Fidel Castro had full control of
Cuba in 1960 and since then, the United States has feared his views toward
them. Fidel Castro has had a grip on
power and has refused involvement with the United States. The United States has had an embargo for
over thirty years.
However, Cuba is now in a serious
transition phase and needs help overcoming its problems. There has been a deinstitutionalization in
Cuba's political system. The political
regime has also become less powerful, respected, and effective.
For example, in spring 1990, Cuba
sponsored a survey when negative effects from the collapse of European
communism were being felt. "Only
twenty percent of respondents said that food supply was good, and only ten
percent said transportation was good."
A more important aspect of the poll is the fact that fifty-eight percent
of people said danger from a U.S. military attack was no longer a credible
reason for the government to be anti-USA.
This is very significant given that it was a communist-sponsored poll.
Cuba is also a country that was very
dependent upon exporting sugar, mostly to the now former Soviet Union, for
survival. This is one of many reasons
why the Unites States has alienated them.
A huge part of this alienation is the embargo that has been used by the
United States for over thirty years.
However, the embargo has not just hurt Cuba. It cost U.S. firms between five and thirty million in losses
since 1962. The embargo was founded in
1971 and has been unjust, unproductive, and has hindered the involvement of
Cuba. There are many reasons for the
embargo: Cuba violates human rights,
spreads communism and many more.
However, the United States has maintained the embargo in order to
eliminate Fidel's control of Cuba. The
fear of communism spreading became present when Eisenhower cut America's sugar
quota and the Soviet Union increased its importation by the same amount as the
cut.
One might think with the fall of the
Soviet Union that the U.S. would eliminate its embargo with Cuba. Cuba lost about six billion dollars in
Soviet subsidies. However, the U.S. has
kept the "stay tough with Cuba" ideology.
Cuba has made many efforts to change
its economic situation and relations with the rest of the world. With the decrease in the economic well being
of Cuba, Castro loosened his vice grips on Cuba's government. This paves the way for capitalism in the
country. All this activity does not end
the embargo.
Cuba is slowly changing toward a
capitalistic society, but needs assistance.
That is where Pope John Paul II visited Cuba to administer hope and
support for the faithful. In January
21, the Pope visited Cuba to help them achieve democracy. He also attacked the U.S. for an embargo
that deprives people of the bare essentials needed to survive. After the visit, President Clinton proceeded
to send aid to the impoverished people of their country.
In fact, Cuban foreign policy in the
1990's revolves around three main issues:
the U.S. embargo, human rights, and the image of Cuba in the world. According to Damian J. Fernandez, a
professor of international studies and director of the graduate program in
international studies at Florida International University, if Cuba is viewed as
a victim, then countries will not side with the United States regarding the
embargo. To solve the problems of human
rights violations, Cuba is campaigning to prove that it does not violate civil
liberties. In fact, they claim to
guarantee economic rights of all Cubans.
"The goal of the human rights offensive is twofold: first, to gain international moral capital
by rebuking the image of Cuba as a pariah state, and second, to appropriate the
language of human rights" (Cuba at a Crossroads 58). The pope's visit to Cuba is a great step
toward those goals. By doing this, Cuba
hopes to weaken opposition and disarm the U.S. embargo.
The most important factor deciding
whether the embargo will be eliminated depends on the U.S.-Cuba
relationship. It seems the White House
would like to see a deterioration of the political and economic structure on
the island without violence or direct involvement by the United States. This is extremely disappointing considering
that the U.S. is a world super power with the ability to help the
poverty-stricken people of Cuba. One
might think the President would take an active role in solving Cuba's problem,
but there are political situations that hinder Clinton's effectiveness. With the lobbying power of the
Cuban-American National Foundation (which supports Castro's government), the
Cuban Democracy Act, and the Democratic Party's attempt to influence voters
(which fails because they are overwhelmingly Republican), Washington needs to
realize its policy toward Havana has an impact on the elite politics within the
Cuban government.
One solution to ease the tension
between the United States and Cuba and help end the embargo could be an
athletic event. Since athletics brings
people closer together, an event held in Cuba would mean forward progress in
relations. In 1971, the Ping Pong
Diplomacy trip to China helped break down the barriers of communism. (Ping
Pong Diplomacy III). The use of
athletics in political negotiations allows for an ideal atmosphere.
The new atmosphere allows for
athletes like Sammy Sosa to help his country.
Now it is possible for a team like the Baltimore Orioles to play in
Cuba. Parliament Speaker Ricardo
Alarcon is in favor of allowing the Orioles to play the Cuban team. However, there are some problems with the
match up. First, the purpose of the
game may be to look for Cuban players to play in the major leagues. Second, professional players may be there
solely to practice for the sport because Cuba is a baseball power.
A better solution could be to send a
college basketball team because of purity and innocence they would bring to the
interaction. A college team that could
best choose would be Stanford University.
The school itself is synonymous with prestige and open-mindedness. The player will also bring intelligence,
confidence, poise, and maturity--something other collegiate teams may not be
able to offer.
The Stanford basketball team would
be a great representative of the United States. Planning a series of two games, one game taking place in Cuba and
one at Stanford, would be best to bring
out a sense of commonality among the countries. The first game would have to take place during the summer of
Stanford's season because of NCAA rules.
When going overseas, American teams are expected to have the resources
to fund the trip, so they carry most of the financial burden. According to Sandi Perrigan, secretary of
Stanford men's basketball, Stanford University would use the Cardinal Cage Club
and maybe some money from its corporate sponsor, even though in the past they
have not taken an active role. The trip
would cost between 75,000 and 85,000 dollars and have a crew consisting of
twenty to twenty-five people. Of course
the travel arrangements would have to be taken care of by the U.S. government
because of logistics involved in visiting the country. While in the country, both teams could
participate in an event other than basketball to facilitate camaraderie.
In the second game, it will be
easier to facilitate and more lucrative for the university. It would take place during the exhibition
season for the team. Once again travel
arrangements for the Cuban national team would have to be provided by the U.S.
or the Cuban government because of the logistics. The game could be nationally or internationally televised, with a
portion of the advertising proceeds going to aid Cuba. Stanford University would also pay the
national team upwards of ten thousand dollars for the game. The school itself will generate 60,000 to
65,000 dollars for the game. After the
huge success of the home and home series between the nations, the government
would need to follow it up with easing the sanctions to make Cuba's steps
toward democracy easier. With this
proposal and others like it, it will be possible to loosen the strong arm
Castro has on Cuba.
All Cubans want change, but want to
make it happen peacefully. This
metamorphosis can only be achieved through a process of rational reconciliation
in which all political voices are included.
It is true that many believe that Castro will not permit change, but
without the Soviet Union, Cuba will remain poverty-stricken and must change to
recover. "Modern economics depend
on access of information, on having people think for themselves...the
centralized economy and strait-jacketed political culture cannot be
competitive" (New York Times). Cuban officials understand this and will
move with the times.
Unfortunately, American policy does
not allow for the transformation Cuba seeks.
It is imperative that the United States play a less obstructive
roll. The proposal to have an athletic
even in both countries is a great way to facilitate a transformation for
Cuba. Of course, the only way change
can occur for Cuba is if there is a dialogue and a ease into such change takes
place.