With Josefina Vidal at the University of Havana against the U.S. Blockade

HAVANA, Cuba, Oct 28 (acn) The director general of the United States Department of the Cuban Foreign Ministry, Josefina Vidal, added on Monday her vote to those of millions of Cubans and said she's confident that in nine days the community of nations will do the same and will support again the fair demand of putting and end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade of that northern nation against the island.

She went to the University, full of youngsters and students of all levels and types of teaching, who, in many ways - from politically committed art, sports, letters and cyberspace - demanded the immediate and unconditional end of that policy.
Because it damages the Cuban people and Cuba as a whole, its economy, its relations with third countries and with even those that we could have with the United States: for all that we struggle, convinced that earlier than later the wall of the blockade will be knocked down, she affirmed to the crowd gathered outside the Faculty of Mathematics of the University of Havana.
Before starting her dialogue with the youngsters gathered at the University, Vidal made some reflections and gave preliminary conclusions about the presidential guideline of policy on Cuba and the fifth package of measures announced on Friday by the administration of Barack Obama and widely spread on the Island and the world.
Regarding the first one, she highlighted that it is second in history, because in 1977, the then President James Carter issued a secret guideline aimed at bilateral approach, which was not possible during his term of office and the document was kept secret until in 2002 when he requested his library to declassify it on the occasion of his first trip to Cuba.
The first one had scarcely one sheet and a half, while the second has 15 in the Spanish language version, and it is undoubtedly a significant step, a guide to carry out the process and an effort to assure the continuity of the policy started on December 17, 2014, she pointed out.
Among positive aspects she highlighted that never before in an official document of the U.S.A. the independence, sovereignty and self-determination of Cuba had been acknowledged neither the legitimacy of the Cuban government, which this guideline admits as a valid, serious and legitimate interlocutor and in a level of equality.
The document, however, doesn't hide that the objective of Washington's policy is to achieve the progress of the interests of that country in Cuba, which are no other than to promote changes in the economic, political and social order, she explained.
She added that in this regard the presidential guideline makes it very clear that they will continue using old instruments of the policy of hostility, and that the illegal radio and television broadcasts and the programs oriented to promote subversion will continue.
It also expresses very clearly that the U.S.A. doesn't have the intention of modifying the treaty that gave place to the occupation of a portion of Cuban territory for the naval base of Guantanamo, she emphasized.
There are, therefore, changes in the policy, starting from the recognition that the previous one failed, but not in the strategic objective, and to achieve changes wanted inside our country they turn to old methods combined with other new ones, in accordance with the new bilateral relations, she commented.
She added to this the call on Congress to lift the blockade, because it is a heavy and obsolete load, but also because it constitutes an impediment to progress in the achievement of the interests of that nation, something opposed to what normal relations between two countries should be, of equality, cooperation, without interference and with respect for mutual sovereignty and independence
Among limitations she mentioned that investments are not allowed in Cuba, which is something that the current President can authorize by using his prerogatives, and in this regard she recalled that he did so in January 2015 in the sphere of telecommunications.
As for the package of measures to modify the implementation of some aspects of the blockade - the fifth announced by Obama and that went into effect as of October 17 -, the General Director of United States Department of the Foreign Ministry asserted that the measures in question are positive, but have a very limited scope.
Neither there is an expansion of exports from the United States to Cuba, beyond the very limited sales approved in previous packages and that exclude essential sectors and branches of Cuban economy, like tourism, energy and the mining industry, she stated.
Vidal specified that the prohibition of Cuban exports to the United States remains, with that sole exception that opens possibilities to pharmaceutical products, which, if they become a reality, will be very positive.
She said that even the news that went around the world on Friday on the end of that ridiculous prohibition to U.S. citizens of buying Cuban rum and cigars should not be interpreted as an authorization to Cuban companies of selling those products in U.S. territory, so the real benefit of the measure for the island's economy is limited.
In addition, there were no measures in the financial area, until today and in spite of having been authorized, Cuba has not been able to use U.S. dollars to make any operation, and the conclusion is that what was approved and in force starting from Monday benefits the United States more than Cuba and its people, stressed the official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The blockade persists, Obama ends his term of office, he abandons the White House, but the blockade remains and as long as it exists Cuba will persist in its denunciation, it will continue struggling and presenting, year after year, a resolution at the General Assembly of the United Nations, as it will happen on Wednesday, October 26, when we expect that, like us, the world votes against the blockade, she stated.
After this necessary introduction and, on her own free will, Vidal underwent a "bombardment" of intelligent questions, mainly by students of Law and International Relations, the first one on the current contest for the presidency in the United States and the future of the recently issued presidential guideline, depending on the winner.
Who will be the next President of United States? We will know it on November 8, but this guideline is Obama's and therefore it is only valid and an instruction for his government, so his successor is not forced to give it continuity and it can revoke it, amend it or simply put it on ice and do nothing, she pointed out.
The future of that document will depend on the will of the future government regarding the policy towards Cuba, but in case a future President, now or later on, decides to give continuity to a process directed to the normalization of bilateral bonds, that document can undoubtedly serve as reference, to learn from positive experiences and even from things that don't work, to advance in the correct direction, she added.
What was expressed during the conversation –about to be an hour long when an inopportune shower forced to give it a final point - motivated the audience to ask on the atmosphere at the United Nations as the voting of a new project of Resolution against the blockade approaches and, also, about the prerogatives of the U.S. President to empty the content of that criminal policy.
Regarding the first question, the Director General of the United States Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was very optimistic and spoke about how active Cuba's representation has been and what has happened since Cuba began to circulate the already traditional annual report on the damages caused by the blockade.
As for the scope of presidential powers, she said he has all prerogatives, except that of putting an end to the blockade – which is up to Congress -, to allow transactions or business with U.S. properties nationalized after the triumph of the Revolution, to authorize that subsidiaries of U.S. companies trade with Cuba and to authorize tourism trips.
But there is an enormous space so that he can exercise his prerogatives and up to now he hasn't, Vidal underlined and took advantage of a question to illustrate the audience about the Law of Trading with the Enemy, which dates back to 1917, and that year after year each U.S. President enforces regarding Cuba, which is contradictory under current conditions.
Another question was on the issue Cuba at the U.S. Congress, the correlation of forces in favor and against, to which she answered that rejection to the blockade is increasingly a more two-party condemnation and that right now there are over 20 bills to modify some aspects, and most of them, contrary to what could be expected, are promoted by Republicans.