The Role of the Spoilsport

The Role of the Spoilsport / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar
Posted on March 18, 2016

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 18 March 2016 – During his press
conference on Thursday, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez tried to
diminish the importance of the United States' most recent package of
relaxations toward the island. His remarks were an attempt to curb any
enthusiasm for the latest measures: permission for Cuba to use the
dollar in its transactions, and the ability to pay Cuban citizens for
their work in the United States or for US entities even if they are not
migrants to that neighboring country.

The most substantial part of his speech was the announcement of the
elimination of the 10% tax on the dollar. In the newly inaugurated
pressroom at the Havana Libre Hotel, the murmurs of joy could not be
stifled when the minister declared, "As long as there is financial
persecution, there will be taxation, only after verifying this security
exists, will it be exempt."

The foreign minister noted that, unlike the United States, Cuban has not
placed restrictions on the citizens of that country visiting Cuba.
However, he omitted the restrictions that Cuba's immigration law imposes
on Cubans living abroad, many of whom are denied authorization in their
passport to travel to their country of origin. Others have even been
prevented from boarding a plane to their homeland.

An interesting detail was that in his description of what Obama will do
in Cuba, he passed over the clear intention of the US president to hold
a meeting with dissidents and activists from independent civil society.
It was also striking that none of the four journalists authorized to ask
questions mentioned this issue, given that it has been so widely talked
about.

To the question asked from Andrea Rodriguez of the Associated Press
regarding whether "eliminating the tax" was the only thing Cuba was
offering in response to the new package of measures from the US aimed at
normalizing relations, the foreign minister referred to measures taken
by the Revolution since 1959, specifically those that caused the rupture
in relations. "Cuba is a country that is constantly changing," he said,
and offered as an example the Guidelines agreed to at the Sixth Congress
of the Communist Party of Cuba.

On the street, the only thing people were talking about was the
elimination of the tax and almost no one objected to the conditions
mentioned for its implementation at the currency exchanges. Cubans take
it for granted and think that the measure could bring as a collateral
consequence an increase in the flow of remittances, because since the
introduction of the tax in 2004 some of their relatives living in the
United States felt they were being cheated with the artificial decrease
in the value of the money they sent to family in Cuba.

Most of the people on the street consulted by 14ymedio were indifferent
to the demand to return the Guantanamo Naval Base as well as to the
reiteration at the negotiating table that there will be no talk of
internal changes in Cuba because these "are and will be the sovereignty
of our people."

As much as the foreign minister wanted to sow discouragement, optimists
continue to believe that Obama will bring in his diplomatic pouch
irresistible offers for the people and that the government will have no
option but to adapt the rigidity of the system to the new proposals, or
to continue playing the role of the spoilsport.

Source: The Role of the Spoilsport / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar |
Translating Cuba -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-role-of-the-spoilsport-14ymedio-reinaldo-escobar/