The crippling sanctions on Cuba were imposed in stages between 2017 and 2020. These sanctions intensified restrictions on travel, trade, and financial transactions, reversing many of the policies implemented earlier in the 21st century aimed at normalizing relations with Cuba.
Don't care about their economics, but they exported war and terror for many years under the guise of "the revolution." They are a totalitarian dictatorship, have killed about 10,000 of their own citizens via firing squad and many more have died fleeing the country. Their population is down from 11 million to about 8.5 milion. If the trade embargo helps bring down this wretched dictatorship I'm all for it.
While it may feel good to state that, the truth is few of those sanctions were repealed in the times since. Some have been doubled-down on and new ones enacted. Others have been in place for many decades.
I would be all for it, too, if it brought democracy to Cuba, but it's doing nothing but hurting the general population. Trade embargos almost never hurt the dictators; they only hurt the general population.
So what then?
I guess the thinking is that if the general population is miserable enough, maybe they'll take action to put in a different form of government. Of course, the idea of a warm embrace, free trade, tourism, financial and material aid didn't really get tried for very long, as you point out, and that might work as well. The Cuban people are now starving in the dark and that is not a good place to be.
I don't think Castro had a real choice in the matter, considering that before Cuba rebelled, American companies, mafia and politicians sucked Cuba dry of it's resources and used it as a playground for all kinds of corruption. America decided to punish Cuba for having the gall to drive them out and take back its country. That punishment continues today because foreign companies find it difficult to deal with the embargo on trade. The result was that Russia stepped in to help and we see what the results are today.
Pre-Castro, Cuba was one of the richest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with very high levels of literacy and per capita GDP (fifth highest GDP per capita in the hemisphere). There was also a large middle and upper middle class. There was inequality and corruption, but that's endemic to Latin America. Castro pretended to be leading a "democratic" revolution but revealed himself as a Marxist after he took power, and the long slow descent into chaos began.
Trade embargos never brought dictatorships down but brought always harm to the ordinary people. As far as I know they are illegal.
Embargoes are perfectly legal. Whether they are effective or not is debatable.
Puerto Rico's power grid had problems before a major hurricane which came to light after. These places want control of the infrastructure but that means they also have to maintain it. It might be working great when they get control but without regular repair or replacement time will get degrade them.
Yep, it was a rich little country and it got siphoned off by corrupt officials and companies who sucked all the benefits of it into the pockets of American's and their affiliates. And to the detriment of the Cuban people. If you believe that every nation has a right to chose it's own way (like America does) then you have to acknowledge that what was being done to Cuba wasn't just. The fact that Castro misused his power after is unarguable, but likewise, the harm done to the average Cuban because of the ensuing embargo is also unarguable. The Cuban people are hard working, compassionate and decent folks and don't deserve to be kept in poverty and deprivation as they have been.
We're already contending with the Russia and China part of BRICS. Right now the U.S. (by world standards) is spectacularly successful. Russia is mired in war, China's economy has gone flat, the EU lags far behind us economically, and Brazil, as they say, will always have a bright future. India is definitely an area for growth and development but they would be better off hitching their fortunes to the West than to ally with the totalitarian states. BTW we could easily be energy independent by combining nuclear, renewables and fossil fuels and that would be a worthy policy goal IMHO.
The US is hardly to blame for Cuba's current woes. The embargo may hurt some but Cuba's economic collapse is due to the collapse of the USSR and the subsequent loss of sugar exports, then the collapse of Venezuela and its cheap oil deliveries. Plus the departure of the middle class and ongoing depopulation. Communism = misery.
Your post contains a mix of factual statements, partially accurate claims, and opinions. It generally aligns with current economic and geopolitical trends, but some claims are oversimplified or exaggerated.
I disagree, but that's what makes horse races. Russia is mired in war -- true. China's economy has gone flat -- true. EU lags behind US economically -- true. "Brazil will always have a bright future" -- old joke, but essentially true. India would be better off allying with the West than with totalitarian states -- ok, my opinion, but who on God's earth would claim otherwise? We could easily be energy independent -- that's from the U.S. Department of Energy.
I wonder what Cuba's economy would be like today had we not imposed all those sanctions and embargos on their economy all these years. Castro might not have made himself dictator and they might have a democratic socialistic system today. We'll never know. Communism never had a chance to succeed.
