For over 60 years, Cuba-American relations have been tumultuous at best, with widespread sanctions and political animosity playing a large part in the two countries’ relationship.
As of this month, United States President Donald Trump has stated publicly his desire to end the current communist form of government within the country. Talks between the two countries have also now been confirmed.
Due to this development, much misinformation about the economic and political state of Cuba is being spread, particularly in terms of how severely affected the country has been by American sanctions and which of these sanctions affect certain goods. Having been to Cuba myself and through interviewing a mutual friend from Havana, who would prefer not to be named in this article, I can attest to how dire these circumstances are.
Economic sanctions are restrictions that limit the freedom of a state or group of people. The sanctions which the US has placed on Cuba directly restrict financial commerce between the two countries, as well as with countries which are heavily allied with the United States. Given that Cuba is a small island nation geographically positioned close to the US, these sanctions have halted much of the country’s economic growth.
That being said, private companies are allowed to trade with the United States for goods such as food or medicine. Trade with American adversaries such as Russia, China, and Iran is also common within the country. Cuba imports medicinal goods to the United States as well, with my interviewee attesting, “I know it because I have family and friends who live there [Miami] and call me from the store because it is outrageous that we can hardly find those here, and it can be easily found there.”
Both within Havana and in the countryside, it’s obvious the negative effect this restriction has had; most houses are run down, and many are without consistently running water. In one tourist sector, a set number of streets had been noticeably maintained, with non-maintained buildings just one street over for residential civilians. Infrastructure is prioritised towards the avenues of the economy which will generate the most money, not those that will help the most people.
Inflation is also a major problem within the country, with the price of one euro set at the equivalent of 28 Cuban pesos. Monthly salaries within the country can vary between 392 and 6,649 Pesos, or 14 to 237 euros. Most citizens without state sector jobs fall in the lower half of this range. Inflation to this degree is a leading factor for why Cubans look towards other countries for work, primarily the United States, due to its proximity.
The US State Department describes this international relationship as follows: “The United States pursues limited engagement with Cuba that advances our national interests and empowers the Cuban people while restricting economic practices that disproportionately benefit the Cuban government or its military, intelligence, or security agencies at the expense of the Cuban people.”
This logic supposes that the sanctions limit the economic power of the Cuban government, which in turn protects Cuban civilians. This, however, is at odds with the effect it has had on Cuban civilians and calls into question why it is that the US government is willing to do this to one country when they themselves are aligned with numerous other “corrupt” governments.
This is not to say that the Cuban government is wholly innocent in the treatment of Cuban civilians. As the interviewee described, many of the small to medium-sized private businesses which participate in American trade are controlled by the government without circulation to the wider populace. The economic experience of the typical Cuban civilian generally leaves them caught between a foreign government which dictates much of their international trade and a domestic government which focuses much of their needs on industries which generate the most amount of money for the government.
Whilst in Cuba, I saw much of this poverty myself, with most buildings having blatantly incomplete infrastructure and inconsistent access to bare necessities. Transportation outside of Havana is also isolated, with most of the country's vehicles accumulating within the city, thus leaving the countryside largely without proper means.
Talks between the two governments will most likely have little effect on decreasing the poverty rate, with Trump’s spoken position focusing more on regime change than Cuban civilian prosperity: “They have no money, they have no oil. They have a bad philosophy, they have a bad regime that’s been bad for a long time.” Due to Cuba's dwindling oil reserves following the US’s attack on Venezuela, this currently vocal opposition comes as no surprise. As these talks continue to become more public, we should expect more historical animosity to affect how each government moves forward.
Unlike the Cuban and American governments, however, many Cuban civilians I’ve spoken to within the country—as well as with my interviewee—hold no ill will for American civilians. Many of which show welcome excitement to the few Americans who are able to visit. On top of that, many Cubans themselves have family between both nations, with one man in Havana I spoke to describing a trip from Florida he had just returned from after seeing his daughter (travelling between the countries is a difficult process, as most Americans are not allowed to visit without a specific visa and vice versa).
Whilst animosity continues to rise, it becomes increasingly clear that the safety and standard of living for Cuban civilians are not among the top concerns of either government. Unfortunately, these talks could even lead to an increase in the poverty rate within Cuba if such animosity leads to military attacks, similar to those enacted in Venezuela.