The Cuban Embargo Should be Lifted

My opponent in this case is referring to the fact that communism has not been swept from Cuba, which is true. First I want to point out two things, 1) economic embargoes have never led to the destruction of a regime from within and 2) getting rid of the Castros is not the point of the embargo.Never said it was. It was to force Cuba to reform. Which very little reforming has happened. It is the same old miserable place, where the government detains and tortures its citizens, and where propaganda is spewed out the loud speakers all day long. A more viable solution would be to allow reform and democratic fundamentals to pass through the country through trade. Also, we did want to get rid of Castro. Pretty much why there was over 600 assassination attempts on Fidel's life. War with Cuba would of been costly and unpopular also. http://www.theguardian.com...Furthermore my opponent is wrong about two things. First, Cuba has been subject to change. They have relaxed some of their more draconian controls over the economy [1] as well as travel restrictions for their citizens [2]. So change has come about within the country.These are quite meager compared to the real concerns. When the debate for the embargo happened, human rights were talked about more then economic socialism. Even though Cuba lets "some" citizens travel, they are strictly monitored and the government can "withhold" travel.http://www.hrw.org...The figure my opponent throws out is 6,000 jobs. While this sounds great in theory, is the creation of 6,000 jobs worth politically supporting a totalitarian regime? Trading with them is not supporting them. Countries all around the world trade with China , and are they supporting the CCP? All this embargo is doing is depriving Cuban and American Citizens of money. The worst the Cuban economy gets, the worst the government will get. And yes, I believe that 6000 more working citizens is worth sucking up our pride.but we would damage the livelihood of countless Cubans who exist in a fragile communist economyAs I said, we are actually depriving Cubans. First, my opponent misconstrues the data to try and bolster his position. It says, in his source, that Cuba COULD become a billion dollar export market. This is potential money that can be gained not money lost. There is a difference. We are technically not losing any money. We did lose money. When we shut down trade, we in turn shut down businesses. This is considered a loss of revenue, is it not?http://www.dollarsandsense.org... Second, a billion dollars to the US, who has a GDP of roughly 16 trillion dollars [3] is hardly anything while 700 million dollars to a nation whose GDP is only 68 billion dollars is much much more damaging. In relative terms, Cuba loses a lot more than the United States potentially would. This is not about hurting Cuba. All were doing is hurting the citizens and causing the government to work the populace harder to recoup.My opponent claims that we can inspire change through sanctions which is a contradictory argument. First he claims that the embargo hasn't worked but then claims that sanctions would. Sanctions are a lighter punishment than an embargo. If a full embargo hasn't worked, according to my opponent, why would sanctions? It doesn't follow.When Cubans start making money through trade, they will start to realize that they could make even more through lifted sanctions. Now it is not a lot, but it is a small step in the right direction and a way to retain some pride.We embargo Cuba to make a political statement. It tells the world that we do not condone or deal with totalitarian and repressive nations. It is the same reason we do not do business with North Korea. By undoing the embargo before the communist regime collapses it shows the world that any type of regime unfavorable to the United States can simply wait us out and, over time, we'll cave. This will embolden countries to refuse change and hope for a United States reversal on foreign policy.We still do trade with totalitarian nations though. Why the exception for Cuba. I am sure few country's are truly intimidated by our embargo. Look at China, through decades of trade and free market, they have began reformation.Conclusion1. If we keep waiting on Cuba to change, it could take centuries.2. We would not be supporting a totalitarian state. Trade and support are different entities.3. No amount of wealth of money is insignificant. First rule of capitalism.4. Because it is a start in the right direction.5. Yet this only applies to Cuba. I would say consistency is broken. Therefore, the Cuban embargo should be lifted.