A New Day for Cuba

Still, the process of restoring full diplomatic ties is far from complete. Obama is still trying to get Congress to lift the economic embargo that has been in place since the 1960s. (An embargo is an official order that forbids trade and most travel between two countries.) While the president can re-establish relations with Cuba, only Congress can completely lift the embargo. 

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of Americans support ending the embargo, saying that ignoring Cuba for so long has failed to bring freedom and democracy to the island. But some U.S. lawmakers, including Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida—a 2016 presidential candidate—argue that the U.S. should keep up the pressure on the oppressive Castro regime. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, says the policy changes will do nothing to improve the lives of ordinary Cubans.

“Economic opening and diplomatic engagement do not automatically lead to political freedom,” he recently wrote in The New York Times. “No Communist police state has ever unclenched its fist just because a McDonald’s has opened or an embassy has been established.” 

However U.S. lawmakers ultimately proceed, their decisions will have important implications for millions of Cubans.

The American debate over how to deal with Cuba is rooted in the complex history the nations share. In 1898, the U.S. gained control over the island after defeating Spain in the Spanish-American War. Four years later, Washington helped Cuba form its first government. But for decades after that, the U.S. retained the right to intervene in the island’s affairs, which fueled resentment among many Cubans.  

In 1959, the relationship between the two countries reached a new low when Raúl Castro’s older brother, Fidel, led a revolution that overthrew a U.S.-backed dictator. Shortly after seizing power, Fidel formed an alliance with the Soviet Union, America’s Cold War adversary, and set up a Communist government. (Under Communism, the government owns all land and businesses, and individual freedom is severely limited.)

Soon, Fidel began to crack down on free speech by jailing or executing thousands of political opponents. He also confiscated thousands of acres of privately owned property and millions of dollars’ worth of American businesses on the island. 

To pressure the Cuban government to change its brutal policies, then-U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ended diplomatic relations with Cuba in October 1960. He also banned nearly all U.S. exports to the island nation. Less than two years later, his successor, President John F. Kennedy, enacted a full economic embargo—banning almost all exports and imports. Relations further deteriorated in 1962, when the Soviet Union installed missiles in Cuba, bringing the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war. (After 13 tense days, the missiles were removed.) 

The embargo, which remains in effect today, has taken a huge toll on the Cuban economy. Until the early 1960s, the nation had relied heavily on trade with the U.S. Massive aid from the Soviet Union and other Communist countries helped keep Cuba afloat for decades after that. But when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, so did Cuba’s economy. 

Without Soviet aid, Cuba’s economy plummeted, and many people sank even deeper into poverty. 

Today, shortages of food and other essentials are common. Although education and health care are free, most Cubans struggle to get by on government salaries that average about $20 a month. They often depend on money sent by relatives living overseas, most in the U.S. Many things that Americans take for granted, including air-conditioning and microwaves, are luxuries in Cuba. Unable to afford new cars, many Cubans drive old American models that were built more than 50 years ago. And anyone who speaks out against the government can be harassed, beaten, or arrested.

Fed up with the lack of freedom and economic opportunities, thousands of Cubans risk their lives to escape to the U.S. every year. Many cross the Straits of Florida in rickety boats made from old car parts, inner tubes, or Styrofoam. (See map, p. 17.) About 25,000 Cubans arrived in the U.S. last year without travel visas. Hundreds of others have died attempting the dangerous journey. 

But in the past few years, there have been small glimmers of hope. In 2008, an ailing Fidel transferred power to his brother, Raúl, who has loosened restrictions on the economy and tried to reduce tensions with the U.S. Cubans can now own businesses and buy cell phones, computers, and DVD players—if they’re among the few who can afford such things.

Obama’s policy shift could provide even more relief for Cubans. Already, he has used his ­powers as president to make it easier for Americans to visit Cuba, which could help revitalize the island’s struggling economy. About 50,000 Americans traveled to Cuba during the first five months of this year, up 37 percent from the same period in 2014. Cuban officials estimate that as many as 1.5 million Americans would travel to Cuba every year if all restrictions were lifted, injecting $2 billion into the island’s economy. 

“We are very hopeful,” says Mario Otero, 25, a waiter at a privately owned restaurant in Havana that’s popular with tourists. 

Obama has also eased some business restrictions, and many U.S. companies are eager to set up shop in Cuba. Starting in July, Jet Blue began offering direct charter flights from New York to Havana. Carnival’s cruise ships may start sailing between Cuba and the U.S. next spring. And a New Jersey telecommunications company recently signed a deal with the Cuban government to offer direct long-distance calls between the two nations.  

Another major change is the fact that Americans are now allowed to send up to $8,000 a year to friends on the island, up from $2,000. That money can help Cubans afford everything from new clothes and food to much-needed home repairs.

Despite these shifts, many experts say that real change won’t come to Cuba until the U.S. embargo is lifted. Supporters of ending the trade ban say that it has stifled Cuba’s economic growth and kept most Cubans from escaping poverty. They point out that the approach of isolating our neighbor hasn’t brought significant political or economic change to the island.

“I do not believe we can keep doing the same thing for over five decades and expect a different result,” says Obama.  

But many U.S. lawmakers, especially Republicans, have vowed to keep the embargo. Ending the trade ban, they argue, will only help Cuba’s oppressive government stay in power. They say that any money that comes into the island from American tourists or businesses would benefit the Castro regime more than the Cuban people. 

“Relations with the Castro regime should not be revisited, let alone normalized, until Cubans enjoy freedom—and not one second sooner,” Speaker of the House John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, recently said. 

Experts say that the Republican-controlled Congress is unlikely to vote on whether to end the embargo anytime soon. But with 15 months left in office, Obama could continue to take it upon himself to further open trade and travel with Cuba. Carlos Alzugaray Treto, a former Cuban diplomat, says that it will be difficult for U.S. lawmakers—or the next U.S. president—to roll back the progress that’s already been made.

“The genie is out of the bottle,” he told The New York Times. “And once it’s out, you’re not going to be able to put it back in.”