It is sad that some people really believe Cuba is a paradise when it is not. The Cuban Revolution genuinely aimed at justice and dignity for the people, and thousands fought for it. The achievements of the regime in the fields of education, improving the cultural level of the people, health and development of the country, are undeniable. The international recognition and standing of Cuba as a country certainly owes a lot to the revolution. And Fidel Castro is truly a leader for his people and - one could say - for many others.

But not everything is fine with the Cuban regime. To begin with, it is not a democracy. Basic freedoms are not respected. The secret service has a pervasive influence everywhere, with plenty of informers. And there are currently political prisoners in Cuba, and people who are routinely harassed by the government because of their beliefs or opinions. Cuba is not the Earth's worse dictatorship; but it is a dictatorship.

Then you have the economic problem. The embargo the US unilaterally imposed on Cuba was not followed by everybody. Cuba is not alone in the world and in the past it has received - and continues to receive - aid from different countries. Cuban products can be - and are - exported to different markets and foreign investment is welcomed (Spain, Canada and Italy being the main investors).

In the past it received considerable assistance from her fellow socialist regimes, such as the USSR. The implosion of the Soviet Union unveiled the weaknesses of the regime since Soviet aid was not available any longer and, consequently, living standards declined dramatically in Cuba; the economic foundations of the regime were not sound enough to live on its own.

Nowadays Cuba does receive international aid, mainly from fellow Latin American countries like Mexico and Venezuela, and from Spain and the European Union. The EU has even offered ACP (Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific) status to Cuban products entering European markets (which are exempted from tariffs). Havana rejected the offer out of concern for the implications of the human rights clauses of the ACP status.

In other words, Cuba could enjoy today far better living standards for its population. But the regime is not willing to do what it has to do out of fear: Cuba is not implementing measures to promote growth and prosperity the way the Chinese regime is doing. The result is that average people in Cuba are struggling every day to feed themselves. And certainly there is prostitution; foreign tourists who can pay in hard currency being the main customers.

In these circumstances, I think it is Malaysia the country Cuba should learn from and not the other way round.