Cuba needs its old foe
Seems like Cuba is pulling the brakes on the recently heralded warming up of its relations with the US. The historic breakthrough may've prompted many in Havana to sound the alarm: what would happen if Obama's new approach to Cuba puts all achievements of the revolution in question? Cuba is afraid it could remain without its sworn enemy. And for a reason. After all, the US has been one of the main foundations that the Castro regime has long been using to legitimize its grip on power.
Without its crusade against American imperialism, the regime would find it hard to explain to its people how come there's still a one-party state there. If the US embargo is lifted, there'll be no more excuse for the ailing economy and the finacial failures. Which is why the hardliners in Havana don't really seem to want a normalization of the relations with the US. Since the very beginning of the negotiations, a speaker of the Cuban foreign ministry pointed out that establishing normal diplomatic relations shouldn't necessarily mean normalization of the political relations.
After half a century of socialism, Cuba cannot and does not want to abandon its ideological principles - not without putting the very existence of its system in jeopardy. The Castro regime is doing their best to protect their power, while the US is mostly pursuing economic and geopolitical interests. So the normalization of the diplomatic relations has its merits for both sides, but for different reasons.
The Castro regime has declared this achievement to be a political victory, since Cuba is getting more concessions from the US than the opposite. For instance, the Cuban expats in the US will be able to send more dollars back to the island, and the easier traveling regime will certainly increase the number of Americans who'd like to visit Cuba and see with their eyes how the last fortress of socialism looks like IRL.
Cuba's dependence on the financial transfers from "enemy" America is one of the many paradoxes in this strange symbiotic relationship. The Cuban population cannot get all those foods without the US, either - despite the embargo, the US has remained Cuba's 4th largest trade partner through the years.
In reality, the normalization of the relations between the two countries has been ongoing for quite a while. Thanks to the Internet, the Cuban sports fans are able to follow their idols from the NBA, and keep in touch with the latest fashion fads in Miami. 2 million Cubans already live in the US. And thanks to the loosened traveling regime since 2013, about 50,000 new "political refugees" are added to these every year.
The Castro regime doesn't have much time to ensure the survival of its ideological future. So it's no surprise that they're doing everything in their powers to stall the real normalization of their relations with the US as long as possible. Because they realize that without their sworn enemy, their brand of socialism is doomed.
Without its crusade against American imperialism, the regime would find it hard to explain to its people how come there's still a one-party state there. If the US embargo is lifted, there'll be no more excuse for the ailing economy and the finacial failures. Which is why the hardliners in Havana don't really seem to want a normalization of the relations with the US. Since the very beginning of the negotiations, a speaker of the Cuban foreign ministry pointed out that establishing normal diplomatic relations shouldn't necessarily mean normalization of the political relations.
After half a century of socialism, Cuba cannot and does not want to abandon its ideological principles - not without putting the very existence of its system in jeopardy. The Castro regime is doing their best to protect their power, while the US is mostly pursuing economic and geopolitical interests. So the normalization of the diplomatic relations has its merits for both sides, but for different reasons.
The Castro regime has declared this achievement to be a political victory, since Cuba is getting more concessions from the US than the opposite. For instance, the Cuban expats in the US will be able to send more dollars back to the island, and the easier traveling regime will certainly increase the number of Americans who'd like to visit Cuba and see with their eyes how the last fortress of socialism looks like IRL.
Cuba's dependence on the financial transfers from "enemy" America is one of the many paradoxes in this strange symbiotic relationship. The Cuban population cannot get all those foods without the US, either - despite the embargo, the US has remained Cuba's 4th largest trade partner through the years.
In reality, the normalization of the relations between the two countries has been ongoing for quite a while. Thanks to the Internet, the Cuban sports fans are able to follow their idols from the NBA, and keep in touch with the latest fashion fads in Miami. 2 million Cubans already live in the US. And thanks to the loosened traveling regime since 2013, about 50,000 new "political refugees" are added to these every year.
The Castro regime doesn't have much time to ensure the survival of its ideological future. So it's no surprise that they're doing everything in their powers to stall the real normalization of their relations with the US as long as possible. Because they realize that without their sworn enemy, their brand of socialism is doomed.