Cuba

On a total population of 11 million, Cuba has 250,000 educators, 67,500 medical doctors, and 34,000 physical education and sports professionals and technicians.[90]. It also has the legend Por la razón o la fuerza (By right or might or By reason or by force).
. More than 100 million USD are currently being invested in the pharmaceutical industry. The coat of arms depicts the two national animals: the condor (Vultur gryphus, a very large bird that lives in the mountains) and the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus, an endangered white tail deer). Today, Cuba is a leading nation in biotechnology, and Cuban expertise is exported to Iran [88]; however some claim that this relates to biowar potential [89]. The national flower is the copihue (Lapageria rosea, Chilean bellflower), which grows in the woods of southern Chile. Combined with the removal of marginal land from sugar farming, this led to a reduction in total sugar production of over 70% from around 7 millions tons anually in the late 1980s to around 3 million tons annually in the late 1990s [85] [86]; to 1.6 million tons in 2004 [87]. Master artists from Chile include: Carlos Catasse, Roberto Matta, Camilo Mori, Carlos Sotomayor.

Currently, only organic agriculture is permitted by law, which while having the effect of reducing the need for imports, has also led to lower yields. His three highly individualistic homes, located in Isla Negra, Santiago and Valparaiso are popular tourist destinations. By restructuring its agricultural industry, and focusing scientific efforts on organic solutions, Cuba managed to rapidly and successfully convert the country to entirely organic production. Chile's most famous poet, however, is Pablo Neruda, who also won the Nobel Prize and is world-renowned for his extensive library of works on romance, nature, and politics. Its agricultural sector, built on a large-scale, mechanized, chemical-based model, was instantly crippled. Gabriela Mistral, was the first Chilean to win a Nobel Prize for literature. In the early 1990s, post-Soviet Union, Cuba lost over 70% of agricultural chemical imports, over 50% of food imports, and an equally significant amount of oil. Chileans call their country País de Poetas which means land of poets.

However, it is wise to keep in mind that Cuban government is said by some to be less than open about agricultural abuses [84]. In the mid-1960s native musical forms were revitalized by the Parra family with the Nueva Canción Chilena, which was associated with political activists and reformers. Cuba is notable for its national organic agriculture initiative. Arising from music imported by the Spanish colonists, it is distinguished from the cueca by an intermediate melodic section and a more prominent melody. Apparently not all of this has been completed since recently the housing conditions in Cuba are regarded as state secrets [83]. Another form of traditional Chilean song, though not a dance, is the tonada. The Cuban government predicts that no less than 10,000 of the homes destroyed will be built again as new and the plans to finish and construct new homes to cover the most urgent requirements will continue, up to at least 30,000 additional housing. The national dance is the cueca.

Plans to repair the majority of homes partially affected by Hurricane Dennis and others [82] are said underway. Other European influences, primarily English and French, began in the 19th century and have continued until today, as in other Western societies. Over 7,300 homes have been completed in 2005; thus it is expected (estimating five people per residence) that in about three hundred years all housing will be replaced. Afterwards, their culture was dominated by the Spanish during the Colonial and early Republican period. He says that if the United States get hit, the economy of the rest of the country will take the blow, but if a Caribbean island gets hit, that may devastate the entire economy. Northern Chile was an important center of culture in the medieval and early modern Inca empire. All Caribbean islands suffer from hurricanes and the Cuban government uses this as an argument to urge the islands to cooperate, promoting an agreement of mutual self-insurance, so that if one island gets hit, the other islands will help it out. About 85% of Chile's population lives in urban areas, with 40% of the country's population living in Greater Santiago (6.5 million people).

A major problem is damage from hurricanes. Most retained their traditions, cultures and national affiliations by maintaining close-knit communities - although many also mixed into the majority - while at the same time co-existed peacefully with the host population. The economy has been helped in recent years by strong tourism, international investment in nickel production and oil exploration as well as beneficial oil purchases from Venezuela, in exchange for medical services. Although the combined number of immigrants never comprised a large segment of the population, they nevertheless contributed greatly to Chilean society and the development of the nation. Although struggling with its economy since the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba has seen substantial improvements since the early 1990s. In the last decade there has been an influx of Koreans who settled in small sections of Santiago. Behavioral caution appropriate for a command state are advised for vistors [81]. There are also people from Middle Eastern and North African backgrounds, including the second largest Palestinian colony outside of the Middle East.

government. Other historically significant immigrant groups include people of Italian ancestry (Valparaíso Region), Croatian (Antofagasta and Punta Arenas), French, and Polish backgrounds. citizens are liable to fines and imprisonment if discovered and prosecuted by the U.S. A government-sponsored immigration from Germany began in 1848, and in time, changed the cultural makeup of the southern provinces of Valdivia, Llanquihue, and Osorno, which still show a strong German influence. However, U.S. They include an influential number of descendants of Irish immigrants which arrived in Chile during the Spanish colonial period and descendants of English immigrants, arrived during and after independence (mainly merchants and sailors). citizens can visit Cuba by travelling through other countries (like Mexico, Canada or the Bahamas) because Cuban immigration does not stamp the passports (the visum is a separate leaflet). Chileans descended from non-Spanish European immigrants are numerous.

Nevertheless, U.S. However, Argentina's eventual economic collapse in 2001 caused such an escalation in their migratory influx into Chile, that by 2005 Argentinians comprised the largest immigrant group, outnumbering Peruvians. citizens are not officially banned from travelling to Cuba, they are generally prohibited from spending money there (exceptions are made for students studying in Cuba, diplomats, certain business people, and people with family members in Cuba), which amounts to a de facto travel ban, as Cuba requires that foreign visitors spend a minimum of three nights in a hotel; moreover, the only direct flights from the United States are strictly for those with family members in Cuba, or others with licences from OFAC. Peruvians have historically constituted the largest immigrant group of the country. Although U.S. Throughout much of Chile's modern history there has been a slow but steady work related trans-Andean migration to Chile - primarily from Peru and Bolivia - due mostly to the economic situation of its neighbours. [80] The lack of domestic sources of capital financing, an inherent by-product of its socialist economic system, makes Cuba's debt extremely vulnerable to disruptions in trade. There are also around 5,000 polynesian people who are indigenous to the Chilean territory of Easter Island (Rapanui) in the Pacific.

Cuba also has other sources of debt including approximately $25 billion in debt disputed with Russia dating from the era of the Soviet Union. Aymara and Quechua-speaking populations live along the northern border with Peru and Bolivia. Cuba owes approximately $5.4 billion in foreign debt to Paris Club nations such as France, Japan and Germany. Of that 700,000, around 80% are Mapuche that reside mainly in the south-central area of the country. The main current trading partners of Cuba are: Venezuela, China, Spain, Canada and, the Netherlands. People that self-identify solely as members of any of the country's many indigenous groups number around 700,000 individuals, or 5% of the country's total population. embargo was condemned for the 13th time in 2004 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, by 179 countries (out of 183 voting). Those of unmixed European ancestry are estimated in ten percent of the population.

legislation is considered highly controversial, and the U.S. People of relatively unmixed Spanish ancestry are not uncommon. This extraterritorial U.S. The combination of an economy based on temperate-zone agriculture, Amerindian resistance to Spanish occupation, and a continuous influx of Spaniards from the mid-sixteenth century to the end of the colonial period defined the main body of Chile's mestizo majority population to one where the average Spanish input is greater than in neighbouring Andean mestizo populations. Any company that deals with Cuba risks problems dealing with the United States, so internationally operating companies may be forced to choose between Cuba and the United States, which is a far larger market. Many of these ended up settling in Chile. Trade with the United States is restricted to cash-only transactions for food and medicine. Spaniards arrived from all regions of Spain, including Andalucia, Extremadura, and the Basque country.

embargo. During the colonial period, Spain found it necessary to maintain a continual influx of soldiers to protect its distant American colonies. Cuba currently trades with almost every nation in the world, albeit with restrictions from the U.S. Around 95% of Chileans descend from early Spanish colonists, with the overwhelming part also possessing Native American ancestry in varying degrees - thus deeming the population majority as mestizo. One other factor in the proclaimed recovery of the Cuban economy were the remittances from Cuban-Americans, now much diminished, which for a while constituted a large part of the external inputs into the Cuban Economy. Unlike some of its South American neighbours, Chile is a relatively homogenous country. Since 2003, both tourism levels and nickel prices increased. Chile has a population of 16,136,137 people (June 2005, Estimated).

