The article offers a criticism of the point of view that disaster programs in Cuba should be emulated by other countries. It shows the relationship that exists between disaster vulnerability and resilience, to shed light on the promises as well as the problems of using Cuba as a model to emulate in social development. Cuba has an excellent record when it comes to disaster preparedness and response involving warning and evacuation, in which governmental control of the population is used very effectively to minimize the potential morbidity and mortality of hurricanes and tropical storms. It nevertheless has a very poor record in dealing with disaster reconstruction, recovery, and mitigation as well as with solving slow onset chronic problems and vulnerabilities of the population.
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