Media Contact:
Carrie Conko
Director of Communications
Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Office: 703-993-4899
Email: cconko@gmu.edu
Island Hoping: US-Cuba Relations
A Debate
| Start: | Thursday, October 4, 2007 12:00 PM |
| End: | Thursday, October 4, 2007 01:30 PM |
| Location: | B-339 Rayburn House Office Building This program is reserved exclusively for full-time, congressional, agency and Library of Congress employees. |
For more details on this event, please contact Jeff Noble at jnoble1@gmu.edu.
Featuring:
Former Congressman Tim Roemer (D-IN)
Mauricio Claver CaroneExecutive Director, Cuba Democracy Advocates
Click Here to view the video archive of this event.
It appears Father Time is succeeding in doing something US Presidents have tried to accomplish for decades; remove Fidel Castro from power. Despite the policies of multiple U.S. Presidents and the fact that he has passed along power to his brother, Fidel Castro's influence on government policy remains strong. Although US policymakers agree that the establishment of a Cuban liberal political and economic system is an important goal, there are multiple opinions over the best way to accomplish it.
While one side argues that the current trade and travel embargo is an effective method of breaking down the Castro regime, the other side argues in favor of pushing economic growth through trade as being more effective. The US-Cuba debate blurs political lines, yet carries profound implications for the Cuban people as well as US multilateral relations.
To explore those implications, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, in conjunction with the Center for National Policy, will host a special symposium featuring Rep. Jeff Flake, former congressman Tim Roemer and Mauricio Claver Carone of Cuba Democracy Advocates. This discussion will seek to answer the following questions:
- What are the costs and benefits of the current US-Cuba policy? How successful is it in bringing about the desired change in Cuba?
- What are the costs and benefits of opening up Cuba as a trading partner? Would lifting the travel ban help Cuban citizens?
- How can U.S. public policy encourage a free and prosperous Cuba in the years after Fidel Castro?
