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Lessons to Learn From How Cubans Became Republicans
Cuban-American Republicanism is a result of specific social processes that, when inspected can provide Democrats a way forward in organizing Cuban Americans.
In the beginning of the Cuban exile story, things looked very different from what they appear today. Today, Cuban-American participation in the Republican party seems natural; part of the environment of south Florida, like waves in the Atlantic or iguanas sunning themselves along the banks of canals. It is difficult to imagine that this state of affairs was not inevitable. It was not. Cuban-American Republicanism is a result of specific social processes that, when inspected can provide Democrats a way forward in organizing Cuban Americans. Here are four lessons from the Republicanization of Cuban Americans that might assist Democrats in reversing the trend.
1) Don’t Swallow the Kennedy Creation Myth
It is “common knowledge” that Cubans turned to the Republican Party of Kennedy’s betrayal during the Bay of Pigs invasion when he refused to authorize air support for the landing force. And I am certain that many Cubans of the period and today hate Kennedy for…
