Reform Needed to Truly Revitalize Cuba

Opinion

May 13, 2017

 

“Cuba Libre”: a phrase most commonly associated with a nice cool rum and Coke, with a twist of lime, easily obtained at one’s favorite market or pub and eagerly enjoyed on a hot summer day. 

“Free Cuba”: the literal translation, unfortunately has remained elusive for the resilient tropical island since it was first granted independence from Spain in 1902.

The Treaty of Paris, signed in 1898, officially ended the Spanish-American War and relieved Spain of all claims on its former empire. Simultaneously, several of those territories — the islands of Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines — were “annexed” to the United States. (Although prior amendments made it impractical to officially annex Cuba at the time, the U.S. was given powers of “protectorate” in the arrangement.) These events marked the beginning of the U.S. as a world power and the end to Cuba's chance for true independence.

Tomas Estrada Palma became the first president of the Republic of Cuba in 1902, with a constitution incorporating seven articles from the Platte Amendment — an agreement that, while guaranteeing the withdrawal of U.S. military forces, also granted the U.S. vast powers. Among them: the right to intervene unilaterally in Cuban affairs, the right to use military force to protect American interests, a pledge to lease naval bases on the island; and various powers that effectively established U.S. dominance over Cuba.

Cuba's riches proved too valuable to be immume to corruption, both political and financial. In 1906, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt sent in forces to stabilize the country after the fall of Cuban President Palma; William Howard Taft was appointed provisional governor until a new president was elected three years later.

Geraldo Machado, Cuba's fifth president and possibly most corrupt official, was later overthrown by an English-speaking sergeant, Fulgencio Batista. Batista, along with American backing, appointed himself head of Cuba's armed forces and controlled a series of “presidents” before he himself served from 1940 to 1944.

Campaigning for president in 1952 and facing certain defeat, Batista and his supporters, which included the U.S. government, led a successful coup returning him to power. Public executions, blatant corruption, and extreme human rights violations continued as Batista, in concert with the island’s wealthiest businessmen, created the largest divide between the classes. The majority of the island’s resort hotels, casinos, and farmland fell under ownership of foreign entities, including the American Mafia (as depicted in The Godfather Part II). Coincidently, Batista became obscenely wealthy in the process.

Cuba, known at the time as a playground for rich Americans, reached a breaking point under Batista's corrupt regime. Poverty, food shortages, and political persecution, contrasted by excessive wealth and luxury for the tourist and elite, set the stage for yet another coup and one of the most controversial political leaders in history.

On the evening of December 31, 1958, following the Battle of Santa Clara, overthrown President Batista fled to the Dominican Republic with $300 million U.S. dollars. On February 16, 1959, 33-year-old Fidel Castro was sworn in as prime minister of Cuba, ushering in nearly 60 years of socialism and defiance against a superpower only 90 miles away. Following the takeover by Castro, the U.S. put in place “El Bloquero,” also known as the blockade — a full financial, commercial, and economic embargo.

For the majority of the six decades that followed, Castro remained a constant reminder of the Cold War and the only real threat the United States has faced within any proximity. Incidents like the missile crisis of ’62 and the release of  hundreds of thousands of refugees — many of whom were released from Cuba's prisons and mental asylums — tested the limits of diplomacy and brought the world closer to nuclear war than at any other time in history.

The fall of the Soviet Union reduced Cuba's military relevance and began a trend toward at least a mutual tolerance. Meetings facilitated by Pope Francis between Raul Castro and President Barack Obama, and most recently, the death of Fidel Castro, spurred the first policy changes toward Cuba in decades.

Countless state businesses — once owned by Cuban nationals, then confiscated and absorbed by Castro (their owners exiled, imprisoned, and oftentimes worse) — now stand to receive the benefits of the relaxed trade policies put in place by the Obama administration.

By lifting the $100 personal import limit, countless Cuban companies (cigar, rum, etc.) — now owned by Castro family members — are experiencing substantial revenue increases while skirting trade laws. The phenomenon has left many with the opinion voiced by Mauricio Claver-Carone, executive director of Cuba Democracy Advocates in Washington D.C.: “Obama pivoted his support to Castro from the Cubans and their desire for reform.”

For all of the praise former President Obama received regarding Cuba in, there exists equal amounts of criticism and concern for his policies. With political oppression, emigration, and violations of religious freedoms at all-time highs and food supplies at all-time lows, one wonders what is actually being done diplomatically to restore basic rights and necessities to the Cuban citizens during this period of re-established diplomacy and open travel.

While tourism always has existed in Cuba, travel for Americans has been restricted to humanitarian, cultural, or similar prerequisites. Now, in the more than two years since Obama's declaration of “Charting a New Coarse on Cuba,” American tourism to Cuba has increased drastically — 77 percent in the last year alone, with commercial flights and ferries departing from the U.S each day. Although relations have warmed enough to allow travel, a full trade embargo is still in effect with the U.S.    

Cuba's hopes of rebuilding its economy with tourism threatens survival of the average citizen. Commercial overfishing has long since depleted the abundant sea life described by author Ernest Hemingway. Staples such as garlic, onions, and tomatoes are now luxuries largely supplemented by a diet of rice and beans (with occasional pieces of pork), forcing citizens to turn to an ever-growing black market. Powdered milk is shipped in from China, along with other staples like grain and rice, to help feed the 11 million Cuban citizens and estimated 3 million tourists expected to visit this year.

With the drastic increase in visitors and no foreseeable change in policy, Cuba might be facing its toughest transition yet. Hotel rooms (including meals) that recently cost $35 have jumped to $250 or more. A modest dinner of pork and rice might not be available, even for the tourist.

Just eight days prior to leaving office earlier this year, President Obama reversed the longstanding “wet foot, dry foot policy,” preventing Cuban emigrants who arrive in the U.S. without a visa from becoming permanent residents — an act described as “one more way to frustrate the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people.”

Cuba remains a country in need of real reform. For the sake of its citizens, let's hope Obama's reasoning that “the new administration would continue the path set in motion for normalized relations” comes to fruition, providing the Cuban people access to food, medicine, and the basic rights that all humans are all entitled to.