Life under Socialism, Recounted by Jose Borrajero

This article is the second of a multi-part series on life under socialism, recounted by people who’ve actually lived under socialism.

In this second interview (this first is at this link), recorded in 2012, Mr. José Borrajero describes life under Fidel Castro’s Cuba and his family’s escape to the United States.

No one is more American than a naturalized American citizen who himself or herself escaped from tyranny to live in freedom. Mr. Borrajero is a researcher, author, and activist member of the Arizona Republican Party. Some his recent writings may be found at this link.

Topics covered by Brad and José in this interview are listed in the time-line index below the video. You can watch the entire interview or skip around to topics of interest.

00:00  When Jose came to America
01:16  Life in Cuba under Batista
02:20  How Castro seemed, at first, like a good leader
03:08  Castro’s promises
04:13  Castro’s delivery on his promises
05:15  Castro’s hidden socialism blossoms openly
06:40  Castro’s round-up, trial, and execution of alleged enemies
07:32  Neighborhood spies
08:00  Confiscation of arms and real property – a personal story
09:40  The Bay of Pigs and Jose’s father’s internment in a concentration camp
10:40  Che Guevara, Castro’s executioner
11:45  What Jose thinks when he sees young people with Che T-shirts
12:15  The Cuban community in Florida
12:40  Jose’s own view on the embargo of Cuba — lift it!
14:20  Kennedy’s promises to Castro after the Cuban Missile Crisis
15:45  Castro’s concentration camps — the use of baseball stadiums
16:20  Daily life under Castro’s socialism
17:45  Why socialism failed in Cuba just as it has everywhere else
18:05  Would the right people make socialism succeed?
18:55  Socialist/Communist education of the children and the illiterate
21:05  How Jose and his younger brother, alone, came to America
23:00  Cuba’s national health care system — high quality for govt elites only
24:10 What is wrong with socialism — why is capitalism better?