In response, Cuba opened up to tourism, which is now a major source of income. The two countries maintain consular relations. For several decades, Cuba received what was effectively a Soviet subsidy, whereby Cuba provided the Soviet Union with sugar and the Soviets provided Cuba with petroleum at below market prices. Chile and Bolivia severed diplomatic ties in 1978 over Bolivia's desire to reacquire territory it lost to Chile in 1879-83 War of the Pacific. The Cuban economy was hit hard in the early 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Comecon economic bloc, with which it had traded predominantly. It settled its territorial disputes with Argentina during the 1990s. See details at the Ludwig Van Mises Institute. The Chilean Government has diplomatic relations with most countries.

Other currencies, including the euro, were not affected. An associate member of Mercosur and a full member of APEC, Chile and has been an important actor on international economic issues and hemispheric free trade. At that time, use of the dollar in business was officially banned, and a 10% surcharge was introduced for the conversion of dollars (in cash) to convertible pesos, the island's new official currency. Chile hosted the Community of Democracies ministerial in April 2005. dollar was made legal tender (the country operated under a dual-currency system); this arrangement was, however, revoked on 25 October 2004. Chile hosted the Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 2002 and the APEC summit and related meetings in 2004. In 1993 the U.S. Chile is an active member of the UN family of agencies and participates in UN peacekeeping activities.

However, State Security is reported able to confiscate this money from individuals when it deems that appropriate [79]. Chile completed a 2-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2005. who send money to relatives or friends. Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the international political arena. Until recently Cubans also receive an estimated $850 million annually from Cubans in the U.S. Although not a de-facto mandate in it's mission, the Policia de Investigaciones keeps an eye on the Carabineros in order to weed out corruption, Carabineros reciprocates the duty and both institutions have exposed corrupt officials within their counterpart. But in the 1990s tourism saw an explosive growth, becoming the second most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean to the Dominican Republic. In addition to investigating crimes, the Policia de Investigaciones also complements the functions Carabineros in times of civil unrest, and is in charge of all immigration procedures.

In the 19th Century, until the richer ores of Chile were found, it was common to export some of Cuba's long mined copper ore to Wales History of Swansea and England [78]. Mr Arturo Herrera heads the Policia de Investigaciones. Historically, sugar, tobacco and (later) nickel were the main sources of foreign trade income for Cuba. It is a special arm of the Public Ministry whose main task is to investigate crimes and apprehend the suspects once firm evidence has been established. "A recent report by the American agency for sustainable farming, Food First, said annual production of fruit and vegetables is growing at 250% a year." [77]. In addition to the Carabineros, who are part of the military, Chile also has the Policia de Investigaciones, a police force composed of civilians which is similar in purpose to the FBI. That's an increase of around 30% year on year.", says Senora Hernandes, in charge of one of hundreds of small urban farms dotted around Havana. Alberto Cienfuegos is the head of the national police force of 30,000 men and women who are responsible for law enforcement, traffic management, narcotics suppression, border control and counter-terrorism throughout Chile.

And we expect this year's harvest to yield no less than 30 kilograms. Gen. When we first started this farm three years ago it stood at 18 kilograms. With the return of democratic government, the Carabineros were placed under the operational control of the Interior Ministry but remained under the nominal control of the Defense Ministry. "Last year alone we produced 27 kilograms of vegetables per square metre. After the military coup in September 1973, the Chilean national police (Carabineros) were incorporated into the Defense Ministry. Since the fall of Cuba's many trading partners, the island has focused on urban communal farms. F-16 aircraft in 2006, and a contract for 18 used F-16 more has been signed with Holland.

Such federal spending in 2005 budgeted 68% towards education, healthcare, social security, cultural programs, sports, and scientific research.^[1] According to Cuban statistics, during the first half of the year the Cuban economy grew by 7.3%, with 9% growth expected by the end of the year.^[2]. The FACH will begin taking delivery of 10 U.S. Economic activity is thereby maintained largely by government spending. The Air Force also operates an airbase on King George Island, Antarctica. Cuba's socialist economy is primarily based on state ownership — exceptions to this include microscale private enterprises. Air assets are distributed among five air brigades headquartered in Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, and Punta Arenas. Some of the well-known smaller towns are Baracoa which was the first Spanish settlement on Cuba, as well as Trinidad and Bayamo. Osvaldo Sarabia heads a force of 12,500.

Havana is the largest city and capital; other major cities include Santiago de Cuba and Camagüey. Gen. In general (with local variations), there is a drier season from November to April, and a rainier season from May to October. Pendant of delivery one new Scorpene class SSK and up to 4 ex-dutch Fokker F-27 MPA. The local climate is tropical, though moderated by trade winds. Currently, the Navy will replace almost all the surface ships with 4 ex-dutch ships(2 Karel Doorman multi-role and 2 Jacob Van Heemskerck air defence frigates) and 3 ex-british ships (Type 23 ASW frigates). The island consists mostly of flat to rolling plains, with more rugged hills and mountains primarily in the southeast and the highest point is the Pico Real del Turquino at 2,005 m. The Navy also operates three submarines based in Talcahuano.

The main island is the world's 16th largest. The Navy operates its own aircraft for transport and patrol; there are no Navy fighter or bomber aircraft. Guantánamo Bay, is a naval base that has been leased by the United States since 1903, a lease that has been contested since 1960 by Castro. Those ships are based in Valparaíso. The Republic comprises the entire island, including many outlying islands such as the Isla de la Juventud (Isle of Youth), previously known as the Isla de los Pinos (Isle of Pines). Of the fleet of 29 surface vessels, only six are operational major combatants (destroyers and frigates) due to be replaced with 8 2nd hand frigates in the 2006-2008 period. 760 miles long) of Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and is bounded to the north by the Straits of Florida and the greater North Atlantic Ocean, to the northwest by the Gulf of Mexico, to the west by the Yucatan Channel, to the south by the Caribbean Sea, and to the east by the Windward Passage. Rodolfo Codina Díaz directs the 25,000-person Navy, including 5,000 Marines.

The elongated island (aprox. Adm. Cuba, 65 million years ago, also received part of the impact of Chicxulub Crater with tsunami kilometers high reaching at least 500 Km away to the middle provinces [75], [76] and beyond. It also operates Leopard I and AMX-30 main battle tanks. Geologically Cuba was once in the Pacific, and crossing between North and South America before they were joined, "crashed" into what is now Florida [74]. The Chilean Army is 45,000 strong and is organized with an Army headquarters in Santiago, seven divisions throughout its territory, an Air Brigade in Rancagua, and a Special Forces Command in Colina. The present subdivisions closely resemble those of Spanish military provinces during the Cuban Wars of Independence, when the most troublesome areas were subdivided. Juan Emilio Cheyre.

These in turn were formerly part of six larger historical provinces: Pinar del Rio (item 1 on map), Habana (items 2,3,4 on map), Matanzas, Las Villas (approximately 6, 7, 8, and 9 on map, Camaguey (roughly 10 and part of 11) and Oriente (part of 11, plus 12, 13, 14, and 15). Gen. Fourteen provinces and one special municipality (the Isla de la Juventud) now comprise Cuba. The commander in chief of the Chilean Army is Maj. They also argue that the electoral system in Cuba today is more democratic than that the in most western nations, where the corporate elite hold much political clout. However, reforms made in 2005 to the Constitution now give the President the right to remove the Commanders in Chief of the Armed Forces. sanctions. Under the 1980 Constitution, the services enjoyed considerable autonomy, and the President could not remove service commanders on his own authority.

Supporters of the Cuban government will compare the human rights record to the authoritarian rule under the previous US backed regime of Fulgencio Batista, and they argue that the overall current situation would have been far better if it not for U.S. Chile's Armed Forces are subject to civilian control exercised by the President through the Minister of Defense. [73]. The combined public and private foreign debt was roughly over 50% of GDP at the end of 2004—low by Latin American standards. It is routinely consulted by central government when new laws are being considered. The government is paying off its foreign debt. There is however an official worker's central that serves as a central organization for all other trade unions, the Worker's Central of Cuba (Central de Trabajadores de Cuba, CTC). Nearly all of the funds raised go to finance investment.

Different political views are found within each of the unions. markets through American Depository Receipts (ADR's). Elections of union officers at the workplace are open and competitive. There are three main ways Chilean firms raise funds abroad: bank loans, bond issue, and the selling of stock on U.S. Unions are self financed from monthly dues, which are paid by members to their local union official, and they receive no subsidies from the state. Chile maintains one of the best credit ratings (Standard & Poor's A+) of countries in Latin America. Cuban law permits workers to freely form trade union organisations and does not require such organisations to register with any state agency in order to function or to acquire legality. Chile's private pension system, with assets worth roughly $54 billion in late 2004, has provided an important source of investment capital for the capital market.

