Cuban Americans: Political and Economic Rise in Miami
This paper examines the cultural, political, and economic factors behind the success of Cuban Americans, challenging the popular assumption that their prosperity stems from social homogeneity. Taking a historical approach, the paper traces how Cuban exiles in South Florida shifted their focus from anticipating a return to Cuba to becoming integrated members of American civic and economic life. It explores how geographic concentration in Miami, rising citizenship and voter participation, anti-Castro solidarity, and higher educational attainment combined to produce a politically and economically powerful community. The paper also considers how a transnational identity may further amplify Cuban American influence as Cuba becomes more open to capitalism.
- Introduction: Thesis: exile solidarity drove Cuban American success
- Review of Literature: Key scholarly sources on Cuban American identity
- Geography and Population: Concentration in South Florida amplifies influence
- From Exiles to Citizens: Shift from exile mindset to civic participation
- Miami Politics and Economics: Transnational identity and economic opportunity
- Conclusion: Solidarity and education explain Cuban American rise
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper opens with a clear, arguable thesis — that Cuban American success stems from shared exile identity and solidarity rather than social homogeneity — and returns to it consistently throughout.
- It integrates multiple scholarly sources across the literature review and body sections, using each source distinctly to support a specific dimension of the argument.
- The historical narrative arc — from exile anticipation to civic entrenchment to transnational opportunity — gives the paper a logical, easy-to-follow progression.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of a literature review as both a survey of prior scholarship and a setup for the paper's own intervention. Rather than simply summarizing sources, the author positions each work to highlight what it contributes and where the present analysis adds value — particularly in synthesizing political, economic, and cultural factors that prior studies treat in isolation.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard social science structure: an introduction that presents the thesis, a literature review that grounds the argument in existing scholarship, two body sections addressing geography/demographics and political/civic development respectively, a brief section on Miami's transnational dynamics, and a conclusion that restates the argument and gestures toward future implications. Each section builds directly on the previous one.
Introduction
Of all ethnic groups classified as "Hispanic," Cuban Americans have been regarded as a model minority. Compared to groups such as Mexican Americans or Puerto Ricans, Cubans are seen as an economically successful subgroup. Furthermore, Cuban Americans are generally regarded as a socially homogenous group that has parlayed its population and economic strength into political clout.
This paper examines the various cultural, political, and economic factors that have contributed to the Cuban American success story. It argues that, counter to popular belief, Cubans are far from a homogenous ethnic group. Rather, it was this group's shared sense of exile and its mobilization of large numbers of immigrants that paved the way for their socioeconomic and political influence.
This paper takes a historical approach to the growth of economic and political power among Cuban Americans. It examines how Cuban exiles slowly shifted focus — from anticipating a return to the homeland in the years following the revolution, to working with and eventually becoming part of the established elite in Miami. The paper also discusses how Cubans carved out a new identity as Cuban Americans, a transformation that further enabled the development of the Cuban American elite, first in business and later in politics.
Review of Literature
Much of the scholarship on Cuban Americans in Miami takes a historical approach and centers on the development of a Cuban American identity in exile. Miguel Gonzalez-Pando's The Cuban Americans, for example, challenges the supposedly homogenous nature of Cuban exiles by discussing the different experiences of white and non-white Cubans upon their arrival in the United States. In addition to his discussion of diversity, Gonzalez-Pando's book makes several insightful observations regarding the rise of Cubans to prosperity in Miami and other areas of South Florida. According to Gonzalez-Pando, the reliance of Cubans on informal networks and their preference for private-sector work helped contribute to their prosperity.
In his more recent Reinventing Socialism, Max Azicri examines how Cubans are redefining socialism in Cuba today. While the book focuses on the Cuban economy, it also offers perspectives on the growing clout of Cuban American business people and lobbyists. Azicri is primarily interested, however, in the effect of the Cuban American elite on Cuba itself. According to Azicri, Cuban American lobbyists have been able to pressure the United States government to impose heavy sanctions on the Castro regime.
Other works focus on the relatively small but politically influential Cuban American community. In her article "Cuban Americans: Small Numbers, Big Voice," Cheryl Russell compares the differences in population and political power between Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans. Cubans, Russell asserts, constitute only a small share of the country's Hispanic population — a mere 1.4 million compared to nearly 3 million Puerto Ricans and 21 million Mexican Americans. Nevertheless, as seen in the handling of the Elián González case and the intense courting of the Cuban vote in Miami, the Cuban American population continues to exert disproportionate political power.
This paper builds on these studies to examine the political, economic, and cultural factors behind Cuban American prosperity. It argues that a combination of these factors, together with the relative concentration of Cubans in a compact geographic area, has contributed to the growing economic and political clout of Cuban Americans in the United States.
Geography and Population
The concentration of Cuban Americans in South Florida is an important factor in their economic and political prosperity. As noted above, the Mexican American population numbers 21 million — more than twenty times the Cuban American population. However, unlike Mexican Americans, who are dispersed across states such as California and Texas, an estimated 73% of the Cuban American population lives in the South. Two out of every three people of Cuban descent still live in Florida, and the majority of the Hispanic population in metropolitan Miami is Cuban American (Russell).
In addition to their geographic concentration, Cuban Americans differ considerably from other Hispanic groups. Many recent Hispanic immigrants from Mexico, for example, tend to be younger and have limited formal education. As a result, many Hispanic populations end up working minimum-wage jobs, living in low-income areas, and forming an economic underclass. By contrast, most Cuban Americans have been in the United States for at least two decades. They are generally older, and at least 25% hold a bachelor's degree (Anton and Hernandez, 39–44).
These demographic differences have a significant effect on the income and political potential of Cuban Americans. Higher levels of education translate into higher earnings, and an older population means a greater share of eligible adult voters relative to other Hispanic communities.
Because of these factors, local politicians could not simply ignore the Cuban American constituency in the way that other Hispanic groups were often overlooked. The community's importance was further underscored during the Elián González case, in which the demands of the Cuban American community gained national and international prominence.
Conclusion
Conventional wisdom has credited Cuban American prosperity to their social homogeneity. However, this explanation tells only part of the story. Unlike other Hispanic groups, Cuban Americans have benefited from a strong social cohesion rooted in a common goal: the transformation or overthrow of the Cuban regime. This shared purpose paved the way for the establishment of social networks, which were later redirected toward increasing Cuban American representation in local and state politics. Higher levels of educational attainment further contributed to their growing economic power during the 1980s. Given the aging of the Castro regime and Cuba's gradual openness toward capitalism, the economic and political influence of the Cuban American population is likely to grow further in the years ahead.
Works Cited
Alvarez, Carlos, et al. "Cuban Identity: A Preliminary Study." Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA, April 10–14, 2001. Available from ERIC database.
Anton, Alex, and Roger E. Hernandez. Cubans in America: A Vibrant History of a People in Exile. New York: Kensington, 2002.
Azicri, Max. Reinventing Socialism. Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2000.
Eckstein, Susan, and Lorena Barberia. "Grounding Immigrant Generations in History: Cuban Americans and Their Transnational Ties." International Migration Review 36.3 (2002): 799–837.
Garcia, Maria Cristina. Havana USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959–1994. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1997.
Glick-Schiller, Nina. "Postscript: Haitian Transnational Practice and National Discourse." Caribbean Life in New York City: Sociological Discourses. Ed. Constance Sutton and Elsa Chaney. New York: Center for Migration Studies, 1992.
Gonzalez-Pando, Miguel. The Cuban Americans. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1998.
Russell, Cheryl. "Cuban Americans: Small Numbers, Big Voice." American Demographics. Summer 2000: 6. Proquest Database.
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