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Consensus,
openness lead toward a free Cuba
By Patricia Gutierrez-Menoyo,
patrigut@prtc.net. Posted on Sat, Oct. 04, 2003
in The
Miami Herald.
On Aug. 7, my father, Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo,
decided not to return to the United States from
what was supposed to be a short visit to Cuba.
I can just see him when he said to himself: "Why
should I leave? This is my country.''
His action symbolizes a break with the past.
It reflects his unwillingness to accept current
preconceptions that the Cuban people cannot resolve
their differences. It is a rejection of fear --
a new beginning. Above all it is an expression
of love, determination and of his belief in the
future of a united Cuban people.
In this spirit, an event will be held today at
the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables that will bring
together prominent national, international and
local leaders from a variety of sectors who also
seek to challenge our habitual way of thinking
and chart a new course for the Cuban community.
This event, the Florida National Summit on Cuba,
is being led by Cuban-American groups, including
my father's organization, Cambio Cubano (Cuban
Change), representing the new consensus: U.S.
policy toward Cuba must change before more people
are thrown into prison, more bodies wash up on
Florida's shores and another generation of Cubans
gets lost in the suspended animation that U.S.
policy -- hand in hand with Castro -- has led
to all these years.
Current policy is a foul stew of unintended consequences,
contradictions and double standards.
There is much being made now of the U.S. administration's
''new'' plans to step up funding of the internal
opposition in Cuba and attempts to create an American-led
international fund for such activities. It is
ironic and a monument to double standards; the
U.S. funnels an estimated $30 million a year of
taxpayer dollars to Cuban dissidents -- many of
whom end up being agents of the Cuban security
-- while I, by law, can only send my father $300
dollars per quarter.
Ironies abound. While I can visit my father only
once a year without U.S. authorization, members
of Congress and other VIPs can travel when they
wish and enjoy a Cuba untainted by American tourists,
who must not be allowed to travel to Cuba because
they might dare to go to the beach. Otto Reich,
the former assistant secretary of state, even
warned that Americans might be ''corrupted'' if
they are allowed to visit Cuba.
Demand change
In America, when an idea doesn't work, people
demand something else. For four years, the U.S.
Congress has been blocked by its leadership from
bringing an honest vote to the floor on whether
to allow open travel to Cuba. Now that the Senate
is expected to vote again soon, the president
has threatened to veto the entire Treasury appropriations
bill -- the source of funding for the war against
terrorism -- if the travel provision stands.
The goal of this National Summit on Cuba is to
give voice to all groups who genuinely seek a
proactive Cuba policy, one that can better project
U.S. values and the needs of the Cuban people.
We must honestly assess what policy will bring
us, each day, closer to our goal of a free, independent
and united Cuba.
As I prepared to take part in this summit, I
was encouraged to hear that colleagues were in
tune with some of my personal feelings. As one
of them told me: ''We will all be thinking of
your father and his courageous move.'' It is comforting
to know that his call for reconciliation is being
heard and that there is hope for a change in U.S.
policy and, most important, for the future of
the Cuban people.
Patricia Gutiérrez-Menoyo is a member
of the national directorate of Cambio Cubano,
led by her father, Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo.
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