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It's the reason it's harder to work in a resort or operate a taxi in Cuba than it is to become a "doctor". The former has access to foreign currency with a rea

It's the reason it's harder to work in a resort or operate a taxi in Cuba than it is to become a "doctor". The former has access to foreign currency with a real value. The later can hope to maybe get an exit visa (the government will loan it's "doctors" to foreign regimes in exchange for real currencies).

reaperducer 5y ago
I'm curious why you put the word doctor in quotation marks, as if to imply they are substandard. It was always my understanding that while Cuba lacks a lot of things that many other countries take for granted, that the quality of its doctors was outstanding. I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic. Is this not true, or no longer true? Have I been under a false impression for all this time?
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  > Is this not true, or no longer true? Have I been under a false impression for all this time? Annecdotal evidence, but an acquintance of mine (who is an MD) encountered Cuban "doctors" in South America and wasn't impressed at all. > I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic. The thing is that Cuba made a lot of claims about their handling of the pandemic, but as with every communist country out there it's hard to really know what's really going on.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    [flagged]
    - camdat 5y ago
      - perl4ever 5y ago
        What is the connection between Cuba and "Excess mortality in Wuhan city and other parts of China during the three months of the covid-19 outbreak: findings from nationwide mortality registries"? Are you saying that since we know that Chinese statistics are accurate, Cuban statistics must also be?
        908B64B197 5y ago
        I don't think there's a connection. I think we might have tripped up some keyword and got a copy-pasted response. Posting history suggest that poster references this study pretty frequently.
        camdat 5y ago
        I've referenced the study twice in about 50 comments, and only in the past 2 days. Not exactly frequently, and I even acknowledge I'm reposting it in the OP. Incredibly disingenuous to assume everyone that disagrees with you (and with factual data noless) is a bot/shill
        908B64B197 5y ago
        > factual data Nothing about Cuba, so nothing factual here. Wuhan had a lot of international observer since it was the birthplace of the pandemic (and China had to save face and show it was in control). I would be curious to see similar credible data for Cuba.
        camdat 5y ago
        What do you think the word factual means?
        perl4ever 5y ago
        It appears to be a study about Wuhan, in China. Where is the factual data about Cuba in this study? Assuming you've read it, and you know where it is, please give people a hint.
    - 908B64B197 5y ago
      > Are people being locked down? Is mobility down? No? Sure isn't. Food and medicine shortages due to COVID-19 caused the biggest anti Castro regime protests since the 90's [0] [1]. Thanks to the communist regime people are back to starvation. Even the government was forced to acknowledge it because it got so big. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Cuban_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Cuban_protests [1] https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/11/americas/cuba-protests/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/11/americas/cuba-protests/index....
      - sudosysgen 5y ago
        Food and medicine shortage in Cuba is an unavoidable impact of the pandemic, no matter the measures imposed, for an obvious reason both you and I know - tourism is the only real avenue for Cuba to accumulate foreign currency. Certainly the economy took a hit, and this is true everywhere in the world, but starvation? I'd like to see a source for that, as you haven't provided any. Typically, what happens in situations where island countries cannot acquire foreign currency, is that they cannot import specialty foods, and have to rely on local, low-quality and repetitive sources of nutrition. But it is very unlikely for actual starvation to happen.
- Aunche 5y ago
  I visited Cuba with a doctor and we took a couple of drunk tourists to the hospital. I also met another doctor who went to a medical conference there. Overall, their conclusion was that Cuban doctors are legit, but their medical system is very primitive.
camdat 5y ago
Why the quotes around doctor? Cuba has some of the best health outcomes in the LatAm (and arguably the world), it seems like their doctors are of a higher quality than most.
- lobocinza 5y ago
  Accordingly to Cuban government or reliable sources?
  - scythe 5y ago
    The user you replied to posted such a source just a few comments down: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29831757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29831757
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      That appears to be about China. What am I missing? Also, assuming we have perfect faith in Chinese government statistics and Cuban government statistics... Nevertheless, the wild variations in Covid experiences between countries and controversy over why it happened, make me think it is a useless yardstick.
      - lobocinza 5y ago
        > What am I missing? I think nothing. Cuban is an authoritarian government that uses it's healthcare for propaganda. It has all the incentives to lie and AFAIK none of these claims are verified by independent parties parties. Regardless of political system it's a poor embargoed island and it's easier to believe that they are gaming the metrics than really providing better health outcomes.

reaperducer 5y ago

I'm curious why you put the word doctor in quotation marks, as if to imply they are substandard. It was always my understanding that while Cuba lacks a lot of things that many other countries take for granted, that the quality of its doctors was outstanding. I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic. Is this not true, or no longer true? Have I been under a false impression for all this time?

