Twenty-six students from George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government spent 10 days this summer visiting Cuba’s cities and countryside as they studied the intricacies of governance, trade policies and entrepreneurial opportunities of the Communist country.
The graduate students met with private entrepreneurs, academics and grassroots program leaders as well as a Mason graduate now posted to the newly reopened embassy in Havana. Their observations about the island nation’s infrastructure would become papers on their return home.
“Cuba offers perhaps the richest international experience possible to students of public policy and government, regardless of their specific areas of interest and expertise,” said Michal McElwain Malur, director of external programs for the Schar School. “Cuban-American relations have been complex, intimate and fraught for more than a century. We have much to learn, and to unlearn. This class was an unparalleled opportunity to see the relationship in transition.”
Peder Jerstad was fascinated with the Mariel Port expansion, not surprising given that his major is Transportation Policy, Operations and Logistics.
“Cuba has created a state-of-the-art port and manufacturing zone outside of Havana in the hopes of attracting new business and manufacturing opportunities through the new, wider Panama Canal,” Jerstad said. “So far, interest is tepid, mostly because of uncertainty about the Cuban government.”
Seeing Cuba and Cubans in person, he said, brought the policy differences between the U.S. and Cuba into focus.
“They are dramatic and noticeable in every facet of life in Cuba. Policy implemented by both governments has created the gulf between Cuba and the United States,” he said. “But on a personal level, Cubans and Americans are very similar. And Cubans are generally very welcoming.”
Emily Norton, who also is a transportation policy major, was surprised to see the same bus driver she met on a 2012 visit assigned to her recent Mason tour.
“It put into perspective that though the country is a relatively large land mass, the population is generally clustered in condensed areas and people work very hard to earn a living, particularly relying on tourist revenue,” she said.
Robert Deitz, the public policy professor who led the tour, said Cuba’s “old guard” in government leadership is slowing down economic progress. He added that staying in private homes, as they did for half the trip, was not ideal.
“Recent agreements with U.S. and European hotels should ease this problem,” he added.
That tourist revenue is certain to increase as U.S.-Cuba relations normalize, but Norton is concerned the island isn’t ready for it. She studied the deterioration and under-investment in Cuban infrastructure and the impact liberalization of U.S. travel policy will have.
“Cuba will not be able to meet the demand for accommodations that will be needed with the reintroduction of direct flights from multiple U.S. airports in late 2016,” she said.
Many aspects of the Cuban infrastructure are inadequate for the island’s citizens, she said.
“The transportation infrastructure was severely lacking, and you would often see people crowded into open-backed trucks to commute to their jobs,” Norton said. “Despite the obvious challenges, many of the people we spoke with seemed happy and hopeful for the future of their country.”