Vol. 75/No. 4      January 31, 2011

A statement issued by Cuba’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs January 16 on the changes noted “their reach is very limited and they do not modify the anti-Cuba policies.” The statement pointed out that “the measures only benefit certain categories of U.S. citizens and do not reinstitute the right to travel to Cuba for all U.S. citizens, who will continue to be the only people in the world who cannot freely visit our country.”

Far from being a step toward weakening Washington’s economic and trade embargo against Cuba, the statement notes, the White House announcement “is basically limited to reestablishing the regulations which were in place in the 1990s during President Clinton’s administration and were eliminated by George W. Bush in 2003.”

Since the early 1960s, every U.S. president, Democrat and Republican alike, has maintained the embargo on Cuba. They seek both to punish the Cuban people for making a revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and to cripple the economy in hopes of creating conditions that could lead to a return to capitalism on the island.

Washington has combined violent armed actions against Cuba with fostering internal opposition to undermine the revolution, a policy U.S. imperialist rulers call “Track II.”

The purpose of the new regulations, the White House statement says, is to “increase people-to-people contact” and help promote the Cuban people’s “independence from Cuban authorities.”

As part of the changes in remittance rules, anyone in the United States can send up to $500 per quarter to anyone in Cuba, except to high-ranking officials of the Cuban government or “senior members” of the Communist Party, “to support private economic activity, among other purposes.”

The adjustment in remittances comes as the Cuban government has adopted measures to increase the productivity of labor, reduce dependence on imports, and cut waste and inefficiency. Changes include a substantial reduction of government employees, greater emphasis on agricultural production, and relaxed rules on starting up private small businesses.

The White House hopes to find a way to advance the “Track II” course by taking advantage of Cuba’s economic challenges.
 
 
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