Word: quinteros
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Today, though, there are few pre-medical or pre-law students. Cuba has limited the number of students studying in these fields, because, as Quintero, an engineering students, recognizes, "We can't use doctors and lawyers to pull us out of (economic) underdevelopment." Cuban students are encouraged from a young age to enter professions that will most directly fill societal needs. The channeling of students into certain careers is necessary, Arce agreed, in order that Cuba's tremendous investment in education is eventually paid back. By 1969 Cuba already invested one fifth of its total productive capacity-a greater portion...
...schools of higher education (schooling is obligatory until age 15) are open to those with "good grades and a correct attitude." Part of that attitude is evident in Quintero's statement that "It is a privilege to study, so each student must recompense society." This idea was formalized in the recently promulgated Social Service Law, under which all graduates of higher education must work for three years in locations and positions assigned by the educational ministry. Those men and women who enter the military, whether as volunteers or draftees (men only), are exempt from such service...
...Cuban economy remains troubled. When the rich fled the coming Revolution they took both material wealth and technical expertise with them. They also destroyed the machinery they left behind. When the Revolution came to power, "it was not a question of distributing the wealth, but of distributing the poverty," Quintero remarked...
Since then, as the economy has grown, the distribution has been kept nearly egalitarian. The highest government officials receive about 700 pesos a month while the minimum wage is between 85 and 92 pesos a month. Quintero earns 350 pesos (roughly $375) a month as an engineer, but he pays nothing for health service, education, and many cultural activities. There is full employment and nearly complete job security. While some general inflation has occurred recently, aggravated by the increased numbers of working women, the government has prevented any rise in the price of food, clothing, and rent...
...accepting massive amounts of economic aid from the Soviet Union, Cuba has avoided cutbacks in its social and political reform programs. According to Quintero, the country has made significant investments in pollution control and it has a broader and more effective resource conservation program than most developing nations. A population control program also exists with social pressure used to limit most couples to two or three children, Quintero said...