ABSTRACT
This chapter looks back to the periods before and after the Cuban Revolution, analyzing Spanish foreign policy around the 1960s related to Cuba and comparing it with Cuban independent foreign policy, which is similar in some respects to the Spanish one. They both shared anti-Americanism, latent at times, and Cuban internationalism (putting the attention on Cuba’s ties with Africa, African Americans, and the exiles in Miami).
Spain, wanting to maintain good relationships with both the U.S. and Cuba, skillfully persisted somehow in maintaining a fragile balance, because Spain needed Cuba as a trade partner and the U.S. as a strategic “ally” when Spain was out of the EC and NATO. Meanwhile, Cuban internationalism expanded, especially to Africa, through the Non-Aligned Movement. The Cuban exiles’ quality of life changed gradually; not only political refugees but also economic refugees were increasing. This created more complicated relations among Cuba, the U.S., and Spain.
