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Boston real estate developer begs for open Cuba
"Whatever motivated the original break in the U.S.-Cuban relations," Boston real estate developer Don Chiofaro wrote in a Saturday op-ed piece in the Boston Herald, "it is incomprehensible to me why it continues." I guess he's unfamiliar with the Cuban missile crisis and the fear of communism that pervaded the United States while he was growing up.The topic of Cuba has come up a few times on the pages of Gadling over the past few weeks – and for good reason. Foreign visitors do find the country to be safe, and many have a great time visiting there. Cigar smokers (among which I count myself) eagerly await the day that the borders open and all those illicit Montecristos become legit. More than 45 years have past since the embargo was implemented, and a lot has changed. But, we need to be a tad realistic about the situation.
Cuba is still plagued by an abysmal human rights record, and many Cuban-Americans remember this aspect of their earlier lives without a shred of fondness. The company is ruled not by the vote of the people (even indirectly, as democracy functions up here) but by a single voice that mixes dictatorship with signs of royalty – just note that Fidel Castro turned control of the country over to his brother, Raul.
I'm not supporting the embargo, which I do suspect is anachronistic, but I do suggest that serious thought must be applied to U.S. policy. We need to do more than rely on the observations of a Boston businessman who took advantage of a boondoggle from friends in high places.
More realistically, Chiofaro is stinging from battles with Boston's mayor, Tom Menino, and still hasn't fully recovered from the near loss of his prized International Place towers back in 2004 and 2005. Or, the promise of land to be developed has probably caught his eye. Either way, he's talking without thinking again, as he did when he referred to New York-based property development firm Tishman Speyer as a "gang of pirates."
C'mon, Don. A builder should know the value of being "constructive."
[Via Boston Herald]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
paul Feb 1st 2009 1:51PM
Speaking of being constructive, you haven't really given a reason in this piece as to why we shouldn't lift the embargo. If human rights concerns you, then why not write an article proposing a ban on travel to Mexico?
Eva Feb 1st 2009 9:13PM
"that mixes dictatorship with signs of royalty"
Noooo, not royalty! :D
Seriously though. No one is suggesting that Cuba's record is pretty, but the US deals openly and frequently with countries with far worse records (our dear ally Saudi, anyone?) - including some that are officially Communist (China, Vietnam - so much for the "fear of communism" as the cause). For that matter, the human rights record in the US of A has gotten pretty ugly itself in the past 8 years, so who's calling who unjust, right?
The bottom line for me has never been about "Is Cuba good or bad?" - the reality is that governments, good and bad, deal with each other, every day, all over the world. Singling Cuba out for ostracization is bizarre, petty and hypocritical.
james Feb 2nd 2009 5:30AM
Good points Eva. The bottom line for me is freedom to travel where I want, when I want, without interference from my own government. Everybody in the world with the exception of our country travels to Cuba without problem. The history of the embargo, human rights here there or wherever, is beside the point. It is a political issue generated by the priveleged Cuban exiles who were deposed by Castro in toppling the more severe Batista, who was the friend of America and the American Mafia. It is probably the most shameful chapter in American foreign policy, but those "American"-Cubans in Miami carry some influence. Just ask Gore, whose pandering to them cost him the Presidency.