Cuba’s Phantom Time

the AZEL PERSPECTIVE Commentary on Cuba's Future, U.S. Foreign Policy & Individual Freedoms - Issue 416 B

José Azel's latest books "On Freedom" and "Sobre La Libertad" are now available on Amazon.  Cuba’s Phantom Time (Previously published) Share Tweet Forward

You may think this is the year 2025. However, according to the Phantom Time hypothesis we are presently living in the year 1724. The Phantom Time hypothesis advanced by German historian Heribert Illig in 1991 argues that Pope Sylvester II, Holy Roman Emperor Otto III, and Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII all got together and changed the calendar by altering existing documents and creating fraudulent historical events. The theory claims that the 297 years between 614 and 911 did not actually happen. They were made up; therefore, we are currently living in the year 1724.  Illig developed his theory after reviewing the numerous documents from the Middle Ages with forged dates, forged people and the like. These documents were forged by the Church, and Illig wondered why the Church would go to all this forging trouble. Modern scholars have confirmed the massive forgery of texts during the Middle Ages by leading Church figures. It is not known why this was an age of massive falsification by Church notables.  The Phantom Time hypothesis appears far-fetched, but it has gathered supporters such as Dr. Hans-Ulrich Niemitz whose 1995 paper “Did the Early Middle Ages Really Exist?” concludes that they did not, and that the historical chronology accounts for approximately 300 years too many.  Perhaps some of us would like to erase selected years from our personal history but, for me, the creation of fraudulent historical events, and the loss of time of the Phantom Time hypothesis brings to mind the socioeconomic myths surrounding pre-Castro Cuba.  It is a persistent untruth that Cuba in the 1950s was a socially and economically backwards country. The data show that, in 1958, Cuba was a relatively advanced country by Latin American standards and in some parameters by world standards. Today, Cuba’s relative socioeconomic position among Latin American countries is far lower than it was in 1958. A few examples to substantiate the point:  According to United Nations data, Cuba’s infant mortality rate of 32 per 1,000 live births in 1957 was the lowest in Latin America and the 13th lowest in the world. In this critical socioeconomic measure Cuba ranked ahead of France, West Germany, Israel, Japan, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Currently all these nations rank well ahead of Cuba.  In 1957, Cuba had 128 physicians and dentists per 100,000 people which placed the country ahead of the United Kingdom. In this indicator Cuba ranked third in Latin America behind only Uruguay and Argentina. Cuba also had one of the most literate population in Latin America with a literacy rank of fourth in the region.  In pre-Castro Cuba, food supplies were abundant, and Cubans were among the best fed people in the hemisphere. The United Nations ranks pre-revolutionary Cuba third out of 11 Latin American countries studied for per capita daily caloric consumption. Looking at the same countries today, Cuba ranks last in per capita daily caloric consumption. Here it is necessary to point out that this situation is not a result of U.S. economic sanctions. Cuba’s food shortages are the result of its unproductive, state-controlled economic system.  Regarding automobiles, Cuba, in 1958, ranked second in Latin America with 24 cars per 1,000 inhabitants. Today Cuba’s automobile index has barely increased to 42 while the rest of the world has increased measurably. The United States reports 842 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, and Argentina reports 316.  In the 1950s, with 45 television sets per 1,000 inhabitants Cuba was among world leaders. This measure ranked Cuba fifth in the world behind only Monaco, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. In Latin America, Cuba was far ahead of second place Venezuela which had only 16 television sets per 1,000 inhabitants. Today Cuba ranks behind Uruguay who, in 1957, had less than one television sets per 1,000 inhabitants. These patterns hold true for practically any socioeconomic measure and illustrate Cuba’s lost years of development.  Like the Church leaders in the Middle Ages, the Castro regime has falsified Cuba’s economic history and the country has lost over 60 years of socioeconomic development. This is Cuba’s phantom time.  Please let us know if you  this article. We welcome your feedback. Abrazos, Lily & José (click on the name to email Lily or Jose) José Azel, Ph.D. José Azel left Cuba in 1961 as a 13 year-old political exile in what has been dubbed Operation Pedro Pan - the largest unaccompanied child refugee movement in the history of the Western Hemisphere.   