Cuba Travel In An Election Year
A Cuba vacation and a presidential election never go well together. Every election, as politicians battle to win the country's highest office, travel to Cuba from the United States gets more difficult. And once the election is over, travel becomes easier again.
Cuba Travel In 2004
Since the 2004 presidential election is more heated than any previous contest, Cuba travel and tourism has been hit hard. In June, President Bush tightened travel restrictions to Cuba and promised to crack down on existing laws that, in calmer times, are quietly overlooked (like getting there through third countries like Canada or Mexico).
The link between the presidential race and Cuba is the Cuban exile community in Florida. Ever since Dictator Fidel Castro took power, wealthy Cuban exiles have argued vociferously that a dollar spent in Cuba is a dollar spent on Castro.
Over time, these Cuban exiles gained influence, and when an election looms, they make sure candidates understand their point of view; to them, a US traveler supports the dictatorship through purchase power. When an election in Florida is decided by a handful of votes, politicians - whether Republican or Democrat - ?are inclined to pay attention.
Cuba Vacation Meets the Office of Foreign Assets Control
Cuba travel is regulated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), a division of the Treasury department. In normal times, OFAC regulation gives travel permission to Cuban-Americans, credentialed journalists, scientists, and special license recipients (typically academic programs).
But with the new OFAC regulations, legal travel has dwindled to a trickle. Popular college seminars have been cancelled, and Cuban Americans can only visit once every three years, down from once a year.
In any year, OFAC very conspicuously omits tourists. And that's because to the Cuban exile community, a Cuba vacation is what best props up the Castro regime that most of them loathe.
Opponents to OFAC counter this argument by pointing to the tourist dollars already pouring in from Europe. Despite OFAC, Cuba has become a major destination. Opponents argue that restrictions actually help Castro by alienating Cubans in Cuba from Cubans and Americans living in the US. Instead of seeing the US as a hope away from poverty, Cubans are told that they are poorer because of it.
Cuba Yes, But After November
Conventional wisdom says that after the November 2nd election, restrictions against Cuba travel will relax. In fact, in September 2004, the Republican Congress voted to reverse the President's tightened restrictions.
And according to some political observers, it is only the older exiles that believe a dollar spent in Cuba is a dollar spent on Castro. The younger generation, who was mostly born in the US, wants to freely visit the old country, a place many of them have only heard about.
Who knows, maybe by the next election a Cuba vacation and the US Presidency will no longer be so intertwined.
About the Author
Alex Russel is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn, NY. Lucky enough to grow up in Europe with family all over the world, he has been a consummate traveler his whole life. Since graduating from Syracuse University he has worked at many different media companies in fields as diverse as film, TV, advertising, and journalism. He holds a dual bachelor's degree in English and History.
