Cuba objects to being placed on US trafficking list

Cuba objects to being placed on US trafficking list

Havana (AFP) - Cuba objected Wednesday to being placed on the US human
trafficking list, saying it distorted the overseas work of its doctors
and its requirement that students work as part of their education.

The US State Department on Monday removed Cuba from its bottom rank of
countries with the poorest records on human trafficking, noting
improvements in Havana's handling of sex trafficking. But it placed it
on a second-tier watchlist instead.

"Cuba should not be on any unilateral list nor be the object of
surveillance of any kind," the Cuban foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that Cuba was committed to a policy of "zero tolerance" of
prostitution or the commercialization of sex.

While acknowledging that the State Department had noted Cuba's efforts
to combat sexual trafficking, the foreign ministry hit out at US
criticism of its record on forced labor.

"It continues to present tendentious and manipulated elements on the
selfless work, amply recognized internationally, of our medical
collaborators in third countries," it said.

Thousands of Cuban doctors and health workers are stationed in countries
in Latin America and Africa under government to government contracts
that have become an important source of hard currency as well as
diplomatic good will.

But there have been complaints that the Cuban doctors are paid far less
than their local counterparts, or than what Havana receives for their
services.

The foreign ministry also said the State Department "distorts the Cuban
educational system, which applies the teachings of (independence hero
Jose) Marti in linking study with work, in qualifying as supposed forced
labor these tasks these Cuban students carry out."

Source: Cuba objects to being placed on US trafficking list - Yahoo News
-
http://news.yahoo.com/cuba-objects-being-placed-us-trafficking-list-202344622.html;_ylt=AwrC1zH9E7pV_zAAETLQtDMD;_ylu=X3oDMTByOHZyb21tBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDBHNlYwNzcg--

Telco Cuba, Inc. Receives The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) International Section 214 License

Telco Cuba, Inc. Receives The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
International Section 214 License

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., July 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- (OTCPK: QBAN) Telco Cuba,
Inc. – U.S. based mobile telecom and data connectivity service provider,
Telco Cuba announced today that it has been granted the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) International Section 214 license,
enabling Telco Cuba to provide telecommunication services originating
from The United States of America and terminating anywhere globally.
Telco Cuba is now able to offer mobile cell phone service, Voice over IP
(VoIP) services, and calling card services originating from the US to
any global point including the 11 Million residents of the island nation
of Cuba.

Furthermore Mr. William J. Sanchez states "We have successfully
completed the change of our trading symbol to 'QBAN' ; this change
solidifies our corporate plans on branding Telco Cuba as the leading
provider of telecom services to and in Cuba.

Earlier this quarter, during our first conference call, we spelled out a
roadmap that included several key milestones in our business plan. Our
CEO and President, William J Sanchez had this to say - "We are pleased
to announce that the FCC has granted Telco Cuba, Inc. the right to offer
international telecommunication services to US based residents and
customer to any destination in the world, including Cuba. This
milestone affords Telco Cuba the ability to start immediately acquiring
services with the results already having led to negotiations with a
leading mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in The United States".
We will provide further updates on our business development advances
during our upcoming conference call to be held on August 3rd at 10:00AM EST.

The conference call will be listen-in only, but will include a Q&A
session comprising questions submitted by current or potential
shareholders. Interested parties may send their questions to
ir@Telcocuba.com until 9:00 AM Eastern Standard Time the day of the
call. Investors may also submit questions in real time via
Investorshub.com by directing the posting to the QBAN Board, subject to
time restrictions, Telco Cuba will answer some of the questions
submitted via IHUB during the call.

The call in number is 641-715-3580. Enter conference code 413-971 when
prompted by the system. The system is configured to accept up to 1000
callers. Please call early and reserve your spot on the call.

