--- title: "Latin Americans Approve of U.S. Re-establishing Diplomatic Ties with Cuba" description: "While Latin Americans approve of the U.S. re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba, they hold mixed views on Cuba overall and have little confidence in Raul Castro." date: "2015-07-21" authors: - name: "Jacob Poushter" job_title: "Associate Director, Global Attitudes Research" link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jacob-poushter/" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/07/21/latin-americans-approve-of-u-s-re-establishing-diplomatic-ties-with-cuba/" categories: - "Bilateral Relations" - "Democracy" - "Leaders" tags: - "Cuba" - "Raul Castro" - "Trade Embargo" datasets: - name: "Spring 2015 Survey Data" url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/dataset/spring-2015-survey-data/" --- # Latin Americans Approve of U.S. Re-establishing Diplomatic Ties with Cuba ## Table of Contents 1. [Latin Americans Approve of U.S. Re-establishing Diplomatic Ties with Cuba](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/07/21/latin-americans-approve-of-u-s-re-establishing-diplomatic-ties-with-cuba/markdown) - [Support in Latin America for Ending Embargo](#support-in-latin-america-for-ending-embargo) - [Many Latin Americans Say Cuba Will Become More Democratic in Future](#many-latin-americans-say-cuba-will-become-more-democratic-in-future) - [Tepid Favorable Ratings for Cuba in Latin America](#tepid-favorable-ratings-for-cuba-in-latin-america) - [Latin Americans Have Little Confidence in Raul Castro](#latin-americans-have-little-confidence-in-raul-castro) 2. [Methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/07/21/methodology-8/markdown) [![Cuba report-0001](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0001.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33555) As the United States formally re-establishes diplomatic ties with Cuba, a new Pew Research Center survey shows that people in Latin American nations approve of this action and support the U.S. ending its long-standing trade embargo against the island nation. And many Latin Americans surveyed say they expect that Cuba will become more democratic over the next several years. However, overall views of Cuba across the six countries are mixed, and there is little confidence in Cuban President Raul Castro’s ability to handle international affairs. These are among the main findings of a new Pew Research survey, conducted in six Latin American nations (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela) among 6,000 respondents from April 6 to May 8, 2015. A new survey report on U.S. attitudes toward Cuba is available [here](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2015/07/21/growing-public-support-for-u-s-ties-with-cuba-and-an-end-to-the-trade-embargo/). ### Support in Latin America for Ending Embargo [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="Across 5 Latin American countries, there is robust approval for U.S. re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba"] The highest support for the U.S. restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba comes from Chile (79% approve), Argentina (78%) and Venezuela (77%). But two-thirds in Brazil and more than half in Mexico (54%) also approve of this step by the U.S. to re-establish ties, which have been severed for more than 50 years. [![Cuba report-0002](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0002.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33554) [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="People in Latin America strongly support the U.S. ending its trade embargo against Cuba"] Support for the U.S. removing the embargo, as with re-establishing diplomatic ties, is strongest in Argentina (79%), Chile (77%) and Venezuela (76%). Majorities of Brazilians (71%) and Mexicans (55%) also endorse the ending of the embargo, which would allow U.S. companies to do business in Cuba and Cuban companies to seek profit in the U.S. [![Cuba report-0003](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0003.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33553) [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="Latin Americans with higher incomes are more supportive of ending the embargo compared with lower-income respondents"] ### Many Latin Americans Say Cuba Will Become More Democratic in Future [![Cuba report-0004](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0004.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33552) [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="Overall, a plurality of Latin Americans polled say in the next few years, they expect Cuba to become more democratic"] Venezuelans and Chileans are the most confident Cuba will become freer, while Peruvians and Mexicans express a bit more skepticism about this prospect. ### Tepid Favorable Ratings for Cuba in Latin America [![Cuba report-0005](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0005.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33551) [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="Across six countries surveyed, a median of 40% have a favorable view of Cuba, but 44% hold an unfavorable view"] Overall support for Cuba is strongest in Chile, the only country where a plurality has a positive view. In Venezuela, 42% have a favorable opinion of Cuba, similar to the 37% who held this view in 2014. [![Cuba report-0006](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-0006.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33550) Opinions of Cuba vary sharply by ideological self-identification in Venezuela. Those Venezuelans who place themselves on the left side of the ideological spectrum are much more likely to have a favorable view of Cuba (79%) than those who place themselves on the right side of the spectrum (25%). Brazilians and Mexicans are the harshest in their ratings of Cuba, with majorities in each country holding an unfavorable opinion. ### Latin Americans Have Little Confidence in Raul Castro [tweetable url="http://pewrsr.ch/Cuba2015" alt="More than half in every country polled have little/no confidence in Cuban President's ability to handle int’l affairs"] [![Cuba report-0007](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/07/Cuba-report-00071.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/?attachment_id=33549) Lack of confidence is most pronounced in Venezuela (73% no confidence) and Brazil (70%). In Venezuela, those on the ideological right are far more likely to have no confidence in Castro (89%) compared with those on the left (40% no confidence vs. 57% confidence). But in no country surveyed do more than a third of the public have confidence in the younger Castro brother. [In 2007](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2007/07/24/chapter-6-latin-america/#mixed-views-about-castros-legacy-and-cubas-future), opinion of then-leader Fidel Castro’s impact on Cuba was more mixed. When asked, all things considered, whether Fidel Castro had been good or bad for Cuba, 39% of Argentines said he had been good, while 27% thought he had been bad. Peruvians were split (38% good, 33% bad). In contrast, 61% of Mexicans and 46% of Chileans thought the older Castro was a detriment to Cuba. Meanwhile, 66% of Americans thought Fidel was bad for the island nation. --- **Next:** [Methodology](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2015/07/21/methodology-8.md)