The Cuban people have been pursuing the benefits of
becoming more of a capitalist society. This was evolving even before President Obama
made it possible for Americans to once again visit the island. Since then it has been accelerating, particularly
in the tourist related industries with cruise lines being able to dock there. The Cuban tourist industry had been dependent
on European and Canadian visitors, but after Obama’s effort at detente more
Cubans secured governmental licenses to work as private entrepreneurs, mostly in
the tourism and related industries.
The Trump administration has been diligently working on dismantling
anything remotely connected with Obama. It
had been slowly reversing détente with Cuba and last week suddenly, without
warning, went into high gear by eliminating “people to people” visits,
including those by American cruise lines.
In one fell swoop, it cruelly damaged our relations with the Cuban people. I underscore “people” as they are the ones
who will mostly suffer this action.
Here was a golden opportunity to further win over the
Cuban people, neighbors only 100 miles off shore. Instead, we could have
undertaken a humanitarian effort to address food shortages (don’t our farmers
have an excess of food capacity because of the China trade war?). In part these shortages are due to the Trump
administration’s U.S. trade embargo, as well as poor central planning by the Cuban
government, and the decline in aid from Venezuela because of its political
turmoil. The confluence of all three has
hastened a serious food shortage.
The Bolton hardliners see isolating Cuba as a way of
punishing the Cuban government for helping keep Venezuela’s President Nicolás
Maduro in power. But the US clearly has
another agenda and that is to overthrow the Cuban government.
So much more could be won by continuing to help the Cuban
people on their path to democratization by supporting their ability to make a
living through entrepreneurship. Many
Cuban’s now make their living as guides, taxis drivers, managing B&Bs and running
restaurants.
We were among the 800,000 who have visited the island via a cruise line, and as we had booked it before the first of the Trump reprisals
went into effect, we were able to engage independent Cuban guides and tours
without any effort.
Our guide in Havana said his main income now was from being
a guide rather than work as a well educated engineer. Our guides in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba
were now full-time guides, working for Cuban companies which would not have
been possible only a few years before. Each
guide enlisted a driver for one of the old 50s cars for the day. These men diligently and proudly keep up
these old automobiles. They cleverly
fabricate parts which haven’t been available in decades. They too have become victims of this ill
conceived decree as well. Entrepreneurship is burgeoning in Cuba and we are helping
to kill it.
To put a face on this argument, here are the guides pictured
with Ann:
Our Havana Guide:
Our Cienfuegos guide:
Our Santiago de Cuba guide:
A strategy of working with the Cuban people on the one
hand, and negotiating with the government on the other would seem to be
preferable. It certainly was bearing
fruit under the Obama administration. It
is yet another failure of the cold and compassionless Trump administration; I
feel for the Cuban people. Those we met
had such high hopes that American tourism would lead them all into greater
prosperity and increase the chances of repairing relations between governments. I can imagine how this cruel act will be turned
into anti-American fodder by the Cuban government.
