A Band-Aid or a path to a solution?

It had to happen, sooner or later. The blockade against Cuba imposes conditions so difficult, and practices a vigilance/punishment so strict against financial institutions that deal with Cuba — American or not — that one day the news would come that Cuba’s official representatives in the United States had no bank, no account and no way to transact basic operations to perform their consular tasks.

And that’s what happened on Nov. 26, when the government of Cuba said “this far and no farther,” after months of futilely searching for a replacement bank. An official note explained that, back in July, the M&T Bank, which served the Cuban mission at the United Nations, the Cuban Interests Office in Washington, and even the Prensa Latina bureau in the U.S., gave notice it was ending its dealings with Cuba.

“Due to the restrictions still in force, derived from the U.S. policy of economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba, and despite the numerous efforts made with the Department of State and several banks, it has been impossible for the Cuban Interests Section to find a U.S. or international bank with branches in the U.S. to operate the bank accounts of the Cuban diplomatic missions,” the official note said.

M&T got off the train, Cuba used the hand brake, and the U.S. government feigned innocence. In less than 24 hours, the State Department reacted by stating, through a spokesman, that yes, efforts had been made to maintain the continuity of the banking services. By the way, those services are not a gift but an obligation imposed by international law for the benefit of diplomatic missions.

It’s not that Washington has no influence over the financial sector, but that “business is business.” The bank’s priority, as Cuban-American lawyer José Pertierra explained to Progreso Weekly, is to make money without extraordinary risks, which in this case are more than obvious.

So, Cuba had no option but to suspend “until further notice” the consular services, which include okaying the passports of Cubans living in the United States, who have the right to travel to Cuba whenever they please. It is estimated that about 80,000 Cubans will do so this month to enjoy the New Year’s holidays with their families.

Yes, they will. Many have their suitcases packed and those who don’t should hurry to get their paperwork done before the wind shifts to another direction.

Thousands of Cubans living in the U.S. realized that this time — again — the blockade against Cuba is not only against its government but also against the citizens on both sides of the Straits.

The latest news is that the consular services will be resumed “temporarily,” because M&T has decided to postpone the final closing of the accounts of Cuban diplomats in the U.S. but will accept payments for consular services only until Feb. 17, 2014.

Lovers will have time to be in Cuba for St. Valentine’s Day. But people who want to be with their mothers in Cuba on Mothers’ Day should not leave the paperwork for last. They’ll have to hurry in preparation for that day in May.

We need to be prepared, because the solution given to resume consular services will expire soon and the Cuban-American community will be facing the same problem, whose basic cause is a policy of harassment against the island that affects all of us Cubans.

The temporary resumption of M&T’s services could be only a Band-Aid and we must ask ourselves when will the U.S. government clear the way for a true change that will protect and help the people of both countries.

On the other hand, you needn’t be smart to foresee that, if this bomb explodes, if an LP solution (Long Play, like the old vinyl disks) isn’t found soon to ensure the normalcy of relations between Cuban émigrés and their homeland, the Cuban vote in Florida could change. As President Obama well knows, that vote is in full evolution and — despite appearances — not nailed down.

It is increasingly a living vote.