He is currently dedicated to the in-depth analyses of Cuba's economic, social and political state, with a keen interest in post-Castro-Cuba strategies. Dr. Azel was a Senior Scholar at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies (ICCAS) at the University of Miami, Jose Azel has published extensively on Cuba related topics. In 2012 and 2015, Dr. Azel testified in the U.S. Congress on U.S.-Cuba Policy, and U.S. National Security.  He is a frequent speaker and commentator on these and related topics on local, national and international media.  He holds undergraduate and masters degrees in business administration and a Ph.D. in International Affairs from the University of Miami. José along with his wife Lily are avid skiers and adventure travelers.  In recent years they have climbed Grand Teton in Wyoming, trekked Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and Machu Pichu in Peru.  They have also hiked in Tibet and in the Himalayas to Mt. Everest Base Camp. They cycled St. James Way (El Camino de Santiago de Compostela) and cycled alongside the Danube from Germany to Hungary and throughout southern France.  They have scuba dived in the Bay Islands off the Honduran coast and in the Galapagos Islands. Most recently, they rafted for 17 days 220 miles in the Grand Canyon.  Their adventurers are normally dedicated to raise funds for causes that are dear to them.  Watch Joe & Lily summit Kilimanjaro. Books by Dr. José Azel José Azel’s writings are touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone who wishes to understand why countries do, or do not, progress will find in this book the best explanations. And, from these readings emerge numerous inferences: How and why do the good intentions of leftist collectivism lead countries to hell? Why is liberty not a sub product of prosperity, but rather one of its causes? If it was in my power, this work would be required reading for all college and university students, and I would also recommend its reading to all politicians, journalists, and policymakers. With his writings Azel accomplishes what was achieved in France by Frédéric Bastiat, and in the United States by Henry Hazlitt: Azel brings together common sense with intelligent observation, and academic substance. Stupendous, Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                                    BUY NOW Los escritos de José Azel están tocados por la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquiera que desee entender por qué los países progresan, o no, encontrará en este libro las mejores explicaciones. De estas lecturas surgen numerosas inferencias: ¿Cómo y por qué las buenas intenciones del colectivismo de izquierda llevan a los países al infierno? ¿Por qué la libertad no es un subproducto de la prosperidad, sino una de sus causas? Si estuviera en mis manos, esta obra sería de obligada lectura de todos los estudiantes universitarios, pero además, le recomendaría su lectura a todos los políticos, periodistas y policy makers. Con sus escritos Azel logra lo que Frédéric Bastiat consiguiera en Francia y Henry Hazlitt en Estados Unidos: aunar el sentido común, la observación inteligente y la enjundia académica. Estupendo. Carlos Alberto Montaner                                                            Compre Aqui "Liberty for beginners is much more than what the title promises. It is eighty themes touched with the wisdom of a master, and the charm of an excellent communicator. Anyone that wishes to understand why countries do, or do not progress, will find in this book the best explanations. Stupendous" Carlos Alberto Montaner Buy Now "Libertad para novatos es mucho más de lo que promete el título. Son ochenta temas tocados con la sabiduría de un maestro y la amenidad de un excelente comunicador. Cualquier adulto que desee saber por qué progresan o se estancan los pueblos aquí encontrará las mejores explicaciones. Estupendo." Carlos Alberto Montaner Compre Aqui In Reflections on Freedom, José Azel brings together a collection of his columns published in prestigious newspapers.  Each article reveals his heartfelt and personal awareness of the importance of freedom in our lives.  They are his reflections after nearly sixty years of living and learning as a Cuban outside Cuba. In what has become his stylistic trademark, Professor Azel brilliantly introduces complex topics in brief journalistic articles. Buy Now En Reflexiones sobre la libertad José Azel reúne una colección de sus columnas publicadas en prestigiosos periódicos. Cada artículo revela su percepción sincera y personal de la importancia de la libertad en nuestras vidas. Son sus reflexiones después de casi sesenta años viviendo y aprendiendo como cubano fuera de Cuba.  En lo que ha resultado ser característica distintiva de sus artículos, el Profesor Azel introduce con brillantez complejos temas en  breves artículos de carácter periodístico. Compre Aqui Mañana in Cuba is a comprehensive analysis of contemporary Cuba with an incisive perspective of the Cuban frame of mind and its relevancy for Cuba's future. Buy now Pedazos y Vacíos is a collection of poems written in by Dr. Azel in his youth. Poems are in Spanish.