The Impact Of US Embargo On Cuban Government And People

The US embargo on Cuba has been and continues to be a very debatable topic that generates much discussions and debate in United States of America, Cuba and worldwide. My research question is why was the embargo imposed and how it affected the foreign policy and the people of Cuba and my argument is to show how the government and the people of Cuba were able to survive despite the embargo. This dissertation paper aims at analyzing the impact of US Embargo on Cuba and the Cuban people.This dissertation is divided into four chapters. Chapter1looks at Cuba’s history, all the events that took place which influenced the imposition of the embargo. How the political decision to choose a socialist system taken by the revolution was influential in the US decision to establish an embargo on Cuba.In the second chapter, it examines the Cuba relations with other countries like the Soviet Union, Venezuela and their relationship with other organizations how these factors were instrumental in helping Cuba survive the US Embargo. Also it directly looks at the US Embargo on Cuba and factors that influenced the US policy on Cuba.The third Chapter addresses the Economy of Cuba; Education and the Health Systems of Cuba, in terms of how they were affected by the US Embargo and how the Cuban government, their leaders and the people was able to keep the economy and more so their education and health system afloat despite the US Embargo.The forth chapter looked at the Developments under Raul Castro including his major decisions, President Obama policy towards Cuba and the Embargo presently today. Following a comparatively aspect and an extensive study of the US Embargo on Cuba, it can be concluded that the United States of America motivation for establishing an Embargo and it objectives of having an Embargo on Cuba, did not succeed in the way that the US Government was hoping for. In this regard the objectives, that the embargo was set out to accomplish by the US government failed. Secondly we can see that the Cuban leader at the time Fidel Castro and his government used their initiative and resources and formulate good relationships with other countries in order to help them, so as to be able to survive the US Embargo.Thirdly the Cuban leader and government worked diligently to develop their education and health system which is regarded as one of the best in their region and even is compare to United States of America. Fourthly Cuba was able to establish and has very strong and close relationship with Venezuela and other countries in their region, which gave them financial assistance. Fifth, as a result of these close relations Cuba had established these relations were instrumental in the formation ALBA and Cuba being of a member of other organization within their region such as Caricom.Sixth, the establishment of certain organization and Cuba being part of such organization has strengthened Cuba’s influence regionally and internationally, as a result we have seen more and more countries taking the side of Cuba, in support of the removal of the over fifty (50) years US Embargo. Seventh, the US policy towards Cuba has been very much constant over the years, with some policies being tightened and some being relaxed, depending on the president and administration that governed the United States of America. Eight, the Cuban leader and his government have managed to use the little resources that they have and were able to recycle some of these resources so as to save the country million of dollars in expenditures.Ninth, opinions are changing toward the removal of US Embargo on Cuba. More and more Cuban-Americans, especially in State of Florida, after polls have been conducted shared the view that the Embargo is doing more harm to the Cuban people than that of the Cuban government. It should be removed, since it is only making the daily life of Cubans in Cuba more challenging.Tenth, with Fidel Castro handing over leadership to his brother Raul Castro, one started to see some new changes in Cuba. Under President Barack Obama there has been some changes with US polices on Cuba, so we can see there might be some room for development and changes in the US and Cuba relationship in the future. Hopefully in the future this will result in the removal of an embargo which has plagued Cuba for over fifty years.