Some S. Florida Hispanics unhappy with Cuba policy

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Tue, Mar. 02, 2004

Some S. Florida Hispanics unhappy with Cuba policy

A new poll suggests a growing number of South Florida Hispanic voters have concerns about the Bush administration's handling of Cuba policy.

BY PETER WALLSTEN

[e-mail]


POLL ON PRESIDENT

Months of growing tensions over the Bush administration's approach to Cuba are taking a toll on the president's standing among Cuban Americans -- one of the Republican Party's most crucial voting groups in Florida -- just as his reelection campaign is getting under way, according to a new poll.

The survey shows that more than one-third of South Florida Hispanic voters -- a group consisting primarily of GOP-leaning Cuban Americans -- disapproves of the job the president has done ''promoting democracy and regime change'' in Fidel Castro's Cuba.
(snip)

Democratic strategists believe that if they can peel away even a portion of the Cuban-American electorate, their nominee can win Florida -- and the White House -- just as President Clinton did in 1996, when he won an estimated 40 percent of the Cuban vote.
(snip)

The poll results come as the Democratic National Committee is devising a strategy to court Cuban-American voters using a massive advertising campaign designed to paint Bush as insincere on the issues important to them.
(snip)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/8081991.htm

[Judi Lynn]

1. You might find this interesting

concerning Roger Noriega, _Bush's Asst. Sec. of State, Western Hemisphere Affairs:

In Argentina, Noriega publicly criticized the government's domestic policies and advocated that the Kirchner government break ties with Cuba. President Kirchner retorted:

"We're through being used as a carpet... nobody can sit us down, and much less challenge us, because we are an independent country with dignity."

http://www.counterpunch.org/carlsen02272004.html

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I've heard already today that Argentina most likely will NOT comply with _Bush's demand that Argentina join him in condemning Cuba's human rights record at the U.N. this year.

Argentina has condemned the U.S. embargo on Cuba at the U.N. for a long time, in annual November votes.

[lumpy]

2. Thank you JudiLyn

for posting the counterpunch article. News like this is encouraging
indicating that Bush's political war stance is corrupt and not effective in gaining world support.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Here's more info. in the same vein

shared by a DU reader with friends in Argentina, concerning Argentina's excellent President Kirchner, who is pulling the country out of the morass, so far.

It appears that _Bush approached him about Chavez, as well. Our NeoCon obsession doesn't seem to ever rest, does it?

When Kirchner met with Bush at Monterrey, recent feelings of animosity already had begun to cool since neither of them referred to Noriega’s crude remarks or made any reference to Fidel Castro. Bush did, however, bring up the troubling matter of the activities of Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, to which Kirchner responded by saying, “I told him that Lula and I maintain fluid contacts with President Chávez because we consider it totally negative to isolate Chávez. In the first place, Chávez is a democratically-elected president….I believe each people’s right to self-determination must be respected. People must decide what kind of ruler they want.”


Washington has become fearful of what some of its regional policymakers refer to what is seen as the Latin American version of the “axis of evil,” i.e., the putative alliance being forged among the leaders of Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Bolivia and Brazil. The leaders of these and other Latin American countries are being seen as defying U.S.-designed efforts to achieve a free trade zone in the hemisphere out of fear that the lifting of trade barriers might not necessarily be in their best interest, as they push to consolidate their own Mercosur as well as other trade blocs. Chávez has argued that Latin America’s weak economies will prevent the region’s industry from competing on more equal terms with the more powerful U.S. corporations. Since Kirchner has allied himself with Chávez, who in turn is warmly disposed to Castro, Kirchner is being closely watched by Washington over Argentina’s ties with Cuba, with which Buenos Aires has recently reopened up relations. Argentina used to be a major regional ally of the U.S., but under the current reign of Noriega, presidential envoy Otto Reich and other Bush administration extremists now helping to make up the Washington cabal currently in charge of U.S. policymaking, any Latin American country that seems to sympathize with Castro is a candidate to be marginalized by the Bush administration.


However, it is not clear how close Kirchner wants to be to Castro for now; but it is clear that he is not afraid of the U.S. as he follows his country’s own national interests and policy targets. In the meantime, it is far too early to say whether Argentina’s history will register a dazzling Kirchner or whether his rule will be tarnished by later events. He definitely has brought a new spirit of optimism and independence that his country’s citizens can rally around. Most of Argentina’s population applauds his leadership and audacity, such as his standing up to Washington and the IMF, but domestically, he will still have to walk a tightrope between pleasing the country’s masses with new jobs, while catering to the pro-business and investment community. But with an improving economy, the outlook appears bright, as Argentina appears to have found a president who cares as much about the common man as he does about pleasing global giants.
(snip)

http://www.coha.org/NEW_PRESS_RELEASES/New_Press_Releases_2004/04.04_Kirchner_2003_Leader.htm

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Kirchner has implemented some measures to allow people involved in torturing and murdering people in the military seizure of Argentina from 1976 to 1983 (himself being held as one of the prisoners for a time) to start being brought to trial.

There are several short articles clustered here for anyone wanting to read more about this:

The military came to power in March 1976 after a period of political instability and growing violence.

They began a systematic campaign to wipe out left-wing terrorism - but the terror carried out by the state exceeded anything previously seen in Argentina.

Students, union leaders and political activists were dragged from their beds in the middle of the night and never seen again.

They were tortured at secret locations and some were even thrown, bound and gagged, from planes and helicopters into the River Plate and Atlantic Ocean.
(snip)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3098489.stm

He's a really fine leader. Too bad there aren't more like him to go around!