After 54 years, the end of an exercise in
futility: The U.S. and Cuba have
restored full diplomatic ties.
And what was accomplished by the half-century
rift? Families split apart, the
isolation of a people trying only to build a better society, and a near brush
with nuclear holocaust. Yet soon an
American ambassador will present his credentials to Raúl Castro. Quite ironic when you think about it; Fidel
used to half-jokingly warn his enemies that if anything ever happened to him
they would only wind up having to deal with his even more radical brother.
But Castro the Younger has proven not to be
immune from the global neoliberal tide, permitting a limited growth of
private enterprise in recent years. It’s
not as if Cuba’s leadership has much choice.
Having survived on its own for nearly 25 years since the demise of the
Soviet Union, Cuba’s economy is in straitened circumstances to say the least. Once Cuba becomes more fully integrated into
the global economy, it will likely become still another
haven for offshoring with its finances firmly under the whip hand of the World
Bank and the IMF.
All the same, the current thaw is a win-win
for both sides. The U.S. will have entrée
to Cuban markets. Cuba still has the
Castros. I only wonder if the Cuban
people will be better off in the end for it.
©
2015 The Unassuming Scholar
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