Engagement with Cuba? How About Engaging with Cuban-Americans? How the Democrats Lost and Could Regain the Trust of Cuban Americans

Profesor de la Universidad Internacional de la Florida

Abstract: We often place Cuba at the center of the Cuban American universe and all assume that
party identification and voting is dependent on a Cuban American’s attitude toward the island.
Policy preferences are considered the independent variables and partisan alignment is viewed as
the dependent variable. There is evidence that this is precisely backwards–that Cuban Americans’
partisan allegiance influences their views on Cuba policy and that partisan allegiance is a product
of how the two parties engage the community. Using historical data tracing the relationship of the
two parties with the community, this essay presents an argument for the importance of party
engagement and suggests a way that the Democratic Party might make some inroads into the
Cuban American community of south Florida.

Tomado de Latin America and Latino Studies, American University Washington DC

https://www.american.edu/centers/latin-american-latino-studies/cuba-after-the-july-11-protests-grenier.cfm