Some people seem to think that self-exiled Cubans still
cling to the fantasy of one day returning to their homeland
and attempting to reclaim land and properties which were
appropriated by the state or which the Cubans voluntarily
abandoned.
It is highly unlikely that this will happen. (See inside)
[There are 5 posts - the latest was added on Tue 25 May, 1:30]
Use the form at the end of this page to add your own post.
Topics
| Thorn Tree
| Home
Most Ex-Cubans are so happy that got into U.S. they even
thank Castro for his revolution. They do not want to live in
CUba, but only to spend few weeks a year, but they will come
back to their Social security check in Miami.
Anyone faced with the lost of hundreds or even thousands of
acres of land would probably cling to the dream of one day
returning to reclaim that lost property, regardless of how
unrealistic that dream might be. Some self-exiled Cubans
probably still wrestle with that dream.
-
There was a revolution in cuba in 1959. Regardless of how
much some might wish that it were not true, it is an
incontrovertible fact. A revolution did occure.
-
Following the revolution, the new rulers began writing new
laws. Agrarian Reform was one of those new laws which was
enacted in May, 1959. The law established 966 acres as the
maximum permissible land holding for a family. Fidel
castro's own family lost one half of their 1,920 acres. They
also lost 24,000 acres which they were leasing from US owned
sugar estates.
-
This reform was wholeheartedly endorsed by the peasants and
small land owners. They were less ecstatic a few years later
when changes in the Act transferred all tracts over 67
hectares to the state.
-
Everyone who lost their lands were offered payment with
government bonds which paid 4.5% interest. Many bagan
leaving Cuba heading a hundred miles north to Florida.
-
Many left with the idea in the backs of their minds that
they would one day return to Cuba and reclaim that which
they had lost or which they had abandoned. Some still cling
to that faded dream. (Those who were 30 or older in 1959
would now be at least 70!)
-
Reality indicates that the dream is just that,-only a dream.
Cuba is not a democracy, and individual rights do not exist.
No one can go to a court of law in Cuba and have their
property rights restored.
-
The only feasible means for reclaiming lost property in Cuba
would most likely be through a complete overthrow of the
Cuban government. That has also been a dream of the Cubans
in exile for the past forty years. How likely is it that
this will happen?
-
The U.S. government has sought to legislate property rights
for the Cuban exiles over the years. That has been just
about as effective as the Cuban embargo. The last time
anyone noticed, Fidel Castro was still in power; the embargo
was still in place; and, nine different presidents had set
in the white house since Fidel Castro came to power.
-
I have a friend in Cuba who is a surgeon. He was six years
old when Castro came to power. My friend's father died in
March 1999 at the age of 92. My friend's father owned land,
apartments, and several businesses before Castro came into
power. He lost all of them.
-
The vast majority of people in Cuba seem resigned to their
present plight in life. I have yet to meet a revolutionary
spirit who thinks a change is possible or probable. I have
seen no evidence of anger or hostility toward the government
which might ferment and precipitate a change of any sort.
-
Will Cuban Americans attempt to return to Cuba following the
death of Castrol and seek to influence the course of Cuba's
history in the twenty-first century? Most knowledgable
sources seem to think there is very little chance that this
will occure.
-
It is difficult to comprehend how visionaries can dream that
the death of one person, Fidel Castro, can possibly
precipitate wholesale changes in the course of Cuba's
history.
-
Everyone who has a vested interest in Cuba, even the
tourist, probably has a favorite dream or fantasy related to
la isla! Dreams cost so little yet offer untold strength to
the spirit.
I agree with you. I live in Miami and thus am very familiar with the the concept of returning to Cuba once it is "liberated." This simply will NOT happen. The life of the Cubans in the United States is too good. The luxuries that one can enjoy here are too great. People in their 70s (the staunch Cubans who still psychologically live in Cuba, though physically live here) might say they'll go back -- and some of them will -- but the overwhelming majority of Cuban Americans in Miami know nothing of genuine Cuban life and culture. The Cuba they remember (or think they remember) is long gone.
Where do you get all these facts from? I'm impressed!
However, you only seem to be considering the returning
exiles as working class Cubans, who have found a better life
in Miami. There are also hundreds of millionaire families
all pent up on revenge. Easily capable of raising an army,
if necessary. Another political revolution, US backed. Do's
that sound so far fetched ? We've seen it happen before....