
A fresh look at Cuban trade - mgalka
http://trans.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=379ebbaf1b264e26964f4d887fb1ae63
======
wuschel
I found it rather surprising to see Cuba being a _" major exporter of medical
products"_ and a _" leader in biotechnology"_.

I can understand the medical tech - it makes sense given the level of cuban
medical education. But biotech? What kind of biotech? Could anyone comment on
that?

An article I found [1] mentions some serious products, but what about the
regulations?

[1] [https://t.co/yElsLVfZdt](https://t.co/yElsLVfZdt)

~~~
baakss
I can't comment except for my own experience. We visit relatives in Cuba
occasionally. When we go, we always had to come up with some excuse to bring
medical supplies and leave them there. On one occasion, my mom pretended to be
crippled for the trip down so that we could justify bringing a wheelchair.
Then she just left it. Same thing would apply across the board for anything
you could think of. We'd get a doctor's note, bring along medicines 'for
ourselves' then leave them with family there.

The situation is pretty bad there. It's almost like the economy doesn't exist.
You can be an architect, for example, but there's really no new buildings
going up. You get a coupon book every year good for things like a pair of
shoes, but no shoes are being made. People rely heavily on goods and money
from Miami. Money can at least buy them non-American imported goods. A
friend's family even brought a window down with them once somehow.

Anyway, I don't know everything about it, just anecdotally what we've seen
when we made our trips down, plus the stories from cousins who have made it
over recently.

~~~
wuschel
Thanks for your feedback. That does remind me my time in the eastern block.
Just a bit harsher. This might very well be a distribution problem e.g. some
sectors being prioritized, and the people being left to their own fate.

~~~
ChrisArgyle
My mother expatriated Cuba when she was in her 20s and this is exactly her
experience. Basically, if you're not important to The Party you're on your
own.

------
trynumber9
What on earth are "organ extracts"?

