#savedyouaclick
These kinds of claims would really benefit from additional information regarding the nature of such spy stations. What would they do and why? I don't think Cuba is exactly a top tier sigint location.
They could install radar, but that's not spying.
Cuba doesn't have a lot of foreign currency, but it does have a lot of cheap labor, often shockingly skilled labor. Boiling it down to a cost in dollars may not be easy, let alone saying "China won't spend that".
Socialism is not necessarily unworkable; rather, in a world full of forces trying to destroy you — for example, under decades-long economic blockade by the United States — it is impossible for Cubans to live a normal life. The results brought by socialism may not be better than capitalism under such conditions. Of course, turning toward the United States could be even worse, meaning that a large amount of Cuba’s wealth would be transferred to and controlled by the U.S., and a pro-American regime would be established. It would be similar to how nobody cares about the Philippines, one of the poorest countries with the highest proportion of prostitution in the world, which has a U.S.-style political system, and nobody cares about the lives of the many “free” people living in slums.
Solar energy is something remarkable. It not only provides the basic necessities of life, but also gives countries and their people greater autonomy. I hope Cuba can hold on until the day it can develop its economy normally, and until the day the United States declines.
Was cuba previously generating electricity with imported oil? How were they paying for that? A gift from Venezuela? It seems possible that the solar is actually batter and cheaper than what they were paying for before but needs up-front financing, which is a general issue with solar in developing nations.