The book That Infernal Little Cuban Republic, focuses on the relationship between both Cuba and the United States. A lot of the contention between Cuba and the United States stems from the American view that every country is in need of our assistance. The author details how American officials asserted themselves into Cuba and with their presence in most cases did more harm than good in reference to the Cuban population. The book highlights that the U.S. government supported many policies in Cuba that were undemocratic leading to their citizens suffering politically, economically, and socially. After Castro took power the relationship between the two governments suffered immediately. Tensions only got worse as Cuba and the Soviet Union became …show more content…
This shows how when one has unrestricted access to other nations how we can overlook their shortcomings even at the expense of our own morals. The book also highlights the way the American government treated the Cubans in the same way they treated their own minority population. As a result of the thought process that the Blacks were bad, that affected many policies concerning the Cuban government. It is important to note that some time after Cuba gained its independence they had a high literacy rate, low infant mortality rate, relatively high income per capita. They were one of the leading countries in Latin America although compared to America their numbers were low. From the Cuban perspective most of the hostility towards America came as a result of knowledge that they exploit people and lands in order to enhance their own wealth. Cuba did not see themselves as needing help from people like the United …show more content…
In my International Relations class, we discussed the tendency for countries to overlook things that are unacceptable in their own country but allow it to take place in countries they are associated with. An example is the China-U.S. relationship in reference to labor laws for both adults and children. In my classes focusing on international relations they tend to focus on each countries treatment of the minority population in both their own countries and surrounding countries. The minority population is often subject to discrimination, lack of access, brutality, and other such actions. This book also highlights how the U.S. treated the country that was filled with what they considered minorities. They treated the Cubans with a lack of care for their well-being as their treated their own minority populations. As discussed in class during this time if one was not White, they were automatically Black and treated as such. As highlighted in the previous section, under the rule of Batista the Cuban population suffered socially and economically because America granted unlimited access and did not want to mess up a “good
During the early 1960’s many Cubans fled to the United States not because they wanted a better life, but because they were fleeing from the hardships put on them by Fidel Castro. According to Maria Garcia in Havana USA, there were three major waves of Cubans arriving in the United States. The first was after the revolution from 1959 to 1962, the second was during the “freedom fights” from 1965 to 1962, and the third was the “Mariel boatlift” in 1980. Many of the Cubans from these waves settled in Miami, Florida because of the similarities it has to Cuba. Miami was an easy transition for most of the Cubans looking for a new home until they could return to Cuba.
In her book From Cuba with Love, Megan Daigle dives into the nexus of sex, money, and deprivation in Cuba following the fall of the Soviet Union and the tightening of the U.S. embargo in the early 1990s as it deals with “jineterismo,” the local practice of pursuing relationships with foreigners in order to gain access to hard currency. With the end of the Soviet Union, Cuba was stripped of its primary source of financial and political support, quickly sending Cuba into an economic crisis that its government called “el Periodo especial en tiempo de paz” or the Special Period in Peacetime. “Seeming overnight, the Cuban economy collapsed by 40 percent” (4). To make matters worse this was the same time the United States solidified its embargo on
Bibliographical Information Daigle, Megan. From Cuba with Love: Sex and Money in the Twenty-First Century. University of California Press, 2015. Summary of the main thesis
In A Cultural History of Cuba During the U.S. Occupation, 1898-1902, Utset seeks to analyze the Cuban experience “between empires”, from a different perspective. Rather than approaching the study by concentrating on the political leaders and elites, she disrupts this trend and focuses on the agency of Cuba’s people en masse—the voices of ordinary Cubans. By examining Cuba below and beyond the elite, Iglesias offers a perspective rarely visited and illuminates the complexities of the developing events that transpired between the end of Spanish colonial rule, 1898, and the beginning of U.S. occupation in 1902. In doing so, she identifies three distinct views Cubans held regarding nationalism: proponents of a staunch unwavering break from the past to a solidified distinct Cuban identity; advocates for embracing progress and modernity by accepting the Americanization of Cuba; and supporters of protecting and maintaining a Spanish heritage. She accomplishes this by utilizing a wide array of resources.
For a long time, Cuba has brought the entire world many topics of conversation. The time period of 1909-1924 specifically, brought many conflicts to Cuba politically, socially and economically. During the years of 1909-1924 Cuba made huge political changes that affected their society today both negatively and positively. The first thing that affected Cuba politically occurred on January 28th, 1909.
He openly embraced it as he had close ties with the Soviet Union. Castro wanted a reformed Cuba so it did not have to depend on the United States like Batista’s government. Many Cubans frowned upon the fact that the United States had a grip on their economy. They owned many Cuban industries, sugar, tobacco, iron, etc. [“Fidel Castro and The Cuban Revolution.”
