Unleashing capitalism in Cuba is the smart choice for Biden and the Democrats
The Biden administration recently announced that it is rolling back several of President Trump’s hard-line policies against Cuba, including by allowing more flights to the island and ending restrictions on money that immigrants can send back home.
While this won’t win Democrats any points with Florida’s exile voters in the midterms, it is a necessary step — albeit a half step — toward staving off larger immigration and security crises on America’s southern flank.
For Democrats, it is beginning to feel like we are in the Carter years again, with stagflation, crime in our cities, high gas prices and an Iranian crisis looming. Now, we also face the risk of another Cuban-migration crisis like the one that helped lead to President Jimmy Carter’s election defeat in 1980.
As the economic and political situation on the island deteriorates, Cuban migrants are now pouring into the United States at the highest numbers seen in four decades, with about 150,000 expected to arrive this year. But that’s not the only Cuba-related risk facing Democrats.
As Russia and China both accuse the west of encroaching on their territories, we once again face the specter of our enemies positioning military assets 90 miles off the Florida coast. Russia and China see this southern neighbor as the soft underbelly of our nation and an opportunity to capitalize on a failed state that desperately seeks aid.
Both Republicans and Democrats agree on what must be done to defend against these dangers: America must bring democracy, capitalism and human rights to Cuba. They just disagree on how to get there. Republicans have tried a hard-line policy of starving the island of financial resources for the past 60 years, with zero results. Democrats tried President Obama’s normalization policies to deliver a dose of capitalist medicine to the Cuban people, but the experiment was cut short by President
Trump.
Today, there is only one policy position that makes sense for the Biden administration: Launch a capitalist invasion of the Cuban island.
No hard power is required. They can do it by deploying our capitalist navy, such as Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line; our capitalist army, like Hilton, Apple and Starbucks; and our capitalist air force, including American Airlines, Delta and Jet Blue.
This strategy acknowledges a key reality: The Cuban people are the only pathway to real change on the island. We need to stop trying to make deals with the Cuban government and instead make a deal with the Cuban people. By giving them a taste of what is possible through capitalism, we can empower them to create the change they want to see in their nation.
Critics note that the Cuban regime would benefit from increased commerce on the island, and that’s true. But the Cuban people would benefit more. And the more you give them a taste of capitalism, the harder it will be for the Cuban government to put that genie back in the bottle.
I saw the spirit of the Cuban people firsthand when I traveled with President Obama to Cuba on his historic trip in 2016. I saw a great hunger for the basic rights that we in America take for granted. By giving Cubans the opportunity to enjoy Americanstyle commerce, we can whet their appetite for freedom.
As Obama said during his speech in Havana: “In the United States, we have a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build: it’s called Miami.”
With its new policies, the Biden administration has taken an important step toward unleashing the capitalist invasion, including by allowing Americans to invest in private businesses in Cuba for the first time in six decades.
President Biden was right when he said that this will give the Cuban people “tools to pursue a life free from Cuban government oppression and to seek greater economic opportunities.”
But he can, and must, do more, including ending the blockade and allowing American firms to freely do business with our Cuban neighbors. Biden’s allies in the Democratic political establishment should encourage this realignment of policy rather than dissuade it.
They need to understand that there are bigger risks than losing Hispanic votes in Florida. They could guarantee a loss in 2024 by allowing another Mariel boatlift to take place, or another Cuban missile crisis.
Democrats should ask themselves: Would they rather see cruise ships or warships in Havana Harbor?
Philip Levine is a former two-term mayor of Miami Beach, a one-time Democratic candidate for Florida governor and a cruise-industry expert.