Biden should denounce Cuba’s communist tyranny while pushing for more free trade with Cubans.
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In Cuba this past July, thousands of openly defiant citizens took to the streets, chanting they were "no longer afraid" of the communist regime. In response, a routine, inevitable wave of repression ensued, but this time was different since the world saw much of it live on social media channels, which Cubans increasingly use. The myth of an egalitarian, socialist paradise with a superior healthcare system was clearly exposed with viral images of miserable hospital conditions and chronic food shortages.
Wise politics, wrote philosopher Nicolás Gómez Dávila, consist of strengthening society and weakening the state. In that vein, Biden's approach should be simple: oppose, pressure, and denounce the Cuban dictatorship—but allow American commerce, tourism, and money transfers to benefit ordinary Cubans. The tailwinds are strong. For the first time in six decades, the Cuban regime is afraid of its people.
More noteworthy still was the willingness of ordinary Cubans to persevere with the protests. Unlike the last massive protest in Havana, in 1994, which fizzled out as a one-time affair, this year's demonstrations will have a sequel. When dissidents announced they would march peacefully through Cuban cities on November 20, the regime refused to grant them permission to do so. Current dictator Miguel Díaz-Canel, heir to the Castro brothers at the helm of the Communist Party, has scheduled military exercises on the same date and declared a "day of national defense" against supposed foreign interference. The dissidents, led by playwright Yunior García, responded by changing the protest date to November 15.
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