After winning the first World War, the US was established as a regional hegemony, and that was very powerful. Because of this, the US wanted to demonstrate the new power for the rest of the world, and began to intervene in many Latin American countries. A very serious example comes from Guatemala, where the military dictator Efraim Rios Montt, who was influenced by the US, the human rights of many people was violated. While the US does not speak much of the atrocities that occurred in Guatemala and accepts no responsibility for the violation of human rights that many military dictators did, it is clear that the US had influence on most negative practices in Latin America. An analysis of the country under Rios Montt and the influence of the United States in relation to recent policies of Guatemala will serve as evidence that interventions were not justified or necessary, and very serious consequences for Guatemala cause.
Secondly, the embargo has stopped people to people communication which as a result has created isolation for Cubans. Better intercommunication with Americans will allow Cubans to have more entry to the outside world. This will pressure the Cuban government to change its domestic and foreign policies (Petrosyan). The embargo is a hypocritical policy. We have expanded economic ties with states that are much more pushy toward the United States, and/or more aggressive to their own citizens than Cuba is.
Sitting in the waters of the Caribbean Sea are two islands known as Cuba and Puerto Rico. When viewing these islands, the most common error individuals make is mistaking the two islands as being identical to each other. In reality, Puerto Rico and Cuba each have distinct differences that make themselves unique. To begin with, Puerto Rico and Cuba each have completely different government conditions.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, written by John F. Kennedy, depicts a man’s determination towards uniting a nation during an unsettling period of human history. During a thirteen day period from October 14 to October 28, 1962, the Soviet Union installed nuclear-armed missiles on the island of Cuba capable of striking a number of major cities in the Western Hemisphere. Through his condemnatory tone, credible sources, and use of metaphors, the author proves that society must unite against a common enemy. Kennedy calls upon the people to stand together against their adversary as he highlights the deceitful acts of the Soviet Union through his condemning tone. He depicts the actions of the Union as a “deliberate deception” to show how the Soviets cannot be trusted as their tricks are a “definite threat to world peace” (Kennedy 2).
In this part in particular, De La Fuente utilizes figures and solid facts to prove his claims, especially with his effective use of census records to show black flight from Cuba due to lack of opportunity (pg. 104). Speaking to social mobility and education, De La Fuente identifies the mediocrity of Cuban and American efforts to create a literate population. Although the government made significant strides to educate the populations, imperialist motivations fueled the system, which lacked secondary systems of support and training for Afro-Cubans. It is essential that De La Fuente identifies lack of labor opportunities and education in Cuba because both Afro-Cubans and white Cubans could eventually find solidarity in combatting these issues. Upon reading this chapter, De La Fuente’s revelation of a cyclical nature in Cuba with revolution and racism is uncovered.
Cuba has a history of mistreated people and minorities. From the banning of a book promoting the abolition of slavery, to a popular artist being turned away by a hotel due to the color of her skin, many people in Cuba were mistreated and oppressed. , Much of the Cuban population was not benefitting from the government before the revolution and had not been benefitting for decades. There was a low quality of life for many Cubans, many did not own land, and lacked proper education, or if they did have education, lacked the ability to get a job in their respective field. Castro drew from these frustrations of the Cuban people in order to gain the support.
Another reason why America was aggressive is because for example, when there was a meeting on what action the US should take against Cuba and USSR, three out of the four proposals were ones that could probably cause another war. One of the proposals was to destroy the Soviet missiles in Cuba by an airstrike, which is a very intense act. Furthermore, another reason why I agree with Cuba’s point of view, is because America was unfair with its ‘regulations’ with Cuba. Castro was not allowed to keep Soviet missiles in his land, because Kennedy stated that it was a threat to the security of the US. While on the other hand, the US had all the nuclear power to fire at Cuba at any time without any conditions.
Nothing changed things got worse and worse and worse. Cuba remained the same as it did earlier with Batista; a poor country in debt whose livelihood depends on sugar production. At first the United
My Country, the United Sates and its Similarities Since 1492, the year when Cuba was discovered by Christopher Columbus, the largest island in the Caribbean has been a cultural treasure. Cuba is known for its cultural diversity introduced for Africans, Spanish, Frances and Asian influences. The island has produced famous known personalities in many different areas like fine arts, film, ballet, modern dance and theatre. Cuban music must be mentioned because it’s natural and unique rhythms as the Mambo, the Bolero, the Cha-cha-cha and the Danzon. Thus, what does Cuba mean?