By Alexandra Ulmer in Washington
Published: September 1 2009 18:05
Giancarlo Sopo, a Democratic strategist of Cuban origin, says he cannot
remember which he learned first – that Fidel Castro was a bad man or
that Santa Claus was real. "The first political lesson that
Cuban-Americans receive is on Cuba-US policy," said Mr Sopo, a 26
year-old research analyst at Bendixen and Associates.
While his opposition to the Castro regime remains solid, he is one of
many in the Cuban-American community who has shifted away from
supporting strong sanctions and instead advocates travel and dialogue
between Havana and Washington.
"We share the same fundamental values and principles as our parents," Mr
Sopo said of his generation. "What is happening is you're seeing a
different means towards a common goal."
This shift has been driven by the increase in new immigrants, many of
whom left family on the island, as well as the maturing of second and
third-generation Cuban-Americans. Many of these harbour less resentment
towards the Castro regime, having spent their entire life in the US.
US president Barack Obama capitalised on this change in sentiment during
the campaign to win votes among the younger Cuban-American community
and, since his election, has ushered in a more nuanced diplomatic
approach to Cuba-US relations.
In April, Mr Obama lifted restrictions on Cuban-American travel to the
island and removed the limit on remittances. Talks were held in July to
discuss immigration policy – the first since such negotiations were
frozen under George W. Bush in 2003 – and more are to follow in December.
In addition to efforts by the White House, Congress is due to examine
the lifting of the ban on US tourists travelling to the island.
According to Dan Erikson, a Cuba expert at Inter-American Dialogue,
there is a one in three chance that the bill will pass both Houses of
Congress and be signed into law within a year.
Washington's approach has so far been met cautiously by Havana. On
Saturday, Raul Castro, the Cuban president, told the National Assembly
that while he supported dialogue between the two countries, US overtures
would not be conducive to political change on the island.
In the Cuban-American community, however, Washington's moves have
garnered unprecedented support. A report conducted by Bendixen and
Associates in April, before Mr Sopo worked there, found that 64 per cent
of Cubans and Cuban-Americans supported the lifting of the travel and
remittance restrictions.
"There is now a greater constituency in the Cuban-American community
that favours change," said Mr Erikson, from Inter-American Dialogue.
"The ideology of opposing engagement with Cuba really came with the
founding generation of exiles."
The first wave of migrants fled the island following the Cuban
revolution in 1959 – often abandoning homes and livelihoods. But since
the 1980s, Miami – and its "Little Havana" neighbourhood – has welcomed
a new inflow of Cubans, largely less affluent than their predecessors
and often more supportive of lifting sanctions on their homeland.
"I'm for the lifting of everything," said Jessica Rodriguez, 33, the
owner of a Cuban restaurant in Maryland who was born in the US to Cuban
parents. She principally attributed her position to being
second-generation. "We didn't feel any of the first-hand effects" of the
Castro regime, she said.
"There is a tear between the two generations as to what should be
happening," Ms Rodriguez added.
Some of the founding generation's political views have also softened.
Pepe Hernandez, the president of the Cuban American National Foundation,
stormed the Bay of Pigs in 1961. He was imprisoned in Cuba for two years
before Kennedy paid his ransom and then ultimately settled in Miami
after being freed. "Most of those first years I spent dreaming – or
conspiring actually – to return to Cuba by violent means," he said. "Now
it's a completely different attitude." While Mr Hernandez still supports
the economic embargo, he favours lifting sanctions on travel and
remittances.
However, for many Cuban-American politicians and institutions, any
easing of sanctions translates to a strengthening of the Castro regime.
"Virtually all of them have built their political career on a very
hard-line view of Cuba," said Mr Erikson of the six Cuban-American
members of Congress.
In many established political organisations, such as the Cuban Liberty
Council, the mood has not changed. "To lift sanctions ... against Cuba's
dictatorial regime is just to give them oxygen to stay in power," said
Ninoska Pérez Castellón, a founding member of the council.
"New people may be arriving," Ms Pérez said. "But still not enough to
make it a majority."
FT.com / Americas - Cuban-Americans shift on dialogue with Havana (2
September 2009)
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ab4fa40-81d4-11de-9c5e-00144feabdc0.html
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