New stage of relations between Washington and Havana triggers expectations of Cuban people.
| Autor | Vazquez, Daniel |
The recent joint announcement by US President Barack Obama and his Cuban counterpart Raul Castro regarding the restoration of diplomatic relations after half a century of conflict between the two countries unexpectedly shook up life on the island and created a changing scenario for millions of Cubans whose hopes for a better future have been placed on their northern neighbor for decades.
A result of secret negotiations between the two governments, under the impetus of mediator Pope Francis and the Vatican, the bilateral approach sparked tensions for Republican politicians as well as the bastions of Cuban exiles and their congressional representatives, all of whom have agreed that President Obama reportedly made an unprecedented act of reconciliation with a historic enemy without sufficient commitments for democratization and respect for human rights.
Supporters of Obama's decision believe that diplomatic ties with Havana will be the best way to politically influence the island after the Cold War policy that did not achieve the objective to overthrow the Castro brothers and instead has kept the Cuban people hostage. Obama said on Dec. 17 that Washington's policy toward the only communist enclave in the Western Hemisphere had failed and caused US isolation in Latin America.
Regardless of the direction that the 2015 rounds of talks will take and what new decisions may arise, this new page in bilateral relations has not been an abstract incident for ordinary Cubans, who for nearly five decades were bombarded daily with Cuban official propaganda about the terrible and powerful empire neighbor just 145 km away, to which the Castro government has tended to attribute all failures and hardships on the island.
Cuban citizens respond cautiously
After five decades of systematic protest marches designed by the Cuban government and staged in front of the US Interests Section building on Havana's Malecon, the promenade along Havana's coast facing the Caribbean, the Cuban population proceeded with caution and did not publicly show their approval to the December announcement of the change in diplomatic approach. Therefore, there were no expressions of euphoria in the streets but murmurs of surprise and many speculations.
Many Cubans believed on that historic day the restoration of bilateral relations would imply the automatic suspension of the trade, economic, and financial embargo against Cuba implemented by the US in 1961. However, the embargo is part of...
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