Published Thursday, December 6, 2001 in
The Miami Herald
Cuban dissidents, exiles grow closer, poll shows
View that changes must come from within island gains ground
Andres Oppenheimer: The Oppenheimer Report.
One of the interesting things about a new poll of Cuban exiles released this
week is that, in sharp contrast with their views of 10 years ago, growing
numbers of exiles agree that the solution to Cuba's tragedy has to come from
within the island.
That's good news, which is bound to help the struggle for democracy on the
island. It will help pro-democracy forces destroy the bedrock of President Fidel
Castro's propaganda machine: that he is fighting against Miami Cuban exiles,
rather than against his own people.
The poll, conducted by Bendixen & Associates and sponsored by The Cuba
Study Group, an informal organization of a dozen wealthy Cuban exiles, shows
increased support among Cuban exiles for a peaceful transition in Cuba, and
growing sympathy for the dissidents who advocate nonviolent change on the
island.
Among the findings of the survey, which the polling firm said was conducted
in December 2000 among Cuban exiles who reported they are interested in
Cuba-related issues, and has a margin of error of 3 percent:
A 58 percent majority of Cuban exiles said they consider Cuban dissidents on
the island to be "patriots,'' while 19 percent consider them "Fidelistas
in disguise,'' and the remainder didn't know, or didn't answer.
A 74 percent majority of respondents said they have heard of the document
signed by some of Cuba's leading dissidents, entitled "The fatherland
belongs to all,'' while 28 percent responded that the document is "one of
many'' similar papers circulating on the island.
Asked about the Cuban Catholic Church's policy of "pardon and
reconciliation,'' supported by the leading dissidents, 53 percent of the exiles
said they agree, while 37 percent said they disagree, and the remainder didn't
answer.
"This marks a dramatic change in the Cuban exile community,'' pollster
Sergio Bendixen said this week. "About 10 years ago, when I asked the
question about whether the dissidents where 'patriots' or 'disguised
Fidelistas,' only 12 percent said they were 'patriots.' ''
FOCUS SHIFT
Why is this important? Because it shifts the focus of the struggle against
Cuba's dictatorship away from Miami and into the island, where it belongs, and
where Castro doesn't want it to be. And because it helps dispel Castro's claim
that a "Miami mafia'' wants to take over Cuba and turn it into a right-wing
dictatorship.
One of the things I remember the most from my travels to Cuba in the late
'80s and early '90s -- before the Cuban regime decided to stop granting me entry
visas to the island -- was the big divide between the pro-democracy forces in
Miami and Cuba.
Leading exiles believed that most dissidents in Cuba were Castro-paid
agents, while leading dissidents on the island thought most Miami exiles wanted
to turn the island into a U.S. protectorate.
OFFICIAL STORIES
Castro had somehow convinced many Cubans and much of the rest of the world
that there was no internal opposition in Cuba. I remember how Latin American and
European ambassadors in Havana repeated like parrots the Castro regime's
disinformation stories about the dissidents: they said so-and-so was a drunk,
so-and-so was mentally disturbed. The underlying message was that none of the
dissidents could be taken seriously.
That was -- and still is -- baloney. In fact, most dissidents are admirable
men and women, who -- like their counterparts in the former Soviet Union and
Eastern Europe -- will one day be remembered as the heroes of Cuba's struggle
for civil and human rights.
Pro-democracy forces in Havana and in Miami are still at odds about things
such as the U.S. embargo on Cuba. While a 55 percent majority of the exiles
support the U.S. embargo, according to the Bendixen & Associates poll, most
of the dissidents I talked to in Havana oppose it, or think it should be used as
a bargaining tool with the Castro regime.
GROWING CONSENSUS
But the two sides are coming closer together. Cuban dissidents now realize
that most Cuban exiles are well-meaning democrats, and a majority of Cuban
exiles now realize that most dissidents on the island are courageous
pro-democracy activists.
"There is a growing consensus that the solution has to come from
within, with help from outside,'' says Alina Fernandez Revuelta, Castro's
daughter, who described her father as a "tyrant'' when I interviewed her in
Cuba in the early '90s and is now living in Miami.
"Increased telephone communications between Cuban exiles and Cubans on
the island have helped bring the two sides closer together.''
Hopefully, despite their remaining differences, the two sides will further
join forces in the future, and the Cuban exiles' growing sympathy for the
dissidents will translate in greater support for their cause.
The latest poll helps call Castro's bluff. He is not fighting against a "Miami
mafia,'' but against the Cuban people on the island.
U.S. embargo of Cuba remains strongly in place, official says
By Nancy San Martin. nsanmartin@herald.com
The top architect of U.S. policy for Latin America came to Miami on
Wednesday with a message for those who may think recent unprecedented agreements
between Cuba and the United States signal a softening in policy: Nothing has
changed.
The U.S. embargo remains firmly in place, and recent accords to buy food and
supplies from U.S. companies were the result of a policy reverse by Cuba, not
the United States, said Lino Gutierrez, acting assistant secretary of state.
And, he added, Cuba's criticism of the war in Afghanistan is "nothing
short of appalling and offensive.''
Gutierrez made his remarks in Coral Gables, where the anti-Castro Center for
a Free Cuba issued a report highlighting what it said was the deteriorating
political and economic situation on the island.
Gutierrez said the Bush administration's mission is "to see a rapid,
peaceful transition to a free and democratic Cuba,'' and that the embargo is a
key component of U.S. strategy to do that.
