Cuba: change will benefit the people who matter most

Delighted that America is to begin changing its relationship with Cuba.

It may upset a certain type of tourist but long-term it can only benefit those who matter most, the people of Cuba.

Last year, following an account of a long-awaited visit to Havana, I wrote:

But what of Cuba itself? I had no preconceptions prior to the trip but what I read in advance suggested that the worst excesses of a totalitarian regime - the imprisonment and torture of political opponents, for example – still take place.

I can't shed any light on that. All I can say is that Cuba is changing. Those in our party who first visited the country ten years ago say it has changed a lot already. A decade ago, for example, the authorities made sure there was little or no contact with 'ordinary' Cubans. Today they are far more relaxed.

Significantly I wasn't conscious of any military presence in Havana. Only on our final day, when we drove to the airport, did I see any soldiers in uniform. I didn't see many policemen in uniform either, although that doesn't mean they weren't around. We were warned, for example, not to buy cigars from anyone in the street because they might be plain clothes officers.

Contrast Cuba today with the Soviet Union of 30 years ago and despite its Communist regime it's a very different experience. I visited Moscow in 1981 and it's something I shall never forget. (If you want to know what living under an authoritarian East European regime was like watch the 2007 film The Lives of Others which is set in East Germany a few years before the fall of the Berlin Wall.)

Cuba felt nothing like that, although it may have been different had I been visiting people actively opposed to the government. One huge difference is the Cubans' very public love of music. I can't remember visiting a bar that didn't have a band playing, although how much of that is for the benefit of tourists I'm not sure.

Havana itself reeks of colonial history, mostly Spanish. Old Havana has been given UNESCO status so many of the old buildings are being preserved. There is very little money however so buildings that retain much of their original elegance on the outside are often derelict inside.

There is long stretch overlooking the sea that with proper redevelopment could create a waterfront that would match anything that Cannes or Monte Carlo has to offer. Instead, every other building appeared to be empty or in serious disrepair.

We were warned that the state-owned Nacional Hotel, where we were staying, might seem a bit shabby but it seemed fine to me. Before the Revolution the Nacional was a favourite of American film stars. Sinatra was one of many who stayed there. In those days Havana was also a mecca for the Mafia who by all accounts ran the casinos and made a fortune from gambling. Cuba could enjoy similar prosperity again, without the help of the Mafia, but the country needs investment and the obvious source - the United States - is still off limits.

I'm sure that one day the blockade will be lifted and when that happens expect a huge influx of American tourists followed by a McDonalds and Holiday Inn on every corner. Yes, Cuba will change dramatically but is that such a bad thing? Understandably a lot of visitors like things the way they are but is it wrong to hope for better living standards for the majority of Cubans, many of whom have been enslaved by poverty or political oppression for far too long.

Full post: Notes from a Caribbean island

This year, twelve months after my visit, I commented:

I look forward to returning to Cuba when the Americans have moved in and there is a McDonalds on every corner.

That could be sooner than I anticipated!

Meanwhile, if you prefer 'old' Cuba with its dilapidated buildings, 1950s American Cadillacs and cheap mojitos, I'd get over there fast.

PS. Here's an interesting take on developments that doesn't share my optimistic view of things. I'm no expert, obviously, so these comments are worth bearing in mind:

Marco Rubio slams Cuba agreement, says Obama is ‘willfully ignorant’

I still think that long-term change will be good for the people of Cuba but America will eventually have to go the whole hog and embrace Cuba (and vice versa) which I think, in time, they will.