Dr. Ernesto Dominguez Lopez, a history and political science professor at the University of Havana, Cuba came to talk about Cuba’s past and presence in the 21st century. Two unique things of Cuba’s past are that they are dependent on trade with other countries and they have fast migration in and out of Cuba. There are nearly two million people who are in the United States currently who are originally from Cuba.

Cuba’s recent history can be tracked back to the 1959 Revolution that lead to Castro taking over the country leading to a great time for Cuba, because Castro traded with the Soviet Union. After the collapse of the soviet power, Cuba was alone and internationally isolated.

The ‘wet feet, dry feet’ policy began after their international isolation. This policy allowed anyone that fled Cuba and made it to the United States, to apply for citizenship after living in the United States for one year.

After 1991, internal reform led to large reforms of the economy and politics in Cuba, including a 10-year law regarding the amount of time that can be spent in office by a single person. This began so that there would not be a Castro in a government position in 2018.

“[I came to hear about] how the political climate changed between the United States and Cuba,” senior business major Chris Wozniak said.

Other changes include how they have not had a president since 1976, just a parliament to keep the power with the people of Cuba. They have also opened themselves up to foreign partnerships. Free health care, social justice and all education are also available for all Cubans.

“I came to hear of the state of their economy,” senior international studies major Aaron Kelsey said. “I was very impressed with the different ways that Cuba has changed.”

One of Cuba’s main ways that they have shown change among their people is their schooling. School in Cuba is free which allows Cuba to have a 97 percent literacy rate. This is available for all residents and anyone that wishes to study, no matter where they are from.

Cuba spends 10 percent of their budget on education. They have 47 different universities and they are all public. Their medical program allows for a large amount of students, which is shown through the large amount of doctors that come from Cuba and work in other countries.  Doctors, medical staff and medical equipment are considered one of Cuba’s most important commodities.

Apart from two countries, Cuba is on a good status with the rest of the world.