A Pro and Con Analysis of the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act and the Difficulty of Enforcement of the trade Embargo
The pros of the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act was designed to promote the spread of democracy to Cuba, which was formed around a trade embargo to limit the material economy in order to overthrow Fidel Castro and his government. In 1992, the Cuban Democracy Act was designed to crate a slow economic downturn in the Cuban economy, which would force the government to embrace a new style of democratic regime in the place of Castro. This was seen as a positive style of economic warfare that would alter the dictatorial style of governance that Castro wielded in Cuba: “Sometimes, foreign pressure brings about human rights improvements, and sometimes …show more content…
During the original embargos against the Cuba by the United States in the 1960 and 1970s, the Soviet Union replaced the U.S. as a major trade partner. In the 1990s, South American nations, Russia, and other regional trade partners simply filled in the trade gap that was left by the U.S.: “The countervailing power of host countries and the self-interested behavior of private actors denied American trade hegemony during the embargo” (Rodman, 2001, p.106). In this scenario, the Americans only encouraged foreign nations outside of their economic sphere to trade with Cuba, which helped to sustain the economy during the embargo. The 1992 Cuban Democracy Act had merely replicated the Cuban embargo of previous years, yet it had changed the political ideology of the embargo as a democratically motivated objective. However, the reality of international trade disallowed the American government to have complete authority and enforcement over the embargo. The formation of black markets, competitive national trade initiatives, and other factors allowed Castro and his government to enjoy some economic stability in the aftermath of the Cuban Democracy Act. Certainly the fall of Soviet Union was a major blow the Cuban economy, but there were many other nations that sought to trade with Cuba. In essence, American lost a trade opportunity that was part of the economic embargo policies it had initiated to overthrow the Cuban government. These are important reasons why the Cuban embargo was difficult to enforce due to Cuba’s ability to trade with other
The pros of the 1992 Cuban Democracy Act was designed to promote the spread of democracy to Cuba, which was formed around a trade embargo to limit the material economy in order to overthrow Fidel Castro and his government. In 1992, the Cuban Democracy Act was designed to crate a slow economic downturn in the Cuban economy, which would force the government to embrace a new style of democratic regime in the place of Castro. This was seen as a positive style of economic warfare that would alter the dictatorial style of governance that Castro wielded in Cuba: “Sometimes, foreign pressure brings about human rights improvements, and sometimes …show more content…
During the original embargos against the Cuba by the United States in the 1960 and 1970s, the Soviet Union replaced the U.S. as a major trade partner. In the 1990s, South American nations, Russia, and other regional trade partners simply filled in the trade gap that was left by the U.S.: “The countervailing power of host countries and the self-interested behavior of private actors denied American trade hegemony during the embargo” (Rodman, 2001, p.106). In this scenario, the Americans only encouraged foreign nations outside of their economic sphere to trade with Cuba, which helped to sustain the economy during the embargo. The 1992 Cuban Democracy Act had merely replicated the Cuban embargo of previous years, yet it had changed the political ideology of the embargo as a democratically motivated objective. However, the reality of international trade disallowed the American government to have complete authority and enforcement over the embargo. The formation of black markets, competitive national trade initiatives, and other factors allowed Castro and his government to enjoy some economic stability in the aftermath of the Cuban Democracy Act. Certainly the fall of Soviet Union was a major blow the Cuban economy, but there were many other nations that sought to trade with Cuba. In essence, American lost a trade opportunity that was part of the economic embargo policies it had initiated to overthrow the Cuban government. These are important reasons why the Cuban embargo was difficult to enforce due to Cuba’s ability to trade with other