"The United States has not changed any rules . . . or moved in any way
to encourage these sales,'' Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez's statements were part of a Bush administration effort to dispel
speculation that the food shipments scheduled to begin arriving in Havana this
month could lead to more permanent trade relations between the two nations.
The White House reiterated the message in Washington on Wednesday with a
statement saying that Bush strongly opposes a Senate proposal to allow private
financing of U.S. food sales to Cuba.
Cuban officials did not disagree with Gutierrez's assessment that planned
food and medicine sales of up to $30 million are an "exceptional purchase''
because of the devastation caused by Hurricane Michelle on Nov. 4. But they also
have made clear that they are willing to buy more U.S. products if trade
sanctions are fully lifted.
"We do want to buy from American companies,'' said Luis Fernández,
spokesman for the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C. "But those
discriminatory and humiliating sanctions need to be lifted.''
Those who support an end to the embargo said the upcoming shipments are
historic and groundbreaking no matter how dismissive both sides may want to be.
For the first time in four decades rice and other grains grown in U.S.
fields will float across an ocean that generally separates both nations.
"If something hasn't happened in 40 years then it happens, that is
significant,'' said Sally Grooms Cowal, president of the anti-embargo Cuba
Policy Foundation. "Like in a football game, this is the first down.''
The United States implemented the trade embargo after President Fidel Castro
swept to power in 1959 and began nationalizing U.S. property on the island.
A year ago, Congress enacted legislation that eased some restrictions to
allow cash sales of food and medicine but the Cuban government had refused to
make purchases, saying the measure reinforced the embargo because no credit
purchases were permitted.
Havana building collapse kills 2, injures 2
Incident happened in Chinatown
HAVANA -- (AP) -- An old, multistoried building in Havana's aging Chinatown
collapsed early Wednesday, killing at least two people and injuring two others.
The collapse of a condemned building at least five stories high near the
main entrance of Chinatown occurred shortly after 1 a.m., state radio reported.
Two injured women were pulled from the rubble and two other people died, the
official Radio Rebelde station said.
Access to the accident site was blocked by police, but two hearses and two
ambulances could be seen from a street corner about a block away.
Building collapses in Havana's more dilapidated neighborhoods are relatively
common, especially in the days after heavy rains as soaked buildings dry out and
weaken.
But deaths and injuries are rare. Light to moderate rains fell on the
capital over the weekend.
Search-and-rescue teams with dogs, firefighters and police crowded on the
street in front of what looked like a huge pile of sand and rocks.
Fire department Col. Raul Orta told Radio Rebelde that more than 100
firefighters and rescue team members were working in the rubble.
At least six dump trucks had been called to cart away the debris.
In the early afternoon, Orta told reporters at the scene that rescue efforts
were continuing but that he did not expect to find any more dead or injured.
The radio station said that the building had been evacuated by authorities
several months before because of its precarious condition but that some families
had later returned to live there.
Many of the buildings in Havana, especially in older neighborhoods such as
Chinatown, are seriously deteriorated because of lack of maintenance and
overcrowding.
The nation's capital suffers from a severe housing crisis, exacerbated
because many Cubans continue to migrate from the provinces to Havana in search
of financial opportunities.
Havana is home to many of the country's better paying jobs as well as
sources of illegal income related to tourism, such as prostitution and other
black market "services'' offered foreign visitors.
The government passed a law in 1997 aimed at restricting the flow of
migration to the capital by requiring special approval to move here.
About 2.2 million people -- approximately 20 percent of the country's 11
million citizens -- live in Havana.
Related story (spanish)
Oct/01 - Derrumbe en
Centro Habana provoca contusiones a una anciana / AIDH / CubaNet
Elian Gonzalez celebrates 8th birthday in Havana
HAVANA -- (AP) -- Elian Gonzalez celebrates his 8th birthday Thursday, two
years after the fateful ocean voyage that sparked a tug of war between his
relatives here and in the United States.
Cuba's official media marked the date, saying that Elian "will happily
celebrate in his homeland his eight years of life'' with a small party in his
hometown of Cardenas, about 85 miles east of Havana.
A media tour of government recuperation efforts in the Cardenas region,
which was hard hit by Hurricane Michelle in early November, was set for early
Thursday afternoon. It included a stop by Elian's school for a birthday
celebration.
The government said Ricardo Alarcon, president of Cuba's National Assembly,
or parliament, would participate in the tour.
There was no official word on attendance by President Fidel Castro, who
traveled to Cardenas for Elian's 7th birthday party last year. Castro also
visited the town the year before for a 6th birthday party held for Elian, who
was then staying with his relatives in Miami.
Alarcon, long Castro's point man on Cuba-U.S. affairs, played a key role in
this communist country's efforts to have Elian repatriated after the boy's Miami
relatives refused to return him to his father in Cuba.
Elian was rescued off the Florida coast in November 1999 after his mother
and most of the other passengers traveling illegally from Cuba to the United
States died when their boat capsized.
The boy was temporarily placed with relatives in Miami who, backed by other
Cuban exiles, launched an international custody battle to keep the child in the
United States.
In response, Castro organized nearly daily rallies to demand that Elian be
returned to Cuba and reunited with his father, Juan Miguel Gonzalez.
Elian returned to Cuba on June 28, 2000, after a seven-month legal and
political battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Copyright 2001 Miami Herald
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