About TelcoCuba, Inc

Founded in 2001, Amgentech -- the parent company of TelcoCuba -- has
been providing telecommunication and Internet based solutions and
services for over 14 years. Amgentech has generated over 7 million
dollars in revenue. TelcoCuba is launching best of breed communication
services including, but not limited to cell phone service, VoIP, Calling
Cards in the US and between the US and Cuba. For more information visit
(http://www.telcocuba.com & http://pr.telcocuba.com)

Safe Harbor Act: Forward-Looking Statements are included within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements
regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations,
cash flows, financing plans, business strategy, products and services,
competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of
management for future operations, including words such as "anticipate,"
"if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could,"
"should," "will," and other similar expressions are forward-looking
statements and involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of
which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results,
performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated
results, performance, or achievements. We are under no obligation to
(and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Robert Rico
ir@telcocuba.com
+1-305-747-7647 Ext. 115

http://www.telcocuba.com
http://www.amgentech.com

SOURCE TelcoCuba, Inc.

Source: Telco Cuba, Inc. Receives The Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) International Section 214... -- HOLLYWOOD, Fla., July 29, 2015
/PRNewswire/ -- -
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/telco-cuba-inc-receives-the-federal-communications-commission-fcc--international-section-214-license-300120385.html

Wrong to take Cuba off trafficking blacklist

Activist: Wrong to take Cuba off trafficking blacklist
Wednesday, July 29, 2015 | Chad Groening

A Cuban-born anti-communist activist isn't surprised the U.S. State
Department has removed Cuba from a list of countries that fail to combat
modern-day slavery.

On Monday the State Department released the annual U.S. assessment of
how 188 governments around the world have performed in fighting human
trafficking. This year, the U.S. has taken Malaysia and Cuba off its
blacklist of violators.

Humberto Fontova fled Cuba in 1961 and has written several books on the
regime. He says literally every Cuban living on the communist-controlled
island is subject to human trafficking, even doctors.

"When they leave the country they don't do it on their own accord," he
tells OneNewsNow. "They go under coercion. The government forces them to
go. And they don't pay the doctors - they pay the Castro regime, which
keeps 90 percent of what they pay them. That is human trafficking. I'm
sorry if the Obama administration doesn't want to term it that way."

Fontova says he is not surprised the State Department took Cuba off the
list because it wanted to restore full diplomatic relations, including
the opening of a Cuban embassy in Washington.

"This was one of the demands of the Castro regime for the privilege of
setting up a spy center in Washington, DC," he says.

Source: Activist: Wrong to take Cuba off trafficking blacklist -
http://www.onenewsnow.com/persecution/2015/07/29/activist-wrong-to-take-cuba-off-trafficking-blacklist

Sherritt CEO sees brighter future in Cuba

Sherritt CEO sees brighter future in Cuba
The Toronto miner reports weak Q2 results amid severe downturn in
nickel, oil
By: Lisa Wright Business Reporter, Published on Wed Jul 29 2015

