Longtime rivals sit down for talks
January 22, 2015
Observers are convinced of the historic significance of the negotiations, even if expectations differ greatly. After an Ice Age that lasted 50 years, Washington and Havana are trying to overcome what in the past has been an insurmountable rift between capitalism and communism.
The Presidents of the United States and Cuba have laid the groundwork that will allow "Cuba's situation to improve," Yoani Sanchez, a prominent dissident blogger and director of the Internet portal 14ymedio.com, wrote. "We now have to use this new wiggle space."
Unlike Washington, Havana wants to keep expectations low. "Cuba is not about to normalize its relations with the US, it's restoring diplomatic ties," a Cuban Foreign Ministry spokesman said, adding that normalizing ties is a process that will take a long time.
Making a list
Castro's government has entered the talks with tough demands.
Cuba wants to be taken off the list of terrorist states that includes Iran, Sudan and Syria - and demands closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Other demands include lifting the trade embargo, recognizing Cuban NGOs monitored by the government and dropping special conditions for Cuban refugees to the US.
In turn, Washington insists on freedom of movement for US diplomats in Cuba and free access for Cubans to the US embassy in Havana.
Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson, who heads the US delegation, wants to deport the 34,000 Cubans languishing in US prisons, while Cuba should deport to the US American refugees who were granted asylum on the island.
President Obama appears to be in a hurry. On January 15, the US Treasury Department agreed to key measures easing Cuba sanctions. The regulations allow Cubans living in the US to send relatives on the island $ 8,000 (6,910 euros) per year, up from the previous $2,000. Humanitarian aid projects no longer have a financial ceiling.
Capitalism and credit cards
In future, US airlines can head to Cuba, and Americans can use credit cards there. United Airlines has already announced plans for flights to the island out of Newark and Houston. The measures also facilitate telecommunications services and allow exports of communications devices and supporting services. In June 2014, Google chief Eric Schmidt checked out the chances for a "free Internet" in Havana.
Support for Obama's new southern politics is on the rise among the estimated two million Cuban-Americans.
According to a poll conducted by the Cuban Research Institute at the Florida International University (FIU), 52 percent called for lifting the embargo. In the age group of 18 to 29-year-olds, even 62 percent were in favor.
70 percent of the people questioned were in favor of easing travel and money transfer restrictions. 69 percent - as many as 90 percent of the younger Cuban-Americans - opted for restoring diplomatic relations. On the other hand, the majority of expatriate Cubans rejected removing Cuba from Washington's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.
Hardliner in exile
Florida Senator Marco Rubio is one of the most prominent opponents of the new Cuba policy. The Republican with Cuban roots, is a possible contender for the presidency in the 2016 election. He invited the daughter of deceased Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya to be his guest at Obama's State of the Union address to Congress.
"I hope Rosa Maria Paya's presence on Tuesday night will at least remind him that her father's murderers have not been brought to justice, and that the US is now, in fact, sitting at the table with them," Rubio said. Many expatriate Cubans in the US share Rubio's criticism.
The government in Havana, too, appears to have difficulties letting old negative stereotypes go. "The Cuban government, which thinks in different dimensions of time, is overwhelmed by events," wrote Yoani Sanchez. Havana is hoping that things develop at a more leisurely pace, she added - and that it isn't run over by the people's enthusiasm.