Debate Central – Workshop 2013 – Petit/Herndon

Cuba Facts

 Population: 11+ million

 Area: 43,000 square miles
 Capital: Havana
Diplomatic Foundations
 Former president Fulgencio Batista seized control of
Cuba via coup in 1952
 Fidel Castro led a revolution against the Batista regime
beginning in 1956; captured Havana/ gained U.S.
recognition in 1959
 U.S. efforts to isolate the Castro regime began soon
thereafter, including sanctions, support for rebel
groups, and assassination attempts
 Cuba began close collaboration with the USSR and
other communist states
Foundations, cont’d
 Cuban Missile Crisis
 Cuba faced serious problems after the collapse of the
USSR in 1991—loss of energy, financial, military
support
 Cuba adapted—reforms to the socialist economy, new
alliances with China, Venezuela, other Bolivaran states
 Fidel Castro stepped down in 2008, replaced by his
younger brother Raul
 The U.S. embargo, codified in 1993’s Cuba Democracy
Act and 1996’s Helms-Burton law, remains in place
Status of U.S.-Cuba Relations
 Trade, assistance, business relations, monetary
transactions, travel, financial transactions, etc. are all
severely restricted
 Exceptions exist for trade in particular goods/services
(particularly agriculture) and travel/remittances by certain
Americans (typically Cuban ex-pats and their
descendants). All relations must be licensed, and those
licenses are very difficult to obtain
 The U.S. tries to enforce aspects of the embargo extra-
territorially (outside of the U.S.)
 Resumption of trade/relations is conditioned on Cuba
meeting strict economic/political liberalization goals
Rationale for the Embargo
 Cuba’s government poses a security threat to the U.S.
and we should not do anything to enrich the regime
 Cuba’s government oppresses its people, and refusing
to do business with the regime demonstrates our
objections to these practices
 Cuba’s government stole property from American
companies and citizens (old and new)
 The U.S. needs to take a hardline with Cuba to signal
to our enemies that are deeply resolved to defeat them
Proposals for Change
 Normalize relations
 End particular isolation policies
 Travel restrictions
 Agricultural payment restrictions
 Restrictions on transactions with state-owned enterprises
 Restrictions on joint resource development
 Restrictions on access to financial services
 Terror list
 Restrictions on humanitarian items /telecomm remittances
 Restrictions on public/private collaborations
 Promote exchanges / dialogue
 Conditioned (tit for tat) easing of restrictions
 Return Guantanamo Bay
Advantage Areas
 Cuba Economy
 Cuba Political Transition / Stability
 Humanitarian Concerns
 Imperialism is Bad
 International Law
 Relations / Collaboration Good
 Drug cooperation
 Environmental cooperation
 Scientific Cooperation
Advantage Areas, cont’d
 U.S. Credibility / Influence
 Allies / extraterritorial sanctions
 Influence vs. competitor states (China, Russia,
Venezuela)
 Latin American states
 Multilateralism
 U.S. Economy
Negative Arguments
 Topicality
 Ending the embargo goes above and beyond “economic
engagement”
 Many forms of engagement are likely not “economic”
 Counterplans
 Advantage counterplans
 Alternative mechanism of engagement
 Domestic actor (executive v. courts v. congress)
 Unconditional vs. QPQ
 U.S. vs. alternate international actor
Neg Arguments, cont’d
 Disadvantages
 Politics
 Cuba as Security Threat
 Cuba as Unspoiled Socialist Paradise
 U.S. hegemony / influence bad
 Reverse Cuba political transition / stability
 Kritiks
 Traditional IR K’s—identity, geopolitics, etc.
 Affs have to be “economic”
 Affs have to be “engagement”
 “Economic engagement” means using trade/aid to turn other
countries into “mini-me’s”