Current Cuban Reality Presentation to the Soane Foundation by Jose Pepe Viera NOTE: this is for reference only and not for publication or reprinting without permission.
Changes in Cuba, and Were there be a new relationship with the United States???
Mr. Trump s message on Twitter If Cuba is unwilling to make a better deal for the Cuban people, the Cuban/American people and the U.S. as a whole, I will terminate deal. Taken from an editorial of The New York Times on its edition of 11/29/2016
If the new Administration ends engagement Cubans will close ranks around the Revolution. Defense of our sovereignty, independence and self-determination; Changes will go on in a more adverse environment; New goal: to make the embargo irrelevant; Wait for the next President, (13 since 1959)
Fidel s concept of revolution Revolution means to have a sense of history; it is changing everything that must be changed (Signed as a commitment by millions of Cubans after his death 3,445,376 at 7 pm, 11/28) Quotation taken from Fidel s speech at May Day, 2000
THE ROLE OF HISTORY Cuban history since the late 19 th Century is intertwined in a relationship with one country, the United States. In few countries are the links between history and the present as evident on the surface as in Cuba Diplomats Handbook, 2010, Department of State http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs13/diplomats_handbook-red.pdf
HAVANA: KEY TO THE NEW WORLD, RAMPART OF THE WEST INDIES
Thomas Jefferson Cuba is "the most interesting addition which could ever be made to our system of States (1820)
José Martí To prevent through Cuba s independence, the United States from spreading, with added force, through the Antilles. (1895)
Same events, different perceptions 1898 and its consequences: For the US: a splendid little war For Cuba: a national disaster Till now: the Spanish American War versus the Spanish-Cuban-American War.
1959, the Revolution, the Embargo The Revolution s highly popular defense of the country independence and social policies are confronted by US sanctions and hostility as a collective punishment to the Cubans: And socialism came
Cuba s socialism Was a national decision adopted publicly in the context of the Bay of Pigs invasion
The State took over all economic activity; Eliminated from the law the concept of private property (except small farmers), in its place: personal property ; Highly egalitarian redistribution of wealth through social programs not personal income; Consumption: overregulated.
The need of changes In the 1990 s the end of the Soviet Union and the socialist governments of Eastern Europe, and the incapacity of the Cuban economic system to compete in international markets push Cuba into an economic crisis The Special Period : the crisis go beyond the economy an affects the general culture of the society
Socio/political and economic changes Increased individual rights of citizens: Right of private property and economic activity. Depoliticization of traveling. Socialist society as society of knowledge (Internet). Governmental functions separated from management. Autonomy of state s company. A private sector of the economy. Recognition of private assets. Taxes and budget.
New social and political contradictions New technologies end monopoly in communication. Two sectors in the economy: to ways for social mobility. Competition brings higher salaries. More income more and differentiate consumption. State s business autonomy brings major responsibility
UNAVOIDABLE CHANGES Legal definition and protection of private property and private economic activity. Widening the role of market relations within the economic plan. Elimination of the Convertible Peso (CUC). Defining exchange rate between the Peso (CUP) and foreign currencies. Reforming the rationing book.
Where are the changes heading? Socialist planning will continue to be the main characteristic of the system; Social property of the fundamental means of production as the basis, but Accepting private and cooperative property of Cuban citizens and of foreign investors; Concentration of property and wealth will not be allowed.
PRESIDENT OBAMA Today, the United States of America is changing its relationship with the people of Cuba. through a policy of engagement, we can more effectively stand up for our values PRESIDENT RAUL to hold a respectful dialogue with the United States on the basis of sovereign equality without renouncing any of our principles.
Outside of La Moneda Cubana, a popular paladars near the Cathedral.
Presidential Policy Directive Endogenous changes underway in Cuba offer opportunities to advance U.S. interests and shift away from an embargo, which is an outdated burden on the Cuban people and has impeded U.S. interests https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/10/14/presidential-policy-directive-united-statescuba-normalization
Achievement and challenges For the first time negotiations between equals and with full respect. Engagement bring products, technologies and people to people relations with a potential to reshape ideas and culture.
Increased engagement Since December 2014 Cuba and the Unites States had agree in ten specific documents of cooperation in different fields. January-June 2016: 136,913 Americans (80% increase), and 187,073 Cubans emigrants (3% increase) came to Cuba.
MIAMI LA HABANA In 1950 the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development reported large cash flows entering Miami: saving accounts and safe deposit boxes. Very large amounts have been used in the Miami area to acquire real estate and other investments paid for on cash basis a startling amount of such notes had been received there in recent years, mostly originating in Cuba. International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Report on Cuba, pp. 518 519
Positives but insufficient steps President Obama has used his executive authority to loosen the embargo but Americans can not travel freely to Cuba; Cuba can not use the USD in international payments or the American banking system; Nor can export to US market or import under usual trade practices
- The blockade (Embargo) - Cuban Adjustment Act and parole waiver for Cuban physicians (Encourage illegal emigration) - Cuban Democratic Act (1992) - Cuban Liberty and Solidarity Act (1996) - Appropriations in the Federal Budget for change of regime - Illegal TV and radio transmissions - Guantanamo
Thank you