Toronto-based miner Sherritt International Corp. is taking a beating as
nickel and oil prices plummet, but the chief executive sees a silver
lining for his company as U.S. and Cuba relations continue to thaw.
David Pathe, who delivered weak second-quarter results Wednesday, said
he visited the firm's operations in the island nation last week as the
U.S. reopened its embassy in Havana after 50 years under renewed
diplomatic ties.
"There's a tremendous amount of optimism in Cuba at the moment, and a
lot more interest in Cuba internationally," Pathe said in an interview.
"We've been in Cuba for over 20 years and it's a remarkably stable place
to do business," he said.
Sherritt produces approximately two-thirds of Cuba's oil and also owns a
50 per cent interest in the Moa nickel and cobalt joint venture with the
Cuban government, which includes mining, processing and refining operations.
However, as the Communist-ruled island's largest foreign investor by
far, Sherritt has struggled with "negative connotations" as the Canadian
miner befriended Fidel Castro and continued to extract nickel, cobalt
and oil there amid what he called a "crippling" economic embargo with
the U.S.
While things are opening up on the diplomatic side, Pathe said progress
is still slow on the bigger issues like ending the embargo and repealing
the Helms-Burton Act, which for 19 years has barred Sherritt directors
and executives including Pathe from doing business or even travelling in
the U.S.
"Both would be a big benefit to us," he told analysts on a conference call.
"I think it would change the way our assets are viewed and remove some
of the stigma that, from our experience, has been somewhat overblown,
and that has the potential to create new opportunities for us," he said.
He pointed to cost savings in terms of accessing U.S. suppliers and
being able to run American-owned Caterpillar equipment in the mine, as
it does at its Madagascar operations, and get access to the U.S. gulf
coast for Sherritt's oil business.
Meanwhile, the company's shares had plummeted 55 per cent in the last
year up to Tuesday's close, but got a boost of 16 per cent Wednesday as
the miner reported costs had fallen at global operations in the quarter,
and that they still have $400 million cash on the books.
Oil and base metal miners like Sherritt have been hit hard lately amid
over-supply and weaker demand from China, the world's largest consumer
of nickel.
But nickel, which is used to make stainless steel and other manufactured
items, has fallen to six-year lows and tumbled 40 per cent in the second
quarter while oil tanked 50 per cent.
Sherritt sold its Toronto headquarters and laid off 60 staff last fall,
and Pathe fended off a shareholder revolt aimed at ousting him and other
board members at its annual meeting in 2014.
"It's been a tough first half of the year in the commodity price, and a
tough last couple of weeks in particular…and it's been a tough time to
be a shareholder," Pathe told analysts.
He noted more than half the nickel mining industry is "under water" in
terms of the cash cost of production, and the situation "can't be
sustained much longer," adding he still believes in the metal's
long-term fundamentals which are bound to eventually boost the price.
Sherritt's adjusted net loss from continuing operations was $75.2
million, or 25 Canadian cents per share, in the three months ended June
30, up from a loss of $56.2 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.
The company said its combined revenue fell about 12 per cent to $268.4
million, and expects total production of 78,000-82,000 tonnes of nickel
this year, down from a previous estimate of 80,000-86,000.
The company also cut the estimate for the Ambatovy mine in Madagascar,
in which it has a 40 per cent stake, to 45,000-48,000 tonnes from
47,000-52,000.

Source: Sherritt CEO sees brighter future in Cuba | Toronto Star -
http://www.thestar.com/business/economy/2015/07/29/sherritt-ceo-sees-brighter-future-in-cuba.html

U.S. business slow to invest in Cuba; rules still evolving

U.S. business slow to invest in Cuba; rules still evolving
By Mimi Whitefield The Miami Herald
This article was published today at 2:06 a.m.

MIAMI -- Many barriers remain for U.S. businesses wishing to take
advantage of thawing relations between the United States and Cuba.

With a trade embargo still in effect, businesses are proceeding slowly
when it comes to the limited commercial opening toward Cuba outlined by
President Barack Obama as part of the U.S. rapprochement with Cuba.

Cuba is a new frontier for American business.

Because there hasn't been a semblance of a normal business relationship
in more than half a century, the United States was dealing more with the
theoretical than real-world experience when it wrote its new rules of
business engagement with Cuba earlier this year. Also, the rules were
written hurriedly.

Roberta Jacobson, assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere
affairs, calls the new rules "a work in progress."

"Cubans are getting used to it; our business people are getting used to
it," she said. "We are going to tweak. We may not have written them right."

Among the most visible deals to date are Stonegate Bank's announcement
last week that it had signed a correspondent banking agreement with
Cuba's Banco Internacional de Comercio -- a move that should make it
easier to pay for transactions -- and Airbnb's move into Cuba. It now
offers more than 2,000 listings in private homes that rent rooms to
travelers.

Yet to materialize are any major deals in agriculture or
telecommunications. U.S. rules announced in January allow American
companies to sell telecommunications and computer equipment and even
work with the Cuban government in ventures to improve access to the
Internet and telecommunications.