All Cuban workers have the right to join a trade union, and although membership of a union is voluntary ninety eight per cent of the active population belong to one of the 19 trade unions in Cuba. The introduction of these new products has been accompanied by increased use of traditional instruments such as loans and credit cards. [72]. Chileans have enjoyed the recent introduction of new financial tools such as home equity loans, currency futures and options, factoring, leasing, and debit cards. [71] Cuba remains one of the few countries in the world, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere, to deny the International Committee of the Red Cross access to its prisons. The Chilean government implemented a further liberalization of capital markets in 2001. Groups like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have issued many warnings about possible prisioners of conscience. Chile's financial sector has grown faster than other areas of the economy over the last few years; a banking reform law approved in 1997 broadened the scope of permissible foreign activity for Chilean banks.

However, since Castro, in power for the last 47 years, denies access to many humanitarian organizations, it is difficult to determine exact numbers. Currently it is negotiating with African nations. The Cuban Government placed a moratorium on capital punishment in 2001, making an exception for perpetrators of an armed hijacking 2 years later. Chile also has signed trade agreements with China, as well as a four-party agreement with Singapore, New Zealand and Brunei (P4). Dissidents currently complain of harassment; others claim torture [70]. Chile is a strong proponent of pressing ahead on negotiations for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Yet, others report that from 1959-1987 there have been from 35,000 to 141,000 [69] (table is in thousands) executions. The U.S.-Chile FTA entered into force January 1, 2004 following approval by the U.S and Chilean congresses.

Many argue that only a few thousands of unjustified deaths have occurred under Castro's leadership. The agreement will lead to completely duty free bilateral trade within 12 years. The Cuban government has in the past been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including torture, arbitrary imprisonment, unfair trials, and extra-judicial executions [68]. After two years of negotiations, the United States and Chile signed an agreement in June 2003. (The 1976 Consitution and its 1992 revision require that the President of the Council of State be a member of the National Assembly). Continuing its export-oriented development strategy, Chile completed landmark free trade agreements in 2002 with the European Union and South Korea. He is also First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, and since 1976 a member of the National Assembly from the municipality of Santiago de Cuba. Chile, a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) organization, is seeking to boost commercial ties to Asian markets.

Fidel Castro has been the head of government since 1959, first as prime minister and, after the abolition of that office with the adoption of the 1976 Constitution, as President of the Council of State, which also serves as head of state. An association agreement with Mercosur--Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay--went into effect in October 1996. A smaller Executive Committee consisting of the more important members of the Council of Ministers oversees normal business. Chile also concluded preferential trade agreements with Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Executive authority is formally vested in the Council of Ministers, a large cabinet comprised of 8 members of the Council of State, the heads of the national ministries, and other persons. During the 1990s, Chile signed FTAs with Canada, Mexico, and Central America. However, save for two sessions a year, legislative power is exercised by the 31 member Council of State which is elected by the National Assembly from itself. Successive Chilean governments have actively pursued liberalizing trade agreements.

Legislative power is nominally in the hands of the National Assembly of People’s Power. Chile will have to phase out the price bands within 12 years under the terms of the U.S.-Chile FTA. Candidates for the National Assembly are nominated by municipal assemblies with one candidate for each seat and put to a approval vote where voters may approve all, some or none of the candidates(source: "Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-1998 Elections" by Arnold August). The price bands were ruled inconsistent with Chile's WTO obligations in 2002 and the government has introduced legislation to modify them. Neighborhood committees nominate candidates for the municipal assemblies who are then placed before the voters whom chose among several candidates. Higher effective tariffs are charged only on imports of wheat, wheat flour, and sugar as a result of a system of import price bands. Elections are held by secret ballot and everyone age 16 or older can vote. Chile unilaterally lowered its across-the-board import tariff for all countries with which it does not have a trade agreement to 6% in 2003.

The Communist Party of Cuba is the sole legal political party, and no other party is legally allowed to exist. As a bloc, the European Union (EU) in 2004 supplied 16.3% of Chile's imports, while Argentina contributed 16%. It has a relatively large influence in Cuba, but its authority is "moral", not on any legal authority. The United States represented 14.6% of Chilean imports in 2004. It makes recommendations concerning the future development of the revolution, and it criticizes tendencies it considers counterrevolutionary. Capital goods made up about 66% of total imports. Those selected are considered model citizens and strong supporters of the revolution. Chilean imports increased 30% in 2004, to $23 billion, reflecting a positive change in consumer demand and economic recovery.

The Cuban constitution states that, "the Communist Party of Cuba...is the superior guiding force of society and the state." Members of the Communist Party of Cuba are selected by the party in a thorough process that includes interviews with co-workers and neighbors. Asia has been the fastest-growing export market in recent years. 30" [67]. The U.S., the largest national market, takes in 17.3% of Chile's exports. In 2005 an additional 7,610 Cuban emigrants from Cuba entered through the "southern border in the fiscal year that ended Sept. Chile's export markets are fairly balanced among Europe (25.1%), Asia (33.1%), Latin America (15.7%), and North America (19%). The numbers of Cubans who leave by sea is still about 2,000 a year but the trend is upward at present [66]. Total exports in 2004 were $32 billion, a 52.1% increase from $20.4 billion in 2003.

[65]. The trade balance for 2004 showed a historic surplus $9 billion, considerably higher than 2003. soil without a visa, thus there is still an unofficial exodus [64]; these escapes are often most ingenious e.g. The most important non-mineral exports are forestry and wood products, fresh fruit and processed food, fishmeal and seafood, and wine. residency to any Cuban who arrives on U.S. In 1975, non-mineral exports made up just over 30% of total exports, whereas now they account for about 60%. law [63] grants U.S. Nontraditional exports have grown faster than those of copper and other minerals.

However, U.S. Chile has traditionally been dependent upon copper exports; the state-owned firm Codelco is the world's largest copper-producing company. Under this, the United States grants a specific number of visas to those wishing to emigrate (20,000 since 1994) while those Cubans picked up at sea trying to emigrate without a visa are returned to Cuba. In 2004, exports accounted for about 34% of GDP. After the chaos that accompanied the Mariel boatlift, Cuba and the United States (commonly called the 1994 Clinton-Castro accords [62]) have agreed to limit emigration to the United States. Chile's economy is highly dependent on international trade. [61] The emigration that occurred immediately after the Cuban Revolution was primarily of the upper and middle classes that were predominantly white, thus contributing to a demographic shift along with changes in birth rates among the various ethnic groups. The U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement offers a number of other investor protections.

Since 1959, over a million Cubans have left the island, primarily to Miami, Florida where a vocal, well educated and economically very successful anti-Castro community exists (Cuban-American lobby). Registration is simple and transparent, and foreign investors are guaranteed access to the official foreign exchange market to repatriate their profits and capital. Cuba has historically been more heavily European than other Caribbean islands, and in 1950 was said to have a 75% white majority. Chile's welcoming attitude toward foreign direct investment is codified in the country's Foreign Investment Law, which gives foreign investors the same treatment as Chileans. Between 1900 and 1930 close to a million Spaniards arrived from Spain. The government also has encouraged the use of Chile as an "investment platform" for multinational corporations planning to invest in the region. Immigration and emigration have had noticeable changes in the demographic profile of Cuba during the 20th century. The Chilean Government committed, in early 2002, to undertake a series of microeconomic reforms designed to create new incentives for private investment.

(State of the World's Children 2005) However, this high abortion rate and very low birth rate, reminiscent of former Communist Eastern Europe and Russia, threatens to cause the population to shrink significantly in the coming decades, although this has not happened yet due to relatively small numbers of elderly. Both foreign and domestic investment in Chile had declined during the country’s period of slower economic growth from 1999-2003, but appear to be recovering strongly. [60] Selective termination of high-risk pregnancies is one factor contributing to the low official infant mortality rate in Cuba of 5.8 per thousand births. Total foreign direct investment rose to $7.1 billion in 2004, up from $2.5 billion in 2003. Cuba has a high abortion rate of 77.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 1996, 3rd highest in the world among 55 countries whose abortion rate was available to be compiled in a 1999 UN study. Under the compulsory private pension system, most formal sector employees pay 10% of their salaries into privately managed funds. A contributing cause is Cuba's policy of abortion on demand. Most wage settlements and spending decisions are indexed, reducing inflation's volatility.

The fertility rate of 1.5 children per woman (in 1995-2000) is the lowest of any country in the western hemisphere (tied with Canada and Barbados). Chile registered inflation of 2.4% in 2004 and is expected to see a 3% increase in 2005 and 2006, due gas-price factor. Cuba has a low birth rate. Inflation has not exceeded 5% since 1998. Phillip Agee [58] and foreign activists of various radical causes [59]. Chile's independent Central Bank pursues a policy of maintaining inflation between 2% and 4%. This population includes defectors from the US e.g. The share of Chileans with incomes below the poverty line--defined as twice the cost of satisfying a person's minimal nutritional needs--fell from 46% of the population in 1987 to 18.8% in 2003.

