Recomendaciones pragmáticas

WASHINGTON - Diálogo Interamericano soltó hoy sus recomendaciones al presidente para el 2009, una agenda de 10 puntos que define como “pragmática”. En el caso de Cuba, va al encuentro de lo que pasó hoy en el senado, o sea, aboga por una mayor apertura hacia la isla. Les dejo con el texto.

Opening to Cuba

Cuba is not, in itself, an urgent concern for the United States. But there is no other issue on which Washington is so out of step with the rest of the region. Nothing would better demonstrate the new administration’s intention to pursue a fresh approach to Latin America than making a quick start to dismantle the web of restrictions that the United States has imposed on Cuba. A policy shift on Cuba, which carries great symbolic weight in the region, would be a powerful signal that Washington will be more responsive to Latin American views. The Cuban American community, which has effectively blocked any easing of U.S. Cuba policy to date, is politically weaker and more diverse than it once was. Still, it will have considerable influence in shaping the U.S. approach to the island, and its views will have to be taken into account. That is why the Obama administration should start, as it has promised, by scrapping the barriers to family travel and remittance transfers to Cuba.

According to recent polls, this measure would have the support of most Cuban Americans and might naturally lead to a lifting of all restrictions on travel to Cuba. Nor should there be much resistance to a U.S. decision to stop trying to block other nations and multilateral institutions from doing business with Cuba. Washington should simply cease its efforts to keep the OAS and multilateral development banks from engaging Cuba and not intrude into the diplomacy of such nations as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Spain that are strengthening their political and economic ties to Cuba. Instead, the United States should encourage such engagement as a means to facilitate Cuba’s successful reintegration into hemispheric affairs and avoid its dependence on Venezuela and its allies. Washington could also make it easier for academic, cultural, and athletic exchanges with Cuba by relaxing the bureaucratic obstacles and overdrawn restrictions that now apply. Nor would it take much for the United States to expand its already vigorous agricultural trade with the island. The purpose of all this is to start a process that will lead to a steady improvement in relations between the United States and Cuba, and assist the island’s transition toward more open, democratic politics and market-based economics. Ideally, Washington should seek to establish a wide-ranging dialogue between U.S. and Cuban authorities (as it did with Vietnam nearly 15 years ago) that would set the two countries on a course toward normal diplomatic and commercial ties. Over time, the pace and significance of U.S. policy and legislative changes should respond to reciprocal actions by Havana. There should be no question about Washington’s support for Cuba’s advancing toward free expression and association, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and competitive elections. But a democratic society in Cuba should be the objective of U.S. engagement, not a precondition.