Cuban Rectification Campaign Analysis

Cash is not abundant in Cuba, especially for the poor to middle class families. An example of this would help move “product” from point a to b and in return, the employers can provide your family with food for a month.Government officials will often times take kickbacks for awarding large contracts to foreign companies . In return get money back from the investment in the company.

During the 1950’s, Cuba was on the brink of revolution. The nation, which had suffered numerous corrupt and oppressive governmental regimes, fell victim to yet another when Fulgencio Batista seized power under a military coup in March of 1952. A cry for a just Cuba, that was economically, politically, and socially free continued to echo throughout the island. In 1959, a group of radical revolutionaries, under the leadership of Fidel Castro, overthrew the Batista dictatorship and put in place the political and social structures that exist in Cuba to this day.

During the Cold War, relations between Cuba and the United States were icy. Cuba was allied with the USSR, America’s enemy, and was well within their sphere of influence. With events like the failed Bay of Pigs invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis happening on their soil, Cuba was at the center of the Cold War. Between ideological differences and their alliance with Russia, Cuba became an enemy of America as well. It took the efforts of ten American presidents, six Popes, and countless other actors, but Cuba and America are finally in the process of normalizing relations. There is still work to be done, but the path is clear and the time is right. However, one cannot simply ignore the last fifty years. In that time, millions of lives were affected by the lack of social, economic, and political ties between the U.S. and Cuba. In this paper, I will analyze the last fifty years of U.S. - Cuban relations by looking at the involved actors, their means, and their values and interests through the lenses of two paradigms, realism and constructivism.

Cuban-Soviet relations slowly deteriorated as Soviet political, economic, and social policies were liberalized in the late 80s. The Cuban government refused to modify its approach to social and economic policy. In 1991 the Soviet Union dissolved and withdrew its troops and its economic support. The already troubled Cuban economy suffered further from the loss of vital military and economic support. With severe shortages, unrest and dissatisfaction growing, Castro declared a "special period in peacetime" of food rationing and energy conservation. Shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies were intensified by the ongoing U.S. trade embargo in Cuba.

On January 8th, 1959, Fidel Castro and his rebel army marched triumphantly into Havana, Cuba, having overthrown corrupt dictator Fulgencio Batista the week earlier. It was the fruition of the Cuban Revolution, and the dramatic shift in power was about to radically alter the country’s political, social and economic course forever. The positive and negative effects of the revolution on the Cuban people, however, as well as the condition of Cuba’s economy pre and post-revolution, is subject to heated debate. Castro’s iron-fisted regime was the introduction of communism into the western hemisphere, and now, over fifty years later, the Cuban Revolution continues to be one of the most controversial events of the twentieth century. Despite the criticism levelled at Fidel Castro and his communist regime, however, the Cuban Revolution was necessary in improving the quality of life for the majority of Cuban citizens. The four fundamental categories on which to assess this are healthcare, education, economy and governance. By comparing the country’s overall performance under Fulgencio Batista versus under Fidel Castro in these areas crucial to a fully-functioning nation, it can be shown that the Cuban Revolution was a necessary and positive change in Cuban society which benefitted the majority of citizens.

The time of the Cuban Revolution was a great deal of turmoil, not just in Cuba but in almost every corner of the world. It was 1945, shortly after the end of World War Two, the Cold War was taking off between the United States and the Soviet Union. Cuba, in the middle of its own war, was caught up in the international politics of the Cold War. The interaction between international and domestic politics played a major role in the outcome of the revolution. The result of the revolution paved the way for the era of Fidel Castro.

Current events in Cuba have caught a lot of attention, as we witness a historical shift in

Cuba’s colorful history can be documented to before the days of the American Revolution in 1776, but today, American policy directly affects many Cubans’ lifestyles because of a nearly 45-year-old trade embargo that has been placed on the island nation. It is crucial to analyze the development of Cuba and its neighboring island nations in order to discern the reasons for Cuba’s current political situation with the United States. The following paper will discuss the events that shaped Cuba and larger Caribbean nations like Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica; next, a detailed description of Cuba’s turbulent history will help in explaining the Cuban transformation into a

The U.S.’s relationship with Cuba has been arduous and stained with mutual suspicion and obstinateness, and the repeated U.S. interventions. The Platt agreement and Castro’s rise to power, served to introduce the years of difficulty to come, while, the embargo the U.S. placed on Cuba, enforced the harsh feelings. The two major events that caused the most problems were the Bays of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis.