There is internal illegal immigration to Havana seeking greater opportunities, these internal illegals are known as "palestinos." Cuba also shelters a population of non-Cubans of unknown size. Wages have risen faster than inflation as a result of higher productivity, boosting national living standards. The melting pot is expressed not only in a racial sense, but also in religion (see below) and the music of Cuba. Unemployment remained at 8.8% at the end of 2004 in spite of strong economic growth. Also, lighter skinned people often have more prestigious jobs (although in socialist Cuba this does not translate to a high difference in income). Unemployment has hovered in the 8%-10% range in recent years, well above the 5%-6% average for the 1990s. Nevertheless, the sizeable Jamaican population in Santiago de Cuba is frequently stereotyped as lazy. The privatized national pension system has encouraged domestic investment and contributed to an estimated total domestic savings rate of approximately 21% of GDP in 2003.

In Cuba there is relatively little racial tension. High domestic savings and investment rates also helped propel Chile's economy to average growth rates of 8% during the 1990s. Historical papers show that, while considered inferior to Cubans of European descent, they were considered superior to blacks due to their paler skin. Chile has signed Free Trade agreements (FTAs) with several important economies, including an FTA with the United States, which was signed in 2003 and implemented in January 2004. Most stayed in Cuba, as they could not afford a return passage to China. Chile is strongly committed to free trade and has welcomed large amounts of foreign investment. The Chinese population in Cuba derives mostly from laborers who arrived in the 19th century to build railroads and work in mines, as was also occurring in the United States at this time. The government's role in the economy is mostly limited to regulation, although the state continues to operate copper giant Codelco and a few other enterprises.

According to the CIA's World Factbook, Cuba is 51% mulatto (mixed white and black), 37% white, 11% black, and 1% Chinese. The 1973-90 military government sold many state-owned companies, and the three democratic governments since 1990 have continued privatization at a slower pace. Cuba has been able to reduce reported infant mortality to zero in certain remote rural areas.[57]. Chile has pursued generally sound economic policies for nearly three decades. Venezuela and Cuba have offered to provide another 100,000 Latin Americans with this service within the same period. The high degree of governability, the absence of corruption for Latin Standards, the high level of consumer and business confidence on the Chilean stability and the broad network of free trade agreements with most of the First World are the great bases for the Chile's the macroeconomic situation. 15,000 citizens of the Caribbean community will receive this form of medical care between the second half of June 2005 and June 2006. The Chile's real GDP per capita has risen in two years from $4,568 in 2003 to $7,300 US dollars in 2005 -the highest in Latin America- although a sharp income inequality persists -among the world's top-10 countries- extreme poverty rates less than 18%.

Castro promises that one hundred thousand Venezuelans will receive these services this year, and until July 2005, 25,024 patients from said country, and a similar number of Cubans will have been operated on [56]. The Chilean economy finished 2004 and 2005 with growth of 6.1% and a similar economic growth ( 6.3%)is forecasted for 2006. The country is now able to operate and provide services in all branches of ophthalmology to hundreds of thousands of patients. The economy remained sluggish until 2003, when it began to show clear signs of recovery, achieving 3.3% real GDP growth. Like a number of countries, Cuba has developed a hospital system for health tourists, taking advantage of a combination of low labor costs, an educated work force, and the ability of such tourists to pay in much desired hard currency for their care. After a decade of impressive growth rates, Chile experienced a moderate downturn in 1999 brought on by the global economic slowdown. Other patients from Central and South America bring the total to 100,000 free eye operations this year." [55]. Also controlled but uninhabited are the small islands of Sala y Gomez, San Ambrosio and San Felix, these islands are notable because they extend Chile's claim to territorial waters out from its coast into the Pacific.

"Since July 25, more than 3,000 people from ten Caribbean countries have had eye operations in Cuba funded by oil-rich Venezuela. Chile controls Easter and Sala-y-Gómez Islands, the easternmost islands of Polynesia, which it incorporated to its territory in 1888, and Robinson Crusoe Island, more than 600 km from the mainland, in the Juan Fernández archipelago. On August 20, Cuba achieved what is almost certainly a world record - performing 1,648 eye operations at 20 hospitals in a single day.". Chile is the longest (N-S) country in the world (over 4,200km), and also claims a large section of Antarctica as part of its territory. Teams of Cuban doctors assess applicants for eye surgery before sending patients to Havana on special flights from ten Caribbean countries and more than 15 Latin American nations. The Andes Mountains are located on the eastern border. "But one of Castro's most respected achievements is the establishment of a comprehensive health system producing one doctor for every 170 people, compared to 188 in the US and 250 in the UK. The southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, inlets, canals, twisting peninsulas, and islands.

During the UN's general assembly in 2000, Fidel Castro offered the United Nations 6,000 doctors for service in the third world. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands and features a string of volcanoes and lakes. Cuba has also given treatment on the island to more than 14,000 children and 4,000 adults damaged by radiation in Chernobyl, which is actually more than the rest of the world combined has done for the victims during that catastrophe. This area also is the historical center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century, when it integrated the northern and southern regions. Cuban doctors played a vital role in the health-care system of Sri Lanka in the 1980s, particularly in the war-torn North-east province, when a crisis in that country's education system limited the number of doctors coming out of universities. The relatively small Central Valley, which includes Santiago, dominates the country in terms of population and agricultural resources. [54]. The northern Atacama desert contains great mineral wealth, primarily copper and nitrates.

It dispatched physicians to help Nicaragua and Peru, then hostile to Cuba, recover from earthquakes. Chile stretches over 4,630 km (2,880 miles) north to south, but only 430 km (265 mi) at its widest point east to west. Cuba has sent doctors to underdeveloped nations and educated foreign doctors since the early 1960s. A long and narrow coastal Southern Cone country on the west side of the Andes Mountains. They offer medical services to 85,154,748 people; 34,700,000 in Latin America and the Caribbean and 50,400,000 in Africa and Asia. There is speculation that the numeral system will be dropped in favor of their formal names. Today, according to Cuban government statistics, Cuba has over 71,000 doctors [53], with 20,000 health workers in Venezuela, and 5,000 more spread around the world in over 60 additional countries, as it views such missions an important part of its foreign policy. Being designated by numerals 14 and 15, both break the geographical numerical order from north to south.

Support from the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chávez has alleviated some of those problems. In 2005, the Chilean congress passed a reform to create two new regions, one in the north, around the city of Arica, and one in the South centered around Valdivia (aka Region of the Rivers). [51], [52] However, like the rest of the Cuban economy, Cuban medical care has suffered from severe material shortages following the end of Soviet subsidies. The only exception is the region where Santiago is situated, which is designated RM, that stands for Región Metropolitana, Metropolitan Region. The massive Havana hospital, "Calixto Garcia" as well as 72 others were operating well before 1959. In general, the Roman numeral is used, rather than the name. Cuba has had good doctors for centuries such as Carlos Finlay, who determined how yellow fever was spread; thus during the 1898-1902 US presence in Cuba with much heroic sacrifice such as that of Clara Louise Maas [50] yellow fever was essentially eliminated. Each region has traditionally been designated by a name and a Roman numeral, assigned from North to South.

Cuba's healthcare system is widely regarded as one of the best in the world; however WHO data cited here comes directly from national health authorities of each country [49]. This has being a main problem due to the big size of capital city (over 5.5 millions people) that retains most of those taxes. Castro has long made the promise of free, universal health care an important part of the case for his government. However all tax incomes from regions goes to central government in Santiago where the final destination of the money not necesseraly returns to the regions. All students regardless of age and gender wear school uniforms with the color denoting grade level. Finally each province is divided into various Comunas each with its own mayor, elected by their inhabitants. This less than credible perfect percentage suggests data manipulation. Every region is further divided into provinces with a Gobernador Provincial, also appointed by Santiago.

Cuba’s literacy rates by this criteria at 15 to 24 years of age (both male and female) is 100% [48]. Chile was divided into 13 regions in 1975, each of which is headed by an intendente appointed by the President. UNESCO data is reported as “estimates compiled from national population censuses and household surveys and updated to 2005” [47]. The reform replaced inquisitorial proceedings with an adversarial system more similar to that of the United States. [46]. Chile completed in mid-2005 a multi-year overhaul of its criminal justice system. Cuban third and fourth graders were reported better educated in basic language and mathematics skills than children in other Latin American countries that took part in the study, with the "test achievement of the lower half of students in Cuba is significantly better than the test achievement of the upper half of students in the countries that (fell) immediately behind Cuba" in the study group [45]. Chile's judiciary is independent and includes a network of courts of appeals, a system of military courts, a constitutional tribunal, and the Supreme Court of Chile.

