2009 is here and much is being made of the 50th year of Castro's communist revolution in Cuba. Brother Raul notwithstanding, Fidel Castro is still in power. On the other side of the planet, in Singapore, another man also came into power in 1959. His name is Lee Kuan Yew and he became Prime Minister of Singapore in June 1959 and held that position officially until 1990. He was then Senior Minister until 2004 when he became Minister Mentor and his son, Lee Hsien Loong, became Prime Minister. The point is that since 1959, Lee Kuan Yew has been the person who calls the shots in Singapore. He is the authority.
So both Fidel Castro and Lee Kuan Yew have held power for half a century. Who has done a better job for his country? We will grade them on economic progress. On human rights there no sense in comparing Castro with Lee. Yes, Singapore did ban chewing gum and did engage in caning of those who painted graffiti and they have been heavy handed with drug users and the press. Those limitations of freedom are child's play compared to the thousands of political dissidents that have been killed or imprisoned by Castro. Think of Castro as a mass murderer and Lee as strict school principal. Outsiders have no problem moving into Singapore. Cubans risk their lives in shark-infested waters on rickety rafts to flee Castro's hell-hole.
Back to economic progress. In 1958 (the last pre-Castro and Pre-Lee years), Cuba had a population of 6.6 Million. Singapore had 1.5 Million. Cuba had a per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $3,170. Singapore's was $2,294. Cuba's per capita GDP was among the highest in Latin America and was higher than any nation in East Asia except for Japan's.
So where do these two countries stand in 2008? Cuba's population has risen to 11.5 Million, so it almost doubled. Singapore's population tripled to 4.6 Million. Singapore's per capita GDP is $48,900 -- among the highest in the world. Castro's beloved revolution has caused Cuba's per capita GDP to reach about $1,700! I write "about" because Cuba is not known for truthful reporting of economic data. It claims to have a per capita GDP of $4,500 but as of 2001 it was at $1,700. Things have only deteriorated this decade on the island so crediting Cuba with $1,700 is probably generous.
The juxtaposition of these two countries over the same 50 year period is mind-bending. It means that in 1958, Singapore's GDP was $3.4 Billion to sustain 1.5 Million people. Cuba's was $20.9 Billion for a population of 6.6 Million. At $225 Billion, Singapore's GDP has risen 66 times in 50 years with a population that has tripled. During the same time, Castro's Cuba can only show a GDP that has shrunk to $19.5 Billion although it's population has doubled.
Again, toss aside Castro's criminality, failed social engineering and overrated health care -- he has been worse than an abject economic failure. Why? Because he followed a failed communist central planning, central control, economic policy that was really only geared to keeping him in power and in control. For Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew's economic policy was free market, free trade, and growth oriented.
President Nixon once remarked that Lee Kuan Yew was the most intelligent person he ever met. YouTube has several Lee interviews that show the magnitude of his understanding of the global economy and world trends. YouTube has Castro footage that fully display his ability to excoriate the United States. Unfortunately, Cubans cannot substitute excoriation for food. Trash talk is not a nutriment.
Today, Singapore's skyline features well-lit, elegant, modern buildings. By contrast, Havana looks worse than the South Bronx of the 1980s. A huge ghetto. This is very different from how the two cities looked and compared in 1958. Lee Kuan Yew's dream was one of a prosperous and free Singapore -- an "East Asia rising" success story. Fidel Castro envisioned a Cuba that would learn to hate capitalism and the United States -- a Caribbean circle within Dante's Inferno. Both succeeded.
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