The Politics of Cuban-Americans

[Judi Lynn]

November 26, 2012
They're Many Things, Except Culturally Conservative
The Politics of Cuban-Americans
by SAUL LANDAU and NELSON P. VALDES

Several of our friends expressed shock when they learned that President Obama had won some 48% of south Florida’s Cuban-American vote. One asked: how can you explain that a reputedly reactionary community would yield such a high percentage vote for a Democrat?

The answer relates to confusion. The Cuban Americans in the Miami area have gotten mislabeled. They do not belong in the social or “cultural conservative” category. Some sectors of the “latino” community do have conservative social views. But apart from their harsh position on the Cuban revolution, Cuban Americans do not strongly oppose divorce, women’s rights, social security, social welfare payments, or sexual preference.

Historically, they, who left the island soon after the revolutionaries seized power, have taken a staunch opposition approach to Cuba’s revolutionary government. Yet, many of those same anti-Castro Cuban “conservatives” showed no opposition when President Fulgencio Batista introduced “big government,” or strong state intervention in the Cuban economy. Indeed, since 1934 Batista used the state to play a major role in transforming and regulating Cuba’s economy.

These Cubans – conservative only in their opposition to revolution — have never become “libertarians,” nor have they favored laissez-faire capitalism. Some of the major fortune makers in pre-revolutionary Cuba used of that highly regulated economy to amass their wealth. So-called sugar king Julio Lobo reaped his fortune from a thoroughly regulated sugar market. Pre-revolutionary Cuba’s government had divided sugar profits among the large, medium and small growers, and assured each partner of his proper share.

Those who left Cuba in 1959 and the early 1960s, now Cuban Americans, have favored Republican or Democratic candidates strictly on the basis of their policies on US-Cuba relations. Even south Florida’s arch reactionary – on Cuba policy — Congresswoman Ileana Ros Lehtinen champions gay rights, social security, Medicare and other so-called entitlements. In Cuba, those entitlements are called human rights. But the retired Jews who inhabit parts of Miami Beach would hardly vote for a truly reactionary Member of Congress. Ros-Lehtinen’s compensates her staunch anti-Castro views by her strong pro-Israel stance and her legislative devotion to Medicare and other benefits received by retired people.

More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2012/11/26/the-politics-of-cuban-americans/

[Demit]

1. Thanks, Judi Lynn. I wouldn't have seen this otherwise.

If Republicans have a fatal flaw, it's their black & white, either-or views on things. It's nice to see that they don't own the Cuban vote anymore.

[flamingdem]

2. Obama needs to take away all of La Loba's ammo

by ending travel restrictions.

I have no sense of whether this will happen. I'll have to double check but from memory Susan Rice was not helpful when she was dealing with Cuba.

[Daniel537]

4. Legally, what's the most he could do to expand travel to Cuba?

The ban on tourist travel to Cuba was codified back in 2000, so i do wonder if he could do that, or maybe he could order the Treasury Dept. to cease and desist from fining people who do travel to Cuba, which rarely happens now anyway.

[Daniel537]

3. Good article.

Teabagger conservatism has never been popular among most Cuban-Americans. Even La Loba and the Diaz-Balart's stayed away from the Tea Party movement at its peak a few years ago because they would never have gone along with their massive plans for spending cuts. Its funny that Ileana and the Diaz-Balart's criticized Obamacare for its "takeover" of health care, yet they voted to expand S-CHIP just a few years ago. Apparently govt.-run healthcare is good enough for our kids, but not for the rest of us, lol. I remember back in the 90s when they successfully fought to restore SSI and Food Stamp benefits to legal immigrants, something which today's GOP would never go along with. Yes, indeed, its the Cuba issue that drives most of the older Cubans to vote for the GOP, but thankfully they are coming to the natural end of their lives, and the new and younger generation is finally starting to vote. Do not be surprised if next time around the Democratic candidate gets around 60% of the Cuban vote, just as long as they promise not to roll back Obama's lifting of the travel restrictions. Obama's policy is a guaranteed winner for future Dems, and they damn well better not stray away from it.