In a 1998 study by UNESCO [43], and as explained by Fidel Castro, Havana, on September 16, 2002 [44] Cuban education progress is excellent. Michelle Bachelet, a Socialist moderate, was elected President on January 15, 2006, beating her closest rival Sebastián Piñera. Due to a massive campaign coordinated by the government but executed by the population, illiteracy was said eradicated a few years after the Cuban revolution; however, sometimes information on child labor in Cuba is missing [42]. (See Chilean presidential election, 2005.). Yet, before the revolution, the illiteracy was at 23,6 percent (50 percent in rural areas). In 2005, both leading parties, the Christian Democrats and the UDI lost representation in favor of their allies Socialist Party (which became the biggest party in the Concertación block) and National Renewal in the right-wing alliance. Historically, Cuba has had some of the highest rates of education and literacy in Latin America [41]. The Communist Party again failed to gain any seats in the 2001 elections.

In 1961 private schools and universities were nationalized (without payment), [39], [40]. In the 2001 congressional elections, the conservative Independent Democratic Union surpassed the Christian Democrats for the first time to become the largest party in the lower house. The University of Havana, Cuba's oldest university, was founded in 1721; prior to 1959 there were other official including universities: Universidad de Oriente (founded in 1947) and Universidad Central de Las Villas (founded in 1857); private universities included: Universidad Católica de Santo Tomás de Villanueva (founded in 1946); Universidad Masónica, and the Universidad de la Salle in Nuevo Vedado. Only if the leading coalition ticket out-polls the second-place coalition by a margin of more than 2-to-1 does the winning coalition gain both seats. Important religious festivals include various days dedicated to the saints such as the "Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre" (the Virgin of Cobre, Cuba's patron saint, syncretised with Santería's Ochún) on September 8, and San Lázaro (Lazarus) (syncretised with Babalu Ayé), on December 17..................... Typically, the two largest coalitions split the seats in a district. As in most Latin American countries as well as Spain, this day is celebrated in conjunction with, or sometimes instead of Christmas Day. Each coalition can run two candidates for the two Senate and two lower chamber seats apportioned to each chamber's electoral districts.

In Cuba 6 January is the "Día de Reyes Magos" which in English means "Day of Kings" is celebrated to commemorate the day that the Three Wise Men came to visit Jesus according to the Gospels. Chile's congressional elections are governed by a unique binomial system that rewards coalition slates. Around 1999 over several years almost 400 Cuban Jews, from a population once numbering about ten thousand [36],[37], left for Israel [38]. The Congress is located in the port city of Valparaíso, about 140 kilometers (84 mi.) west of the capital, Santiago. In the 1960s about 8,000 Jews left for Miami [35]. Currently 4 Deputies have their voting rights suspended on legal grounds. Havana still has one or two active synagogues and mosques. The current lower house—the Chamber of Deputies—contains 60 members of the governing center-left coalition and 56 from the center-right opposition.

Cuba has small but vibrant Jewish, Muslim and Bahá'í populations. (Chile's Constitution provided that former presidents who have served at least 6 years shall be entitled to a lifetime senate seat.) The last congressional elections were held in December 2001. Pentecostalism is also growing rapidly, and the Assemblies of God alone claims a membership of over 100,000 people. Nine institutional senators were appointed in 1999, and two "senators for life," former President Pinochet (who resigned in 2002) and Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. followed religious beliefs in Cuba, though these are by no means exclusive, and one can easily be a follower of several religious currents at the same time, as well as being a member of the communist party. The current Senate is evenly split 24-24 between pro-government and opposition Senators. The religious landscape of Cuba is strongly marked by syncretisms of various kinds. Senators serve for 8 years with staggered terms.

Cuban "classical" music often includes music with strong African and European influences, and features symphonic works as well as music for soloists. Deputies are elected every 4 years. Cuban "classical" music has also won international acclaim. Chile's bicameral Congress has a 48-seat Senate—38 elected, 9 appointed, 1 for life—and a 120-member Chamber of Deputies. Popular Cuban music of all styles has been enjoyed and praised widely across the world. The President is currently elected by the people to a 4-year term, the term was reduced from 6 years in 2005 which was in turn reduced from 8 years in the original 1980 constitution. The Tres was invented in Cuba, but other traditional Cuban instruments are of African and/or Neo-Taino origin, and include the maracas and various wooden drum variants. In 2005, after 3 democratic elections for presidential periods, over 50 reforms were approved, which eliminated the remaining undemocratic areas of the text, such as the existence of non-elected Senators (institutional senators, or senators for life) and the inability of the President to remove the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

chachachá was invented to make it possible for American 'Yankees' to dance to Cuban music. However the following years, the new Constitution was amended to ease provisions for future amendments to the Constitution. The "central form" of this music is Son, which has been the basis of many other musical styles like salsa and mambo. New elections were held in 1989 as was programmed, initiating a normal Democratic process. Cuban music is the most commonly known expression of culture. Pinochet's was defeated in the 1988 plebiscite, but he kept the Army force commanding. Borders book stores carry 1,991 titles on Cuba in stock. If the plesbicite was not approved, free elections will be called the next year (1989) with new candidates for president as well a Congress.

Amazon.com (directed by Jeff Bezos who was raised by a Cuban family) currently lists 6,026 titles dealing with Cuba; Barnesandnoble.com lists 3,126. Also the 1980 voting programmed another plebiscite for 1988 for approving a new 8 years period with Pinochet plus a Congress (replacing the Junta). Authors both pro- and against the present Cuban government present their views in the US. The new constitution established an 8 years government lead by President Augusto Pinochet without a Congress, supported by an Army/Navy/Air/Police Forces Junta instead, that was confirmed along with the approval of the new constitution. A good number of U.S university presses continually present scholarly volumes on various Cuban topics. It entered into force in March 1981, replacing the old one from 1925. In Miami Cuban-American publishing houses are full of independent uncensored literature. Chile's Constitution was approved in a tightly controlled national plebiscite in September 1980, under the military government of Augusto Pinochet.

The Castro government lavishly funds its Cuban booths at bookfairs in Latin America. (see below). Cuban authors continue to produce large amounts of government supported printed and electronic work inside the Island. Ms Bachelet will be sworn in for a 4-year term (one of the Constitution's reforms since old format was a 6 years period). These repressive actions of the Cuban government have drawn much international condemnation e.g Ray Bradbury Fahrenheit 451 author. The other candidates were previous Alliance for Chile right-wing candidate Joaquin Lavin and Tomas Hirsch, the far left candidate. Despite continual state repression, literature is very much alive in Cuba. She won the 2006 runoff election against central-right-wing candidate Sebastián Piñera after none of the 4 main candidates obtained the necesary 50% of the votes in the first round of voting.

It has produced more than its fair share of literature, including the output of non-Cuban Ernest Hemingway. She is the first and so far the only woman president in the country's history. Cuban culture is much influenced by the fact that it is a melting pot of cultures, mostly from Spain and Africa. Ms Bachelet continues the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy government in their fourth term. Now it is increasing again although at a far slower rate than before [21]. Chile's current president-elect is the former health and later defense minister Michelle Bachelet, daughter of Alberto Bachelet, an air force general who was captured and tortured in the military coup of 1973 and died shortly after. This led to another unregulated exodus of asylum seekers to the United States in 1994, which was slowed to a trickle of a few thousand a year by the U.S.-Cuban accords. The last period of president Frei due to the economy disaster led to a lower popularity for the Concertacion block.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 dealt Cuba a giant economic blow. He was sworn in March 11, 2000, for a 6-year term. Eventually the United States stopped the flow of vessels and Cuba ended the uncontrolled exodus. Ricardo Lagos Escobar of the Socialist Party led the Concertación coalition to a narrow victory, with 51.31% of the votes. Under the Mariel boatlift, over 125,000 Cubans migrated to the United States. A presidential election was held on December 12, 1999, but none of the six candidates obtained a majority, which led to an unprecedented runoff election on January 16, 2000 between Ricardo Lagos and Joaquín Lavín of the rightist Alliance for Chile. In response to this, Castro allowed anyone who desired to leave the country to do so through the port of Mariel. During his government Chile's economy had their best years, although bad managing during last year plus the fact of the Asian crisis in 1998 got the country involved in a very bad situation affecting mainly to the middle class and to the small-Mid-Sized Companies.

