I recall visiting Cuba during the second term of Obama (shortly after his visit) and seeing the various reforms that were taking place and feeling very optimistic about the island's future. We saw a lot of highly political art on display, ate at some of the first private restaurants, watched a helicopter explode overt the ocean as they were filming a Fast and Furious film, and went to a nightclub/art show event that rivaled anything I've been to in NYC.

In a sane world, we would be Cuba's largest trading partner and largest source of tourists. In that hypothetical world, the ongoing economic and cultural exchange would have propelled the island towards a different political system. Instead, we doubled down on an approach that has failed for 70+ years.

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giancarlostoro 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

In that same world we have Puerto Rico with a fragile power grid. I'm not sure what the best course of action is for Puerto Rico, I am from the Island, and there's just way too many issues on the island, the biggest thing I do know is that the old tax incentives made the island thrive drastically. There was a point in time where Puerto Rico was as high up in terms of production quality as Japan, above the US itself. A lot of pharmaceuticals come from Puerto Rico, so much so that hospitals in Florida have shortages if the Island loses power due to a major hurricane.

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alisonatwork 2 days ago | parent [-]

The power grid problems islands have is a really interesting topic. Just the other day I read an interview discussing Taiwan's energy situation[0] and even though I am familiar with the various factions and the surface level debate, it prompted me to think a bit deeper on the unique challenges islands have as marginalized geographic entities. I didn't grow up on an island so I'm not sure if people who do are more conscious of the precarity, but you'd think if they did then they would place even more emphasis on getting energy independence. It's one of those things that would be cool to study if I could go back in time and choose a different specialization...

[0] https://www.volts.wtf/p/taiwans-energy-dilemma

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giancarlostoro a day ago | parent | next [-]

Some public schools in Puerto Rico started putting solar panels on their roofs after Maria which imho makes sense for all public schools all over the US / world. You have kids at school during the day, rarely during night. When schools not even open you could either put that extra power into the grid or store it for rainy seasons.

Alternatives include generating power from wind as well.

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ok_dad a day ago | parent | prev [-]

I live on an island and my first priority after getting a full time job again is to buy solar and storage good for a few days of my homes usage. The cost of energy is increasing here and I don’t see it ever going down since we’re still using oil for the most part. I plan to build a little wood workshop shed in my yard and cover it with solar panels and put some batteries in it. I should only need about 30 kWh of storage to cover three days use, and maybe 2 or 3 kW of panels for daily use and recharging the batteries; except for the EV, which I normally charge once a week but I can just start plugging in during the day instead. With that setup I can keep connected to the grid and eventually see if I can go off grid after a few years, or possibly add more solar and storage later if I find the first phase wasn’t enough.

However, that’s only possible because I have money and knowledge; most people don’t have that and so as a whole we’re kind of screwed here. Costs will continue to rise while not enough renewables are installed, usually on individual homes which only helps those individuals.

	▲	giancarlostoro a day ago \| parent \| next [-]
		I have a friend in the Bahamas who had setup his entire home up for solar and even to reclaim water from the roof. The builders messed up the reclaim water system I forgot the reason but he mentioned he cannot drink the water whatsoever because of the screw up, so he has to eventually rework all of that, but in terms of power he is better off than most since he is setup for it with batteries and everything.
	▲	adrianN a day ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You might be interested in Joey Hess' setup: https://joeyh.name/blog/solar/

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logicx24 2 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> the ongoing economic and cultural exchange would have propelled the island towards a different political system

The blocker to this has always been the government refusing to reform. I don't see how increased exchange changes this. If anything, the Cuban government would've blocked any integration that threatens their control.

	▲	standardUser 19 hours ago \| parent [-]
		They want the tourist dollars. They happily allow Americans to visit.

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bpt3 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

> we doubled down on an approach that has failed for 70+ years.

I assume by "we", you mean the Cuban leaders who have clung to power and their repressive ways against the best interests of the population?

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xg15 2 days ago | parent [-]

I think GP means the US sanctions. On that note, what bad thing would happen if the US simply lifted them?

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pessimizer 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

We'd run the risk that they'd be successful.

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bpt3 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

A regime that has antagonized the US and mistreated its subjects for decades would obtain more resources.

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xg15 a day ago | parent [-]

So... you punish a regime for mistreating its subjects - by mistreating its subjects even more?

	▲	bpt3 a day ago \| parent [-]
		It's the less bad option, because it should lead to the end of the regime. The alternative is giving the regime more resources to continue or even expand its policies.