Even though Cuba has shortages of many building supplies and the new
U.S. rules allow shipments of construction materials and equipment to
Cuba's budding private sector, there have been no announcements by major
companies that they're shipping cement mix or sending enough supplies to
repaint Havana.

During a White House briefing last week with business people, academics
and others who have been supportive of the normalization process,
briefers said a revision and clarification of some banking and travel
rules would come out shortly. They also asked business executives to
keep offering feedback on the evolving rules.

Florida-based Stonegate is the first U.S. bank to engage with Cuba under
the regulations that came out in January.

But banks in general are very nervous about Cuba, said Ted Piccone, a
senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Part of it is the banking
culture is very conservative, but the banks also have seen that they can
be heavily penalized if they don't abide by the letter of the law."

Meanwhile, as U.S. business pioneers try to strike deals, they must also
contend with a Cuban system that doesn't necessarily mesh with U.S.
business practices, limited Internet service, and a Cuban bureaucracy
that often seems more interested in going slow than expediting business.

Beyond the sluggish bureaucracy, the government is testing the shifting
currents with caution.

Carlos Alzugaray, a retired Cuban diplomat, points out there are reasons
the government wants to go slow and not risk losing political control by
allowing too swift an economic transformation.

Cuban leader Raul Castro, he said, has undertaken three processes of
change at once: economic measures, a new relationship with the United
States, and a generational shift in political power as he retires in 2018.

All carry a degree of risk that could derail the government's goal of
"prosperous and sustainable socialism."

"They want to do things slowly, to keep things under control," said
Piccone. "There's also an ongoing battle between Raulistas [who are more
supportive of economic change] and Fidelistas for control, and that's
another reason that things are so slow."

To help companies try to overcome some of the obstacles in entering the
Cuban market, Burson-Marsteller, a public relations and communications
firm, recently introduced a Cuba consultancy team that will advise
clients on matters such as positioning themselves in the Cuban market,
how they should enter it, how to present their corporate presence in
Cuba and how to effectively communicate to various stakeholders about
their Cuba business.

For companies and industries that consider Cuba a longer-term investment
when the embargo is lifted, Burson-Marsteller will advise them on an
advocacy role to help bring about policy changes, said Ramiro Prudencio,
the company's Latin America president and chief executive.

"I think that for most companies, Cuba needs to be a long-term play --
unless they're in very specific industries," he said. But travel and
tourism will present "almost immediate opportunities."

Companies that want to do business in Cuba, he said, must be cognizant
of whether their venture is in sync with government development plans
and offers social and economic benefits to the Cuban people.

"We want to make sure companies are successful in Cuba," he said. "It's
about having the message right and the right policy. Cuba is not just
any market and it is not just any country."

Business on 07/30/2015

Source: U.S. business slow to invest in Cuba; rules still evolving -
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/jul/30/u-s-business-slow-to-invest-in-cuba-rul/

Despite Early Optimism, Trade With Cuba Dipping

Despite Early Optimism, Trade With Cuba Dipping
by Julián Aguilar July 30, 2015

Since the Obama administration's December announcement that it was
charging ahead with plans to re-establish ties with communist Cuba,
trade with the island nation has taken a peculiar turn: It's decreased —
by a lot.

That is significant for Texas, which has for years ranked among the top
10 U.S. states trading with Cuba under provisions of the Trade Sanctions
Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, which allows companies to
sell certain goods for profit despite a general trade and travel embargo.

Through June, the United States collectively shipped about $83 million
in goods to Cuba, and is on pace for exporting about $166 million for
the calendar year. That's well short of the $291 million in goods
shipped in 2014, and well below the $348.7 million shipped in 2013.

That trend holds true for Texas; the Houston port has seen only 33
metric tons of goods leave its docks bound for Cuba through March of
this year, according to the New York-based U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic
Council. That's compared with 60 tons in 2014, 295 tons in 2013 and a
whopping 93,000 tons in 2012.

