Overview
Viva Revolution! It is the end of an era in Cuba. Fidel Castro has stepped down as leader of the island. Fidel Castro had ruled the island since he led a Socialist revolution to overthrow the dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. Batista had opened the island to US business – especially casinos. However, when Castro took power, he forced the companies to sell their assets to the government at extremely low prices. The companies saw this as theft, though the pries they were offered were the values they had set on their businesses to avoid Cuban taxes. Castro originally denied any ties to Communism and set up a meeting with president Eisenhower. However, when the US snubbed his diplomatic envoy – mainly because the country had lost a fortune when he took over, Castro turned to the Soviet Union to support his new government. Considering his status as a Socialist and ally to the USSR has led to an US embargo on the island since 1962. On February 24, 2008, he handed the presidency to his brother Raul. Considering this change will affect Cuba, US foreign policy, and international leftist politics, it is certainly worthy of a little extemp examination.
Key terms and Figures
The Embargo: The US embargo against Cuba is an economic, commercial, and financial embargo imposed on Cuba on February 7, 1962, enacted after Cuba took the properties of United States citizens and corporations. The embargo was codified into law in 1992 with the stated purpose of “bringing democracy to the Cuban people”,and is entitled the Cuban Democracy Act.
Fidel Castro: Former leader of Cuba. (see Overview)
Raul Castro: 76-year-old brother of Fidel. Appointed president when Fidel resigned. Generally seen as a more pragmatic leader. Suggested he will shrink government and open political ties. His first diplomatic meeting as president was with an envoy from the Vatican – a state traditionally at ends with Communist nations.
Hugo Chavez: President of Venezuela. Sees himself as the heir to the Bolivarian (Leftist) revolution now that Fidel is out of politics. Has tried to position Leftist Latin states against the US. Generally had Cuban support. If this trend continues under Raul has yet to be seen.
Cuban Diaspora: Since the revolution, over 120,000 Cubans have claimed refuges status in the United States. Currently, US law stipulates that any Cuban that reaches US soil will be automatically gain refugee status. This policy called the “wet foot, dry foot” policy was a revision of a 1966 law that allowed all Cubans that made it to US waters to gain refugee status. The majority of Cuban refugees have settled in Florida and have a substantial lobby in Washington. This lobby has been strong ensuring anti-Fidel policy and pro-democracy, and is often blamed for the hard-line stance against the island.
Major Issues
Implications for Cuba Proper: The ascension of Raul could majorly change life for the average Cuban. Most notably, he could move Cuba towards a Chinese style “Communism.” This would mean that the government would regulate and provide incentives for private business, rather than controlling all of the economy. Such a move could drastic bolster the growth of the Cuban economy, especially if this opened the door for foreign investment and property ownership. However, Raul’s record on human rights is abysmal, some arguing that the is more ruthless than Fidel ever was. Thus, while the change of leadership may open up economic development, it may not lead to the democratization, free press, or lighten police presence that many Cubans – especially exiles – desire.
Future of US Cuban Relations: The future of US-Cuban relations will almost certainly be an issue facing the next President of the United Sates. McCain has publicly denounced Raul for cruelty. However, both Clinton and Obama have pledged to meet with the leader of Cuba. Obama has gone as far to say that this meeting would be condition free. Neither is currently for lifting the economic sanctions, although this is a shift from Obama’s senate campaign (where he called for immediate cessation of the embargo). If Raul liberalizes Cuba, the businesses of America will push for any opportunity to rebuild Cuba as a vacation and plantation hotspot. This, combined with the fact that the Cuban lobby is less likely to pressure the government away from Raul, suggest that the next president will be more likely to have the political support necessary to begin to normalize relations with Cuba. This thaw will also be supported because an increasingly large percentage of Cuban-Americans never lived in Cuba, and as such harbor less resentment towards the Castros and more hope for the future.
Political Leadership of the Latin Left: Finally, the end of Fidel represents the end of era of the great Communist/Socialist leaders. The USSR has fallen, China is now an authoritarian capitalist state, and Socialist governments throughout Africa have fallen. As such, the only real voice of leftist politics globally has been Latin America. While Fidel was an icon of the revolution, a fighter, an idealist and a patriot (in the eyes of the Left). None of the current South American socialist leaders has the credentials to be such a symbol of the Left. In the void, Hugo Chavez is hopping to use his oil wealth to build himself as a leader of leftist politics. This will have two major implications: First, because Chavez is decidedly anti-American, he will try to maintain the distance between the US and leftist Latin countries that Castro always maintained; second, in the absence of a revolutionary icon, the Latin Left is more likely to be defined by its opposition to the United States, rather than attachment to a revolutionary ideology. This could undermine the ethos of the movement and certainly decrease the propensity of international support for these nations.
Potential Questions
Will Raul liberalize Cuba?
Should the US lift the Cuban embargo?
What opportunities will Raul provide for European businesses to enter Cuba?
Will Venezuela emerge as the leader of leftist politics?
Will the resignation of Fidel lessen the power of the Cuban-American lobby?