Changing demographics have made it less risky for the once arch-conservative, anti-Castro CANF (Cuban American National Foundation) to abandon failed Cuba policies its members have long promoted. The principle achievement of anti-Castro fury, supported by CANF related business interests, was political hegemony in Miami. By tapping into the universal enmity of exiles to Castro, Miami's business leaders assured the election of majorities on both the Miami and Miami-Dade County Commissions for decades.
The hegemony promoted by the CANF in its heyday had everything to do with controlling zoning and building permits in Miami, not Havana.
The biggest wealth creator on the horizon is building the economy in Cuba. CANF leaders missed out on what colleagues in Spain and Canada have been able to achieve in the slow thawing of the Cuban economy during the past decade. When there was plenty of business platting subdivisions in Everglades wetlands and farmland in South Dade, Cuba was a rallying cry for local politics. But the homebuilders, CANF supporters, are dead in the water.
Making money in Havana is the new economic imperative. I just hope that Cuba does a better job zoning and permitting than Miami or anywhere in the Americas where developers from Miami have made inroads. Forewarned is forearmed.
1 comment:
Javier Souto would lose an election if Castro died. He wouldn't have anything to talk about. I would bet he is not happy with CANF's about face.
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