In this Stossel report, John Stossel takes on the romantic myths that still surround communism, especially in Cuba. For many young people and celebrities, Che Guevara’s face on a T-shirt, Fidel Castro’s speeches, and images of vintage cars in Havana seem cool, rebellious, and even compassionate. Stossel asks what lies behind that image, and whether the reality of life under Cuba’s communist government matches the glamour.
The video looks at the claims often made for communism in Cuba: free health care, free education, and equality for all. It then tests those claims against the shortages, rationing, low wages, and lack of freedom that Cubans have lived with for decades. Stossel also examines the cult around Che Guevara, a figure celebrated in the West as a hero of the poor, but remembered by his victims as a ruthless enforcer of the revolution who helped build a system of prisons and executions.
For viewers, this report matters because myths shape politics. When communism is presented as cool, its human cost is easily forgotten. By separating the slogans from the lived experience in Cuba, Stossel shows why the romance of revolution should be challenged, and why freedom, free markets, and free speech offer a better path than the system that Cuba’s rulers have imposed.