908B64B197 5y ago
> Is this not true, or no longer true? Have I been under a false impression for all this time? Annecdotal evidence, but an acquintance of mine (who is an MD) encountered Cuban "doctors" in South America and wasn't impressed at all. > I even remember seeing this mentioned in the newspaper at the beginning of the pandemic. The thing is that Cuba made a lot of claims about their handling of the pandemic, but as with every communist country out there it's hard to really know what's really going on.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  [flagged]
  - camdat 5y ago
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      What is the connection between Cuba and "Excess mortality in Wuhan city and other parts of China during the three months of the covid-19 outbreak: findings from nationwide mortality registries"? Are you saying that since we know that Chinese statistics are accurate, Cuban statistics must also be?
      - 908B64B197 5y ago
        I don't think there's a connection. I think we might have tripped up some keyword and got a copy-pasted response. Posting history suggest that poster references this study pretty frequently.
        camdat 5y ago
        I've referenced the study twice in about 50 comments, and only in the past 2 days. Not exactly frequently, and I even acknowledge I'm reposting it in the OP. Incredibly disingenuous to assume everyone that disagrees with you (and with factual data noless) is a bot/shill
        908B64B197 5y ago
        > factual data Nothing about Cuba, so nothing factual here. Wuhan had a lot of international observer since it was the birthplace of the pandemic (and China had to save face and show it was in control). I would be curious to see similar credible data for Cuba.
        camdat 5y ago
        What do you think the word factual means?
        perl4ever 5y ago
        It appears to be a study about Wuhan, in China. Where is the factual data about Cuba in this study? Assuming you've read it, and you know where it is, please give people a hint.
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    > Are people being locked down? Is mobility down? No? Sure isn't. Food and medicine shortages due to COVID-19 caused the biggest anti Castro regime protests since the 90's [0] [1]. Thanks to the communist regime people are back to starvation. Even the government was forced to acknowledge it because it got so big. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Cuban_protests https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Cuban_protests [1] https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/11/americas/cuba-protests/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/11/americas/cuba-protests/index....
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      Food and medicine shortage in Cuba is an unavoidable impact of the pandemic, no matter the measures imposed, for an obvious reason both you and I know - tourism is the only real avenue for Cuba to accumulate foreign currency. Certainly the economy took a hit, and this is true everywhere in the world, but starvation? I'd like to see a source for that, as you haven't provided any. Typically, what happens in situations where island countries cannot acquire foreign currency, is that they cannot import specialty foods, and have to rely on local, low-quality and repetitive sources of nutrition. But it is very unlikely for actual starvation to happen.
Aunche 5y ago
I visited Cuba with a doctor and we took a couple of drunk tourists to the hospital. I also met another doctor who went to a medical conference there. Overall, their conclusion was that Cuban doctors are legit, but their medical system is very primitive.

camdat 5y ago

Why the quotes around doctor? Cuba has some of the best health outcomes in the LatAm (and arguably the world), it seems like their doctors are of a higher quality than most.

lobocinza 5y ago
Accordingly to Cuban government or reliable sources?
- scythe 5y ago
  The user you replied to posted such a source just a few comments down: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29831757 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29831757
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    That appears to be about China. What am I missing? Also, assuming we have perfect faith in Chinese government statistics and Cuban government statistics... Nevertheless, the wild variations in Covid experiences between countries and controversy over why it happened, make me think it is a useless yardstick.
    - lobocinza 5y ago
      > What am I missing? I think nothing. Cuban is an authoritarian government that uses it's healthcare for propaganda. It has all the incentives to lie and AFAIK none of these claims are verified by independent parties parties. Regardless of political system it's a poor embargoed island and it's easier to believe that they are gaming the metrics than really providing better health outcomes.