After the Soviet bloc fell, Cuba lost its main source of oil and other imports. This drastic elimination of the main source of economic influx plunged the island of Cuba into what the government called "the special period." There was nothing special about it. What it meant was scarcity of food, water and other basic supplies, as well as power outages.
If you think New York had it bad with power outages lasting a few weeks, imagine going months with only two hours of electricity. Then imagine years of daily outages lasting more than 16 hours every single day. That's what happened in Cuba in the mid 90s.
I was a young boy when this happened, but I clearly remember those interminable nights when the entire city of Havana was covered in darkness. I lived on the 10th floor of an apartment building, so I would look out in the distance and see the darkness all around the city. On some days when the lights would be turned on before midnight, one could hear claps and cheering all around the building, and I'm sure all around Havana. Having electricity was a luxury then.
Looking back now, I can see this darkness was the perfect metaphor for the oppressive regime.
Do you think America could conceivably have looked past the Communist rulers and stepped into the void left behind by the Soviets as a source for those exports? Would such an economic alliance not only have sparred Cuba the pangs of "the special period" but eased overall tensions between the two countries?
ReplyDeleteThat's a valid point, but here's the thing, if America stepped into the void it would be prolonging the suffering of the people of Cuba. Granted, Castro is still in power (or his brother now), but an influx of cash from America would have strengthened Cuba's economy, which certanily meant that there would be no end in sight to the totalitarian regime.
ReplyDeleteAs it is now, the opposition grows stronger everyday and people are speaking out more than ever before, and part of it, is because they are tired of having nothing to put on their table. America did the right thing.
I was wondering the same thing as Shaun. Your response makes a lot of sense though. It should be interesting to see what the future is like for Cuba.
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