Poll of Cuban-Americans shows support for new Cuba policies growing

Poll of Cuban-Americans shows support for new Cuba policies growing
BY MIMI WHITEFIELD MWHITEFIELD@MIAMIHERALD.COM
04/01/2015 2:00 AM 04/01/2015 6:00 AM

A new national poll of Cuban Americans shows that their support for the
White House's new Cuba policy has grown in the three months since the
historic announcement, and now 51 percent say they support the effort to
begin normalizing relations with Cuba.

Forty percent said they disagreed with the new policy and 9 percent
didn't respond or said they didn't know, according to the poll by
Bendixen & Amandi International.

Cuban Americans living outside Florida have embraced the new policy much
more than those residing in the Sunshine State, according to the poll.
Attitudes also diverge between older Cuban Americans born on the island
and younger generations.

Forty-nine percent of Cuban Americans living in Florida said they
disagreed with the effort to normalize relations while 41 percent said
they agreed. However, 69 percent of Cuban Americans living outside the
exile stronghold of Florida said they agreed with the new policy.

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The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage
points, will be unveiled Wednesday in New York at the sold-out Cuba
Opportunity Summit, a conference for senior level business executives
interested in exploring business opportunities in Cuba.

Bendixen & Amandi International polled 400 Cuban Americans 18 and older
March 20-25 in English or Spanish on their attitudes toward the new
policy. It includes renewing diplomatic relations with Cuba, allowing
more Americans to travel to the island, raising remittance levels,
cooperating with Cuba on areas of mutual interest such as environmental
protection, and increased commercial ties even as the U.S. trade embargo
against the island remains in place.

The methodology for the new poll, which was designed and financed by
Bendixen & Amandi International, is similar to that used in a flash poll
by the firm that was commissioned by the Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald
and the Tampa Bay Times shortly after the Dec. 17 announcement that the
United States and Cuba would work toward normalizing relations.

In the December poll, 48 percent of the Cuban Americans polled said that
they disagreed with President Barack Obama's announcement, while 44
percent said they agreed.

Fernand Amandi, a principal of the polling firm, said the seven-point
shift toward agreement in the most recent poll surprised him. But he
added that, "In the immediate aftermath [of the policy shift] many
people were stunned into silence by the nature of the announcement."

When it came to a question of whether the president's announcement was
good for people on the island or good for the United States, respondents
were more pessimistic about the policy's efficacy for the United States.

When asked directly, only 7 percent said it was good for the United
States, perhaps indicative of a nagging feeling by some in the
Cuban-American community that Cuba got the better end of the deal.
However, 25 percent volunteered that it was good for both Cuba and the
United States.

Twenty-nine percent said the announcement was good for people on the
island, but 28 percent also volunteered that it was good for neither the
United States nor the Cuban people.

Those surveyed were more positive when it came to easing restrictions on
travel between the United States and Cuba. Fifty-six percent said they
favored the move, while 35 percent said they opposed it. In December,
only 47 percent said they favored easing travel.

Those living in Florida also favored freer travel, with 46 percent in
agreement and 43 percent opposed. Overall, 67 percent of those polled
said they planned on traveling to Cuba in the near future.

Once again, there was a split on the travel question between younger
generations and older Cuba-Americans born in Cuba. Of those born in
Cuba, 75 percent said they had no Cuba travel plans in the near future
and 83 percent of those 65 and older said they wouldn't be traveling to
Cuba any time soon.

In contrast, 49 percent of those aged 18 to 29 said they planned to
travel to Cuba soon, and 25 percent of those aged 30 to 49 said they had
near-term travel plans.

Older Cuban-Americans 65 years-plus also were more supportive of the
embargo, with 45 percent saying it should continue and 36 percent saying
it shouldn't (19 percent said they didn't know or didn't respond). In
contrast, 51 percent of those 18 to 29 said the embargo should end, and
56 percent in the group of 30- to 49-year-olds said it shouldn't continue.

"The opposition to the new policy is concentrated in older, Cuban-born
exiles who came in the early days of the exile experience," Amandi said.

Despite the differences of opinion within the community, "what continues
to unite Cuban-Americas is their antipathy for the current Cuban regime
and the Castro brothers," said Amandi.

"It's no longer surprising that a majority of Cuban Americans support a
new course on Cuba policy; it's exactly what the trend lines have been
pointing toward for years," said Ric Herrero, executive director of
#CubaNow, whose mission is inspiring a new conversation about Cuba.

"Cuban Americans, like all Americans, recognize that we can do more to
empower the Cuban people and advance the cause of human rights through
engagement rather than isolation," he said.

Even though the poll indicates shifting attitudes, the Cuban-American
delegation in Congress has lined up in strong opposition to the
president's new Cuba policy.

"The most important poll takes place every two years and that is the
election," said Frank Calzon, executive director of The Center for a
Free Cuba, an Arlington, Virginia, institution dedicated to promoting
human rights and a democratic transition in Cuba. "There are three
Cuban-American senators and four members of the House. They represent
the views of the Cuban-American community, not a poll."

South Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen agreed. "The ultimate
test of any policy is on Election Day and the Cuban-American community
has shown strong support for the embargo and a policy which fights for
the rights of the Cuban people," she said. "What is undeniable is the
President's concessions have not led to an increase in freedom on the
island nor has it ensured that fundamental basic human rights are
respected by the communist dictatorship in Havana."

For the first time, the poll also asked questions about the new
commercial opening toward Cuba that the Obama administration is trying
to promote.

Fifty-eight percent said that companies owned by Cuban Americans living
in the United States should be able to sell their products in Cuba, and
56 percent said that businesses owned and operated by independent Cuban
entrepreneurs should be able to sell their products in the United States.

The new Cuba policy allowed Americans to provide funding for independent
businesses owned and operated by Cubans on the island.

Sixty-six percent of poll respondents agreed that they should be able to
help the independent businesses of friends and family on the island by
providing funds, and 62 percent said U.S. companies should be able to
sell their products in Cuba.

"On some of the corporate investment questions you saw the two
communities come together," said Amandi, with both long-term exiles and
younger Cuban-Americans agreeing.

However, when asked if they intended to invest in Cuba — if it becomes
legal — 72 percent of those polled said no. Among the main reasons they
cited: too risky; Cuba is still communist; don't have the money; lack of
interest; and the Castro brothers are still in power.

POLL OF CUBAN-AMERICANS

Do you agree or disagree with President Obama's announcement to begin
normalizing relations with Cuba?

All respondents:

Agree: 51 percent

Disagree: 40 percent

Don't know/no answer: 9 percent

Respondents living in Florida:

Agree: 41 percent

Disagree: 49 percent

Don't know/no answer: 10 percent

Respondents living in the rest of the U.S.:

Agree: 69 percent

Disagree: 23 percent

Don't know/no answer: 8 percent

Source: Bendixen & Amandi International

Source: Poll of Cuban-Americans shows support for new Cuba policies
growing | Miami Herald Miami Herald -
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