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Why is the USA in the Limelight?
The fact that the role of the United States in Cuban affairs comes in for
so much attention is not the result of crude "anti-Americanism" but a
reflection of the fact that the United States has imposed itself on Cuba in
ways in which the Cubans themselves do not want and in ways that have been
continuously rejected since 1898. Indeed, the US blockade has been
condemned by the international community to the extent that Israel is now
the only country represented at the United Nations which consistently
supports the US blockade legislation. The importance of the continuing and
recently intensified US blockade of Cuba (Helms-Burton Act) cannot be
ignored or underestimated in any examination of Cuban affairs. Cuba has
housed, fed and educated its people and provided a health service that
rivals anything on offer in the so-called developed world. It has provided
its people with the highest standard of living in Latin America.
Cuba is not a paradise by any means, and must be examined, warts and all.
But eventually the questions have to be answered: what has Cuba done to
find itself blockaded for almost forty years, isolated, demonised, invaded,
and prevented from trading? What has it done that warrants the destruction
of all the advances it has achieved? And if the social structure of Cuba is
destroyed, who stands to gain?
What is certain, however, is that we would all lose, (except Bacardi,
Chiquita, Texaco etc,) especially those who are working and fighting for
fair treatment and basic rights for the least advantaged in our world, for
if Cuba loses what it has gained and maintained against all the odds for 40
years, there is little or no hope for the future of other developing
countries. What a hollow 'victory' that would be for the US. However,
considering Cuba's capacity to survive there is no real possibility that
the US will ever get to celebrate any such 'victory'.
The question is often asked; what would happen if the US blockade was
lifted as the Cubans continuously demand? The simple answer is; End the
blockade and see what happens!