Some goods shipped from Texas aren't grown or processed here. But their
passage through Texas is still lucrative. According to figures from
Texas A&M University's Center for North American Studies, about 91 cents
in additional business activity was created for every dollar worth of
goods exported in 2008.

Discerning reasons for the dip, and forecasting what happens next as the
countries continue mending their relationship after more than 50 years
of tension, isn't easy, experts argue. If Cuba continues to trade and
garner support from foreign governments, specifically Venezuela,
engaging the U.S. might be less of a priority.

"As long as Cuba can depend on Venezuela for much of its oil imports and
foreign exchange, it's going to move cautiously," said John S. Kavulich,
president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council. "Even though it
has decreased its support to Cuba, it hasn't stopped. How its
relationship with Venezuela goes will determine in great measure how
quickly it re-engages with the United States."

Kavulich added that Cuba won't transform into a hotbed of capitalism
where U.S. goods are as common. At least not immediately.

"There is a tremendous amount — it's breathtaking — the amount of
aspirational rhetoric chasing very little reality," he said. "You're not
going to be able to go to Hertz and rent an RV and drive down to
Santiago de Cuba. It's a process, it's not an action."

How things progress has more to do with Cuba's response to overtures
from the White House than the other way around.

"If the U.S. changes, then Cuba is going to do more, but the U.S. has
been changing and Cuba hasn't done any more, so I think there is a
disconnect," Kavulich said.

Others are more optimistic. Cynthia Thomas, president of TriDimension
Strategies, a Dallas-based consulting firm that focuses on the
Texas-Cuba trade relationship, believes trade is down because of simple
economics, not politics.

"Over the last few years, Cuba has been paying down its debts" to Japan,
Russia and Mexico, she said. "That has consumed a lot of their capital."

Cuba has also stopped importing American poultry after an avian flu
outbreak, Thomas said. According to Business Insider, Cuba previously
imported $148 million in chicken products annually. And the severe
drought affected cotton prices and Cuba's ability to import cotton from
Texas.

"There is nothing unique about international trade with Cuba versus
other countries," she said.

Thomas said that the Obama administration has already made changes that
could bolster Texas' trade with Cuba once the country is in better
economic shape. The administration has rolled out a payment process that
should make it easier for Cuba to buy U.S. goods, Thomas said.

Instead of securing a letter of credit — a guarantee from a bank that it
will pay for the costs of goods if a buyer cannot — purchasers can now
use the "cash against document" system. That means a buyer can wire
money directly, which makes it easier on the purchaser, Thomas said.

Thomas believes the real test will come when more Americans are able to
travel to Cuba on commercial flights. Charter flights are already
available, but airline giants like American Airlines and United Airlines
stated this month they are ready to begin commercial flights to Cuba
once they receive permission.

Travelers will visit and try local food and goods, she said, but they
will also long for familiar treats.

"They'll go to a snack counter and want their Lay's potato chips," she
said. She also said more travelers to Cuba would ultimately mean more
pressure on Washington to move quickly to re-establish ties.

"They expect a government state where machine guns are on every corner,"
she said. "That's not reality. [People] have a good time. And that is
one more advocate for knocking down the embargo."

Source: Despite Early Optimism, Trade With Cuba Dipping | The Texas
Tribune -
https://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/30/despite-early-optimism-trade-cuba-dipping/

The Democratic Alternative for Cuba

The Democratic Alternative for Cuba
July 29, 2015
By Pedro Campos

HAVANA TIMES — Two paths are becoming clear to Cuba after the failure of
"State socialism": the authoritarian-capitalist one offered by the
current "reform process", sustained by an alliance between State
monopoly capitalism (dressed up as socialism) and foreign capital, under
the control of the same old government-State-Party, and the
all-inclusive democratic one, which I will try to summarize here, while
also exploring how we can reach it and what obstacles lie in the way.

The democratic way out, in order to be truly democratic, would have to
be inclusive. It would entail a process aimed at democratizing and
socializing the country's politics and economy which would open these
spheres to the participation of all Cubans on the island and abroad,
impel the development of all forms of production and the creation of the
conditions needed for a new type of democratic constitution, the rule of
law and a new, multi-party electoral law.

