Viva Something or Other

Today marks the 44th anniversary of the trade embargo on Cuba. Now, I know that they aren’t doing all that well there, and Castro is, shall we say, a leader of mixed virtue, but every time I think of the trade embargo I am impressed with the resiliency of the Cuban people. Every time it crosses my mind I also think that Communism must be more stable than we like to think if it could survive all this time cut off from its biggest, richest, and nearest potential trading power.

Which is not to say I think it’s really evidence that Communism is stable, but that continuing the embargo makes it appear that it is stable. Our sanctions can’t kill it!

I also haven’t done the research to back up my impression, but I suspect that the oppression of the Cuban people is really small potatoes compared to our Most Favored Nation trading partner, the Peoples Republic of China.

Sanctions without end will not change anything. Why not enter into negotiations to renew relations contingent on improvements in their human rights record? We’ve got billions of dollars worth of tourists and cigar buyers which, if I were dictator of Cuba, would be a nice incentive to let political prisoners out of jail and not crack down on protestors. After all, people don’t have (meaningful) protests when they’re well-fed.

Maybe that’s just my idle idealism talking though.