Saturday, December 20, 2014

Bendixen and Amandi flash poll of Cuban American reactions to President Obama's change in US-Cuba policy

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it absolutely ironic among this poll of Cuban born Americans so few would return to the Island or invest in Cuba if it were a free democracy yet don't want to lift the embargo. The hypocrisy is like our local politicians hyper ventilating about bringing democracy to Cuba, little by little, since it cannot be done from the inside. I am well aware of the human suffering going on now and in the past, but I am also aware that once a magnifying glass is put over it for the world to see, up close, it will subside if not go away all together. That is what world history has taught me.

Anonymous said...

99% of the United States does not care. 99.9% do not want any tax money wasted on Cuba.

Anonymous said...

Racism is something you cannot poll. Federal government has a contingency plan for mass migration of Cubans to South Florida should Castro die. Easier to fix the problem now than have 20 billion hours of overtime billed to the federal government. Impossible to police the ocean. Needed to fix the problem now.

Anonymous said...

You are right. It is a better solution all around. With opportunities for growth and development and more freedom, it is more exciting to stay and build their country than to abandon it. The future looks brighter for Cuba.

Anonymous said...

If we didn't normalize relations, thousands of rafters would have died trying to come here when Castro died. The Coast Guard station in Miami Beach would be a makeshift morgue. Truckloads of dead bodies being carted off the causeway. Not a good image for a tourist city. Miami Beach is already Florida's most dangerous city.

Anonymous said...

Beyond that sad possibility, is a contrasting one that now exists for a better life for the people there right in their home country. Obama has begun a whole new way of viewing not just at Cuba, but the whole region. Cuba presents an interesting test case for new markets, political change, economic growth, and market expansion because it is a tiny island that as been cut off from the advanced world for 50 years. There will be many opportunities for the people there to excel that won't exist anywhere else in the world.

Anonymous said...

The poll is not correct since it does not take into consideration the deceased registered voters.

Jackson Rip Holmes said...

Dear Eye on Miami and Esteemed Eye on Miami Readers:

Your blog was recommended to me by Carlos Gimenez, Jr. over 10 years ago, and since I've become involved with County Hall over Uber vs taxi issues (I'm for Uber), I have found it:

1. Invaluable
2. Well-written

and most of all,

3. Extraordinary as an example of journalism surviving The Internet Age of post-print advertising upon which daily newspapers have financially depended.

However, I submit that President Obama and Pope Francis are allowing themselves to be deceived by the evil Castro Brothers, and the fact that the Castro Brothers are, in fact, mass murderers, is proven by Armando Valladares' book, AGAINST ALL HOPE.

AGAINST ALL HOPE details how Castro, AFTER he had won the war against Batista, and AFTER he was firmly established in power, went on the execute 1000's of Cubans in firing squads for the mere crime of opposing the imposition of Communism, which had never been approved by the voters.

I urge you to read AGAINST ALL HOPE by Armando Valladares before you allow yourselves, also, to be deceived by the Castro Brothers.

Eye on Miami, you always ask readers to be informed. Have you read AGAINST ALL HOPE?

Sincerely,

Jackson Rip Holmes
915 Palermo Avenue, 106
Coral Gables, FL 33134
P. 305-338-5000
E. holmesrip2@aol.com

Anonymous said...

The point is, there is a possibility of hope now, whereas for 50 years, there was no possibility of hope. Over the years things change, situations change, people change, governments change, ways of looking at things change, new generations come on the scene, and old ones die off. So here we are a half century later, trying to find a way to move forward and bring these people into the 21st century. This is much bigger than just Cuba, it is the beginning of the Obama Doctrine for progress and improvements in Latin America.

Anonymous said...

The results of the survey reveal the dramatic shift in opinions among some Cubans. I had some problems with the sample, it was older, 55% were between 50-65+ years of age, mostly people born in Cuba, 76%, and language of interview mostly in Spanish, 55%, meaning they may felt uncomfortable speaking in English. It is unclear how those numbers compare with the actual Cuban population. So I approached the results with those possible biases in mind.

There were major differences among the younger and older age groups on all most every indicator. The big things for me were that hardly anyone wanted to return, even if everything was right, opting to stay in the US, 88%. Likewise, the majority would not invest in Cuba, 75%. And the vast majority, 65% did not plan to travel to Cuba. Even having a Cuban Consulate in Miami wouldn't be a problem for half of them. So, it appears that as a community, over the 50-year period they have moved on.

What happens on the island, is really up to the people who actually live there. And Obama was right, we have to be concerned about helping those people who live on the island.

Anonymous said...

Enough. Next topic...

Anonymous said...

The Cuban issue in Miami was always a local play. Used to grap ahold of the local, and federal politics, contracts, etc. Just like Raul's words to his party brethren to stay in line, the Miami-Cubans use propaganda to control the economy in Miami. With a generation gone what will they use now? For his part, Raul needed to do this to ensure that the party chief hacks will be first in line to the transition to Capitalism and contracts and privatization a la Central Europe and Asia. Without this transition they would have left him.

Anonymous said...

Please note that "Obama Doctrine" was coined here on EOM.

Anonymous said...

You are correct Anon above. It was a ploy all along both on the Cubans here in Miami and on their new country. Had they been concerned about Cuba they would have stayed and fought. Instead they cut and ran. But the people here figured it out, and it doesn't play any more.