The great irony: Cuba taught Vietnam how to grow coffee, now we buy it from them.

Did you know that Cuba, which was a reference in coffee production in the Caribbean and the world, sent experts to Vietnam to teach them the best cultivation techniques?

In the 1970s, Cuba and Vietnam established a relationship of agricultural cooperation as part of the "solidarity" among socialist countries. In that context, Cuba sent agricultural experts, especially in coffee cultivation, to help Vietnam develop its coffee industry.

This collaboration program focused primarily on the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, where Cuban specialists provided training and shared cultivation and agricultural management techniques, improving local practices. During those years, Cuban experience in coffee cultivation, particularly in harvesting and processing techniques, played a crucial role in the rise of Vietnamese production.

Vietnam, with the help of these experts, went from being a modest coffee producer in the 1980s to becoming, over the years, the second largest coffee exporter in the world. Cuban collaboration was key in the development of the Vietnamese robusta coffee plantations, which now dominate the global market.

Cuban collaboration was key in the development of Vietnamese robusta coffee plantations, which now dominate the global market.

What was once a sign of cooperation and agricultural leadership is now, ironically, a reminder of the absolute collapse of Cuban agriculture. In a cruel twist of fate, Cuba, which taught Vietnam how to grow coffee, is now forced to import it from that Asian country.

This decline is not an isolated fact; it is part of the long and systematic destruction of Cuban agriculture, led by Fidel Castro's centralizing and absurd policies. What once was a fertile and prosperous island, capable of feeding its population and exporting agricultural products to the world, today drags along in agricultural misery that forces the country to depend on others for the most basic needs.

The irony of coffee is just a symbol of a greater disaster. For decades, Castro's revolution was sold as the solution to inequality and the exploitation of the country's resources, but the result was exactly the opposite. Livestock, which at its peak allowed every Cuban to have access to beef and fresh milk, collapsed to the point where beef is a luxury that few on the island can afford. Even milk, which Castro promised would be abundant, has disappeared from the daily life of the average Cuban.

The same pattern is repeated in the sugar industry, which once was the economic engine of the country. Cuba went from being the largest exporter of sugar in the world to a state in which its mills are rusted and in ruins, unable to compete in the global market or meet internal needs. A similar situation occurs with the production of fruits and vegetables, which once supplied both local and foreign consumption. Today, these products are scarce, and imports have taken control of the markets.

Cuba went from being a model to follow to a case study of what should not be done in agricultural management. The history of Cuban coffee and its current dependence on imports is not just a painful irony; it is the palpable evidence of a historical failure. Meanwhile, the Cuban people continue to pay the price for those misguided decisions, facing shortages in what was once a land of abundance.

Cuban people can no longer sing "Ay mama Inés, ay mama Inés, All the blacks drink coffee."