CUBA BLACKOUTS: A PERFECT TIME TO STRENGTHEN CHINA RELATIONS

Written by Michael Thervil

Photo by Norlys Perez/Reuters

Yesterday around 8:15pm, the western sector (Havana) of Cuba's national energy grid collapsed leaving roughly 10 million Cubans without power. It was reported that other provinces in Cuba were also affected as well, cities such as Guantánamo, Artemisia, Santiago de Cuba, and Santa Clara also suffered power losses as well. Although this would not be the first time that the Cuban national power grid has collapsed and left its citizens without power as it’s a very common occurrence, many residents are fearing that it won't be the last. Because of the decades-long American sanctions that have been placed upon the country, Cuba has found itself unable to maintain and develop new methods of modernization to keep its antiquated national energy grid afloat.

Between socio-economic issues and the ramifications surrounding the correlation between national disasters and commodity shortages, life has seemed to be made worse for millions of Cubans within the country. With the power grid collapsing this time around, it has been estimated that a little over 40% of Cuban residents won’t have access to electricity for an undisclosed period of time. The question that’s being asked by Cubans is how long will they be without power? The combination of questions like the one posed here and the public frustration amongst the people of Cuba this year comes on the heels of anti-government protests that occurred last year.

But it should be said that all is not lost. The reason why we are taking this position is because although America has perpetually placed the government of Cuba in a very compromising position, now is the best time more than ever for the government of Cuba to pivot toward China. This would be beneficial for both countries. Cuba essentially needs a brand-new energy grid as well as a mega boost in terms of employment numbers, trade and export, as well as GDP, and China is one of the world’s best when it comes to quickly building infrastructure.

Secondly, with China losing its ports in the Panama Canal which lies south of Cuba, this would be the best time for China to exploit the opportunity and ramp up its ability to build another commercial shipping port within Cuba; a nation that would be more in line with China’s political and commercial interests. In fact, it’s our position at VEDA Communications that China shouldn’t just stop there. China should consider expanding its building of ports all throughout CARICOM (Caribbean Community). Cuba lies central to Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Martinique, and so many other countries that make up CARICOM.

Cuba benefits from the strategic presence of China operating in the region because they will be able to take advantage of not only the geopolitical cooperation that will naturally occur, but because they [Cuba] will have the opportunity to revitalize their socio-economic outlook for decades to come. Now this will catch the eyes of the Americans because of their observance of the Monroe Doctrine and that’s ok. This is easily combated if the Chinese can articulate that this is a “Free Trade Zone”. If security needs to be augmented, there’s always Russia as Russia and Cuba have had great geopolitical and military relations for decades. There is a lot to be gained here, especially for Cuba.