August 28, 2004

Florida's Cuban-American Vote

Recent polls show the Cuban-American support for President Bush is waning. Down from an overwhelming 81% in 2000 to around 66% in this election cycle. The drop is blamed on the new remittance and travel restrictions against Cuba imposed earlier this year.

The polls may be correct. Many Cuban-Americans see the new restrictions as the US government further separating their families. Some noted Cubans, including Jose Basulto of Brothers to the Rescue and Ramon Raul Sanchez, head of the anti-Castro Democracy Movement have come out against the new policy stating that more contact with Cuban on the island is a necessary step in building bridges of communications once Castro is gone.

They may be right. But what if they are wrong? What if Cuban-Americans were allowed to travel freely to the island as before? Sure, they would be happy to see their family members still on the island. Sure, these family members could use the monetary help their exiled Cuban-Americans give them. Sure, they could use bars of soap and medicines and feminine napkins these people would bring them. But this help only serves the short run. What happens in the long run?

Every single cent that enters the island of Cuba ends up in the regimes hand in one way or another. Castro's government owns everything. The hotels, the restaurants, the resorts, the dollar stores. Everything.

Cuba is an island where everything is for sale and it's owned by a single proprietor.

You want to open a hotel in Cuba? Sure, no problem, you build it on my land with your own materials and once complete you manage it. I will supply the workforce to build it and charge you top dollar for the labor, whom, I will in turn pay out of my pocket in peanuts. You can manage the hotel once it's built also, and I will supply the labor as well. For a doorman I'll charge you $20 an hour and I will in turn pay him $20 a month. Ill do the same with the rest of the hotel staff, who will be more than happy to work there as it may get them the coveted dolares in tips.

The new restrictions are meant to lessen the flow of cash to the island. A flow of one billion dollars a year since the Clinton administration. One billion dollars a year. Thats one billion dollars more that Castro has to export his revolution - read:Venezuela, etal - throughout the Americas. That's one billion dollars a year for propaganda. One bllion dollars a year to decry the evils of the imperialist yanquis. That's one billion dollars a year Castro can use to build state of the art medical facilities for the purpose of treating foreigners with dollars. Cubans will still only get their polyclinics that open 4 hours a week.

Unfortunately, most of the Cuban-Americans that are against the new restrictions didn't come here solely for political reasons. They came here to do precisely what the restrictions are now stopping: to work and send money to relatives. It's hard to blame them of course. Who wants to be party to hurting someone's family?

What the anti-restrictions folks fail to understand is that the restrictions are not meant to be permanent. They are meant to cause irreparable damage to Castro's economy. To keep him from exporting communism. To keep him from further exploiting is people. To break down the two tier system of the island. To make Castro open up the market system in Cuba to allow Cubans to be individuals and create private enterprise.

As I have said before, for Cubans and Cuban-Americans, it's all about sacrifice.

Cuban-Americans against Bush and his restrictions need to understand that it is not about them, but about us. About we as a people who have endured Castro's hell for over 40 years. It's not about a single Cuban but every single Cuban. The majority of Cubans do not have family abroad.

There's no making deals with Fidel Castro because there's no way to come out winning. History proves that. If he is still the culprit of his people's oppression despite a bad economy, imagine the fate of the Cuban people, moreover, the fate of the Americas, with Castro at the helm of a strong and bulging economic state.

Think Fidel Castro is bad? Imagine him with money.

(Crossposted at The Command Post)

Posted by Val Prieto at August 28, 2004 08:10 AM



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Comments

Val,
You are still giving way to much credit to the almighty castro, and not giving any thought to the power of the people to effect change.
I still can not believe this self defeating line of thought is the prevailing one. In any conflict that I ever heard of you try to diminish your enemy, not put it on the highest pedestal you can find.
I am happy that the latest polls show a declining support for the restrictions. Hopefully the support for the embargo as a whole is also waning.
We (the free world) face an ever increasing threat from the freedom hating people but we must stand up to this terror where ever we find it and crush it.
Hiding behind the walls of the embargo will only prolong the eventual outcome and victory.
It's high time we take a stand and demand action and not just hollow words.

Madtom

Posted by: tom at August 28, 2004 01:29 PM

Tom: Where and how does "Fidelito" get the money for, say, his Mig parts or missles for said aircraft? Or parts for his Niva,(sp?), heavy equipment? All those pricey little items not available at your local WalMart. How does he pay for them? Do these third parties accept checks? Debit cards? Sugar? Cigars?
Someone pays for the supplies that keep him in power.
While I have your attention; ever been on the wrong end of 40 AK47's? Do you know what it is like to have someone on the other side of the country dictate what you will, or will not, have for dinner tonight? Do you know what it like not to know whom to trust?
Why do you think there are virtually no doctors, nurses,and government workers in Cuba at this moment, but political unrest and strikes in Central and South America?
I thought that you could give me some insight to what, exactly, is happening and why. I thought it would be reasonable to ask you why you believe that the embargo has not been effective and how,(if you had the power), you would resolve this. I apologise in advance for the inconvience, but please, enlighten me.

Posted by: Bill at August 28, 2004 07:22 PM

Bill,
You ask a lot of questions.
But at least they are all related. The simple answer is that the right strategy is engagement. There can be many way to carry out this plan, from a direct attack (Iraq) or a less direct drawn out plan (China). The Idea is not to let the problem fester in the dark.
You asked why the embargo failed. but the embargo did not fail. It did what it was meant to do, help fight the Cold War. From that point of view the embargo is a great success. We won the war. But that conflict is over, an today we have many more powerful weapons to deploy against the enemy like this Blog. These things were not available in 1960 but there are here today.
But they don't work on there own we have to get a foot in the door.
Many people think that as soon as the dictator dies or is replaced that the island will automatically change into the peaceful paradise that it once was, but they are forgetting 40 years of indoctrination that the people have endured.
This as I see it is the biggest obstacle to recovery.
So this is where I would start if I had the power.
If you want to know where the regime gets it's money, think Oil for Food.

Madtom

Posted by: tom at August 29, 2004 12:48 PM

Couldn't someone just kill him already?

Posted by: Bostonian at August 29, 2004 02:56 PM

Posted by: tom at August 30, 2004 06:03 PM