In April 1980, over 10,000 Cubans stormed the Peruvian embassy in Havana seeking political asylum. President Frei's administration was inaugurated in March 1994. [20]. In December 1993, Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, the son of previous president Eduardo Frei Montalva, led the Concertación coalition to victory with an absolute majority of votes. and Latin America [18], [19]. President Aylwin served from 1990 to 1994, that was considered a transition period. It is believed by some[15] [16] although disputed by others [17], that the Cuban government, now allied with its Venezuelan counterpart, continues "destabilization" activities efforts supporting radical and violent Marxist groups in the U.S. Christian Democrat Patricio Aylwin, the candidate of a coalition of 16 political parties called the Concertación, received an absolute majority of votes.

Cuba [12] and the US have also engaged in continuing acts of espionage against one another [13], [14]. Chileans elected a new president and the majority of members of a two-chamber congress on December 14, 1989. [10] [11]. In a plebiscite on October 5, 1988, General Pinochet was denied a second 8-year term as president. The United States has also supported anti-Castro terrorist groups in their attacks against Cuba. During its nearly 17 years in power, Chile moved away from economic statism toward a largely free market economy that saw an increase in domestic and foreign private investment, although the copper industry and other important mineral resources were not returned to foreign ownership. In a 1976 notorious terrorist attack on Cubana Flight 455 in which 73 died was allegedly masterminded by CIA funded Castro opponents operating from Venezuela. The right-wing military government pursued decidedly laissez-faire economic policies.

Castro and the US duel in Cold War actions. In the late 1980s, the regime gradually permitted greater freedom of assembly, speech, and association, to include trade union and limited political activity. After this, the United States never openly threatened Cuba again, but was said to engage in absurdly elaborate covert activities to assassinate Castro, namely The Cuban Project. A new Constitution was approved by a highly irregular and undemocratic plebiscite characterized by the absence of registration lists, on September 11, 1980, and General Pinochet became President of the Republic for an 8-year term. Within Cuba, Che is held as a hero of the socialist movement, but only since the mid 1980s, when the launch of the 'Era of Rectification' saw his ideas being re-asserted as Cuba distanced itself from Gorbachev's USSR. Some 30,000 were forced to flee the country. Che Guevara is known to have led the Cubans in the rebellion in the DRC, formerly known as Zaire. At least a thousand people were executed during the first six months of Pinochet in office, and at least two thousand more were killed during the next sixteen years, as reported by the Valech Report.

Not only did Cuba aid in numerous South and Central American rebellions, but also in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the African continent. On October 1973, at least 70 persons were murdered by the Caravan of Death. It was in Bolivia that Che Guevara, a major proponent of the socialist revolution, was asassinated after leading a Cuban led rebellion in the jungles of Bolivia. The first years of the regime were marked by serious human rights violations. Between 1962 and the early 1970s, it has been known that Cuba sent trained guerillas to numerous South and Central American nations to aid in socialist revolutions which were, at the time, in progression. A military government, led by General Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, took over control of the country. The Soviet Union backed down, agreeing to remove the missiles in exchange for United States promises to remove similar nuclear missiles in Turkey and to never invade Cuba again. As the armed forces bombarded the presidential palace (Palacio de La Moneda), Allende reportedly committed suicide.

This is generally believed to be the closest the world has come to a nuclear war. A military coup overthrew Allende on September 11, 1973. In response, the United States put up a blockade in international waters. The crippled economy was further battered by prolonged and sometimes simultaneous strikes by physicians, teachers, students, truck owners, copper workers, and the small business class. The Cuban Missile Crisis started with the Soviet Union installing nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962. By early 1973, inflation was out of control. In the rural central provinces the War Against the Bandits (circa 1959-1965) was suppressed by massed Castro militia, many executions and internal deportations of rebel supporters. Political polarization increased, and large mobilizations of both pro- and anti-government groups became frequent, often leading to clashes.

Church schools were confiscated, clergy were arrested, [9] and expelled en masse. By 1972, the economic progress of Allende's first year had been reversed and the economy was in crisis. [8],(Priestland, 2003). Simultaneously, the CIA funded opposition media, politicians, and organizations, helping to accelerate a campaign of domestic destabilization. The expected urban revolt collapsed when it became clear Brigade 2506 had been abandoned to its fate; and because the Soviet Union warned Castro, who ordered numerous executions and preemptive mass arrests of those thought likely to support a counter-revolution. The Nixon administration brought international financial pressure to bear in order to restrict economic credit to Chile. Kennedy left the invaders stranded for fear of getting officially involved. and other foreign-owned companies led to increased tensions with the United States.

president John F. The nationalization of U.S. backed Cuban expatriates failed because U.S. The Indian Peoples Development Corporation and the Mapuche Vocational Institute were founded to address the needs of Chile's indigenous population. The Bay of Pigs invasion of April 1961 by U.S. Other reforms undertaken during the early Allende period included redistribution of millions of hectares of land to landless agricultural workers as part of the agrarian reform program, giving the armed forces an overdue pay increase, and providing free milk to children. For more on these issues see the Economy section below. Industrial output increased sharply and unemployment fell during the Allende administration's first year.

embargo and other measures, such as prosecuting US citizens who vacation in Cuba. Many enterprises within the copper, coal, iron, nitrate, and steel industries were expropriated, nationalized, or subjected to state intervention. Since Castro came to power, the United States has since progressively enacted legislation intended to isolate Cuba economically via the U.S. Much of the banking sector was nationalized. at Bejucal and Bahia Honda), and the Chinese government still maintains a large electronic surveilance presence especially at a base in Havana Province. Joint public-private public works projects helped reduce unemployment. The USSR long after the Missile Crisis had bases in Cuba (e.g. Allende adopted measures including price freezes, wage increases, and tax reforms, which had the effect of increasing consumer spending and redistributing income downward.

At first, Castro was reluctant to discuss his plans for the future, but eventually he declared himself a communist, and with the backing of Che Guevara, explained that he was trying to build socialism in Cuba, focusing on free health care and education for all, and began close political and economic relations with the Soviet Union and to a lesser extent with China. Production fell and unemployment rose. [7] The new revolutionary government adopted successive "land reforms" and eventually confiscated almost all private property. An economic depression that began in 1967 peaked in 1970, exacerbated by capital flight, plummeting private investment, and withdrawal of bank deposits by those opposed to Allende's socialist program. After the revolution, Che Guevara, industrial minister at the time, negotiated with the USSR for the export of Cuban sugar after the US decreased its imports of sugar from Cuba. The Popular Unity platform also called for nationalization of foreign (U.S.) ownership of Chile's major copper mines. Most of Cuba's sugar was exported to the United States because Cuba was given a large quota, which was paid above world prices in part to help domestic US industry. Allende's program included advancement of workers' interests; a thoroughgoing implementation of agrarian reform; the reorganization of the national economy into socialized, mixed, and private sectors; a foreign policy of "international solidarity" and national independence; and a new institutional order (the "people's state" or "poder popular"), including the institution of a unicameral congress.

Cuba’s main crop was sugar, for the American and to a lesser extent English market. Frei refused to form an alliance with Alessandri to oppose Allende, on the grounds that the Christian Democrats were a workers party and could not make common cause with the oligarchs. According to Antonio Núñez Jiménez at the time when Batista was deposed, 75% of Cuba's prime farm land was owned by foreign individuals or foreign (mostly U.S.) companies. Despite pressure from the government of the United States, the Chilean Congress, keeping with tradition, conducted a runoff vote between the leading candidates, Allende and former president Jorge Alessandri and chose Allende by a vote of 153 to 35. Castro established a Soviet-leaning one party Communist state, the first in the Western Hemisphere, although Castro did not officially reveal his Marxist-Leninist leanings until 1961. In 1970, Senator Salvador Allende Gossens, a Marxist physician and member of Chile's Socialist Party, who headed the "Popular Unity" (UP or "Unidad Popular") coalition of the Socialist, Communist, Radical, and Social-Democratic Parties, along with dissident Christian Democrats, the Popular Unitary Action Movement (MAPU), and the Independent Popular Action, won a plurality of votes in a three-way contest. Batista fled the country on 1 January 1959. At the end of his term, Frei had accomplished many noteworthy objectives, but he had not fully achieved his party's ambitious goals.

He returned to Cuba on November 1956 with 82 fighters trained by Alberto Bayo (a former colonel in the Spanish Republican Army), and with the help of popular discontent managed to overthrow Batista. By 1967, however, Frei encountered increasing opposition from leftists, who charged that his reforms were inadequate, and from conservatives, who found them excessive. In 1953, Fidel Castro attacked the Moncada barracks, and was exiled to Mexico. Under the slogan "Revolution in Liberty," the Frei administration embarked on far-reaching social and economic programs, particularly in education, housing, and agrarian reform, including rural unionization of agricultural workers. As a result many civil and guerrilla groups started opposing him. The 1964 presidential election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Montalva by an absolute majority initiated a period of major reform. However, in 1952 Batista seized power in an almost bloodless coup three months before the planned election and instituted an oppressive dictatorship. Jorge Alessandri succeeded Ibáñez in 1958, bringing Chilean conservatism back into power democratically for another term.

