From Daniel Mcgrory In Miami.
The Times. Monday November 20 2000.
NOBODY was in the mood for a party at America’s other white house.
Relatives and friends of Elián González and his family had
gathered outside the infamous wood-frame bungalow in Little Havana, where the
boy was snatched by the FBI. They came expecting to celebrate a Republican
victory but instead sat around in sullen groups, chain-smoking, drinking sweet
Cuban coffee and complaining that they were being cheated again.
Renardo Martinez, to a chorus of applause and shouts, said: "This is
Elián Part Two. The Democrats are not going to get away with it again.
Gore is cheating and he knows it, and so do we."
The arguments now are all about how to get their revenge. Mr Martinez,
president of the "Elián campaign" that refuses to go quietly,
believes that they must take to the streets again, knowing this is precisely
what is unnerving the authorities in Miami.
If the Cuban community begins protests, then the risk is that a few blocks
away, the much-larger black neighbourhoods, who voted solidly Democrat, will
feel provoked and do likewise.
Mr Martinez is unmoved by local politicians pleading for patience and calm. "We
have done it before and the city stopped," he said. "We have the
numbers, we have the power and I would not be surprised if the Cuban-Americans
here don’t soon take their anger to the streets. We are not going to stand
around and watch the presidency stolen from us." Activists such as Mr
Martinez say that they campaigned ferociously to get as many as they could to
vote in Little Havana and they did get a much higher turnout than wealthier
constituencies just a few minutes’ drive away.
All of that, they are now being told, was a waste of time.
They are not so passionate about George W. Bush winning as having their
revenge on Al Gore, who, they never let you forget, was part of the
Administration that in April allowed armed FBI officers in masks and flak
jackets to snatch a child from his bed and then sent him back to Cuba and Fidel
Castro’s smothering protection.
Since then, Mr Martinez points out, they have heard nothing from Elián
or his father.
"We were promised he could write and telephone to let us know he is OK,
but that is another broken promise."
For days now Mr Martinez, a clutch of volunteers and a handful of Elián’s
relatives have been giving a lick of white paint to the house that every
American is familar with from television pictures of the months of bitter
protest. This week, on Thanksgiving Day, is the first anniversary of Elián’s
rescue by a fishermen after his mother and others drowned fleeing Cuba.
Decorating at "Casa Elián" will continue as it is intended to
be a museum. A short drive away, in Overtown, similarly acrimonious sentiments
are being expressed. In these black communities, Mr Gore got over 98 per cent of
the vote. But his supporters say he lost thousands more in disqualified ballots
because the voting cards were mysteriously double-punched in such large numbers
that election officials find difficult to explain.
First-time voters such as Mack Taylor, 20, are sure that this is evidence of
dirty tricks, although, as with most accusations in this recount, there is, as
yet, no proof. It is enough, nonetheless, to leave him and his friends feeling
defrauded.
"We are being told our votes don’t count," he said. "How
come all the problems with the ballots are from black areas that are Democrat?"
Some may be encouraged that the general apathy that abounds in Miami over who
finally wins is not shared in these neighbourhoods, where they believe that
their votes matter. The worry is not that one side has to lose, but how their
supporters will react.
Copyright 2000 Times Newspapers Ltd. | 