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Should the US maintain the embargo against Cuba? Should the US maintain the embargo against Cuba?
Yes, the US should maintain the embargo. Yes, the US should maintain the embargo.
No, the US should lift the embargo. No, the US should lift the embargo.
Lifting the embargo would economically strengthen a dictatorial regime Lifting the embargo would economically strengthen a dictatorial regime
Cuba has never met the conditions needed to lift the embargo Cuba has never met the conditions needed to lift the embargo
The Cuban government is hostile to the US The Cuban government is hostile to the US
The Embargo has achieved nothing The Embargo has achieved nothing
The Cold War is over The Cold War is over
The embargo has hurt innocent Cuban people The embargo has hurt innocent Cuban people
Lifting the embargo will stimulate the US economy Lifting the embargo will stimulate the US economy
The Cuban-American Lobby is holding the US to ransom The Cuban-American Lobby is holding the US to ransom
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Should the US maintain the embargo against Cuba?
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No, the US should lift the embargo.

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The Cuban-American Lobby is holding the US to ransom

The majority of Americans do not want a Cuban embargo. The state of Florida is an important swing state in American elections. Due to the number of Cuban-Americans living in Florida, successive American presidents have maintained the embargo in order to win votes, against the will of the majority.
George McGovern
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The Argument

According to recent polling, the majority of Americans do not support the embargo against Cuba. Both democrat and republican voters support putting an end to the sanctions.[1] Florida is an important swing state for winning US elections. Florida is also home to many Cuban-Americans, and the powerful and conservative Cuban-American lobby which has historically supported the embargo. Hillary Clinton has stated that her husband Bill supported the Cuban Embargo initially because it was "good politics" which garnered support from Cuba-Americans.[2] Recent commentators have remarked that Trump's hard-line on Cuba is an attempt to secure votes in Florida.[3] Important supporters of the embargo have included conservative figures such Jorge Mas Canosa, who was at the Bay of Pigs, and who many believed was likely to stand for president in the event of a free Cuba. Although he has since died, the Cuban-Amerian National Foundation he launched with a number of other wealthy Cuban exiles has been a prominent and powerful proponent of the Cuban embargo.[4] Americans do not want an embargo. Successive presidents have supported the embargo as part of a cynical move to win elections.

Counter arguments

America should listen to the strongly conservative voice of many the Cuban American exiles. The people and their families know Cuba best and should be allowed to have their say. The fact they are a minority is irrelevant because they are the group most qualified to judge the situation correctly.[5] The views of the Cuban-American come from contact with Cuba, including groups within Cuba such as the Ladies in White who do not wish to see the regime that persecutes them empowered by the US.[6] The minority voice of Cuban Americans should not be ignored, they are the best placed to make a decision on the issue.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Most Americans do not want an embargo. [P2] Cuban-Americans in Florida decide elections. [C] The US government has kept the embargo to pander to a small minority of Americans who can decide elections.

Rejecting the premises

References

  1. https://www.engagecuba.org/polling
  2. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/10/the-1996-incident-that-made-it-nearly-impossible-to-repeal-the-cuba-embargo/381107/
  3. https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/how-miamis-cuban-americans-shaped-trumps-cuba-policy-11704162
  4. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article213289789.html
  5. https://cuba-embargo.procon.org/
  6. https://www.deseret.com/2016/1/29/20581118/my-view-the-u-s-should-keep-the-cuba-embargo-in-place

In the Wild

This page was last edited on Friday, 23 Oct 2020 at 09:10 UTC

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