It lacks production capacity and depends on imports for 80% of its food needs
US sanctions on Cuba complete its sixth decade
One of the frequent demonstrations that take place in Havana against the embargo imposed by America against Cuba.
AFP
Cubans queue to get food amid persistent food shortages.
AFP
picture
Last Monday marked the 60th anniversary of the US economic embargo on Cuba, which greatly affected the wealth of the communist country in the absence of any indications that it could be lifted.
The ban on bilateral trade ordered by the late US President John F. Kennedy on February 3, 1962, came into force four days after that date.
Its purpose, according to Kennedy's executive order, was to reduce the threat posed by "the alignment of (Cuba) with communist forces."
Although it has failed to force Havana to alter its approach since then, sanctions are still in place six decades later, and the Cuban authorities hold it responsible for causing damage to the country's economy amounting to about $150 billion.
Cuba is experiencing the worst economic crisis in 30 years, as the inflation rate has reached 70% in light of a severe shortage of food and medicine, while the “Covid-19” epidemic has dealt a severe blow to the main source of income (tourism).
It has become common for the population to queue up in long queues to get the basics, while food imports have decreased due to the shrinking of government reserves.
Sanctions Havana holds responsibility for all of the island's crises.
For months, the authorities raised the slogan “the siege is also a virus,” while convoys including cars, bicycles and motorcycles roamed the country, denouncing the sanctions.
But opponents also attribute the crisis to inefficiency and structural problems in the economy of the one-party state.
Backfire
The activist, Rosa Maria Baia, of the pressure group Cuba Deside (Cuba Desidera), which she runs from exile, considers that "the real blockade was imposed by the Cuban state."
She believes that the blockade will not be lifted except through "a transition to a representative democracy for all."
Cuba lacks production capacity and relies on imports for about 80% of its food needs.
A monetary reform launched a year ago to ease pressure on Cubans has led to a huge wage hike in a country where most of its employees work in the public sector, but it has been accompanied by massive price inflation.
Since 2000, foodstuffs have been exempted from the US embargo, and between 2000 and 2015, Cuba imported nearly $1.5 billion worth of food from its neighbour.
But she had to make purchases in advance and in cash, which is difficult for a country with limited reserves.
For Carlos Guerrez, a Cuban-American who once served as US Secretary of Commerce, the embargo proved to be "counterproductive."
"Nothing was ever obtained from Havana," he said.
geopolitical interests
Instead of conceding, Cuba sought the support of US adversaries such as China and Russia. Two weeks ago, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel discussed "strategic partnership" in a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
Recently, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicated that Moscow would not rule out deploying troops in Cuba, just a few hundred kilometers from Miami in the US state of Florida, if tensions escalated with Washington over Ukraine.
For some, situations like this are reminiscent of the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis between the United States and the former Soviet Union, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war and was the main motive for the imposition of the embargo on Cuba.
Conflict was averted when Moscow agreed to remove Soviet missiles from Cuban soil.
Political expert Rafael Hernandez asserts that the US embargo began as a "strategic and military tool" in the context of the war, adding that despite the end of the Cold War, "the (US) political interests" still determine its position on Cuba.
Domestic political calculations in the United States have also played a role, as the votes of the important anti-Havana Cuban community are able to overturn election results in “swinging” states (that is, those that do not traditionally vote for the same party every time) such as Florida.
After they were eased somewhat during a rapprochement under his predecessor Barack Obama, former President Donald Trump intensified the sanctions, adding 243 new measures.
Despite his campaign promises, President Joe Biden did not take any steps to ease the embargo, but rather announced new measures against Cuban leaders.
• Cuba is experiencing the worst economic crisis in 30 years, as the inflation rate has reached 70% in light of severe food and medicine shortages, while the "Covid-19" epidemic has dealt a severe blow to the main source of income (tourism).
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