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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/04/us-freedom-cuba-punishing-sanctions-critics-blockade">theguardian.com</a>
<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">If the US really cared about freedom in Cuba, it would end its punishing sanctions</h1>
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<div class="gmail-reader-estimated-time" dir="ltr">August 4, 2021<br></div>
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<div class="gmail-moz-reader-content gmail-reader-show-element"><div id="gmail-readability-page-1" class="gmail-page"><div tabindex="0" id="gmail-maincontent"><p><span><span>T</span></span><span>he violent protests that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/18/im-surprised-it-took-so-long-cubans-find-anger-in-their-souls">erupted in Cuba</a> in early July were the first serious social disturbances since the <em> </em>“Maleconazo”
of 1994, 27 years ago. Both these periods were characterised by deep
economic crises. I was living in Havana in the mid-90s and witnessed the
conditions that triggered the uprising: empty food markets, shops and
pharmacy shelves, regular electricity cuts, production and transport
ground to a halt. Such were the consequences of the collapse of the
socialist bloc, which accounted for about 90% of the island’s trade. </span></p><p>Betting
on the collapse of Cuban socialism, the US approved the Torricelli Act
of 1992 and the Helms-Burton Act of 1996 to obstruct the island’s trade
and financial relations with the rest of the world. Meanwhile, more
sophisticated and multifaceted “regime change” programmes were
developed, from Clinton’s people-to-people programmes to Bush’s
Commission for a Free <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/cuba">Cuba</a>. From the mid-1990s to 2015, US congress appropriated some $284 million to promote (capitalist) democracy.</p><p>The
story of how, against the odds, the Cuban revolution survived the past
three decades is the focus of my book. In some fields, like
biotechnology and medical internationalism, it thrived. Since 2019,
however, conditions reminiscent of the “special period” have been
returning to Cuba, a direct result of US sanctions. The Trump
administration implemented 243 new coercive measures against Cuba,
blocking its access to international trade, finance and investments at a
time when foreign capital had been awarded a pivotal role in the
island’s development strategy. The inevitable and intended result has
been shortages of food, fuel, basic goods and medical supplies. Thus,
while Cuba has Covid-19 vaccines, they cannot buy sufficient syringes to
administer them, nor medical ventilators for their ICU units.</p><p>Strict sanitary restrictions, imposed by Cuban authorities in response to the pandemic, have impeded Cubans’ capacity to <em>“</em>resolver<em>”</em>
(resolve problems through alternative channels), and to socialise.
Covid cases keep rising, generating anxiety among Cubans, even though
infection and death rates remain low relative to the region. In every
Cuban household, people take turns to rise at dawn to join queues for
basic goods. No one should be surprised that there is frustration and
discontent.</p><p>Cuba’s critics blame the government for the daily
hardships Cubans face, dismissing US sanctions as an excuse. This is
like blaming a person for not swimming well when they are chained to the
ground. The US blockade of Cuba is real. It is the longest and most
extensive system of unilateral sanctions applied against any country in
modern history. It affects every aspect of Cuban life.</p><p>At the UN general assembly on 23 June, a total of 184 countries <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/06/1094612">supported Cuba’s motion</a>
for the end of the US blockade. It was the 29th year that Cuba’s vote
had won. The US representative, Rodney Hunter, claimed sanctions were “a
legitimate way to achieve foreign policy, national security and other
national and international objectives”. He also described them as “one
set of tools in our broader effort towards Cuba”.</p><p>Another key tool
in recent years has been social media. In 2018, Trump set up an
internet taskforce to promote “the free and unregulated flow of
information” to Cuba, just as the country expanded facilities enabling
Cubans to access the internet via their phones. During this summer, the
social media campaign, which sees Miami-based influencers and YouTubers
encourage Cubans on the island to take to the streets, was ratcheted up.
As spontaneous and authentic as this may seem, behind it lies US
funding and coordination.</p><p>On 11 July, I was in Havana, watching
the Euro finals at a Cuban home when the broadcast was interrupted by an
announcement from the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel. He had been to San
Antonio de los Banos, on the outskirts of the capital, where a protest
had turned into a riot, with shops looted, police cars overturned and
rocks thrown. Simultaneous protests had taken place in dozens of
locations around the island. In Matanzas, where Covid-19 cases have
soared, there was extensive destruction. Díaz-Canel ended the broadcast
by calling for revolutionaries to take to the streets. Thousands of
Cubans answered his call.</p><p>Meanwhile, the mayor of Miami asked Biden to consider airstrikes on Cuba, while there were half-baked plans for a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/13/cuba-protests-activists-journalists-protesters-detained">naval flotilla</a>
from Florida. The international media depicted mass opposition to an
incompetent government, peaceful protests violently repressed, and a
regime in crisis. This narrative has counted on exaggerations and
manipulations. Images have been shared in the press and social media
purporting to show anti-government protests that have, in fact, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-cuba-protest-idUSL1N2OQ2DI">been the opposite</a>.<strong> </strong>Photos of protests in Egypt and sports celebrations in Argentina have been attributed to the Cuban protests of 11 July.</p><p>From
the US, where violent protests and police killings happen with tragic
regularity, and where a rightwing insurrection tried to overturn the
2020 election result, new president Joe Biden described Cuba as a
“failed state”. By 30 July he had already imposed new sanctions, despite
<a href="https://www.vox.com/22573703/biden-cuba-protests-trump">campaign promises</a> to roll such sanctions back.</p><p>Since
the 11 July protests, I have travelled throughout Havana for my work.
The only significant protests I have seen in the capital have been those
in support of the government, including a rally of 200,000 in Havana on
17 July. The Cubans I speak to reject the violence and US interference.
They are confident that Cubans know how to swim, but they need the
chains of the US blockade to be cut.</p><ul><li><p>Helen Yaffe is a senior lecturer in economic and social history at the University of Glasgow</p></li></ul></div><h2><span> </span></h2><p><span>…</span></p><br></div></div>
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