Towards a New Cuban Reality: An Interview with Cuban Ambassador José Ramón Cabañas

Dr. José Ramón Cabañas is Chief of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington DC. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. ‬Cabañas was Director of Consular Affairs and Cuban Resident Abroad Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He joined the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1984 and two years later moved to the North America Division. ‬‬Mr. Cabañas holds a BA in International Political Science from the Institute of International Relations “Raúl Roa García” in Havana, Cuba.‬‬‬‬‬‬

Could you briefly explain some of the recent political changes in Cuba (social, economical, and civic liberalization)? What are the principal changes? And what is the role of the United States in the progressive opening of the Cuban economy?

As a result of a national debate that took place in Cuba in 2010, Cuba has been moving through what some experts with the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) have qualified as the “most important structural changes” in the region in the current century. Our aim is to put ourselves on the path of development in a sustainable, efficient way, notwithstanding the US government position, or rather, in spite of the US government opposition.

Briefly, I can say that now we have a more compact government. Ministries are responsible for creating policies and regulating, but every province and every municipality runs its own budget. Private and cooperative ownership is expanding. In three years, approximately a half million people have switched from state-run jobs to private or cooperative initiatives. Direct Foreign Investment will have a major impact in the Cuban economy. A particular case is the Special Economic Zone of Mariel, which will generate new dynamics for regional trade once the expansion of the Panama Canal is completed.

American companies are losing opportunities in Cuba in sectors like biotechnology, mining, services, infrastructure, and tourism, due to the failed embargo. Their European, Asian, and Latin American pairs have presence in Cuba.

We have put in place a new, comprehensive migratory policy. Today, a Cuban citizen is freer to travel to the US than a US citizen to travel to Cuba. There’s no single argument to continue the manipulating explanation of the Cuban migration process to the US as a politically motivated action. Most members of the Cuban National Assembly are in their forties as are most of the elected officials at provincial and municipal levels. Major governmental posts are limited to a two-term mandate of five-years each.

In your opinion, what would be the main benefits for the Cuban economy of the unification of the convertible peso (CUC) and the national peso (CUP), proposed in the latest financial reform? Could this new system affect families’ well-being?

I’d like to refer you to the official note on the topic from the Cuban newspaper, Granma. Monetary and exchange rate unification is not a measure that resolves, on its own, all the current problems of the economy, but its application is essential to ensure the restoration of the value of the Cuban peso and functions as money. This, coupled with the implementation of other policies aimed at updating the economic model, will facilitate the management of the economic environment and consequently the correct measurement of results. The main changes in this first stage will occur in the field of legal persons, in order to create the conditions for increased efficiency, better measurement of economic events, and to encourage the sectors that produce goods and services for export and import substitution.

As has been the practice followed over the years by the Cuban Revolution, no monetary measure will be adopted to the detriment of those who lawfully obtain their income in CUC or CUP. In this instance, the process of monetary unification will respect the principle that the confidence shown by persons who have kept their savings in Cuban banks in CUC, other international currencies, or CUP, will remain intact. Policies of subsidized retail prices and subsidies to individuals in need will remain in place as long as it’s necessary and the economic conditions in the country require it. The CUC and the CUP are both Cuban currencies issued by the Central Bank of Cuba and will continue to enjoy its total backing.

I understand that you disagree with the special treatment of the Cuban immigrants in the US. So how could the immigration reform affect or improve the status of Cuban immigrants?

Over the years, we have condemned the US regulatory framework for Cuban migrants. Neither the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 nor the so-called “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy reflect the Cuban reality. As I said before, a Cuban citizen is freer to travel to the US than the other way around. More than 187,000 Cubans have traveled abroad during the first eight months of the new Cuban migratory policy. More than 400,000 Americans of Cuban origin will travel to their homeland by the end of the year. Reasons behind Cuban migration are no different than the rest of the region.

Regarding the US immigration reform, I’d prefer not to comment on US domestic issues.

One of your targets as Chief of the Cuban Interest Section in Washington DC is to recover the diplomatic relations between the two countries. In your opinion, what are the chances for the US to lift the economic embargo?

I think this is a question that would be better addressed to the US government. I could comment that since 2008, the current administration has enjoyed the largest base of national and international support to undertake a fundamental change in the sanctions based policy towards Cuba, which has failed after fifty-five years, and cost around 3.6 billion dollars to US tax payers yearly according to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Most of US civil society (business, religious, academic sector, Cuban Americans, and even federal agencies) supports what I say. A silent majority in favor of a relaxation of the current policy prevails in Congress. This administration and this Congress should listen to its own people and the international community and should adopt the smart, brave, and creative policies of the future.

Feature Photo: cc/(Les Haines)