Cuban television premieres the documentary Sicko by Michael Moore

Cuban Television recently aired the documentary Sicko, by American filmmaker Michael Moore, a production that highlights the deficiencies of the healthcare system in the United States and compares it to the Cuban model.

The film, originally released in June 2007, was featured on the state program Mesa Redonda, aiming to demonstrate how the Cuban healthcare system provides free treatments to citizens and foreigners, in contrast to the economic barriers faced by Americans in their own country.

Moore filmed part of the documentary in Cuba in 2007, when he took a group of rescuers from the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York to receive treatment in Cuban hospitals. According to the filmmaker, these individuals could not afford medical care in the U.S. due to their insurers' refusal to cover their conditions.

However, Moore's decision to travel to the island led to an investigation by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, which accused him of violating the travel restrictions imposed by Washington on its citizens.

Sicko highlights free access to healthcare in Cuba but overlooks the challenges faced by the Cuban healthcare system, marked by shortages of supplies, lack of essential medications, and precarious hospital infrastructure, a reality that citizens report daily.

The documentary also critiques the American healthcare model, highlighting the high costs of health insurance and the lack of coverage for millions of people. However, in its attempt to contrast both systems, Sicko avoids addressing the shortcomings of the Cuban system, which in recent years has been severely affected by the economic crisis and the migration of healthcare professionals.

Michael Moore is known for his provocative approach in documentaries such as Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11, the latter winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2004. Sicko, in the same vein, was presented as a direct critique of the George W. Bush administration and the power of insurance corporations in the U.S.

In Cuba, the film was received with interest by the public, although the authorities avoided addressing the internal issues of the healthcare system, focusing instead on highlighting its free nature in contrast to the American model.

The broadcast of Sicko on Cuban state television is part of the regime's propaganda strategy, which utilizes such content to reinforce its narrative about the supposed advantages of the socialist model, despite the increasing difficulties citizens face in accessing quality medical services.