During the visit of President Barack Obama to Cuba, the plans of the Obama
administration for Cuba became clear. The United States is seeking to
expand the Cuban class of small entrepreneurs, with the intention that the
merchant class will constitute itself as force for political change in Cuba.
With increasing ties to US capital, the emerging merchant class would
advocate less restrictions on foreign capital, which the Cuban socialist
state has developed in order to ensure that the country does not fall under
the control of foreign capital and that foreign investment does not have
negative social and environmental consequences for Cuba.
The pretext for the US interventionist plan is support for democracy and
the protection of human rights. Obama maintains that Cubans should have
freedom of expression and freedom of religion, and that Cubans should be
able to choose their political leaders. Consistent with the general
tendency of the US political establishment, the Obama administration is
unable or unwilling to see that the Cuban system provides full protection
for political and civil rights in the context of alternative structures of
popular democracy, which are different from the structures of
representative democracy. The Cuban political culture has been formed by
popular movements in opposition to colonialism and neocolonialism since
1868.
Since December 17, 2014, the Obama administration has made changes in US
restrictions on trade and investment with respect to Cuba. These changes
benefit the Cuban entrepreneurial class. But restrictions on commerce with
Cuba that would have benefits for the Cuban state enterprises remain for
the most part in place. In addition, Obama has stated that Congressional
action to entirely eliminate the US blockade of Cuba would be hastened by
changes in Cuba with respect to democracy and human rights. Thus the
United States continues to pursue a strategy of economic sanctions and
economic coercion in order to promote changes in the Cuban political
system, which has been formed by the people in movement.
The Obama plan for Cuba is in tension with the Cuban approach to the
normalization of relations. Cuba has called for “civilized coexistence,”
in which Cuba does not try to change the United States, and the United
States does not try to change Cuba, with full respect for the principle of
sovereignty.
Please visit my blog posts on this theme: “Obama stresses human rights in
Cuba” 3/23/2016; “Obama seeks to expand Cuban middle class” 3/24/2016;
“Obama’s historic address to the Cuban people” 3/25/2016; “Cuban and US
economic perspectives” 3/26/2016; “A softer imperialism, not yet civilized”
3/28/2016. They can be found at:
http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/blog-umlthe-view-from-the-southuml/category/cuba-today
.
Charles McKelvey
Professor Emeritus
Presbyterian College
Clinton, South Carolina
Section on Political Science from the South
Division of Philosophy and History
University of Havana
Havana, Cuba
