MIAMI, United States. — South Korea and Poland were two of the nations that chose the path of freedom and democracy over communism, which still exists in countries like China, Cuba, North Korea, Laos and Vietnam.
South Korea was founded as a democratic republic after World War II. However, after the Korean War, in 1953, the country was divided into two: North Korea and South Korea.
Unlike North Korea, now controlled by a one-party communist dictatorship and plunged into the deepest poverty, North Korea took another course and embraced capitalism and democracy, which allowed its economic growth and its evolution towards a more just and free society.
The example of the two Koreas marks a strong contrast between what one system and the other offer to society. To the north, a country in ruins, which operates as a fiefdom; to the south, a prosperous and developed nation that exports goods and technology around the world.
Another of the countries that straightened the course after abandoning communism was Poland. Emerged from World War II as the People’s Republic of Poland, the country applied socialism until the eighties of the last century.
Poland was, for many years, a one-party, Marxist-Leninist socialist state led by the Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR) and the popular front.
In 1989, after the fall of the so-called socialist camp, Poland returned to capitalism. Since then, the country has made significant progress, with strong economic growth and strong industry development.
Just over three decades after abandoning communism, Poland has achieved a remarkable economic and social transformation and has established itself as a competitive economy in Europe and the world.
With their particular characteristics, South Korea and Poland are two of the examples that show how capitalism, democracy and the free market can help in the reconstruction of countries like Cuba, once a jewel of the Caribbean that has now become one of the poorest nations. of the western hemisphere.
On both cases, the analyst and former Cuban political prisoner Luis Zúñiga, affirmed: “There you have what is freedom and capitalism in a country. Compare it to a communist regime. That is what can and should happen in Cuba as soon as the Castro regime ends.”
For Zúñiga, it is certain that the end of communism on the Caribbean island will lead the Caribbean country along the paths of development and democracy.
