From: "Rosser Jr, John Barkley" <rosserjb-AT-jmu.edu>
Subject: M-I: Soviet aid to Cuba
Date: Thu, 9 Jan 1997 17:20:40 -0500 ()


     Louis Proyect admonishes me and Justin Schwartz to 
read more about Cuba.  Well, I read Brundenius and 
Zimabalist long ago and fully agree that they are an 
excellent source.  Indeed, I have been a good friend of 
Andy Zimbalist's for about 30 years now, and am very well 
acquainted with his work.
     Yes, the CIA estimates of Soviet aid to Cuba were 
exaggerated, but so what?  There was still a lot of aid, 
including a hefty petroleum price subsidy that Louis 
neglected to mention, even after reducing the amount for 
the sugar subsidy on the basis of the reasonable arguments 
made by Brundenius and Zimbalist.  Needless to say, the 
size of the sugar subsidy varied greatly from year to year 
as market conditions and the Cuban harvest varied.
     Two further points:
     1)  If the Soviet aid was so insignificant, why did 
the Cuban economy collapse so severely and have to go to an 
unpleasant form of market socialism to revive itself after 
the aid was cut off?
     2)  I fully agree that the unfair US embargo is a huge 
factor in all this.  But, if the US were to import Cuban 
sugar, wouldn't that lead to exactly the kind of 
dependencia relationship that Cuban socialists wish to 
avoid?
     BTW, I have urged Louis P. both privately and publicly 
to end the flame war between us.  I am still waiting for 
him to do so from his end.......
Barkley Rosser 

-- 
Rosser Jr, John Barkley
rosserjb-AT-jmu.edu




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