Lifting the trade and visitation sanctions would probably go a long ways towards helping people out...win-win for everyone except the rulers.
I can never understand how/why Americans so blithely say that lifting our trade sanctions will help to liberate Cuba — Cuba has trade in the hundreds of millions with Canada, Mexico, all of Asia, al of Europe. And we are one of its biggest suppliers of food. There is more tourism there now than when it was called “America’s playground” in the 1950s. Yet living conditions and political oppression keep worsening. That’s because spending $ there does no good for the people because there is no private enterprise. The state owns everything.They use the money to reinforce their own power, with one of the most militarized states on the planet. And for those who say that now that brother Raul has taken over the reins, there will be reform, I say this: Cuba is like one of the mafia worlds from a Scorsese (not Coppola) movie, with DeNiro in the lead as Fidel and Joe Pesci in the supporting role as Raul.
So if in Goodfellas or Casino, the DeNiro character were to step aside to be removed from the #1 spot, you’re saying that reform is going to come from the more reasonable Joe Pesci.