He had passed a new progressive constitution and in 1944 left office retiring to Florida for a time. In 1952, voters returned Ibáñez, now reincarnated as a sort of Chilean Perón, to office for another 6 years. In 1940 he was elected president himself. During the period of Radical Party dominance (1932-52), the state increased its role in the economy. Fulgencio Batista, a leader of the 1933 Sergeants' Revolt that overthrew the transitional government after Gerardo Machado’s dictatorship collapsed, became first the Army Chief of Staff and eventually the man in charge under a series of presidents. It became the key force in coalition governments for the next 20 years. The Platt Amendment was revoked in 1934, but the lease of Guantánamo Bay was extended against a nominal sum. When constitutional rule was restored in 1932, a strong middle-class party, the Radicals, emerged.

troops occupied Cuba a second time from 1906 to 1909. By relinquishing power to a democratically elected successor, Ibáñez del Campo retained the respect of a large enough segment of the population to remain a viable politician for more than thirty years, in spite of the vague and shifting nature of his ideology. Using the provisions of the Platt Amendment, U.S. The longest lasting of the ten governments between those years was that of General Carlos Ibáñez, who briefly held power in 1925 and then again between 1927 and 1931 in what was a de facto dictatorship, although not really comparable in harshness or corruption to the type of military dictatorship that has often bedeviled the rest of Latin America, and certainly not comparable to the violent and repressive regime of Augusto Pinochet decades later. Tomás Estrada Palma (term 1902-1906) was Cuba's first peacetime and elected president. A military coup led by General Luis Altamirano in 1924 set off a period of great political instability that lasted until 1932. Cuban independence was granted in 1902, though limited by the Platt Amendment, which granted the United States a major influence in Cuban affairs and required Cuba to grant the United States a lease for Guantánamo Bay. In the 1920s, Marxist groups with strong popular support arose.

Between 1895 and early 1898 revolution controlled most of the countryside and some towns, but the efforts of the Spanish, who held the major cities, to pacify the island did not cease until the United States occupied the island in the Spanish-American War of 1898. Alessandri Palma's reformist tendencies were partly tempered later by an admiration for some elements of Mussolini's Italian Corporate State. It is notable that some Taíno first fought the Mambi and then joined them to comprise the Hatuey Regiment [6]. By the 1920s, the emerging middle and working classes were powerful enough to elect a reformist president, Arturo Alessandri Palma, whose program was frustrated by a conservative congress. expansionism. Hence the Chilean economy partially degenerated into a system protecting the interests of a ruling oligarchy. Constitution and enjoyed some popularity in the United States, he was concerned about U.S. However, the Civil War had also been a contest between those who favored the development of local industries and powerful Chilean banking interests, particularly the House of Edwards who had strong ties to foreign investors.

While he expressed a preference for the U.S. The Chilean Civil War in 1891 brought about a redistribution of power between the President and Congress, and Chile established a parliamentary style democracy. He remains the major hero in Cuba to this day, and his legacy is claimed by both the supporters and opponents of the current government. As a result of the War of the Pacific with Peru and Bolivia (1879-83), Chile expanded its territory northward by almost one-third, eliminating Bolivia's access to the Pacific, and acquired valuable nitrate deposits, the exploitation of which led to an era of national affluence. The writer and rebel organizer José Martí landed in Cuba with rebel exiles in 1895, but little more than a month later was killed in battle. In 1881, the government signed a treaty with Argentina confirming Chilean sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan. The colony's struggle for independence lasted throughout the second half of the 19th century with the first effort with any success being the Ten Years' War beginning in 1868 . Toward the end of the 19th century, the government in Santiago consolidated its position in the south by ruthlessly suppressing the Mapuche Indians, finally completing the conquest begun more than three centuries earlier.

As a result Cuba became the world's major sugar producer, but by 1884, slavery was abolished after having been weakened during the struggle to secure independence for Cuba. The system of presidential absolutism eventually predominated, but wealthy landowners continued to control Chile. Between 1791 to 1804, many French fled to Cuba from the Haitian revolution, bringing with them slaves and expertise in sugar refining and coffee growing. The political revolt brought little social change, however, and 19th century Chilean society preserved the essence of the stratified colonial social structure, which was greatly influenced by family politics and the Roman Catholic Church. Cuban colonial forces participated in Spain's efforts during the American Revolutionary War, helping Spain to gain East and West Florida. On February 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed an independent republic under O'Higgins' leadership. However, the fortress would later become infamous as a place of execution and imprisonment, not unlike the Bastille in Paris. Intermittent warfare continued until 1817, when an army led by Bernardo O'Higgins, Chile's most renowned patriot, and José de San Martín, hero of Argentine independence, crossed the Andes into Chile and defeated the royalists.

The massive La Cabaña fortress, never taken by assault, which completely dominates Havana Bay was built soon after Havana, exchanged for Florida, was returned to Spain. Spanish attempts to reimpose arbitrary rule during what was called the Reconquista led to a prolonged struggle. Spanish mercantilism caused Spain to keep Cuba relatively isolated to external influences, but beginning with the year long occupation of Havana by the British in 1762 at the end of the Seven Years' War, Cuba became more open economically to both the importation of slaves and advances in sugar cultivation and processing. A movement for total independence soon won a wide following. However, Cuba’s most effective defense was yellow fever which killed off invading forces. The junta proclaimed Chile an autonomous republic within the Spanish monarchy. Attacks on both ships and cities required Spain to respond by organizing convoys to protect the ships and building forts to protect the cities. A national junta in the name of Ferdinand—heir to the deposed king—was formed on September 18, 1810.

England Guantánamo Bay) tried to take the possessions that the Spanish had gathered for themselves, and their colonial descendents viewed as their own. The drive for independence from Spain was precipitated by usurpation of the Spanish throne by Napoleon's brother Joseph, in 1808. Jacques de Sores [5]), Alexander Exquemelin and Henry Morgan) and invasions as other countries (e.g. The abolition of slavery in 1683 defused tensions on the frontier between the colony and the Mapuche land to the south, and permitted increased trade between colonists and Mapuches. But once Taino/Ciboney uprisings were no longer a concern, new ones arose from buccaneers, pirates, and privateers (e.g. Each time the Mapuche and other native groups revolted, the southern border of the colony was driven northward. In this period there were further indigenous risings most especially that of Guamá, one of the last Taino leaders to organize resistance to Spanish rule. Subsequent major insurrections took place in 1598 and in 1655.

After the conquest of the Americas the resulting treasure, mined gold and silver, emeralds, chocolate and several then important plant products such as dyes and medicine was transported in the Spanish treasure fleet from the Americas and later from the Philippines to Spain using Cuban ports as safe harbors along the way. A massive Mapuche insurrection that began in 1553 resulted in Valdivia's death and the destruction of many of the colony's principal settlements. Cuba had first served as base for Spanish conquest of the mainland of the Americas, but the island was almost depopulated in this effort. Conquest of the land that is today called Chile took place only gradually, and the Europeans suffered repeated setbacks at the hands of the local population. Today, Taíno descendants maintain their heritage near Baracoa. Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognized the agricultural potential of Chile's central valley, and Chile became part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. Their children were called mestizo, but the residents called them Guajiro, which originating in a Taino word roughly equivalent to squire has been translated as "one of us; they became the yeomen of Cuban wars neo-Taíno nations. The first permanent European settlement, Santiago, was founded in 1541 by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants.

Most Conquistadors took Taínas as brides, common law wives or as was more frequent had casual sexual congress with these island women [4] since few Spanish women crossed the Atlantic in those days of conquest. These cultures supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. Many indigenous Cubans fell victim to the brutality of Spanish conquistadores (as witnessed and lamented by Bartolomé de Las Casas) and the diseases they brought with them, which were previously unknown to them. The Spanish encountered hundreds of thousands of Indians from various cultures in the area that modern Chile now occupies. Others were Jiguani, and Baracoa. The next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru in 1535 seeking gold but were turned back by the local population. One famous mainly indigenous town was Guanabacoa, today a suburb of Havana. In 1520, while attempting to circumnavigate the earth, the Portuguese Ferdinand Magellan, discovered the southern passage now named after him, the Straits of Magellan.

