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Gaby OBrien
AP English 3
Mr. Phillips
December 6, 2015
Cuba Since the Reestablishment of Diplomatic
Relations with the United States
The United States, under the Kennedy Administration, imposed an
embargo on exports to Cuba in 1960, affecting the lives of all citizens of
Cuba for the past 50 years. This meant that the United States would no
longer export goods to Cuba with the exception of some foods and medicine
and that Cuba could no longer export products to the United States. This
especially hurt Cubas sugar industry, which is a major part of their economy.
Along with this, the United States refused to export oil to Cuba, leaving it
dependent on Russian oil. In February 1962 the embargo was extended to all
imports (White House Fact Sheet). This greatly affected the Cuban
economy which resulted in job losses and widespread poverty throughout the
nation causing Cuba to become like a third world country. Over 50 years of
sanctions has cost Cuba more than 830 billion dollars. President Barack
Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro met on April 11, 2015 and began to
discuss how to reestablish diplomatic relations. This was the first meeting
between leaders of the two countries in over fifty years. On July 1, 2015,
Cuba and the United States declared that the embassies in each country
would be officially opened to continue efforts to normalize relations between
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the nations. In August the US embassy reopened in Havana, Cuba, and the
American flag was flown in Cuba for the first time in 44 years. US intelligence
chief James Clapper says this is a fitting closure to a cold war chapter.
Overall, many aspects of Cuban life, including jobs, economy and
environment have greatly benefited from the US lifting the embargo with
increases in tourism, imports, and new environmental and human rights
laws.
As diplomatic relations have improved, tourism has drastically
increased. According to The Guardian, 10 million travelers are expected to
visit Cuba in the next year from the United States alone. Being so close to
the United States and great tropical weather makes Cuba a desirable travel
location. In past years, September has been an especially slow month for
tourism in Cuba. However, almost 200,000 more tourists visited Cuba than in
September of 2014. Cuba anticipates a 2.7 billion dollars revenue increase
from tourism (EFE World News). And people are now coming into the country
for other opportunities as well. The recent Marabana marathon on November
13th had a new record of foreigners racing, including 567 from the United
States, which was the country with the most participants (Xinhua News
Agency). This exponential increase in tourism not only helps business owners
but also brings in significant amounts of money to the country, helping the
economy. With an improved economy, workers are making more money,
which overall improves day to day living.
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This tourism is made possible through new airline agreements between
Cuba and other nations. On November 10th Cuban and American officials
came to an agreement on regularly scheduled flights between the two
nations (Cuba: Agreements on flights months). China has also made a
similar plan with Cuba. In the near future, there is to be a direct connection
from Beijing, China to Havana, Cuba that will fly 3 times a week. It is
essential in promoting Chinese tourism to Havana (Cuba Anticipates Boost in
Tourism with Beijing-Havana Flights). These airline schedules are much more
formal than in the past and will further promote tourism and trade in Cuba,
increasing revenue and improving life. With these two influential nations
making arrangements with Cuba, other countries are inspired to do the
same.
This boost in the economy is inspiring changes throughout the country.
Since July this year 35 wifi hotspots have been opened throughout Cuba.
Twenty more will be added by the end of the year, according to the EFE
World News Service. Each hotspot can have, on average, 55,000 connections
to the internet per day. By the end of the year over 3,000,000 people will
have access to the Internet. This allows for improvements in education, work,
and communication which are important aspects of everyday life. Access to
the Internet opens up many new opportunities for the citizens of Cuba
including jobs. Along with internal improvements, there have also been
trade improvements. The export of goods between U.S. and Cuba will also
resume as the nation's restore their relationship. These exports bring in
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money, food, products and new job opportunities that were unavailable to
Cuban citizens while the embargo was in place.
The reestablishment of relations between Cuba and the United States
has also increased awareness and efforts to protect and preserve the Cuban
environment, specifically marine ecosystems. With only 90 miles between
the Florida coast and Cuba, the two nations are interested in the protection
of the large variety of surrounding marine life and coral reefs. Drilling for oil
off the coast of Cuba was suspended two years ago after a complication that
resulted in an oil slick near the Florida coast. Recent agreements will lead to
new protection laws concerning Floridas and Cubas coral reefs and marine
life from pollution and possible future oil spills. This agreement will be
modeled after the US- Mexico agreement, which allows for joint planning to
prepare for potential offshore disasters (Gibson). The goal of this
agreement is also to study and research the preservation of fragile
ecosystems as tourism and oil exploration grows and develops (Gibson).
