The Dark Side of Cuba's Health System: Free Speech, Rights of Patients and Labor Rights of Physicians

This essay questions the achievements and assessments of the Cuban health system. It argues that health policies in Cuba in the past half century have been implemented with limited concern for civil liberties and certain human rights which are considered a core component of a responsive, transparent, and accountable health system. Three cases are discussed in support of this assessment: 1) the persecution of Cuban analysts who questioned the official version of the socio-economic situation of pre-revolutionary Cuba, including the health state of affairs; 2) the harassment and segregation of gays and people living with HIV; and 3) the violation of labor rights of Cuban physicians working in international missions.