US-Cuban relations have not been the friendliest since the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Only recently during President Barack Obama’s second term in office did the US really try to resolve the Cuban issue and only then did it become such a priority. US-Cuban relations have always been a mixed bag of plenty of good and evil deeds. The US needs all the allies it can get and it needs to refocus in Latin America. Cuba is no real challenge to American power but Cuba represents a sore spot for American foreign policy. The US must work as one with Cuba in order to normalize relations with Cuba and bring Cubans into the 21st century. There are plenty of Cuban-Americans who want desperately to see family and friends on the island and the US must work together with Cuba to achieve these goals. Cuba has been a hot topic of debate ever since the Cuban Revolution and it continues to be one which is why there is no better time to study Cuba. Cuba has a long cultural history which makes it interesting to study and now that the US is finally working with the Cuban government on normalizing relations, more scholars will be traveling to Cuba. More information about Cuba and the Cuban culture will become available as the US moves to being better neighbors. This is important for researchers and others to gain new insights on Cuba which have not been available for the past fifty to sixty years. The renewed Cuban-American relations and the so-called, “Cuban Thaw”, is the right approach by President

n October 19th 1960, the United States of America implemented an embargo on American exports to Cuba. This undertaking was in response to the Cuban state nationalizing American owned property without any compensation. The embargo, which included just about all imports, is one example of US-Cuban relations that have been poor ever since the overthrow of the Batista regime (Haufbauer et al). In recent years, trade sanctions have finally began to open up and in 2000 the United States passed the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act which allows for food and agricultural products to be exported to Cuba (Engage Cuba Coalition). However, despite this act opening up the market for food and agricultural products the Trade Sanctions Reform

In the early 1900’s, Cuba was a stomping ground for many of the rich and famous from the United States. Many famous movies stars and wealthy business entrepreneurs spend their vacations there along with a substantial amount of money. Trade and commerce between the United States and Cuba flowed freely and abundantly. Even with the Dictatorship-like regime of Batista, the countries benefited from the economic trade between them. This was all about to come crashing down as revolts against Batista occurred and Fidel Castro came to power within Cuba.

Following the overthrow of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista’s totalitarian regime by insurgent groups during the six-year Cuban Revolution, lasting from 1953 to 1959, a radical collectivist government was put into place. In the following years, most notably during the Cold War, the Communists isolated the Cuban economy from Western, Capitalist, ideals, and its citizens were left poor and malnourished, surviving on only the bare essentials as a series of famines and food shortages left many struggling to survive. Cuba’s attempts to alleviate the tensions brought by the United States’s trade embargoes, initially a simple restriction against arms trade, but later extended to encompass the vast majority of goods produced inside the borders of the

From late 1989, the world watched as the Soviet Bloc started to demise and less than two years later in December of 1991, the entire Soviet Union collapsed. Since before the revolution Cuba had, had close connections with the Soviet Union and when the Revolution started in 1959, the Soviet Union became Cubas ‘sugar daddy’. The collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989 spurred a huge fiscal crisis for Cuba from 1991, this financial meltdown occurred due to the huge decline in trading and foreign exchange receipts and so began the Periodo Especial. ‘The ‘Special Period’ became institutionalised later to signify the extended period of deprivation that ensued and the long haul out of recession. By being called ‘special’ and a ‘period’ it always conveyed a sense of the ephemeral. Implicit in the name is the notion that the situation is temporary, the bad times would eventually pass.’ (Wilkinson, 2008: 2)

The Special Period in Cuba was an prolonged time of economic crisis that began in early 90s mainly due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. By this time, Cuba was enforced with embargo by the U.S., as a result, it has limited oil supply. Peak oil is the time when oil production will reach its maximum rate, and move toward an irremediable decline. As a result of insufficient usage of oil, they lack pesticides and chemical fertilizer for agriculture, no fuel for agricultural machinery operation, no electricity at home for hours everyday. Under such a challenging circumstance, Cubans show us the what they could do to survive with a very limited oil supply. They implement urban planning, organic farming, public transportation, renewable energy