We know all too well the Cold War rationale of South Florida hard liners on further relaxation of restraints on Americans wanting to travel to Cuba. We also know their obvious, and disappointing, impact on the Obama Administration. Well, here’s a travel take by someone who can’t be accused of being soft on the Cuban dictatorship: Miriam Leiva, a founder of the Cuban dissident group Ladies in White. She is a prominent — and very vocal — critic of the Cuban government.
“Those in the United States who oppose the visit of its citizens invoke the financial impact of tourism in the Cuban economy, for fear it may invigorate the totalitarian regime,” Leiva recently told — via teleconference — a House committee hearing on the travel-to-Cuba ban. “But, without a doubt, many thousands of Americans visiting Cuba would benefit our society and therefore our people.
“In the first place, through the free flow of ideas, and also by pressuring the government to allow self-employment for the offer of products and services such as room rentals, because hotel accommodations would be swamped.
“Of course the Americans would spend money. It would be collected by the Cuban government, which is so inefficient that it could only keep small amounts, not enough to cover its major needs. …The money spent by the Americans would return through the purchases made from American farmers and other traders to supply the hotels, restaurants and stores.
“The Cuban authorities have used the embargo to justify their arbitrariness, economic inefficiency, mismanagement and repression. They fear losing that pretext, just as they panic at the idea of losing the excuse to keep the Americans out. …We are convinced that a lessened tension in the relations between Cuba and the United States would help our objectives.”