Chicago Debate League 2013/14 Core Files
AC Extension Solvency – A/t #1 “No Political Will” 138
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- 2AC Extension Solvency – A/t 2 “Bad Business Climate” [1/2] 13 9
2AC Extension Solvency – A/t #1 “No Political Will” 1381) U.S. pressure and guidance will create political will by establishing a market and guaranteed demand for Cuban ethanol. Money will convince Raul Castro to invest. Extend our REUTERS evidence. 2) Raul Castro is willing to invest in modernizing Cuba’s ethanol industry. WIRED, 08 [Chuck Squatriglia, “With Fidel Gone, Will Cuba Become a Global Ethanol Player?” 2/19, http://www.wired.com/cars/energy/news/2008/02/cuba_ethanol] Of course, reaching either of those numbers would require Raul Castro to open the door to foreign investment, but that may not be as unlikely as it sounds. The Washington Post notes there's speculation that Fidel's exit opens the door to economic reform like we've seen in China, and it's worth noting Cuba is quietly modernizing its ethanol infrastructure. Raul Castro is seen as a pragmatist who is more concerned with improving Cubans' daily lives than spreading la revolución, and according to Reuters he is believed to favor loosening state control on Cuba's economy. The country has said it would allow foreign investment in its tourism industry. 3) Even if Cuba is not producing sugarcane for ethanol now, they could easily ramp up production. SPECHT, 12 [Jonathan, Legal Advisor for Pearlmaker Holsteins, Inc. B; J.D., Washington University in St. Louis; “Raising Cane: Cuban Sugarcane Ethanol’s Economic and Environmental Effects on the United States,” 4/24, http://environs.law.ucdavis.edu/issues/36/2/specht.pdf] To speak of a Cuban sugarcane-based ethanol industry is, at this point, largely a matter of speculation. 46 Because of the anti-ethanol views of Fidel Castro (who has said that ethanol should be discouraged because it diverts crops from food to fuel), 47 Cuba currently has almost no ethanol industry. In the words of Ronald Soligo and Amy Myers Jaffe of the Brookings Institution, “Despite the fact that Cuba is dependent on oil imports and is aware of the demonstrated success of Brazil in using ethanol to achieve energy self-sufficiency, it has not embarked on a policy to develop a larger ethanol industry from sugarcane.” 48 There is, however, no reason why such an industry cannot be developed. As Soligo and Jaffe wrote, “In addition, Cuba has large land areas that once produced sugar but now lie idle. These could be revived to provide a basis for a world-class ethanol industry. We estimate that if Cuba achieves the yield levels attained in Nicaragua and Brazil and the area planted with sugarcane approaches levels seen in the 1970s and 1980s, Cuba could produce up to 2 billion gallons of sugar-based ethanol per year.” 49 2AC Extension Solvency – A/t #2 “Bad Business Climate” [1/2] 1391) Raul Castro is implementing reforms to open up the economy and increase agricultural efficiency. LUGAR, 9 [Richard, Republican Chair of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, “CHANGING CUBA POLICY--IN THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL INTEREST,” 2/23, http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2009_rpt/cuba.html] Change in Cuba cannot be assessed against a yardstick of full multi-party democracy, free-market capitalism, and civil rights. Nevertheless, since officially assuming the presidency in early 2008, Raul Castro has introduced a series of modest reforms that are regarded on the island as a departure from the orthodox policies of his long-ruling brother, Fidel Castro. For example, Cubans may now purchase cell phones and computers and stay at hotels previously reserved for foreigners, though the vast majority of the population cannot afford to take advantage of these reforms. The GOC is granting new licenses to private taxi drivers, who set their own prices, for the first time in a decade. Most significantly, private farmers are now permitted to purchase their own equipment, and the government is proceeding with a plan to hand over unused state lands to private farmers and cooperatives under long-term leases, including more than 45,500 land grants approved in February 2009. Raul Castro has repeatedly acknowledged the need to increase efficiency and production, particularly in the agricultural sector, and his decisions have demonstrated a willingness to implement some reforms at a gradual pace, though it is not clear whether they will lead to structural change. He has also encouraged a series of town-hall meetings to publicly debate government programs, but he made it clear that decisions about changes would rest with the GOC, and many citizens feared retribution for expressing their real opinions. 2) Cuba has thousands of skilled and unskilled workers who could transition quickly to sugarcane ethanol production. PATINO, 09 [Christian Santiago, awarded Second Prize in the ASCE 2009 Student Prize Competition for undergraduate students; “THE CUBAN SUGAR DILEMMA: THE PROSPECT FOR A GREEN FUTURE” http://www.ascecuba.org/publications/proceedings/volume19/pdfs/patino.pdf] It has been shown above that Cuba possesses the ideal land and climate for the production of sugarcane. These conditions are complemented by Cuba’s readily available and highly experienced labor force. Estimates suggest that before the area under sugarcane cultivation was downsized there were 460,000 workers directly employed by the sugar agroindustry sector (Pérez-López 298). The vast majority of these workers were unprofessional laborers that could be easily shifted back to the harvesting of sugarcane for ethanol factories. But, it is also important to point out that Cuba also possesses many highly skilled workers and researchers that could run and oversee Cuba’s prospective ethanol sector. The fact that sugarcane has historically been the island’s main crop significantly favors ethanol production in Cuba. Directory: wp-content -> uploads -> 2011 2011 -> Voices of the Old Sea Norman Lewis 2011 -> Malevil Robert Merle 2011 -> The Elephant Keeper’s Children Peter Hoeg 2011 -> Jv packet •Mars Colonization Affirmative •Mars Colonization Negative 2011 -> Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) omb no. 1024-0018 2011 -> All America Looks Up to Virginia;” Virginia and the Declaration of Independence 2011 -> Rao bulletin 2011 -> Christopher Columbus was born between 25 August and 31 October 1451 in 2011 -> The Battle of Frenchtown (1855), Washington Territory: the Political and Demographic Context rev 9/4/11 2011 -> Seti aff •seti neg •Asteroids Aff Download 3.16 Mb. Share with your friends:
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