Harry's Place

In sight?

The embargo is pointless. And even if it is ended and doesn’t help bring democracy to Cuba, it can always go back on again. We’ve tried the embargo for 50 years, lets try it without for a few.

The embargo is one of the things keeping Castro in power – they, the communists, can always point to the scary Yankee not so far away etc etc etc. Jessie Helms was Castros biggest enabler for years.

“she got the sense that “he really wants President Obama to succeed” in his foreign policy goals. “He sincerely wants an opportunity, I think, in his lifetime to see a change in America.”

Fawning nonsense. America’s foreign policy isn’t, and shouldn’t be, governed by what this vicious thug “wants”.

Whilst Florida’s electoral politics and the anti-Cuba lobby are undoubtedly important factors in the maintenance of the economic blockade against Cuba (it’s a leaky blockade rather than an embargo, because it penalises third party countries and businesses), their influence is overstated.

The US sponsored coup against Hugo Chavez and the ongoing disinformation campaign against Venezuela, is recent evidence that US policy continues to be principally driven by imperial ambition, rather than by emigre elites in Miami or elsewhere. The Cuban-American tail is not wagging the imperial dog, although it might suit the dog to allow that impression to persist.

The original aim of the blockade was to effect regime change by impoverishing the Cuban people in order to provoke a counter-revolution, and self-evidently that has been a disasterous failure. This failure has led many to conclude, wrongly in my view, that the blockade is nothing but a cold war anachronism that makes no sense.

The attempt to isolate Cuba – politically, diplomatically and economically – serves two additional and very practical purposes.

The first is to try to turn Cuba into a bad advert for socialism, by pointing to their economic difficulties and blaming them on the intrinsic unviability of socialism.

The second is to send a powerful warning to other Latin American countries of what might befall them should they also assert their independence from the USA, and move in a non-capitalist direction.

Obama has indicated that he intends to relax some aspects of the blockade, particularly the punitive restrictions on Cuban-Americans travelling to the island and the limits on the amount of cash they can spend whilst there. However, the sticking point is likely to be the lifting of the ban on ordinary Americans travelling freely to Cuba, and ending direct and third party economic sanctions.

Were Obama to unconditionally end the blockade, Cuba (which has also recently discovered vast off shore oil reseves) would experience an economic boom. Take tourism, which is Cuba’s biggest hard currency earner. Industry analysts suggest that the number of tourists visiting would double or triple almost overnight – the only problem would be building the hotels fast enough.

What of the political consequences?

Plucky little Cuba would be seen to have beaten the United States in their backyard. This is hugely important, but the consequences go well beyond the symbolic. Cuba would be transformed from an impoverished island with an excellent health and education system – much admired but rarely copied – to a success story for socialism.

How can the US allow that? How would this be interpreted by Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Bolivia’s Evo Morales? By the millions of impoverished Latin Americans for whom Fidel and Che are God-like figures?

Some argue that mass US tourism would undermine popular support for socialism, as Cubans would get to see how much richer these democracy-loving North Americans are. But Cuba has already managed the mass influx of tourists from Europe and Canada for over fifteen years, without it leading to a politcal collapse. Most Cubans are not stupid. They already know that the USA is far more wealthy, and they know the bloody history that lies behind that wealth. Cubans compare themselves not to the US, but to the much poorer Caribbean and Latin American countries, with whom they share a common history of European colonialism and US imperial exploitation.

Others argue that Cuba would agree to reform its political system and ‘Chinafy’ its economy, in return for the lifting of the blockade. But the only evidence offered in support of this proposition is a misunderstanding of Raul Castro’s economic and managerial reforms (perfeccionamiento empresarial) which are about improving efficiency by adopting modern management and accounting practices, not about creating an indiginous ‘Chinese-style’ capitalist class.

Indeed, Cuba’s leadership has quite explicitly rejected the Chinese road, and remain adamant that they will maintain their 50 year long policy of not negotiating on issues of national sovereignty or their political system.

Of course, as Fidel Castro has himself said, the revolution could be defeated from within. If this happens, or if US policy makers believe it likely to happen, then the blockade may be lifted. Yet for almost 50 years the Cuban revolution has demonstrated a resiliance that has astonished most Anglo-Saxon politicians and analysts. Provided that Cuba remains defiant, I suspect that the blockade will be with us for some time to come, Obama notwithstanding.

I hope they do get rid of the embargo. It will be better for the Cuban people and hopefully hasten the end of Cuba’s isolated and crippled communist regime.

It’s a bit sicky though, isn’t it? Castro wants to see change in America in his lifetime? Cuba’s the country that needs to change and stop banning political dissent and free trade unionism, not liberal democratic America. These respected Congressmen and women can fuck off, quite frankly.

Castro will do something to sabotage any rapproachment. He always does.

“the ongoing disinformation campaign against Venezuela, is recent evidence that US policy continues to be principally driven by imperial ambition”

Oh, dear. The nutters have arrived.