This process would need to be sustained by a new social contract, one
that would provide individual and collective undertakings broad
financing possibilities, confront all of the repercussions stemming from
the serious property issues created over more than fifty years of "State
socialism", on the basis of compensation, cooperation and independent
arbitration, eliminate all State monopolies over markets, prohibit the
development of private monopolies and establish fiscal policies to
incentivize production.

It would particularly require the implementation of local, participative
budgets, such that the bulk of taxes collected remain at the lower
levels and can be handled to address community interests, as a guarantee
of development.

The democratic socialist program encompasses very few points but, with a
view to establishing a consensus and pulling society out of its current
stagnation, we are subordinating all remaining points to a general,
democratic strategy that will later allow us to better defend our
positions and make them a reality.

Let it again be made clear that we reject any attempt at arbitrarily
imposing on people the free individual or collective forms of
self-managed production we support. That said, we do not deny we hope
these forms of production will, of their own merit, prove better than
the forms of salaried exploitation now in existence and, as such,
encourage their development and any financial backing offered them.

As we understand that private capital still has plenty of ground to
cover within Cuba's economy and that its most progressive
representatives could contribute to development efforts, we have no
objections to its participation in the process, under laws that
guarantee wages, vacation time and social security benefits, as well as
the creation of independent trade unions and others that will defend the
rights of wage laborers.

This way out of the current crisis only appears possible on the basis of
dialogue, negotiation and an atmosphere of national consensus and
harmony, where everyone can place the interests of the nation in the
foreground, and where the people constitute the one, sovereign
decision-maker. This involves the release of those who have been
detained for political reasons and a number of fundamental, individual
guarantees.

Independent civil society – the one that opts for non-violence and
dialogue –, progressive and nationalist sectors of the bourgeoisie in
Cuba and abroad and the wide democratic Left within Cuban society and
the State will all contribute to this democratic process, to varying
degrees and with no shortages of disagreements among them.

There are points of agreement across their demands that should be
brought to the foreground, without thereby abandoning their respective
identities. These strengths could be used to advance many actions and
policies, to the point, even, of organizing a broad, nationwide
democratic front.

The success of this alternative will depend on the ability of democratic
forces – all democratic forces, regardless of their political leanings,
whether they are in Cuba or abroad or within the government – to make
their programs reach the population, earn its support and create the
needed alliances.

Today, the democratic alternative has the fertile soil it needs to
develop it never had before, precisely because of the change in US
policy which neutralizes all of the stifling philosophy of the besieged
fortress and eliminates pretexts for political repression and the lack
of democracy and liberties of every sort. The United States' new Cuba
policy can eliminate all of the obstacles standing in the way of
international trade, a step required for development.

This is the most important historical juncture since the revolution of
1959, an opportunity to bring about the democratic changes the country
needs and will allow all political tendencies that favor such changes to
work together.

There are no democracy gages we can use to identify how likely these
forces are to prevail, but we could say that, despite how isolated the
different actors are, the lack of means and resources to have an impact
on society and the limitations imposed by the bureaucratic system, these
forces, working together, could became a decisive majority in an
atmosphere of tolerance and fundamental freedoms, through their
identification with the interests of the people.

The prevailing system in Cuba was sustained by two major pillars:
foreign aid and opposition to US imperialism. The first fell by the
wayside with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the "socialist bloc,"
shoes Venezuela never did manage to fill. The US executive has
re-established diplomatic relations with the Cuban government, but many
of the laws that make up the blockade-embargo are still in place and
Cuban-Americans in Congress favor them, giving the forces within Cuba's
military that cling to the past an excuse not to budge. Quite simply,
they play into each other's hands.


