A Cuban exile demands certainty from a candidate who’s never set foot on the island
The exiled family's legacy clashes with a candidate's policy critique.
The story
A Cuban-American congressman criticizes a Democratic Senate candidate for not clearly calling Cuba a dictatorship, while the candidate defends her stance and questions the effectiveness of U.S. policies toward Cuba.
Source: www.foxnews.com
Our reading
A Cuban exile-turned-congressman calls out a Democratic Senate candidate for not calling Cuba a dictatorship, even though the candidate has never set foot on the island. The exile, whose family fled the same regime, seems to think that not having visited Cuba is a reason to doubt someone’s commitment to freedom.
It’s a strange dynamic: the exile is the one who left, yet he’s the one demanding certainty from someone who hasn’t. The candidate, meanwhile, is accused of being too soft on communism, even as she argues that the U.S. embargo is hurting Cubans more than the regime.
It’s not the first time a political fight has been waged over who gets to define a country’s sins, but it’s rare to see the exiled person be the one who insists on the most rigid language.
