These pages reveal the degree of delusional foolishness shared with the real Don Quixote. His failures were financed first by several means of expropriation and then by borrowing with no apparent intention of paying back. Soviet subsidies and loans from western countries helped him in his plans. Many people are using the mild reforms undertaken by the Raúl Castro regime to declare, «This time is different,» as stated in the book written by Reinhart and Rogoff when studying 800 years of financial folly. The probabilities for that to be true are slim. If the opportunity arises, this time will be the same. Cuba?s past behavior, current economic conditions and the nature of the regime testify to that fact.