Learning to Salsa: New Steps in U.S.-Cuba Relations

2. Cuba: A New Policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement

U.S. policy toward Cuba should advance the democratic aspirations of the Cuban people and strengthen U.S. credibility throughout the hemisphere . Our nearly 50-year-old policy toward Cuba has failed on both counts: it has resulted in a downward spiral of U.S. influence on the island and has left the United States isolated in the hemisphere and beyond. Our Cuba policy has become a bellwether, indicating the extent to which the United States will act in partnership with the region or unilaterally —and ineffectually. Inevitably, strategic contact and dialogue with the Cuban government will be necessary if the United States seeks to engage the Cuban people. This book proposes a new goal for U.S. policy toward Cuba: to support the emergence of a Cuban state where the Cuban people determine the political and economic future of their country through democratic means. A great lesson of democracy is that it cannot be imposed; it must come from within. The type of government at the helm of the island’s future will depend on Cubans. Our policy should therefore encompass the political, economic, and diplomatic tools to enable the Cuban people to engage in and direct the politics of their country. This policy will 14 CHAPTER TWO Cuba: A New Policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement This chapter reproduces the Brookings report released in April 2009, “Cuba: A New Policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement,” which presents the core group of advisers’ consensus recommendations for U.S. policy toward Cuba. It is the only aspect of this book on which project directors sought the consensus of advisers. The original report has been slightly updated to reflect developments between April and August 2009. advance the interests of the United States in seeking stable relationships based on common hemispheric values that promote the well-being of each individual and the growth of civil society. To engage the Cuban government and Cuban people effectively, the United States will need to engage with other governments, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In so doing, U.S. policy toward Cuba would reflect the hemisphere’s and our own desire to encourage the Cuban government to adopt international standards of democracy, human rights, and transparency. Engagement does not mean approval of the Cuban government’s policies , nor should it indicate a wish to control internal developments in Cuba; legitimate changes in Cuba will only come from the actions of Cubans. If the United States is to play a positive role in Cuba’s future, it must not indulge in hostile rhetoric nor obstruct a dialogue on issues that would advance democracy, justice, and human rights as well as our broader national interests. Perversely, the policy of seeking to isolate Cuba, rather than achieving its objective, has contributed to undermining the well-being of the Cuban people and to eroding U.S. influence in Cuba and Latin America. It has reinforced the Cuban government’s power over its citizens by increasing their dependence on it for every aspect of their livelihood. By slowing the flow of ideas and information, we have unwittingly helped Cuban state security delay Cuba’s political and economic evolution toward a more open and representative government. And by too tightly embracing Cuba’s brave dissidents, we have provided the Cuban authorities with an excuse to denounce their legitimate efforts to build a more open society. The Cuban Revolution of 1959 is a fact of history that cannot be removed or unlived, but over time, Cuba will change. As the Cuban people become inexorably linked to the region and the world, they will themselves come to play a larger role in the way they are governed. Mortality and time, not U.S. sanctions, have already begun the process of change. A new generation of Cuban leaders will replace the Castro brothers and those who fought in the Sierra Maestra. Although Cuba is already undergoing a process of change, the Bush administration’s decision to cling to outmoded tactics of harsh rhetoric and confrontation alienated leaders across the region. Cuba policy should be a pressing issue for the Obama administration because it offers a unique opportunity for the president to transform our Cuba: A New Policy of Critical and Constructive Engagement 15 relations with the hemisphere. Even a slight shift away from hostility to engagement will permit the United States to work more closely with the region to effectively advance...