Cuban migration to Miami
[3] Essentially, the coexistence of growth and internationalization within Miami-Dade County has perpetuated an ethnically driven social polarization.
[4] The growing number of Cubans in the county have remained loyal to their cultural norms, mores, customs, language, and religious affiliations.
Various Cuban political leaders used Miami as a base of operations to organize against the Fulgencio Batista regime.
Many settled in the Miami neighborhood of Little Havana and the suburb of Hialeah, where they found cheap housing, new jobs, and access to Spanish-speaking businesses.
[9] This was the result of Cuban immigrants competing for jobs that had often been afforded to African Americans living in Miami.
With the emerging importance of ethnicity and the increased effects of segregation, Cubans within Miami attempted to maintain their Spanish language.
[1] Language became increasingly important in 20th-century Miami as a result of the Cuban influx and this had impacts on the non-Hispanic population.
Language was becoming a pressing issue as "Miami had the first bilingual public school program in the modern period (1963) and the first English Only referendum (1980)".
[11] In fact the debates of English as Dade County's official language led to violent and dangerous riots in the 1980s.
[13] Although the media in Miami allows a certain amount of cultural labeling to flourish within the community, it also portrays the growing importance and domination of Cuban immigrants.
[14] This addition received a vast amount of support and "by 1981 circulation reached 83,000 on weekdays and 94,000 for weekend editions.
As the Hispanic population has grown and achieved considerable economic success, it has also moved beyond Miami's city limits: Spanish-language newspapers are now published in adjacent Hialeah and Fort Lauderdale.
[16] Residents of Cuban descent often had an antagonism against leftist movements due to associations with Fidel Castro.
[18] The courting of Miami Cubans, including those who had recently arrived in the U.S. and those who are of younger demographics, contributed to Trump taking Florida's electoral votes.
[19] Miami-Dade County nevertheless voted for Joe Biden, but the margin of victory for the Democrats was lower than in the previous few election cycles.
This number is expected to only grow in the upcoming years, as the poverty rate in Cuba remains high.
This interview took place in January 2023, so it is safe to say that we can expect many more Cubans to enter Miami in the upcoming year.
