It is undeniable. Cuba is changing, and quickly. It appears that as the months pass, the Cuban government continues to move toward a freer market economy and abandon its socialist principles. I found this week's readings and class discussions particularly interesting. Hufbauer and Kotschwar's article on economic normalization and Kirk's article on Cuba's impressive health care system both piqued my interest. Especially since my portfolio focuses on Cuban business and the Cuban economy. Relations between the United States and Cuba have come a long way over the past 60 years. We are in a time where we will see the lifting of the American trade embargo and an increase in the number of American tourists on the island. As we discussed in class, Cuba has much to gain from lifting the embargo; however, they also have a lot to lose if they do not exercise caution during the transition. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayIn the article Economic Normalization with Cuba: A Roadmap for U.S. Policymakers, many examples are presented on how whose trade embargo sanctions have a negative impact on different areas of activity. Take for example the impact of sanctions on air transport. In 2013, Cuba's civil aviation sector conducted a study to determine the effects of sanctions on the country. The ban on Cuban airlines operating in the United States has had a considerable economic impact. It is estimated that nearly $4 billion in revenue was lost to Cuban airlines between 1960 and 2012. Not only that, but it also hampered the modernization of automatic check-in and baggage systems. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2012, more than "6 million Americans traveled to the Caribbean with an average travel cost (excluding airfare) of $1,000 per person." Following full normalization between the two nations, an additional one million Americans could visit Cuba each year, resulting in a billion-dollar increase in the Cuban tourism economy. That alone should be cause for celebration. Obviously, there are many factors and complexities at play that could cause problems in the future. Regardless, it appears that Cuba would have a lot to gain from this deal. In the second reading we discussed, Cuban Medical Internationalism Under Castro by John Mirk, I was amazed by the humanitarian and health efforts made by the Cuban government during this period. decades past. What amazed me the most was the fact that Cuba has accomplished so much in health care, even though it does not have the resources of a large country. Or the fact that the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), located in Havana, has nearly 10,000 medical students from all over the world and that it sponsors the Polyclinic project. Cuba itself still suffers from poverty, but it still wants to help other Latin American countries that are less fortunate than them, such as in Kingston, Jamaica, where Operation Miracle is underway. Operation Miracle is a vision restoration program that has already restored the vision of over 61,000 Jamaicans since 2010. To this day, the program continues to thrive. If the US embargo were lifted, Cuba would also have much to gain by exporting its pharmaceutical products to the United States and European countries. The 32-page government document, Lineamientos, outlines the plans.