The leaders of the Cuban military, government and Communist Party.
Photo: granma.cu
The small clique of original revolutionaries that controls the
government opposes this democratic alternative and uses the "reform
process" as the spear-head of the political and military apparatus that
administer the country, to prevent the free development of all non-State
forms of production that do not rely on joint or direct foreign
investment. It gives no signs of being in favor of democratization and
continues to repress dissenting thoughts, sometimes employing violence.

This group knows that its State wage model has failed and is promoting
changes, but it is very much afraid that these will make it lose its
power and that they will later be judged for all the wrong they've done
for over half a century in the name of socialism. They do not realize
that history has already judged them and condemned them to retirement.
This verdict could however change if they stubbornly stick to their
positions and continue to repress alternatives.

In the complex situation we have today, we cannot deny that Raul Castro
and his clique have reacted positively to a rapprochement with the
United States, even though their chief motivation is the lifting of
sanctions that will allow them to tap sources of money and investments
up north. We also cannot deny that his administration, as centralized
and bureaucratic as his brothers, incapable of overcome the serious
problems faced by Cuban society, has at least modified a number of
absurd regulations and opened up a handful of small spaces for economic
activities outside the State.

Everything indicates that, if there are differences at the high echelons
of power regarding the scope of the changes and the policy of
rapprochement with the United States, all of the elite has the same
prejudices with respect to the crucial democratization of society and
agree that repressive policies must be implemented against dissenting
thought, as a means of guaranteeing the power in the hands of the
bureaucratic elite, its descendants and loyal subjects.

The military officials who rule the country and could have more
pragmatic stances could develop other initiatives in a freer context,
without the pressures of the embargo-blockade or from internal groups
that continue to support the old US policies. Such a situation could
lead them to understand that they can be part of the future if they are
able to share power with the workers and the people, in conjunction with
diverse democratic forces.

The democratic alternative also runs into the "vendetta" mentality of
the more radical groups in the émigré community and some on the island
who are opposed to any dialogue with the government, groups that insist
that the "Castroist" elite must first be swept away and that the United
States ought to keep the blockade-embargo in place, place obstacles on
the road to the normalization of relations and seek a regime change
through political and economic stifling.

This, while standing in the way of the methods and aims of the peaceful
and democratic alternative, reaffirms the intransigent sectors of the
Stalinist elite in their stance, and these sectors must be given an
option – otherwise, they will continue to cling to their positions.

Do these groups want democracy for themselves only, and a new
dictatorship for the rest? Democracy, like freedom, is either for
everyone or it is not true democracy. Those who oppose the democratic
path, those who support violence and policies that exclude others, end
up isolating themselves.

Those who ask for "justice first" seem to forget that horrendous crimes
were also perpetrated in the struggle against Castro-communism and that
people demand justice for these actions as well.

Should we try to overcome the problems that weigh on the Cuban people
and keep development and happiness out of reach for them, or do we all
start settling accounts, reliving the past, covering Cuban soil with
blood once again, continuing the interminable cycle of violence?

Should we be driven by a thirst of justice or vengeance? Wouldn't it be
nobler, and entirely possible, to try and work for peace under justice,
hand in hand with forgiveness, through methods such as dialogue and
negotiation, and bury the hatchet and the eye-for-an-eye mentality once
and for all?

That violence stems from the political system based on the "dictatorship
of the proletariat" is not something we put in question. But let us try
not to play into their hand with discourses and policies similar to theirs.

It is time for understanding to reach the core of Cuban society
(including the émigré community), in the same way the governments of
Cuba and the United States have done through dialogue, putting aside
their profound differences. The Pope, who encouraged the rapprochement
between the United States and Cuban government, could contribute to
internal talks.

Espacio Abierto ("Open Space"), a Cuban civil society group, has just
advanced a proposal for a debate to include everyone, including
government authorities. It would be a serious mistake to reject or
ignore this proposal. We hope that, sooner rather than later, the sense
shown by the Cuban government in its talks with the United States will
prevail also within Cuban society.

Source: The Democratic Alternative for Cuba - Havana Times.org -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=112961