Castro or Pinochet: Worse Dictator?

[Jacobtm]

These are Latin America's best two leaders in the modern era.

In their own ways, Cuba and Chile have overcome many of the issues that continue to plague the rest of Latin America.

First of all, you can look at the UN's measure the Human Development Index, and not that Chile and Cuba are currently the top two Latin American countries by this measure.

In Cuba they have eliminated a lot of the extreme poverty that is all too common without Latin America. Obviously they aren't doing great by American standards but the amount of people who are absolutely destitute is miniscule compared to any other Latin American country. The AIDs rate there is the lowest in the Caribbean, lower than the U.S., thanks to Castro's prompt quarantining of anyone with HIV in Cuba. Infant mortality in Cuba is famously lower than in the U.S. The homicide rate in Cuba is lower than that of the U.S. as well.

Chile is the opposite, they are the most prosperous country in Latin America, and very safe as well. Their homicide rate is right on par with the U.S. Their HDI is the highest in Latin America, and since Pinochet their country has been remarkably stable and easily the best place to live in South America.

Here are some comparisons:

Homicide rate per 100,000:

Cuba: 4.2
U.S.: 4.7
Chile: 3.1
Argentina: 5.5
Costa Rica: 8.5
Peru: 9.6
Panama: 17.5
Dominican Republic: 22.1

The fact that most people think these two men deserve scorn shows a real lack of caring about outcomes of governance. Both of these men were NOT democrats and provided better results for their countries than corrupt Latin American democratic government has provided practically anywhere.