主题：也来说说邓小平的功过 -- 达雅

Although Batista was intent on lining his pockets, Cuba did flourish economically during his regime. Cuba's wages were among the world's highest;[74] according to the International Labor Organization, the average industrial salary in Cuba was the world's 8th highest in 1958, and the average agricultural wage was higher than in developed nations such as Denmark, West Germany, Belgium, or France.[74][75] Although a third of the population still lived in poverty, Cuba was one of the five most developed countries in Latin America.[76] Only 44% of the population was rural.[77]

Gross domestic product per capita was already about equal to that of Italy and significantly higher than that of countries such as Japan at the time, although Cuba's GDP was still only a sixth as large as that of the US.[74][78] According to the United Nations at the time, "one feature of the Cuban social structure [was] a large middle class".[78] Labour rights were also favourable - an eight-hour day had been established in 1933, long before other countries, and Cuban workers had a months's paid holiday, nine days' sick leave with pay, and six weeks' holiday before and after childbirth.[79]

Cuba also had Latin America's highest per capita consumption rates of meat, vegetables, cereals, automobiles, telephones and radios.[75][79][80]:186 Televisions per capita was the fifth highest in the world, and despite Cuba's small size, it had the world's 8th highest number of radio stations (160). According to the United Nations, Cubans read 58 daily newspapers during the late 1950s, with more newspapers being read only in three much more populous countries: Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.[81] People migrated to Havana at fast pace. Havana was the world's fourth most expensive city at the time,[69] and had more cinemas than New York.[76] The economy could not always keep up with demand, however - under Batista, Cuba had the highest telephone penetration in Latin America, but thousands of citizens were still waiting to be connected to the phone network, causing mass frustration.[77]

Moreover, Cuba's health service was remarkably developed. It had one of the highest numbers of doctors per capita - more than in the United Kingdom - and the third-lowest adult mortality rate in the world. According to the World Health Organization, the island had the lowest infant mortality rate in Latin America and the 13th lowest in the world - better than in France, Belgium, West Germany, Israel, Japan, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.[75][82][83]

Education spending in Cuba was, relatively, the highest in Latin America.[75] Cuba had the 4th highest literacy rate in the region at almost 80% according to the United Nations, higher than that of Spain.[81][82][83]

[edit] Stagnation and dissatisfaction

However, the United States was the frame of reference, not Latin America.[69][77] Cubans travelled to America, read American newspapers, listened to American radio, watched American television, and were attracted to American culture.[77] Middle class Cubans dreamed of the American economy and the gap between Cuba and the US increasingly frustrated many in the mid-1950s.[69] The middle class became increasingly dissatisfied with the administration, while labour unions supported Batista until the very end.[69][71]

There were large income disparities that were a result of the fact that Cuba's unionized workers enjoyed perhaps the most extensive privileges in Latin America.[84] Cuban labour unions had established limitations on mechanization and even bans on dismissals.[79] The labour unions' privileges were obtained in large measure "at the cost of the unemployed and the peasants".[84]

Cuba's labour regulations ultimately caused economic stagnation. Hugh Thomas asserts that "militant unions succeded in maintaining the position of unionized workers and, consequently, made it difficult for capital to improve efficiency."[85] Between 1933 and 1958, Cuba increased economic regulation enormously.[71] The regulation led to declining investment.[71] The World Bank also complained that the Batista administration raised the tax burden without assessing its impact. Unemployment was high; many university graduates could not find jobs.[71] After its earlier meteroic rise, the Cuban gross domestic product grew at only 1% annually on average between 1950 and 1958.[77]