About seven in 10 Americans favor new diplomatic relations with Cuba and eliminating the most egregious parts of the US embargo against that island country, according to the results of a recent survey released this week by WorldPublicOpinion.org.
As ending isolationist actions and hostile rhetoric toward Cuba becomes more clearly linked to improving US relations with all of Latin America, the Obama administration might consider pursuing a new relationship with that country, the polling data suggested. Indeed, a comparison of the results of the WorldPublicOpinion.org poll to past survey revealed that American attitudes toward Cuba have only grown increasingly friendly.
The newest survey, conducted earlier this month, showed that almost six in 10 Americans endorsed the view that "is time to try a new approach to Cuba, because Cuba may be ready for a change." Less than four in 10 agreed with the counterposed statement that "the Communist Party is still in control; therefore the US should continue to isolate Cuba." A majority of self-identified Republicans, independents and Democrats accepted the majority position.
Three in four of those surveyed agreed that a new course of diplomatic engagement with Cuba would be best, and just a little more than one in five saw it as a bad idea. And seven in 10 favored restoring full diplomatic relations with that country. Again, majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans and independents shared the popular view.
Gallup polls between 2002 and 2008 that asked about restoring full diplomatic ties with Cuba reveal a general progression of popular favor with the idea. From 55 percent in 2002 to almost 70 percent today, Americans have grown increasingly friendlier towards Cuba, according to the data gathered by WorldPublicOpinion.org.
Embargo, trade and travel
Interestingly, the survey also exposed some perplexing contradictions in public opinion. When asked specifically about whether to continue or to end the US trade embargo of Cuba, 48 percent favored continuing the embargo and 49 percent favored ending it. Again, a comparison with recent past surveys on this question showed that American attitudes towards Cuba have improved dramatically.
At the same time, however, Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of two key features of the US embargo, i.e. severe restrictions on travel to and trade with Cuba. The survey found that seven or more in 10 Americans think they should be free to travel to Cuba or view trade with Cuba as a positive thing for both countries. (Incidentally, about eight in 10 Americans agreed with President Obama's order to lift restrictions on travel to Cuba by Cuban Americans imposed by the Bush administration in 2003.)
The data also showed that an extremely small minority of Americans view Cuba as a national security threat and less than three in 10 believe the embargo worked – according to its stated rationale – to weaken the government of Cuba.
