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Posted on Mon, Sep. 02, 2002 in
The Miami Herald.
The following are edited excerpts of a letter that Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
sent to Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura regarding Ventura's planned trip to Cuba
Sept. 26-30.
I want to share some information that I hope will provide you with a broader
and more-realistic picture of life in Cuba. While I don't expect you to cancel
your trip, I strongly believe doing so would be the right thing to do. I
encourage you to consider other options as you look for opportunities to expand
international trade for your state.
Recently, it has become politically popular for U.S. elected officials to
travel to Cuba. But we should never forget that the people of Cuba don't share
the same basic freedoms and rights that the residents of Florida and Minnesota
enjoy. The reason: Fidel Castro denies them the opportunity to exercise the
unalienable rights that we have come to take for granted in America. Speaking
out against government policies, fighting for what you believe, or attempting to
change the established order to create a better society will make you an
''independent'' or ''maverick'' in the United States. In Cuba, you become a
''dissenter'' and an ''enemy of the revolution'' and are summarily thrown in
jail.
As a strong supporter of worker rights, you should be aware of the abysmal
conditions that hard-working Cubans must endure. For example, when foreign
companies use Cuban laborers, the companies pay the Castro government in dollars
or other hard currency, but the workers are paid in near-worthless pesos. In
effect, Castro skims off the top and leaves the workers with a tiny fraction of
what is rightfully theirs. He uses the difference to finance his oppressive
regime and ensure its continued existence.
While in Cuba, ask about the Varela Project, a petition initiative -- legal
under the Cuban Constitution -- that calls for a referendum on open elections,
freedom of speech, protection from state-sponsored political retribution and the
establishment of free enterprise.
The initiative is led by the courageous Oswaldo Payá Sardiñas,
who is being honored by the National Democratic Institute with its 2002
Democracy Award. The award is scheduled to be presented to Payá in
Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30. So far, he has not been granted a visa from the
Cuban government to travel to the United States. Ask every Cuban official you
meet, including Castro, when Payá can expect to receive his visa.
Because your trip concerns the establishment of trade agreements, it should
be noted that Cuba is not the economic windfall some U.S. companies are hoping
for, nor is it the kind of business partner that Minnesota corporations are
accustomed to working with. The Cuban government repeatedly fails to pay its
bills, and many nations have stopped doing business with the island. The current
business state of affairs in Cuba has been described as ''uneasy, unreliable and
uncertain.'' That should not come as a surprise from a failed economic system
that still considers private business and profits as evil. The result is a
standard of living for Cubans that has gone in just a few decades from one of
the highest in Latin America to one of the lowest.
Now is not the time to encourage expanded trade and grant unrestricted
tourist travel to Cuba. Dollars generated from such activity are funneled into
the coffers of the Cuban military and internal security forces. In fact,
expanding tourism travel was exactly what Castro did in 1991 after he lost his
stipend from the collapsed Soviet Union -- a stipend he earned by spying on the
United States and inciting revolution throughout the Western Hemisphere.
Moreover, Cuba is a bad credit risk. Even the European Union, with many
current and former Castro allies among its members, complained to the Cuban
government about ''delayed payment, excessive government fees, and inconsistent
and sometimes outlandish rules.'' France, Spain, Italy and Venezuela have
suspended official credits after being left holding the bag filled with millions
of dollars in IOU's.
I will commit to working with you in searching for new business and trade
opportunities with nations other than Cuba. I will direct my office to research
potential overseas ventures from which Florida and Minnesota can mutually
benefit. There are many more-lucrative markets with countries that believe in
democracy, free trade and respect for human dignity.
In a recent letter to Congress, Secretary of State Colin Powell and
Secretary of Treasury Paul O'Neill reminded lawmakers that the relationship
between the United States and Cuba remains one of ''continued hostility.'' Cuba
continues to harbor criminal fugitives and supports international terrorist
organizations. While our military are protecting us from terrorists, Castro's
government claims that the U.S. operation in Afghanistan has engaged in ''war
atrocities.'' This type of rhetoric normally would be dismissed as absurd if it
weren't so offensive to our uniformed personnel.
President Bush announced on May 20 his ''Initiative for a New Cuba,'' a
series of steps that the United States expects Castro to implement in return for
a more-normalized diplomatic and trade relationship. While no one expects Castro
to cede power, he continues to be unwilling to make even the most basic changes.
We should not participate in his continued oppression of the Cuban people.
While in Cuba, meet with dissidents and other human-rights defenders. You
will get another view and insight, directly from those who suffer under Castro's
totalitarianism. They will tell you that lifting the trade embargo and allowing
unrestricted travel will serve only to maintain the status quo and delay the
peaceful transition to democracy and free enterprise that the Cubans have been
waiting for and so justly deserve. | 
