What Obama’s “new approach” to Cuba means for the American South

[applegrove]

What Obama’s “new approach” to Cuba means for the American South

by Steven Rosenfeld at AlterNet, Salon

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/18/what_obamas_new_approach_to_cuba_means_for_the_gulf_coast_partner/

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2. Cuba Policy Raises Florida’s Role in 2016. The state already was set to play a pivotal role in 2016 because of its large population, weight in Electoral College votes, and the surprising 2014 re-election of its Tea Party Republican Governor, Rick Scott. However, now that another ex-Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, has announced that he is forming a presidential exploratory committee, he will seek to lock down big fundraising commitments from Florida’s Cuban expatriot community, many of whom will still not let go of grudges against the Castro regime. Like the Bush family, many of these Cubans lost millions when Castro nationalized their assets in the early 1960s.

The other side of this political equation is how much the rest of Florida’s large Latino community has changed—population-wise and as a voting block—in recent years, which would dillute the power and influence of the state’s Cuban-American political elite. Either way, Obama’s steps to normalize relations with Cuba raises the profile of this slice of Florida politics as the 2016 presidential election field takes shape.

3. The Overlooked Issue: The Gulf Coast Economic Impact. The White House’s briefing papers note that Cuba lags behind the hemisphere in Internet access and other modern necessities, saying those represent big economic opportunities for American companies. But the biggest domestic loser in the half-century of isolating Cuba has been the Gulf Coast’s economy, especially that of New Orleans, which was Havana’s trading partner for centuries. Many historians, such as Ned Sublette, have traced the decline of New Orleans and the rise of Miami to decades of U.S. Cuba policy, as Cuban refugees settled in Miami and then heavily invested in other Central and South American countries.

Ending the Cuba embargo will not change economic trends overnight. But if it succeeds and is not blocked by Congress, it could open the door to new economic growth opportunities that would benefit some of the nation’s poorest southern states. Of course, many influential Cubans in Miami will not want to give up their unofficial role as the Caribbean’s capital city, but if Obama succeeds it will be hard to stop Havana from emerging as a cultural and possibly even economic powerhouse.



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[applegrove]

1. On the news last night someone said Canada sends 1 Million Canadian tourists

a year to Cuba. The equivalent would be 10 million Americans a year going there. That sounds like a bit much but the point is there are huge market opportunities for the US with the opening of relations with CUBA. Americans have money to invest and product to sell. Cuba does not.

[easychoice]

4. here's a cool website that is a huge help for U.S. peeps

http://www.cubagrouptour.com/information/cuba/ustravelers/

I am champing at the bit to spend some time there.I can fly a customs flag on my boat and use the beaches .But I want to hang there without a hassle.There are beautiful places there.

[msongs]

2. so what does cuba actually have that we need in terms of trade? not much that I know of. It

might take some tourist trade away from florida tho

[applegrove]

3. Canadians have been involved in treasure hunting off cuba. Also cigars.

And the tourism and accompanying reforms will mean a middle class income for Cubans. Then they will buy American products. They are a market of 11 million (plus all their tourists from around the world) that didn't exist for the USA until yesterday.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

5. Initially, it will be a tourist market.

Initially, it will be a tourist market. Fresh stop for the cruise boat crowd. Sport fishing and diving crown should be big. I imagine Margaritaville Havana is coming.

Long run - it may spell the end of sugar cane planting in LA and FL.

US construction, architecture, and engineering firms have been shut out of this market for a while.

Questions: Does Cuba reconcile with the Bacardi family (who have pretty well set up shop in Puerto Rico)? Will corporate casinos be allowed back in under strict controls?

[Cha]

6. Gracias apple!