BY LAURA GARZA
While the debate on Cuba unfolds among capitalist politicians in the United States with an upcoming hearing on a bill proposed by North Carolina senator Jesse Helms, millions of Cubans on the island are participating in public discussions on the proposed measures to tighten the economic sanctions against the Cuban people. The debate in the halls of Congress takes place in the framework of all sides agreeing that the Cuban revolution must be brought to an end. The discussion in the schools, workplaces, and popular assemblies in Cuba, however, starts from the sovereignty and dignity of the Cuban people.

Cuba's National Assembly kicked off the nationwide discussion May 3. "Our people have the right to know the most about this bill and to express their opinions on it," said Ricardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly.

Helms was joined by Rep. Dan Burton, of Indiana, in sponsoring the bill, which has the Orwellian name, "The Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1995." The bill would ban imports of sugar and molasses from any country that buys these products from Cuba, cut U.S. government contributions to the World Bank and other international financial institutions if they make loans to Cuba, and cut aid to Russia by $200 million if Moscow maintains a communications station on the island.

It would also allow U.S. citizens to sue firms in other countries with the claim that the companies are benefiting from property once owned by current U.S. citizens. This would apply retroactively to people who were Cuban citizens at the time their holdings were expropriated and only became U.S. citizens after departing Cuba. In line with this there is also a proposal to deny entry to executives or shareholders whose foreign companies have investments that could be connected to previously confiscated property.

In a column in the Washington Post Helms explained, "If you want to do business in the Cuban and American economies, you have to make a choice."

The bill mandates the president of the United States to seek an international embargo of Cuba. As well, it lays out a series of conditions that must be met before any lifting of sanctions could take place. These include organizing so-called free elections under international supervision, disbanding all organs of state security, setting up a judiciary deemed suitable by the U.S. government, and no matter what, Fidel Castro and Raul Castro could not be part of any new government.

One Havana radio commentator described the Helms bill as, "Punishment, punishment, and more punishment for Cuba."

An editorial in the weekly paper of the Cuban trade unions, Trabajadores, stated, "Only through brute force would it be possible to evict every Cuban from his individual and collective properties, impose the authority of the U.S. president on all our actions, and abolish the most genuine values of every one of us." The editorial concluded, "They could try to transform the blockade into a siege, but they would have to face all our generations, present and future ones, without succeeding in subduing us. We are a small unconquerable country."

Clinton shares goals
Initially, Clinton administration officials stressed that they shared the goals of the bill's sponsors, though expressing reservations about specific provisions. But the reaction of capitalist governments around the world, sharply rejecting further U.S. moves to limit the business prerogatives of other countries, has caused the White House to distance itself from many of the proposed measures in the Helms bill.

Canadian ambassador Raymond Chrétien sent a letter to leading members of Congress warning that $500 million in exports from Canada would be endangered. "Should these bills become law, the legislation would constitute an objectionable attempt to extend U.S. measures against Cuba beyond U.S. jurisdiction and would constitute an illegitimate intrusion upon third countries," said another communication from the Canadian government to the U.S. State Department.

The European Union also warned in a letter to U.S. government representatives, "the collective effects of these provisions have the potential to cause grave and damaging effects to bilateral E.U.-U.S. relations."

Recently, the State Department released a letter making clear the administration opposes the bill in its current form. In particular, the administration cited objections to the broad reach of the trade restriction provisions. "We recognize we may face criticism from certain domestic political quarters, but the potential foreign policy troubles this bill will create outweigh those concerns," said one administration official.

Clinton has stressed that current U.S. policy already "provides the necessary framework" for dealing with Cuba, citing the existing embargo, and the measures that were passed under the Cuban Democracy Act in 1992 further tightening the embargo. The State Department letter expressed willingness to come to a settlement on passing some form of the bill, though. "We believe that most of the concerns we have identified can be resolved through consultation with Congress," the letter stated.

The bipartisan policy of the U.S. government has been consistent in its hostility toward Cuba, but the current discussion reveals the frustration in some quarters at the lack of results.

Washington's policy comes up short
The U.S. government has had some problems of its own in attempting to apply further pressure on the Cuban people. Most notable has been the large number of Cubans who sought a way out of the harsh economic conditions by emigrating to the United States, assuming they would be welcomed as Washington's propaganda had always led them to believe. Clinton finally had to give up on the attempt to break the spirit of 20,000 Cubans he had incarcerated on the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo for the past nine months, and allow them into the United States.

Five years after the disintegration of the Soviet Union it has also become apparent that predictions of the Cuban government's imminent fall are premature, to say the least. As a result, a number of capitalist spokespeople have entered the debate on U.S. policy toward Cuba on the side of easing some aspects of the current U.S. government embargo.

The Helms-Burton bill is one part of the effort to counter that view and push to keep the discussion in the framework of maintaining the course of ratcheting up the pressure against the Cuban people whenever possible.

Discussion in Cuba
In Cuba, workers, farmers, and youth are taking the opportunity to hold public hearings, educating on the content of the proposed legislation, and discussing the history and longstanding goals of U.S. imperialism in Cuba since the revolution triumphed in 1959.

In a speech before the first hearing in the National Assembly, Alarcón said the introduction of the bill is an admission that in spite of all the efforts to hurt the revolution, which have caused real damage to the Cuban people, none of the steps "have managed to achieve full success."

He ended by stating, "There should not be the slightest doubt, however, that neither this bill nor a thousand bills enacted in Washington will decide our destiny for us. Nothing will be taken away from us, regardless of the many bills that might be approved in Washington.

"To recover your little farm, our plantation owner, you must come here, not with a law in your hand, but preferably with a machete, because you will encounter a few peasants who will defend this land which is theirs. And the same can be said of every piece of this country."

Many in the United States who oppose the embargo against Cuba plan to take advantage of the stepped up discussion around Cuba to publicize actions condemning U.S. policy. Recently, four successful regional gatherings were held in Chicago, Miami, New York, and San Francisco to call coordinated actions October 14 protesting U.S. government policy toward Cuba. Other actions leading up to the October actions were also endorsed.

The New Jersey Network on Cuba recently mailed a flyer to 400 people alerting them to upcoming activities they can join in defense of Cuba and inviting their participation in a May 20 planning meeting of the group.

Among the events listed is the "Cuba Lives" international youth festival taking place in Havana and other regions on the island August 1-7. People from all over the world are invited to see Cuba for themselves and meet others who have been active in defending the Cuban revolution at the festival. Participants will also have a chance to visit a province outside of Havana city and see life in Cuba.

On a recent tour of the United States Cuban youth leaders Rogelio Polanco and Kenia Serrano invited those who attended their meetings to travel to Cuba for the festival. In a number of cities dozens of young people signed up expressing interest. Activists are mapping out plans to hold events, raise money, and have educational discussions to build towards putting together a delegation of participants from the United States.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home