Democrats are finding it increasingly difficult to connect with Latino voters — especially Cubans, who associate left-wing politics with the communism that tore their country apart. Jesus Maria Alvarez reports on the deep rifts within his community in the battleground state of Florida
That’s a nice part of accepting refugees from a state like Cuba. You pretty much get to selectively import the right-wing elements of their population.
Similar effect happens with Venezuelans. The ones who can afford to uproot their lives are also more likely to align ideologically with US politics.
I used to work with a lot of Cubans. My favorites were the old ones. They would tell me stories about living in Cuba under Castro back in the day. One thing that I always found interesting is how they said they were happier. It might just be nostalgia but I’ve heard from older people from Soviet areas too.
Life was slower and as long as you did your job certain things were guaranteed to you. In a capitalist system you have infinitely more purchasing power but they would make the analogy of addiction. In the US you are addicted to money so you need to work a lot more to pay the bills.
Whereas in Cuba you spend a lot more time idle and just living life, even if you’re not able to purchase common items we consider essential. (Some days you go to store and there’s no shoes, next day there’s no bread, etc)
My least favorite were the 2nd generation ones. Like Marco Rubio. They don’t understand the struggle but feel intensely like they do. Very strong opinions with very little nuance. I’ve met my fair share.