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Published on Friday, May 17, 2002 in the Philadelphia
Inquirer |
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Bush Should Learn a Lesson from
Carter's Visit to Cuba |
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by Trudy Rubin |
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For four decades the United States has been trying to force Fidel Castro from power with an economic embargo. We all know how well that's worked. Yet, a decade after the fall of the Soviet Union, President Bush still stands by this Cold War relic. Next week he will announce plans to tighten the embargo and crack down on tens of thousands of Americans who travel illegally to Cuba. A tighter embargo is supposed to help Cubans gain their freedom. Nothing has better exposed the sham of our Cuba policy than Jimmy Carter's visit to Havana this week. Carter journeyed south on an entirely different premise - the more you open up closed societies to trade, commerce and new ideas, the more you undermine authoritarian regimes. This was one lesson we learned from the demise of communist regimes in Eastern Europe. It has been the theme song of Republican and Democratic presidents, including both Presidents Bush, when it comes to trade with China. Can anyone explain why we have tighter trade restrictions on Havana than we do on Beijing - or Baghdad? Of course, the explanation is obvious. It's as simple as the venue of George W.'s upcoming speech on tighter sanctions - at a fund-raiser for his brother Jeb who is running for reelection as governor of Florida. U.S. policy on Cuba has little to do with helping Cubans but everything to do with wooing Cuban-American voters who hate Castro. Those who care about Cubans would do better to follow Carter's advice. The former president called for unrestricted travel between the United States and Cuba, open trade, and an end to the embargo. He wants a massive student exchange between U.S. and Cuban universities. I haven't always been a Carter fan (he can be mighty sanctimonious) but this time he got the tone just right. Speaking in Spanish on national television, Carter told Cubans they have an inherent right to democratic freedoms: the right to choose their leaders, speak freely, organize political parties, and have fair trials. He noted that the United States is far from perfect on human rights issues, but that Americans have the right to change their leaders and laws. Most electrifying, Carter told the Cuban people about the Varela Project, a petition drive to force a referendum on democracy for Cubans that has gathered 12,000 signatures. He even noted the articles of the Cuban constitution that make such a drive technically legal (even though the government is sure to quash it). Most Cubans had never heard of the brave dissident movement that is mounting the petition campaign. This is the kind of exposure to new ideas that is desperately needed in Cuba. If the administration wants to help Cuban dissidents, the best way would be to open the door to as many U.S. visitors as the island can hold. As for the embargo, it is the excuse on which Castro can blame his failed economy. Were it lifted - as Varela Project organizers want - the Cuban dictator would lose a key prop. And there is one more crucial reason why we should be expanding Americans' access to Cuba. The less exposure Cuba has to the world before the eventual demise of Fidel Castro, the more likely the United States will find itself with a dangerous mess 90 miles offshore. The Eastern European countries that best adjusted to capitalism were those such as Hungary and Poland, which had much contact with the West even while they were ruled by communist regimes. Those countries that were highly isolated, such as Albania, deteriorated into a refuge for narco-traffickers and criminal gangs. The Bush administration may presume that the collapse of communism will usher in a democracy led by Cuban-American exiles who will invest heavily offshore. But it would be a mistake to assume that Cuba will simply morph into the 51st state. Without preparation for the post-communist transition, Cuba will more likely collapse into a chaotic haven for drug runners, and a source of huge refugee flows - to Florida. George W. would serve his brother's state better by listening to Carter on Cuba than by trolling for the Cuban American vote. Copyright 2002 Philadelphia Inquirer |
Title: Message
