International Marketing Term Project
bbq65b20a06
term_project.docx
Cuba
Term Project
Professor Mobar
9/26/15
Table of Contents
Cuban Information
Geography
History
Cuban Information and Environmental Analysis
Geography
Cuba, located in the Caribbean, is situated between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. Just 150 kilometers from the southern tip of Key West, Florida, Cuba has a total area of 110,860 square kilometers, slightly smaller than the square area of Pennsylvania (Central)[footnoteRef:1]. With a coastline of approximately 3,735 kilometers, the climate within the region is classified as tropical, with a dry season from November to April and a rainy season from May to October. The climate makes Cuba a prime agricultural destination, with 60.3% of their land being used in such a capacity. Despite the warmer climate, the Caribbean region is often a victim of hurricanes. Cuban’s natural resources are heavily saturated with cobalt, nickel, iron ore, copper, along with other commodities. While Cuba is the largest country in the Caribbean, economic and political struggles have severely crippled their economy. [1: The map above is from National Geographic, and the link can be found in the works cited section of this paper]
History
Cuba’s affiliation with the Soviet Union[footnoteRef:2] caused United States President John F. Kennedy to establish an embargo against the Cuban government in 1962, due to Cuba’s alignment with Communist powers (Cuban Embargo). The embargo can be lifted if the following conditions are met. Cuba must legalize all political activity, commit to free and fair democratic elections, release all of their political prisoners, grant freedom to the press, and allow for the acceptance of all internationally recognized human rights (Cuban Embargo). The biggest piece of these restrictions is the abandonment of their communist regime in favor of a democratic governing structure. While the Soviet Union helped keep Cuba’s economy afloat after the establishment of the embargo, the removal of approximately $4-6 billion of Soviet subsidies in 1990 caused their economy to spiral downward uncontrollably. These economic hardships have persisted since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and have been amplified by the persistence of the American government uphold the embargo. recent meeting at the United Nations, President Raul Castro[footnoteRef:3] attributed his nations economic troubles directly towards the American embargo (Growing). Castro’s sentiment has been shared by 188 members of the United Nations for the past twenty years, while the only two countries that support the embargo are Israel and the United States. Despite the heavy criticism of the United States embargo on Cuba, President Barack Obama has made positive strides in easing economic and political tension. [2: The image above combines the flag of Cuba and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, now the Russian Federation. ] [3: The picture is of President Raul Castro speaking at the United Nations on September 26th, 2015. This photo is courtesy of the New York Times, and can be found in the works cited section.]
On July 20th, 2015, Cuba and American governments agreed to reestablish embassies in their respective countries. Americans can now travel freely to and from Cuba, but the embargo is still in effect. Unfortunately, the renewed diplomatic relations between the two nations has not had a similar impact on Congress, and therein lies the problem. The decision to lift the embargo belongs to the House of Representatives and the Senate. While American politics continues to skirt the issue, Cuba is importing goods from various countries, while American business sits idle.
