Interesting article from the New York Times yesterday about how a changing profile of Cuban-Americans in South Florida is causing a shift toward more open relationships between citizens in the United States and in Cuba. According to the article, a large number of younger Cuban-Americans who came to the US in the 1990's on a special visa program now outnumber older Cuban exiles from the 1960s. This has in turn led to a shift in political dynamics:
Although South Florida Congressional members still support a hard line on Cuba, a position that plays well with older voters (the ones likeliest to vote), a majority of Cuban-Americans here have softened their attitudes. Many of them prefer to see more contact with people in Cuba, not less.
“The truth is that the driver in policy is not the relationship between the United States and Cuba, but the relationship between Cubans, and that is far stronger than 50 years of intragovernment hostility,” said Joe Garcia, a former chairman of the Miami Democratic Party. “When you remove just some of the barriers, people do what people do: help their families.”
Read the whole story at www.nytimes.com
