Mr. President: A promise is a promise
By Luis Sexto
In Cuba, people say, bureaucratic attitudes respond with a problem for every solution, with a "no" to a "yes." They dilute every initiative in papers and meetings. And they see reality through the color of their windowpanes, or from their balconies, usually high and distant from the street or the factories. Or through reports that are usually adulterated by those who do not wish their errors to be known.
Therefore, any project to renew and improve socialism in Cuba — in addition to facing the opposition generated in Miami, Washington and Madrid, and by those inside the country who try in various…
A Progreso Weekly Editorial
More than a year before Barack Obama was elected president of the United States in last year’s historical election, the then junior Senator from Illinois visited Miami’s Dade County Auditorium to speak before a packed house in the heart of Little Havana. That day more than 2,000 people in attendance heard him clearly say, “When I am elected president, I will grant Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island…”
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Venezuela, an imaginary threat
Obama is maintaining a hostile policy towards Hugo Chávez — which will cost the U.S. friendships elsewhere in Latin America
By Mark Weisbrot
From the Guardian
U.S.-Latin American relations fell to record lows during the Bush years…
A
Progreso Weekly Editorial Read Spanish Version
More
than a year before Barack Obama was elected president of the United
States in last year’s historical election, the then junior Senator
from Illinois visited Miami’s Dade County Auditorium to speak
before a packed house in the heart of Little Havana. That day more
than 2,000 people in attendance heard him clearly say, “When I am
elected president, I will grant Cuban Americans unrestricted rights
to visit family and send remittances to the island…”
President
Obama was sworn in on January 20th
in Washington, DC. More than a month has passed. Since then,
President Obama has dived into a horrible situation which would
surely test any leader — from an economy on the brink of total
collapse, to two wars in the Middle East and Asia, a jobless rate
that grows daily, and a people whose vestiges of hope diminish in
spite of the American public’s great confidence in their new
president.
Also,
and as of today, President Obama has yet to address that promise he
made in Miami. At Progreso Weekly we realize that the president is
mired in a swamp he inherited. But allowing the Cuban family the
right to come together and reunite whenever they deem fit, would
simply take a minute of the president’s time and a simple signature
on a piece of paper. We ask that President Obama not waste any more
time in fulfilling his promise. The longer he waits, that light he
radiates, the humanity, empathy and the hope he represents, not only
here in the U.S., but all over the world, becomes dimmer as he is
caught-up in the boondoggle that Washington, DC, too often becomes.
From
Washington, we hear of groups working diligently trying to push
forward HR 874 and S428 through the Congress. We at Progreso Weekly
agree that a law allowing travel for all Americans is the right thing
to do — but that will take time. We’ve also been informed of an
Omnibus Bill some are selling as the solution to the immediacy family
travel demands during this critical period. We disagree. In fact, in
our opinion, the Cuba travel piece should be removed completely from
the Omnibus Bill making the rounds in Washington, DC.
Finally,
what we would like to stress to the president is that every time a
family member dies in Cuba, alone; a son, daughter or nephew sits in
the hospital with little hope of seeing a loved one who lives in the
U.S.; every minute that passes while family members are kept apart
for political reasons, is yet another black mark on one of the most
un-American and cruel pieces of legislation passed in this country
over the last 20 years.
Mr.
President, time is of the essence. A simple signature will fulfill
the promise you made that Saturday afternoon when 2,000 of us thought
you had a chance. You made history last November. When you sign that
decree freeing Cuban Americans to visit and help family members, you
will again make history. And show the human side this country needs
to demonstrate to the world — once again.
LET
PRESIDENT OBAMA KNOW YOU WANT THE CUBAN FAMILY RESTRICTIONS LIFTED.
WRITE TO HIM AT:
President
Barack Obama
The
White House
1600
Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Or
email him at:
