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Home> 5 Reasons Why Obama Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
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5 Reasons Why Obama Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
ByMarion Deschamps[1]/ TeleSur[2]
March 21, 2016
Noam Chomsky recently commented that the context in which Washington
decided to shift its long-standing policy of isolating the communist Cuban
government came after the fact that U.S. public opinion and business sectors
supported the end of such a policy for a long time. And in spite of that,
Washington only officially started the normalization of diplomatic relations
in December 2014.
"For decades in surveys, the U.S. population has expressed their support for
normalization of relations," he said in an interview with the Mexican daily
La Jornada. "However, by norm, public opinion is ignored. What is more
interesting is that greater sectors of the U.S. capital have been in favor
[of the normalization of relations] such as pharmaceuticals, energy and
agro-industrial sectors, among others. Usually, these are the sectors that
in effect make the decisions, but when they are ignored, this only goes to
show that there is an even greater interest in government."
Cuba expert Jeanette Habel, from Paris Sorbonne and Arnold August, author of
"Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion", gave some insights to
teleSUR, explaining which factors combined and finally pushed President
Barack Obama to radically change U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Waning Influence in Latin America
Both agree that the major factor was definitely the declining influence of
the United States in Latin America, labeled as "America's backyard" since
the Monroe Doctrine - based on isolating and controlling the "communist
virus" at whatever cost since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.
Habel recalled that President Barack Obama announced the beginning of a
normalization process in December 2014 ahead of the 7th Summit of the
Americas, due four months later. An overwhelming majority of Latin American
presidents had threatened to boycott the event if Cuba was excluded from
participating one more time. Fearing a tremendous diplomatic failure,
Obama's team decided to reach out to their Cuban counterparts in order to
start negotiating the presence of Cuba at the summit, the first step toward
a normalization of diplomatic relations.
Historians William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh actually emphasized in
their book, "Back Channel to Cuba", that since the beginning of the Cuban
Revolution, many U.S. presidents attempted to normalize relations with Cuba,
from John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the
missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top secret quest for normalization.
But now, in the context of a loss of U.S. hegemony in the region, the Cuban
issue became more pregnant. As August highlighted, "The official narrative
totally aligned with the real goal: Obama himself admitted in December 2014
that the blockade policy had failed and this failure required a change in
tactics."
The U.S. long-term strategy remains regime change in Cuba, he added. Obama
was elected with the support of the vast majority of the country's ruling
sectors, who funded his 2008 and 2012 electoral campaigns, in order "to give
a new face to U.S. imperialism," and alleviate the anti-U.S. animosity
fomented during the Bush era, August stated.
The Cuban Market
Meanwhile, the Cuban market - representing about 11 million people - was
slipping out of the U.S. business sector's hands, while their European,
Chinese, Brazilian and Venezuelan competitors have been able to invest in
Cuban infrastructures, refineries, among other things.
Therefore, this sector lobbied more and more in order to modify the
traditional political stance on Cuba. "They are less sensitive to the
political aspect of the relationship with the communist regime, and fully
support Obama's initiative to normalize relations," explained Habel.
As Washington realized that the "two-track policy" of "carrot and stick" did
not pay off, she added, they decided to remove the stick, while keeping the
carrot: the "soft-power" via the flow of dollars, investments, consumer
goods, tourism and culture.
US More Open to Negotiating with Raul Castro
Both countries reached a relatively concomitant political cycle. Raul Castro
formally took office in 2008, one year before Democrat presidential
candidate Obama was elected in the United States. Although Fidel Castro, the
historical leader, always affirmed he was opened to negotiations as long as
Cuban sovereignty was respected, the U.S. was more inflexible with him.
The Role of Pope Francis
The diplomatic shift also came at a time when foreign investment was more
aligned with Cuba's economic policies, as the country initiated a new round
of relative privatization of the Cuban economy. The church also played a
crucial role, according to Habel, at least the Cuban Catholic Church. Cuban
Cardinal Ortega advocated for national reconciliation for a long time,
preparing the ground work for the visit of the first Latin American pope in
2013.
Pope Francis directly intervened as a mediator. Part of the preliminary
talks took place at the Vatican, said Habel. Both analysts agreed that
another important factor was the evolution of the Cuban diaspora living in
the U.S., especially in the state of Florida. While the first wave of
emigrants belonged to the Cuban intelligentsia and former dictator
Battista's inner circles, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cubans
emigrated for economic rather than political reasons, seeking better
opportunities. They are more open to renewing relations with Cuba as a
communist regime.
Changing Views of Cuban-Americans
The younger generation of Cubans living in the U.S. were born in the United
States, they have relatives in Cuba, and therefore support Obama's shift
because they wish to visit them or send them money. Republican candidate
Marco Rubio failed to understand this "generational effect," said August, as
the candidate had to end is campaign after losing his home state of Florida
in the Republican caucus this week, with a virulent anti-Castro program. Now
the Latino minority living in Florida votes mostly for the Democratic Party,
added Habel. However, in Habel's opinion, the normalization of diplomatic
relations between both countries could also have, in the long run, a
devastating effect on the small island, with the flow of U.S. dollars,
investments, tourism and consumer goods. Cuba has vowed, however, that its
soveregnty will stay intact no matter what designs the U.S. may have.
Watch: Obama in Cuba: "It is wonderful to be here"
.
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Source
URL:http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/5-reasons-why-obama-radically-
changed-us-policy-toward-cuba
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/marion-deschamps
[2] http://www.telesurtv.net/
[3] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on 5 Reasons Why Obama
Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
[4] http://www.alterAlternet
Published on Alternet(http://www.alternet.org)
Home> 5 Reasons Why Obama Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
5 Reasons Why Obama Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
ByMarion Deschamps[1]/ TeleSur[2]
March 21, 2016
Noam Chomsky recently commented that the context in which Washington
decided to shift its long-standing policy of isolating the communist Cuban
government came after the fact that U.S. public opinion and business sectors
supported the end of such a policy for a long time. And in spite of that,
Washington only officially started the normalization of diplomatic relations
in December 2014.
"For decades in surveys, the U.S. population has expressed their support for
normalization of relations," he said in an interview with the Mexican daily
La Jornada. "However, by norm, public opinion is ignored. What is more
interesting is that greater sectors of the U.S. capital have been in favor
[of the normalization of relations] such as pharmaceuticals, energy and
agro-industrial sectors, among others. Usually, these are the sectors that
in effect make the decisions, but when they are ignored, this only goes to
show that there is an even greater interest in government."
Cuba expert Jeanette Habel, from Paris Sorbonne and Arnold August, author of
"Cuba and Its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion", gave some insights to
teleSUR, explaining which factors combined and finally pushed President
Barack Obama to radically change U.S. policy toward Cuba.
Waning Influence in Latin America
Both agree that the major factor was definitely the declining influence of
the United States in Latin America, labeled as "America's backyard" since
the Monroe Doctrine - based on isolating and controlling the "communist
virus" at whatever cost since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.
Habel recalled that President Barack Obama announced the beginning of a
normalization process in December 2014 ahead of the 7th Summit of the
Americas, due four months later. An overwhelming majority of Latin American
presidents had threatened to boycott the event if Cuba was excluded from
participating one more time. Fearing a tremendous diplomatic failure,
Obama's team decided to reach out to their Cuban counterparts in order to
start negotiating the presence of Cuba at the summit, the first step toward
a normalization of diplomatic relations.
Historians William M. LeoGrande and Peter Kornbluh actually emphasized in
their book, "Back Channel to Cuba", that since the beginning of the Cuban
Revolution, many U.S. presidents attempted to normalize relations with Cuba,
from John F. Kennedy's offering of an olive branch to Fidel Castro after the
missile crisis, to Henry Kissinger's top secret quest for normalization.
But now, in the context of a loss of U.S. hegemony in the region, the Cuban
issue became more pregnant. As August highlighted, "The official narrative
totally aligned with the real goal: Obama himself admitted in December 2014
that the blockade policy had failed and this failure required a change in
tactics."
The U.S. long-term strategy remains regime change in Cuba, he added. Obama
was elected with the support of the vast majority of the country's ruling
sectors, who funded his 2008 and 2012 electoral campaigns, in order "to give
a new face to U.S. imperialism," and alleviate the anti-U.S. animosity
fomented during the Bush era, August stated.
The Cuban Market
Meanwhile, the Cuban market - representing about 11 million people - was
slipping out of the U.S. business sector's hands, while their European,
Chinese, Brazilian and Venezuelan competitors have been able to invest in
Cuban infrastructures, refineries, among other things.
Therefore, this sector lobbied more and more in order to modify the
traditional political stance on Cuba. "They are less sensitive to the
political aspect of the relationship with the communist regime, and fully
support Obama's initiative to normalize relations," explained Habel.
As Washington realized that the "two-track policy" of "carrot and stick" did
not pay off, she added, they decided to remove the stick, while keeping the
carrot: the "soft-power" via the flow of dollars, investments, consumer
goods, tourism and culture.
US More Open to Negotiating with Raul Castro
Both countries reached a relatively concomitant political cycle. Raul Castro
formally took office in 2008, one year before Democrat presidential
candidate Obama was elected in the United States. Although Fidel Castro, the
historical leader, always affirmed he was opened to negotiations as long as
Cuban sovereignty was respected, the U.S. was more inflexible with him.
The Role of Pope Francis
The diplomatic shift also came at a time when foreign investment was more
aligned with Cuba's economic policies, as the country initiated a new round
of relative privatization of the Cuban economy. The church also played a
crucial role, according to Habel, at least the Cuban Catholic Church. Cuban
Cardinal Ortega advocated for national reconciliation for a long time,
preparing the ground work for the visit of the first Latin American pope in
2013.
Pope Francis directly intervened as a mediator. Part of the preliminary
talks took place at the Vatican, said Habel. Both analysts agreed that
another important factor was the evolution of the Cuban diaspora living in
the U.S., especially in the state of Florida. While the first wave of
emigrants belonged to the Cuban intelligentsia and former dictator
Battista's inner circles, after the fall of the Soviet Union, Cubans
emigrated for economic rather than political reasons, seeking better
opportunities. They are more open to renewing relations with Cuba as a
communist regime.
Changing Views of Cuban-Americans
The younger generation of Cubans living in the U.S. were born in the United
States, they have relatives in Cuba, and therefore support Obama's shift
because they wish to visit them or send them money. Republican candidate
Marco Rubio failed to understand this "generational effect," said August, as
the candidate had to end is campaign after losing his home state of Florida
in the Republican caucus this week, with a virulent anti-Castro program. Now
the Latino minority living in Florida votes mostly for the Democratic Party,
added Habel. However, in Habel's opinion, the normalization of diplomatic
relations between both countries could also have, in the long run, a
devastating effect on the small island, with the flow of U.S. dollars,
investments, tourism and consumer goods. Cuba has vowed, however, that its
soveregnty will stay intact no matter what designs the U.S. may have.
Watch: Obama in Cuba: "It is wonderful to be here"
.
Share on FacebookShare
Share on TwitterTweet
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'.[3]
[4]
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Source
URL:http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/5-reasons-why-obama-radically-
changed-us-policy-toward-cuba
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/marion-deschamps
[2] http://www.telesurtv.net/
[3] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on 5 Reasons Why Obama
Radically Changed U.S. Policy Toward Cuba
[4] http://www.alter
