Yahoo! August 22, 2000. By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer.
HAVANA (AP) - For weeks, Cuba's state-run media have given Cubans a rare and close-up look at America's presidential campaign, calling the two major parties "two faces of the same imperialistic mission'' and labeling their conventions "without proposals to global problems.''
With the American president considered the second-most influential person - after President Fidel Castro, of course - on this communist island, the U.S. race has been of intense interest here, particularly to Cuba's leaders.
There are now nightly televised round-table discussions, usually with government officials and journalists criticizing the large amount of money spent on the conventions and on the campaigns. They say it could be better used to feed the American poor. Participants have dubbed the GOP gathering
in Philadelphia the "Convention of the Millionaires.''
American presidents have a huge influence over policies Castro's government describes as hostile: the U.S. trade embargo, U.S.-funded broadcasts criticizing the regime, an immigration law that Havana says encourages illegal and risky journeys across the Florida Straits.
No one is more cognizant of the U.S. impact on the 11 million people who live in Cuba than Castro himself, who will have outlasted nine American presidents when President Clinton steps down in January.
"Whichever one reaches the presidency will manage deadly weapons and will have in his hands the nuclear briefcase,'' Castro said earlier this month in a speech commemorating the start of the revolution that brought him to power. He will have "much more than an emperor of ancient
Rome,'' Castro said, and will be "the owner of war and peace in the world.''
Since that Aug. 5 speech, state media has provided extensive - but carefully selected - coverage of the American candidates in a new government push to increase Cubans' knowledge of the outside world.
"Republicans and Democrats: Two Faces of the Same Imperialistic Mission,'' declared a headline in the Communist Party daily last week. "The Programs of Philadelphia and Los Angeles: Without Proposals to Global Problems,'' complained another.
As during the Elian Gonzalez campaign, video clips from American television are shown, albeit carefully edited and accompanied by political commentary.
Begun during the campaign to bring 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez back to Cuba, the round-table discussions now deal with topics ranging from American immigration policies to the defections of Cuban athletes.
Round-table participants noted that Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites)'s running mate, Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, has consistently embraced American policies that Havana abhors. He has voted for tightening the embargo and continuing the U.S.-funded Radio Marti, which broadcasts
from the United States to Cuba.
But participants have saved their strongest attacks for GOP nominee George W. Bush (news - web sites) and the Republican Party, which adopted a platform on Cuba setting tough conditions just as the Clinton administration and some lawmakers are trying to ease sanctions. The GOP platform says no
trade or travel restrictions should be eased until Castro releases all political prisoners.
The Clinton government has been backing off on some sanctions, and a measure has passed the House easing 38-year-old restrictions on exporting food and medicine to the country.
Cuban elections are very different from those in the United States. Although the communist government says voting is not obligatory, more than 95 percent of all Cubans ages 16 and up turn out for both local and national elections.
Campaigns are virtually banned here, and the only information about each candidate is posted at the doors of polling places: a single-page biography listing their job history and activities in organizations such as the Communist Party or labor groups.
While Cuba argues that its elections are more democratic than those in most other countries, government detractors maintain that Cubans are afraid to nominate opposition figures. Critics also say people fear abstaining from voting for fear that it might count against them in a country where the
overwhelming majority of jobs are in state organizations.
Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press.
Copyright © Yahoo! Inc. All Rights Reserved | 