Reflections on President Obama’s Historic Visit to Cuba

The Cuban Policy Explainer with School of Public Affairs Professor William LeoGrande

In March 2016, President Barack Obama became the first sitting president in 88 years to visit the island nation of Cuba. School of Public Affairs (SPA) Professor William LeoGrande, an expert on U.S. policy toward Cuba joined the SPA Policy Explainer to discuss the impact of this historic visit. Co-author of the recently released “Back Channel to Cuba,” LeoGrande’s knowledge and insight provide a holistic view into the effects of President Obama’s opening with Cuba.

How does it feel to witness President Obama’s historic visit to Cuba?

LeoGrande: Well it’s always exciting to see something historic, and there’s no question that Obama’s visit to Cuba is a tremendously historic event. This is the first time a sitting American president has gone to Cuba in almost 90 years — since Calvin Coolidge went in 1928. More importantly, it symbolizes a fundamental change in U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba, away from the old policy of hostility and regime change toward a new policy of engagement and friendship. To me this is as historic as Richard Nixon’s trip to China in 1972, which also marked a fundamental shift from an old policy into a new one.

In what ways does the opening of Cuba affect the Cuban people?

LeoGrande: The Cuban economy is not in great shape and by opening greater economic relations with the United States that’s going to eventually boost the economy there and raise the standards of living for ordinary people. When Americans go to visit Cuba they take private taxis, they eat in private restaurants, sometimes they even stay in private bed-and-breakfasts, and that puts money into the hands of ordinary people. When U.S. businesses now sell to Cuba, they have to get a license from the Department of Treasury and that license requires that commercial ties between the United States and Cuba benefit the Cuban people. This gradual process of rapprochement is going to be good for Cubans and also in the best interests of the United States.

How did the Cuban people respond to President Obama’s policy during your visit last year?

LeoGrande: I was in Cuba on December 17, 2014 when the two presidents simultaneously made the announcement that they were going to normalize relations. I saw firsthand the reaction of ordinary Cubans, who were jubilant. They cried, they hugged each other, they danced in the streets — literally. Church bells rang across the city of Havana. For Cubans, it was as if a war had come to an end, which in many ways it had. The Cold War lasted over 50 years, which was much longer than many Cubans had been alive.

With the election and a new administration on the horizon, could this change our relationship with Cuba again?

LeoGrande: Everything President Obama has done thus far has been done using his presidential executive authority. So a Republican president who opposed Obama’s opening to Cuba could technically roll everything back. But I don’t think they would. I think there has been a political groundswell in this country in favor of what the president is doing with Cuba. Public opinion polls suggest that over 60% of the American people support the opening with Cuba and are in favor of lifting the embargo. Even a majority of Cuban-Americans support what the president is doing. And you can see that American businesses are chomping at the bit to get into Cuba — to get into this market that has been closed to them now for half a century. This opening to Cuba is supported all across Latin America. Any Republican president that decided they were going to roll this back would be acting against the views of the American people, against the views of Cuban-Americans, against the views of American businesses, and against the views of our allies in Latin America; and that just doesn’t make sense.