ABSTRACT
It is widely believed that Fidel Castro's revolutionary government in Cuba has achieved major successes in the fields of health and education since it came to power 27 years ago. It is not merely admirers of the "Cuban experiment" who subscribe to this notion. In 1977, a US Congressional delegation visiting Havana was told that Cuba's literacy rate had risen to 99 percent from 25 percent during the Castro years. Surveys and censuses since the revolution show that illiteracy in Cuba is far from being "almost completely eliminated." According to the 1970 census, about 13 percent of Cubans over 15 were illiterate. Many of the Castro government's proudest claims concern the transformation of health conditions in Cuba. The Cuban health record should be examined with greater care. As with education, the Cuban government did not have to start from scratch. According to Cuba's own life tables, infant mortality fell by about 32 percent between 1960 and 1974.
