Monday, July 12, 2021
The island of Cuba is witnessing mass demonstrations concerning food and medicine shortages. These gatherings have been punctuated by calls for Libertad. Apparently, the workers have grown tired of their paradise. Protests have spread to South Florida where members of the Cuban diaspora are holding demonstrations in the streets of Miami and Hialeah. Some members of that community are even petitioning the Biden administration for a military intervention.
The Cuban government, and some within the US, blame these shortages on the US embargo (1960-present). This argument, however, is baseless. It ignores the fact that Cuba is free to trade with every other nation on the planet. Even the Helms-Burton Act (1996) which placed additional restrictions on US businesses and trade partners had no effect on the availability of food or medicine. These shortages and accompanying economic problems are political in nature.
The true culprit is Cuba’s socialist system. The regime has survived for so long only because it was propped up by third parties for most of its existence. Indeed, the economy nearly ground to a halt after the Cold War when the flow of Soviet aid dried up. Cuba experienced a slight recovery from this “Special Period” through some reforms, foreign loans, and by exploiting remittances sent by the exile community to relatives on the island. This policy has led to massive debt and diminishing trade. As early as 2003 Cuba’s economy was labeled one of the “riskiest…in the world” barely ahead of “Angola, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe and Iraq.” Indeed, as one prominent member of the exile community recently stated: “Cuba has embargoed itself.”
The Cuban government has no one else to blame for its troubles but itself. The regime has stifled not only freedom, but economic growth by exercising such an absolute control over the lives of its citizens. Cuban people are not free to improve their lives. It was only a matter of time before the dictatorship faced this kind of uprising. It shouldn't surprise anyone on or off the island that the cries of libertad are now echoing through its streets.
Petition for US involvement http://chng.it/wQqdYDBV
‘Freedom, food, vaccines!’ Mass protests in Cuba backed by US officials as president urges supporters to defy ‘foreign meddling’ https://www.rt.com/news/528952-cuba-protests-foreign-meddling/
Cuba’s president blames Washington for protests, says US sanctions responsible for shortages and ‘social unrest’ https://www.rt.com/news/529004-cuba-president-protests-us-sanctions/
Cuba’s Foreign Debt https://2001-2009.state.gov/p/wha/rls/fs/22743.htm