The Indigenous Cuban population, including the Ciboney and the Taíno, were forced into encomiendas during the Spanish subjugation of the island of Cuba. The Incas briefly extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the area's remoteness and the fierce opposition of the native population prevented extensive settlement. Approximately 16 to 60 thousand, or perhaps many more, indigenous from the Taíno and Ciboney nations inhabited Cuba before colonization. About 10,000 years ago, migrating Native Americans settled in fertile valleys and along the coast of what is now Chile. Europeans were shown by the indigenous Cubans how to cultivate tobacco and to smoke it in various ways. The Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas and the few survivors of Diego de Almagro's first Spanish expedition south from Peru in 1535-1536 called themselves the "men of Chilli.". The Arawak and other such cultural groups are responsible for the flourishing development of perhaps 60% of crops in common use today and some major industrial materials such as rubber. Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley Casma in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Other theories say Chile may derive its name from the indigenous Mapuche word chilli, which may mean "where the land ends" or "the deepest point of the Earth," or from the Aymara tchili meaning "snow"; another meaning attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of a bird call.

1947). There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile. According to one theory the Incas of Peru, who had failed to conquer the Araucanians, called the valley of the Aconcagua "Chili" by corruption of the name of a tribal chief ("cacique") called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest. Paul Sidney Martin [[3], ] that the inhabitants of these islands mined and exported metals such as copper (Martin et al. . It is well known that these neo-Taíno had metallurgical skills, and it has been postulated by some e.g. It borders with Argentina to the east, Bolivia to the northeast and Peru to the north. Residues of Taíno poetry, songs, sculpture, and art are found today throughout the major Antilles. The Republic of Chile (Spanish: República de Chile (help·info), IPA [re'puβlika de tʄile]) is a country in South America occupying a long coastal strip between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

The Taínos (Island Arawak) were part of a cultural group commonly called the Arawak, which extends far into South America. The (CIA) World Factbook: Chile. Taínos and Ciboney took part in similar customs and beliefs, one being the sacred ritual practiced using tobacco called cohoba, known in English as smoking. Library of Congress country profile. The Taíno were skilled farmers and the Ciboney were a hunter-gatherer society with supplemental farming. Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, United States Department of State, April 2005. Most of pre-Colombian inhabitants of Cuba, including the Siboney, can in first approximation be classified under the general group of neo-Taíno. Reporters without borders: Worldwide press freedom index 2005, ranked 50 out of 167 countries (fifth in Latin America after El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Uruguay).

Some scholars consider it important to distinguish the Taíno from the neo-Taíno nations of Cuba, the Lucaya of the Bahamas, Jamaica, and to a lesser extent from Haiti and Quisqueya (approximately the Dominican Republic), since the neo-Taíno had far more diverse cultural input and a greater societal and ethnic heterogeneity than the true high Taíno of Boriquen (Puerto Rico). Yale University/Columbia University: 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index, ranked 42 out of 146 countries (ninth in Latin America after Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Colombia and Panama). Both groups were prehistoric neolithic, perhaps copper age, cultures. World Economic Forum: Global Information Technology Report 2004-2005 - Networked Readiness Index, ranked 35 out of 104 countries (first in Latin America). At that time Cuba was populated by at least two distinct indigenous peoples: Taíno and Ciboney (or Siboney). Kearney/Foreign Policy Magazine: Globalization Index 2005, ranked 34 out of 62 countries (second in Latin America after Panama). In 1511 Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar led the Spanish invasion, subdued the indigenous populations, to become governor of Cuba for Spain and built a villa in Baracoa, which became the first capital of the island and also in 1518 [2] was technically the seat of the (Diocese) of the first bishops of Cuba. A.T.

Cuba was first visited by Europeans when explorer Christopher Columbus made landfall here for the first time on October 28, 1492, at the eastern tip of Cuba, in the Cazigazgo of Baracoa. Transparency International: Corruption Perceptions Index 2005, ranked 21 out of 159 countries (tied with Japan) (first in Latin America). . Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers 2005, ranked 17 out of 110 countries (tied with Argentina) (third in Latin America after Costa Rica and Cuba). The Cayman Islands and Jamaica are south of eastern Cuba. Brown University: Fifth Annual Global E-Government Study (2005), ranked 13 out of 198 countries (first in Latin America). Cuba is south of the eastern United States, and the Bahamas, west of the Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti, and east of Mexico. Freedom House: Freedom in the World 2005, average score: 1 (Free) (Costa Rica and Uruguay are the only two other Latin American countries with the highest score).

The name Cuba is said to be derived from the Taíno word cubanacán, meaning "a central place." It is located in the northern Caribbean at the confluence of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. World Bank: Where is the Wealth of Nations? (2005) - Total wealth per capita, ranked 32 out of 118 countries (fourth in Latin America after Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil). IPA: [re'puβlika de ˈkuβa]) consists of the island of Cuba (the largest of the Greater Antilles), the Isle of Youth and various adjacent small islands. World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006 - Growth Competitiveness Index, ranked 23 out of 117 countries (first in Latin America). The Republic of Cuba (pron. Fraser Institute: Economic Freedom of the World: 2005 Annual Report, ranked 20 out of 127 countries (tied with Belgium, Costa Rica and Hungary) (first in Latin America). GEOCIENCIAS 8 (6): 1-9. ISBN 959-7117-03-7. IMD International: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2005, ranked 19 out of 60 economies (countries and regions) (first in Latin America).

I Convención Cubana de Ciencias de la Tierra. Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal: 2006 Index of Economic Freedom, ranked 14 (free) out of 157 countries (first in Latin America). Significación paleogeográfica de la brecha basal del Límite K/T en Loma Dos Hermanas (Loma Capiro), en Santa Clara, provincia de Villa Clara. UNDP: Human Development Index 2005, ranked 37 out of 177 countries (second in Latin America after Argentina). García-Delgado (2005). The Economist: The World in 2005 - Worldwide quality-of-life index, 2005, ranked 31 out of 111 countries (first in Latin America). Díaz-Otero y D. Chilean wine.

Iturralde-Vinent, C. Chilean Spanish. A. Chilean pharmaceutical policy. Rojas-Consuegra, R., M. intervention in Chile. The author was first condemned to death for conspiring for independence against Spain [33]; after his sentence was commuted to ten years he escaped [34]. U.S.

Oxford University Press, USA ISBN 0195143957 Deals with sexual mores and the traditions of mistresses during the Spanish colonial period, with many historic details, including the execution of Narciso Lopez. Transportation in Chile. Villaverde, Cirilo 1882 (New translation 2005 by Sibylle Fischer and Helen Lane) Cecilia Valdes or El Angel Hill. List of Chilean television channels. Valdéz, Gabriel de la Concepción (Plácido) 1809-1844 (executed) Major, most well known poem and last poem “Plegaria a Dios.” [31], [32] His poetry, was often considered subversive and anti-slavery by the Spanish authorities. List of Chileans. ISBN 1559704772 Book is part of a second wave of literature written by exiles who escaped Cuba in the latter part of the Castro years. List of Chilean companies.

Arcade Publishing; 1st English-language edition. Holidays in Chile. Valdes, Zoe 1999I Gave You All I Had. Foreign relations of Chile. The "Peanut Vendor" inspired classically trained Joseph Norman Henderson, author of Cuban Pete, to change his name to Jose Norman [26] and dedicate his work to music from the island [27] [28] [29] [30]. Elections in Chile. In the Cuban vernacular to "cantar el manisero' to sing this song is to die. Communications in Chile.

The author was a Jewish immigrant to Cuba. Chile Antarctic Geopolitics. Simons, Moisés 1928 El Manisero (the "Peanut Vendor") An extremely popular song with complex poly-rhythms. 1999 ISBN 0897298780 An example of Siboneyista poetry, a 19th Century resistanccolt likes eggse movement which expressed its, then illegal, wish to be free of Spain couched as Siboney, one of the Neo-Taíno nations poetry and narrations. Ediciones Universal.

Napoles Fajardo, Juan Cristobal (born 1829; believed killed by Spanish authorities in 1862) Selected work in Cucalambe (Decimas Cubanas): Seleccion De Rumores Del Hormigo. [24], [25]. Lecuona, Ernesto (1895-1962) First major composition, "Malaguena," Roxy Theatre in New York 1927. University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0807855944.

Lazo, Rodrigo 2005 Writing to Cuba Filibustering and Cuban Exiles in the United States. Gómez de Avellaneda, Gertrudis (1814-1873) Her large body of excellent work includes the anti-slavery novel "Dos mugeres" (1842) and the play "Baltasar" (1858) [23]. First known Cuban narrative poem deals with the killing of an attacking pirate by the people of Bayamo. [22].

de Balboa y Troya de Quesada, Silvestre (1563-1649) 1608 Espejo de Paciencia. Public holidays in Cuba. Cuban cinema. Famous Cuban poetry and literature.

Present State of Cuban Literature. Music of Cuba.