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FROM
CUBA
Open letter to U. S. farmers from independent
Cuban farmers' leader
ALTO SONGO, Santiago de Cuba December,
2003 - The president of the National Alliance
of Independent Cuban Farmers, Antonio Alonso,
wrote this letter to U. S. farmers, explaining
the situation faced by Cuban farmers, whom
the government prevents from freely planting
and selling their produce.
Jutinicú, December 10, 2003
To American Farmers:
Lately we have seen that many of you have
an interest in selling your produce in the
Cuban market, and to that end you and your
representatives have lobbied the U. S. government
to remove the restrictions to commerce with
Cuba.
In furtherance of the same goal, the Cuban
government decries what it calls the U.
S. government's violation of the rights
of its citizens to sell their products wherever
they see fit, including Cuba.
In fact, we of the National Alliance of
Independent Farmers uphold the right of
all farmers to sell our produce to whomever
we see fit; the problem we have is that
the same Cuban government that defends the
rights of foreign producers to sell openly,
denies that right to Cuban farmers.
For example, Cuban coffee planters are
visited regulary by government officials
who determine what the volume of the crop
will be and set the amounts of coffee to
be delivered to the government. Any shortages
incur fines of up to ten times the value
of the undelivered crop.
After the harvest, police and government
officials visit producers again and confiscate
any part of the crop the farmer may have
retained, alleging that it is destined for
the black market.
Similarly, sugar cane producers are not
allowed to switch to another crop, and seldom
have sugar for their own consumption in
their homes.
Farmers raising a few head of cattle may
not butcher an animal, or sell it, without
previous government authorization. If they
should be so unlucky as to suffer the theft
of a steer, government officials may levy
a steep fine of even force them to sell
their herd, if they determine the theft
occurred because the farmer did not exercise
due care.
Many of these ranchers have seen fit to
live in facilities that allow them to sleep
among at least some of their animals. This
state of affairs makes raising cattle unattractive
and explains how the Cuban herd has diminished
to less than half what it was in 1959.
It seems hard to understand how, with fertile
soil, a climate that allows in most cases
two crops per year, and plenty of qualified
technical workers, we have lost the capacity
to produce enough to feed ourselves.
In 1997, when a group of us petitioned
the government for freedom to plant what
we wished and to sell it as we wished, we
were arrested, prosecuted, and treated as
common criminals.
We would not hesitate to support your right
to sell your produce in Cuba, but we would
ask that you support our right to likewise
plant and sell our produce in whatever way
we choose.
We ask that, in your rightful pursuit of
economic advantage, you not ignore the repeated
violations of our human rights and of our
rights to economic development inflicted
by the Cuban government.
I hereby invite you visit us whenever you
come to Cuba, so that you may gain an appreciation
of our situation and so that we can explore
commercial opportunities among ourselves,
without interference by any government.
Fraternally yours,
Pedro Antonio Alonso, President
National Alliance of Independent Cuban Farmers
Versión
original en español
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