Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick Lee
That would have been impossible. China was never a Soviet client state, while Cuba was. We were able to do business with China because of that and the fact that they offered us a good counterbalance to Soviet power. And I'd say Cuba has PLENTY of exposure to the U.S. way of life, far more than China had until around Deng's later years. Aside from the millions of family members living in the U.S., Cubans are bombarded with Radio Marti and plenty of other U.S. propaganda or cultural broadcasts. And Cuba was a U.S. territory before 1959, so there are plenty of folks still there who remember those days.
I don't think corporations' financial interests and our government's security interests are necessarily mutually exclusive.
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Cuba: interacts with the U.S. from the media and propaganda.
China: interacts with the U.S. because of business interests and the gov'ts need to do something for the economy, etc.
The difference is the source of information and personal interest. Assume Coca-Cola opened a plant in Cuba. They need sugar - the cheaper the better - and Cuba can provide it. When Cubans are getting their paychecks (sustenance) from a U.S. company their interests change and their demands and behavior change. The gov't has an interest in some stability by not pulling the plug on the job and cash-flow stream.
Being a client state is not sufficient difference. I have also spent lots of time in the "other" side of the Iron Curtain. You are on-target about their sense of humor and appreciation of change, but they can also provide a model for how Cuba could develop differently if we would change our methods.
Are corporate and government's interests necessarily different? No - but I think they are becoming increasingly so.
Jim