Opinion: Stand with Cuba against communism
On July 11, Cubans in Havana and all over the island took part in the biggest anti-government demonstration for freedom in decades. Cubans young and old are protesting the 62-year-old communist regime. In the news and social media, Cubans can be seen waving the Cuban flag next to the American flag and shouting “libertad, libertad” and “USA, USA.”
Cuba has had a long history of communist rule. In 1959, Fidel Castro along with his revolutionaries, such as the left’s venerated Argentine Marxist Che Guevara, overthrew the U.S.-backed Batista regime. In 2008, the Castro family finally stepped down after 50 years, but the communist grip in Cuba continued.
Today, Cubans have had enough. Most Cubans understand that to have a better life they must not only put an end to tyrants who have historically ruled Cuba, but they must put an end to the destructive ideology itself — communism.
Media in the United States claim the Cuban people are protesting the conditions they have had to endure under the COVID-19 pandemic, but that is not entirely true. Yes, conditions made by the pandemic have made things worse in Cuba, but Cubans are not protesting for vaccines or healthcare alone; it goes much deeper — Cubans are tired of communism. Cubans see what the Marxist ideology has done to their country over the last 62 years, and they have their eyes wide open.
Armando Castillo, a 58-year-old Cuban immigrant who attended Utah State University, confirmed this sentiment among Cuban Americans, “As a kid, I remember people eating stray animals, dogs and cats and garbage from dumpsters. There was not enough to live because the government took everything. For 62 years we could not speak out, and now Americans calling for socialism in the U.S. should be ashamed of themselves. Look at Cuba! Look at Cuba!”
Communism itself claims collectivism is altruistic, that the individual should serve the collective good — this is done through socialist policies that nationalize a nation’s industry, economy and abolish private property. But most Cubans understand that to be free, they must have the opportunity to succeed, not guaranteed a handout. Most Cubans understand they must oversee their own “selfish” destiny, not be overseen by those who seek the forced destiny of all.
Those who have pushed socialism, like Castro, have promised great things but have never delivered. Out of the 40 countries that have tried it, all have failed. Cuba will now join failed Communist countries like Ethiopia, Cambodia, Romania and Venezuela that promised their citizens paradise but instead provided a loss of liberties and the death of their own citizens.
While politicians on the left such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., venerate Marxists and communists like Che Guevara, most Cubans do not. Cubans understand communism as the big brother of socialism: bread lines, political prisoners and the police state. They do not view communism through the same spoiled lens as Americans typing “capitalism is evil” on their capitalist-made iPhones or while drinking their capitalist-made Starbucks latte.
Cubans love capitalism and the U.S.’s constitutional republic. Pew Research states approximately 1.5 million Cubans have immigrated to the U.S., with 68% of Cubans living in Florida. Putting them in the top ten of immigrants to the U.S. and the third-largest population of Hispanic origin living in the States.
On July 15, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, introduced a resolution in support of the Cuban people for internet and other aid. I agree with Sen. Rubio, who contested the claim on his Twitter page that the U.S. embargo alone is destabilizing Cuba. Cubans are already suffering a humanitarian crisis under their communist government and are clear in their willingness to sacrifice for freedom. I believe now is the time to support the Cuban people in their stand against communism.
Keaton Hagloch is a Public Health major and has a passion for politics and writing. He loves the outdoors, playing the guitar and spending time with friends and family.
khagloch@aggiemail.usu.edu