Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Some Cubans Welcome Relations With U.S.
A report by By JOHN RICE
HAVANA -- Some Cubans welcomed a poll released Wednesday showing that most Americans favor renewed diplomatic ties with the communist-governed island.
Cuba's government had no immediate reaction to the poll, but acting President Raul Castro, who took power in July after his brother Fidel became ill, has said at least twice that his country wanted better relations with the United States.
While the AP-Ipsos poll showed 64 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Fidel Castro, 62 percent said the United States should re-establish diplomatic ties broken off in 1961. Only 30 percent said it should not.
The poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percentage points, also showed that 48 percent favored continuing the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba while 40 percent wanted to end it. The embargo -- which Cuban officials call a "blockade" -- sharply restricts U.S. travel to Cuba as well as trade.
Cubans interviewed in the streets of Havana -- while told about support for the embargo -- tended to assume that renewed diplomatic ties would mean a broad range of closer ties. And they liked that idea.
"People have family there, they will be able to come," said Eduardo Pedreira, a 49-year-old parking lot worker who said he has cousins in the United States. "It's been years since I've seen them."
A co-worker, Carlos Luis Haro, said restored relations "would be very beneficial for both" countries.
A block away, self-employed cobbler Roberto Sanchez Cruz, 38, sat at a table in the doorway of a crumbling building, mending a stack of torn shoes with a thick needle. He said he thought new relations would lead to more visitors from the United States and a boost for the island's economy.
"There's a lot of work here, but no money," he said, and dismissed the idea of embargoes and broken relations: "That's all politics. The working people are the ones who suffer."
In December, a Gallup Poll survey conducted without government approval in Cuba's two biggest cities found that those surveyed were most likely to cite the United States as the "ideal partner" for increased commercial ties with Cuba.
The scant contact between the two countries is now handled through Switzerland or via low-level diplomatic offices called interests sections.
On Aug. 18, Raul Castro said in an interview with the Communist Party newspaper Granma that Cuba was open to normalized relations with the United States, though he rejected "impositions and threats" from the U.S.
In a Dec. 2 speech, he repeated that theme: "We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba" as long as the U.S. respects Cuba's sovereignty.
"After almost half a century, we are willing to wait patiently until the moment when common sense prevails in Washington power circles," he added.
U.S. law might have to be changed to achieve full relations with Cuba's current government. Statutes restrict ties so long as either of the Castro brothers is in power.
HAVANA -- Some Cubans welcomed a poll released Wednesday showing that most Americans favor renewed diplomatic ties with the communist-governed island.
Cuba's government had no immediate reaction to the poll, but acting President Raul Castro, who took power in July after his brother Fidel became ill, has said at least twice that his country wanted better relations with the United States.
While the AP-Ipsos poll showed 64 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Fidel Castro, 62 percent said the United States should re-establish diplomatic ties broken off in 1961. Only 30 percent said it should not.
The poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percentage points, also showed that 48 percent favored continuing the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba while 40 percent wanted to end it. The embargo -- which Cuban officials call a "blockade" -- sharply restricts U.S. travel to Cuba as well as trade.
Cubans interviewed in the streets of Havana -- while told about support for the embargo -- tended to assume that renewed diplomatic ties would mean a broad range of closer ties. And they liked that idea.
"People have family there, they will be able to come," said Eduardo Pedreira, a 49-year-old parking lot worker who said he has cousins in the United States. "It's been years since I've seen them."
A co-worker, Carlos Luis Haro, said restored relations "would be very beneficial for both" countries.
A block away, self-employed cobbler Roberto Sanchez Cruz, 38, sat at a table in the doorway of a crumbling building, mending a stack of torn shoes with a thick needle. He said he thought new relations would lead to more visitors from the United States and a boost for the island's economy.
"There's a lot of work here, but no money," he said, and dismissed the idea of embargoes and broken relations: "That's all politics. The working people are the ones who suffer."
In December, a Gallup Poll survey conducted without government approval in Cuba's two biggest cities found that those surveyed were most likely to cite the United States as the "ideal partner" for increased commercial ties with Cuba.
The scant contact between the two countries is now handled through Switzerland or via low-level diplomatic offices called interests sections.
On Aug. 18, Raul Castro said in an interview with the Communist Party newspaper Granma that Cuba was open to normalized relations with the United States, though he rejected "impositions and threats" from the U.S.
In a Dec. 2 speech, he repeated that theme: "We take this opportunity to once again state that we are willing to resolve at the negotiating table the long-standing dispute between the United States and Cuba" as long as the U.S. respects Cuba's sovereignty.
"After almost half a century, we are willing to wait patiently until the moment when common sense prevails in Washington power circles," he added.
U.S. law might have to be changed to achieve full relations with Cuba's current government. Statutes restrict ties so long as either of the Castro brothers is in power.
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