ABSTRACT
CASTRO MAY HAVE limited economic accomplishments to his credit, but the social accomplishments of his government have been impressive. The social welfare of a population hinges not merely on a country’s material base but on how material resources are utilized. Social policies are, at heart, political; they are contingent on state priorities, on the types of programs governments choose to finance, and the groups targeted. The same monies can be spent on costly capital-intensive programs that benefit a select group of people as on less expensive programs that reach a larger number of folk.