What about all those vibrant, vital, successful non-embargo countries like Haiti? Cuba has normal relations with almost the rest of the entire world. Blaming the embargo for everything that’s gone wrong with them including the WHOLE Soviet era where the 3CP paid Cuba 3x the market rate for their sugar in order to keep their workers’ paradise economy afloat is just stupid and silly. People point to their old American cars as ‘proof’ that we’re oppressing them. What? Are there no Fiats? Are there no SEATs?

“The first is to try to turn Cuba into a bad advert for socialism, by pointing to their economic difficulties and blaming them on the intrinsic unviability of socialism. ”

Because putting political opponents (and, until recently, homosexuals) in jail isn’t a bad enought advert? Strweth.

“Cuba would be transformed from an impoverished island with an excellent health and education system – much admired but rarely copied – to a success story for socialism. ”

Blimey, have you ever been to Cuba? Nobody who has travelled there with a open mind will ever imagine it is a success story of any kind. Castro will hope the tourists can be safely herded into resorts, a strategy that has been reasonably effective so far, but it won’t survive a massive influx from the USA and a lot of naifs will discover the truth that Cubans are poor beyond their imaginings and desperate, surviving largely (in the cities) on a massive, police-controlled sex industry and gangsterism.

Cuba’s leadership… remain adamant that they will maintain their 50 year long policy of not negotiating on… their political system.

Cuba’s dictators remain adamant that they will not let their citizens choose their own government. And you write this as if it is some kind of heroic, principled stand? No wonder you support the violent overthrow of Venezuelan democracy.

I do hope the embargo is done away with. I imagine that once Castro dies the process will speed up.

Just learned that some of the folks central to the “old” Social Democrats USA of the 1970s-1990s who were active as either staffpeople or laypeople {primarily the former} have formed something called “The Committee for Free Trade Unionism” – see its website here: http://www.freetrad eunionism. org/ {NOTE: The website address was either created or registered by its chair, Tom Donahue in April 2008, but this is the first I’ve heard / seen of the organization. }

Looking at its informational resources / articles section, as well as its informational resources / links section, and the agenda of its initial conference a few days back, it appears that a key priority if not its sole priority has to do with Cuba.

Of course, that’s http://www.freetradeunionism. org/

Cuba is the country to which I would move if I really did want a government that persecuted those who engaged in homosexual acts.

Now that there is no longer an American Administration full of people who have never recanted their Trotskyism, President Obama should lift the entire blockade, which only attracts sympathy to this regime that does not deserve it, perhaps most notable as the model for Britain’s impregnable pseudo-comprehensive schools by means of which the real, but vigorously self-denying, ruling class perpetuates itself from generation to generation.

He has already shown his indifference towards the Israel Lobby’s damaging of American interests. So he should have no problem against the anti-American activities of vastly less numerous Cuban pretend-exiles, who are in fact economic migrants and free to go back any time they like, and who, far from being conservative, merely wish to restore the Cuba that existed before 1959, a giant drug den and brothel for the American super-rich.

If you travel to Cuba the best way to make friends with ordinary Cubans would be to bring along spare parts to a 1956 Chervolet!

(So much for the glorious triumph of the Cuban Revolution)

Agree with Neil W that the Embargo should be dropped, but, like Mesquito suspect that the Castro Brothers will do something to sabotage efforts to do so.

Note: Comrade Zin, your arguements would be more convincing if they were not word-for-word recititaions of Chomsky speak.

The first is to try to turn Cuba into a bad advert for socialism, by pointing to their economic difficulties and blaming them on the intrinsic unviability of socialism.

Cuba has been a bad advert for socialism for a very long time. Even when it turned itself into an economic dependency of the USSR, while still being able to trade with most of the world, the Cubans suffered shortages, underemployment, the inability to transport goods effectively from producer to consumer and poor planning. Just like any other socialist economy. If there were a socialist economy that had gone from strength to strength over fifty years, which would show that Cuba’s problems were all down to the embargo, then you might have a case. But there isn’t and you don’t.

The second is to send a powerful warning to other Latin American countries of what might befall them should they also assert their independence from the USA, and move in a non-capitalist direction.

The US shows no sign of placing an embargo on Chavez, though he has been in power for ten years. Indeed it is Chavez who threatens to embargo the US.

But Cuba has already managed the mass influx of tourists from Europe and Canada for over fifteen years, without it leading to a politcal collapse.

Much like Franco’s Spain or Tito’s Yugoslavia.

Indeed, Cuba’s leadership has quite explicitly rejected the Chinese road

An interesting explanation of the recent purges. Of course the Chinese road involves allowing ordinary people access, albeit limited, to the internet. Wouldn’t want to go too far, would we? The working class might revolt.

The embargo should go. Let’s see if the Castros are prepared to let Cubans spend their money and work for whom they please.

“the Israel Lobby’s damaging of American interests”

Perhaps Lindsay should check under his bed tonight in case there are Yids hiding there.