Cuban officials have been especially cooperative to US demands as they are
eager to resume drilling, which not only provides job opportunities, but also a
source of energy and income. This is the first environmental deal since the
embargo was originally placed in 1960 and shows hope for the future of the
environment.
While the growth of tourism brings in money for the country, it has
potential to cause problems. There are approximately 61,000 hotel rooms in
Cuba. With the thousands of visitors planning on going to Cuba since the
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embargo was lifted, these hotels are fully booked for the next 18 months
(Cuba Sees Record Bookings). According to Tom Popper, Cuba is headed for
an accommodation crisis in the months and years to come as demand for
hotel rooms surpasses capacity. However, tourists have other housing
options if needed such as condos and private apartments or houses. Hotels
are also becoming more cautious about overbooking rooms as to avoid future
problems. But arent the benefits of tourism much greater than the risk?
Another area that has been affected in Cuba is human rights. One of
the prerequisites for the lifting of the embargo was the release of 53 political
prisoners, including Alan Gross, an American aid worker who had been
imprisoned for 5 years. While in prison he suffered from lack of nutrition and
loss over 100 pounds and 5 teeth (Ford). According to Erika Guevara Rosas,
the American director of Amnesty International, there will be an
implementation of a new human rights agenda which will include freedom of
expression, assembly and association and prison reform. Amnesty
International has said that this is a big step for Cuba if they want to keep
their credibility in increasing human rights.
With relations between Cuba and the United States back to a decent
state, and continuing improvements of diplomatic ties, the average quality of
life of a Cuban citizen is significantly improving due to better economics,
environment and job opportunities. While the two nations are currently on
good terms, there are still many problems being discussed that will further
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improve relations. Problems such as the illegal occupation of the Cuban
territory by the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, environmental protection, and
drug trafficking are still being discussed by the leaders of these two
countries. According to the Cuban head of North American Affairs, Josefina
Vidal, the solutions to these issues will be very likely by the end of the
year. There is still work to be done and improvements to be made to fully
restore the relationship between US and Cuba but steps are being taken to
complete this process.
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Works Cited
ARMARIO, CHRISTINE. "US, Cuba to Sign First Environmental Accord since
Diplomatic Thaw, Create Sister Sanctuaries." US News. [Link] &
World Report, 18 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Cuba: Agreements on flights to US likely in coming months." Saudi Press
Agency [SPA] 11 Nov. 2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov.
2015.
"Cuba Anticipates Boost in Tourism with Beijing-Havana Flights - News."
Jamaica
Observer News. JON, n.d. Web. 23Nov. 2015.
"Cuba expects agreements with U.S. on flights and postal service soon." EFE
World News
Service 11 Nov. 2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Cuba." Global Issues in Context Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015.
Global Issues In Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2015
"Cuba Sees Record Bookings as Tourists Rush to See It before It Changes."
The
Guardian. The Guardian, n.d. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Cuba to open 20 new Wi-Fi hotspots before year's end." EFE World News
Service 13 Nov. 2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Cuba touts increase in foreign tourists." EFE World News Service 17 Nov.
2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 18 Nov. 2015.
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Ford, Dana. "Cuba Releases 53 Political Prisoners - [Link]." CNN. Cable
News Network, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015.
Gibson, William E. "U.S., Cuba Confer to Stop Oil Spills, Protect Marine Life."
[Link]. Sun Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.
"Havana marathon attracts new record number of runners." Xinhua News
Agency 13 Nov. 2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"Havana urges Obama to do more to improve U.S.-Cuba ties." Xinhua News
Agency 14 Nov. 2015. Global Issues In Context. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
"White House Fact Sheet: Cuba Policy." The New York Times. The New York
Times, 12 Apr. 2009. Web. 06 Dec. 2015
