Opinion Archive

What to Make of Cuba 

February 27, 2008

For a Caribbean island with only about 11 million people, Cuba has caused a lot of trouble. It created a war between the United States and Spain in 1898. It nearly brought the end of civilization during the missile crisis between the US and the Soviet Union. It corrupted various American presidential administrations, linking them with renegades and criminals in order to try a botched invasion and several assassination attempts on its anti-American ruler. And, for nearly 50 years its dictatorship has inspired murdering guerrillas, misguided romantics and wanna-be despots all over Latin America.

From Argentina to Alaska, Cuba is a conversation-stopper. Leftist contrarians cite the Communist regime’s achievements in the areas of health and rote learning (education, in the full sense, would require more freedom of speech than Cubans are allowed). They point out that the island’s repression of basic liberties has created an egalitarian society, which is preferable to Latin America’s usual combination of very rich and very poor societies. Others are appalled by the material shortages and the violence the military junta uses to crush dissent. To the claim that Cubans live in a Socialist paradise, they point out the many benefits foreigners in Cuba enjoy that are unavailable to the locals. More objectively, on the Human Development Index several Latin American countries rank above Cuba, and even unequal Mexico is nearly on par with it. Certainly, the fact that despite harsh visa restrictions many Cubans have flocked to Mexico and that few Mexicans (who don’t have trouble getting Cuban visas) move to Cuba, is telling.

Whatever one’s point of view, Cuba has always been important for both Mexico and the US. Hernán Cortés began modern Mexican history by leaving Cuba for the shores of today’s Veracruz. Four hundred years later, Fidel Castro trained and funded his revolutionaries in Mexico, reversing Cortés’ trip on a yacht called the “Granma”. Later, in a grand bargain with the the then-ruling PRI, Mexico was spared much violence when Castro agreed not to foment insurrection in Mexico, in exchange for Mexico’s tacit support and crucial mediation vis-à-vis the United States.

With respect to the United States, Cuba has always brought out the worst in the superpower. From poorly executed subjugation of the island in the early 20th century, to embarrassing pettiness during the embargo, Americans have made costly mistakes. Ironically, they have allowed its 1.5 million-strong Cuban community, which has enjoyed unprecedented easy access to US citizenship, to dictate its Cuba policy from the beginning of the Castro regime. The angry intelligence of the Cuban diaspora, added to the pivotal electoral importance of Florida, has meant that American politicians have committed themselves to policies that have hurt the US strategically and diminished it in the eyes of the world.

Today, Fidel Castro is stepping down, providing an opportunity to correct some of the emotional excesses that have tainted our continent’s relations with the island. For Mexico, a “normal” Cuba would reduce some of the destructive attraction that the Castro regime has excercised over a significant portion of our left. On the negative side, a major challenge would arise for Cancún, given that Cuba would quickly rise as the Yucatán’s most important competition for tourist dollars. Nevertheless, Mexican multi-national companies like Cemex and América Móvil could find many economic opportunities in an open Cuba.

The US would certainly benefit from normalized relations with its Caribbean neighbor. Americans would probably gain the most from the commercial opportunities and, more significantly, removing the embargo and allowing its citizens to visit Cuba would put much international bad blood behind it.

As things currently stand, there is little hope of quick liberalization on the island. Foreigners have very little direct influence on what happens there and will probably be disappointed when the regime does not fall apart after its charismatic leader has gone. Nevertheless, for both Mexico and the US, ostracizing Cuba has had more drawbacks than benefits. Who can forget President Fox’s humiliation when Castro released a recording of him saying that the Cuban should leave the country quickly after a summit in order not to inconvenience President Bush? Mexican leaders always lose credibility when they are seen to pander to the United States with respect to their position on Cuba.

History has shown that Cuba is dangerous when it is slighted. The nuclear threat is gone, but in a world with terrorism, where hundreds of millions of people would like to see America’s downfall, Cuban real estate is too close to Florida for comfort. Even if our two democracies do not get the type of liberal regime we would like to see in Cuba, it’s time to engage with the island’s rulers. The mingling of our people – through commerce and tourism – could be a powerful incentive for Cubans to put their destructive political tendencies behind them.

For the latest thought-provoking article by Agustin Barrios Gomez please go to our Opinion Column page

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