Cuba – Do They Like Us?

(cross-posted from www.indisputably.org)

Since returning, I’ve received calls from those about to go and questions from others—what are the Cuban people like?  And what do they think of Americans?

The official Cuban policy, of course, is that the US policy has been shortsighted and narrow minded.  And the list of US policies that need to change was also outlined for us:

  • end the embargo
  • stop treating Cuban immigrants to the US differently from other immigrants (granting them refugee status when no other national group is and thereby encouraging them to leave)
  • leave Guantanamo Bay–what lease lasts over 100 years!?!
  • and stop broadcasting US propaganda from Radio Marti.

Museo_de_la_Revolucion-Rincon_de_los_cretinos_Batista_Reagan_G._Bush_W._BushAnd one can definitely see anti-American sentiment in the Museum of the Revolution in a very funny little exhibit called the Rincon de los Cretinos(the Corner of Idiots).

But those are the official sentiments, and not at all what one hears around and about.  According to the American journalist, Mark Frank, who spoke to us, there has not been any anti-US demonstrations in a decade.  And I did not see any billboards or posters that were anti-US (other than the historic exhibits in the Museum).  Most importantly, each student noted how individually friendly the Cubans were.

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Cuba — Economic Challenges

For the blog today, I thought I would incorporate some of the student reflections about one of our first speakers.  We had a terrific briefing on the economy from Guilio Ricci, an economics professor at the University of Havana.

From Max Rabkin:

Spending a week in Havana was an eye-opening experience for many reasons. I expected good food, friendly people and time-capsule-like architecture, and was not disappointed with any of those. However, I was most intrigued with how the country and the Castro government was handling the introduction of market reforms and resuming diplomatic relations with the United States.

Most fascinating was the talk with the economist from the University of Havana. I went into the trip expecting a heavy dose of Marxist-Leninist thought to permeate every discussion the group had, and although this was generally true, the economic lecture ended up being one of the fairest and provided the most realistic outlook for the Cuban economy and future enterprise prospects for the public. 

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New Law School Poll Results: What Does the Present Say About the Future?

It was baseball great (and quotation legend) Yogi Berra who said, “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.”

And as Professor Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll, says, a poll is only a snapshot of public opinion at the time the questions were asked.

So let;s not get carried away with assuming what lies ahead, based on the results of the Marquette Law School Poll that was released on Thursday.

But the fresh round of poll results offers some windows for looking toward what is going to happen in Wisconsin politics, not only in 2016 but in following years.

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