Relations Between The United States and Cuba
By Angelica Becker, Becky Fisk, Mariah Hall, Cassie Murphy, and Dominic Rubio
The United States and Cuba had completely severed diplomatic relations in 1961. After decades of embargos and isolation, Cuba still has not been able to return to its former prosperity. President Obama is trying to change this situation. On April 11, 2015, President Obama met Raul Castro, brother of former dictator Fidel, at the summit of the Americas in Panama. This was the first meeting between the United States and Cuban leaders since 1961. Later in March of 2016, Obama and his family went to Cuba. This is the first time a President of the United States has stepped on Cuban soil during Presidency since Calvin Coolidge in 1928. Obama has said that "Neither the American nor the Cuban people are well-served by a rigid policy that's rooted in events that took place before most of us were born." Obama believes that it is time to try something new, and only time will tell if he’s right.
The United States and Cuba have a long history of interactions, which helps in explaining the current state of relations. It began in the 1850s, with pro-slavery Americans pushing for the purchase or forced conquest of Cuba from Spain, while anti-slavery sentiments advocated against this form of imperialism. These opposing interests were once again reignited with the Spanish American War, in which the U.S. backed a Cuban uprising against the Spanish, resulting in a supposedly independent Cuba. However, the U.S. still had a hand in Cuban foreign policy and the right to interfere in their affairs with the passing of the Platt amendment. These interventions, often military in practice, happened multiple times in the ensuing decades, both in 1906 and 1917, usually in order to safeguard their economic interest in sugar imports, despite fronts of needing to solve “political crises.” In 1933, a Cuban uprising led the establishment of a democracy, despite no support from the U.S., who stayed neutral in the conflict. However, this progress was halted by Fulgencio Batista, an authoritarian dictator who rose to power through a coup in 1952, revoking the Constitution and oppressing the people.
At this time, Fidel Castro and the Communist party he represented were beginning to gain support, as an equality-promising savior in opposition to the oppressive rule of Batista. However, the U.S., still entrenched in Cold War fears, backed Batista, who was nevertheless toppled by Castro in 1959. What followed was a time of conflict, with the U.S. pushing embargos to sabotage Cuba’s economy, as well failed assassination attempts on Castro. The Bay of Pigs is a pertinent example of the U.S.’s desperately-pursued containment policy, where CIA-trained Cubans were sent to take over the island, but were unsuccessful. Castro then looked to the Soviets for help, to which Stalin happily obliged, sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. The U.S. government was in a state of turmoil as they began intense negotiations with Cuba, with both sides pointing their nuclear weapons at each other and threatening to shoot. After a while, things settled down, but in the 1980s, new developments brought new conflict. Castro began allowing people to leave the island for the first time, prompting mass migration to Florida, where a growing population of Cuban dissidents began to extend an influence on American politics. These generation that followed would be known as ABCs, or American-Born Cubans.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, relations were still unable to be normalized despite agreement from both Clinton and Castro. The public sentiment, especially that of older Cuban-Americans, was staunchly anti-Castro, while ABCs still hoped to one day return home. After Cuba’s shooting of two private planes chartered by Cuban-American activists, Clinton ended attempts to normalize relations. When Raul Castro, Fidel’s brother, assumed control in 2008, he seemed to have provided a more progressive mindset in Cuba, which led to increased possibilities for normalizing of relations. After meetings between the Pope, Raul, and Obama in 2013, these possibilities started to become realized.
Despite the complicated history between the U.S. and Cuba, or perhaps because of it, Cuba remains relevant today. The normalization of the relations between the two countries reflects the continuing fall of Cold War Era hostilities. Moreover, the fact that Cuba is now more open to the influences of global commerce, including tourism, the state will prove to be a fascinating case study in the effects of isolation in a globalized world. Because of Cuba’s isolation from global oil and natural gas, they were forced into developing more sustainable and home-grown methods of energy. While their comparative environmental sustainability is in part due to lower standards of living, it stills serves as an interesting model for the impact of globalization on the environment. With the normalization of U.S./Cuba relations, the state will prove to serve as an interesting yardstick to compare the rest of the world with going forward.
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Good job! Very informational and detailed. How do you think the US Presidential Election might affect the US-Cuba relations that Obama wants to achieve?
ReplyDeleteGreat post you guys! I liked how you made the complicated relationship between the United Stated and Cuba more simplified, which not only made the post easy to understand, but set up the scene for future posts.
ReplyDeleteInformative post! Do you guys believe there is something in the fact of Obama opening up these relations so late in his presidency? Could it possibly be because of boosting his legacy? If he truly believes this is a sustainable diplomatic relation, why do you think he hasn't opened a dialogue with Cuba earlier in his presidency?
ReplyDelete