Monday, July 28

A CubaNews translation. Edited by Walter Lippmann.

Note on blog's name: heresies and caipirinha: - VERY CHEAP cocktail of cachaça, lemon and sugar. iF YOU ADD SUGAR AND LEMON TO CHISPA DE TREN (CUBA) THEN YOU OBTAIN THE SAME DRINK.

Obama and Cuba

CHICAGO – When Obama visited Miami by courtesy of the National Cuban-American Foundation, many of his critics accused him of being pro-Castro, among other reasons because he beat the drums for straightforward talks with the Cuban regime. Florida’s Republicans even made an official announcement decrying his views as “anti-American”. While in Chicago these days I had the chance to go over this issue and the perceptions about it with several members of Obama’s entourage, local newspaper columnists and Democratic activists.

That’s precisely the first thing they say: nothing but perceptions. Obama believes in communism no more than he believes the Island’s ruling elite is for democracy. However, he’s totally convinced there’s a high number of citizens of Cuban origin living here ever since they were stripped of their political and civil rights who deserve to be heard rather than prevented by the US from visiting or helping their loved ones back home. “That’s what makes us different from many other countries: freedom is something to be exercised every day, not only in times of elections, and it must be far-reaching. No government has the right to tell you what to do, no matter how unpleasant what you do may be. Everything must be only limited by the law and democratically legislated by a state or a federal congress, not a president. A president is supposed to be the president of everyone who lives in this country, including those who are only residents”, one of the senator’s advisors told me. All this came from sources who wished to remain anonymous for two reasons: none had the go-ahead to make such statements, and each praised the importance of this blog. Thanks.

Cuba will not rank high on the agenda of an Obama administration. No particular country will. If elected, the senator’s priority will be the well-being of those who live here, US national security, the war on terror and, then, its allies worldwide. “Obama knows there’s a dictatorship in Cuba, but we’ll deal with it by letting them know our position, getting through to the whole society, and that includes the opposition”, my source added, noting that Obama was really impressed by the conversation he had in Miami with anti-Castro activist Héctor Palacio Ruiz. “He spoke about peace and dialogue in ways no one had done before. [The senator] kept talking about it for days”. Never during my interviews did I get the feeling that Obama is willing to hold one-sided talks with the Cuban leaders. On the contrary, every source insisted that it would always be on the basis of a protocol arranged beforehand, taking into account US needs. Could Obama be the first American president to set foot in Havana? “I don’t think so, not while there’s no democracy there in any case. Democracy, a multiparty system, free press and all that is the line he has drawn on the floor”, the source remarked.

It looks as though Obama considers the island a part of a continent that must be heard. “Cuba has an influence on the Hemisphere, something that every Republican administration has overlooked so far. Wrong though they may be, left-wingers there look up to Castro, and we’ve never able to swap roles, as we’ve always failed to provide them with the tools they need to realize they’re mistaken”, an African-American columnist and self-proclaimed Obama follower from the Chicago area pointed out to me.

Barring the travel ban and the remittances, I saw no change in Obama’s views on the island. In my opinion, as AO would say, Obama is ready to approach the Latin American issue as a whole without putting Cuba aside from this group of nations. It’s not because he’s particularly steeped in the topic, but a matter of necessity, as it’s the “backyard” we’re talking about. Only I don’t believe the island will be treated like a “backyard” in the traditional sense of the word. In this connection, Mexico could take the lead and come up as the favorite for dialogue. The “Obamists” tell me that the presidential candidate is more concerned about the increasing power amassed by drug rings along the Mexican border than he is about an eventual wave of Cuban rafters. And don’t shoot the messenger, please, I’m just telling what I heard. This much is certain: be that as it may, Obama the president will always look at Havana before he does Miami. I was left with that perception after these days of healthy conversations. [R]

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