Thursday, April 09, 2015

The essence of the poll is that Cubans want change

There is a new poll that President Obama is more popular than the Castro brothers in Cuba. 
 
Frankly, my conversations with Cubans who’ve escaped recently confirm that anyone is more popular than the Castro thugs.   This is why they don’t hold elections.   
 
Frankly, Obama’s popularity is not the real story of the poll.    My personal experience is that Cubans in the island have generally liked the US president.  

In fact, I’ll go further and say that Cubans do not have hostile attitudes toward the US.  
All of these “hostile attitudes” toward the US are found in the regime’s inner circle, or the ones who live in the nice homes in Miramar that they stole from Cubans.
 
The real story is what the poll says about attitudes toward the Cuban government.
 
First, this is a poll taken in a police state.   I am very happy that the pollster made that point:
 
With Cuba’s restricted news media and limited Internet and phone access, getting an accurate sense of public opinion in the country can be difficult. Public surveys are very rare; opinion research is strictly controlled by the Cuban government. Some, conducted surreptitiously, have been sponsored by anti-Castro organizations and have been viewed as biased. On the island, Cubans have an aversion to discussing politics: three-quarters of those surveyed in the Univision poll say they feel they need to be careful about expressing themselves. While some believe the Cuban government privately conducts focus groups and surveys, there are not regular public polls.
 
That’s right.   Cubans have an aversion to talking to foreign reporters.   This is because the reporter leaves the island and the Cuban is stuck with the consequences of speaking his mind.
 
Second, the poll is devastating to the Castro regime:
 
The poll of residents on the island shows a people unhappy with the political system, eager to end the U.S. embargo and disenchanted with their state-run economy. More than half of Cubans say they would like to leave the country for good if they had the chance.
 
Did you read that Michael Moore and other Hollywood lefties who kiss the dictator’s ring from time to time?
 
This is a very unpopular regime that stays in power by fear, repression and sadly the indifference of Latin Americans who hate the US more than they love the Cuban people.

We ask again:  So why are we throwing a life line to a regime this unpopular?   
 
P.S. You can hear my show ( CantoTalk ) or  follow me on Twitter  .

Tags: Cubans in Cuba want change  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Will Obama stand for freedom or shake Castro's hand?

Back in October 1981, President Lopez-Portillo of Mexico put together a “North-South” summit in Cancún, or a meeting between industrialized and third-world nations.  It was intended to promote communications and hopefully more trade.
President Reagan made it very clear to Mexico: I stay home if Castro comes!
It was a clear signal that President Reagan understood that free markets and the rule of law were fundamental to creating prosperity in the Third World.    
In the end, Reagan came, and Castro didn’t.   
The meeting was held, and President Reagan made two important points:
1) There is no room in a modern world for despots like Fidel Castro.
2) Meeting one-on-one with the president of the U.S. is not cheap.
President Obama will be in Panama in a couple of days, and even The Washington Post is disappointed:
PRESIDENT OBAMA’s move to restore diplomatic relations with Cuba in December was supposed to improve political and economic conditions for average Cubans and remove an irritant in U.S. relations with other Latin American nations, which have been pushing to end the isolation of the Castro regime. Four months later — a short time, admittedly — there is no sign of those benefits. According to Cuban human rights groups, political detentions have increased: There were more than 600 in March alone.  More than 50 long-term political prisoners are still being held. Several Cuban opposition leaders are banned from leaving the country, which means they cannot attend this week’s Summit of the Americas in Panama.
U.S. and Cuban officials have yet to agree on the terms for reopening embassies. But the Castro regime has nevertheless reaped some substantial gains. Raúl Castro will be welcomed to the Americas summit for the first time; Mr. Obama will shake his hand. In the coming days, Mr. Obama is likely to offer another big concession by removing Cuba from the State Department’s list of sponsors of terrorism, an act that would disregard Cuba’s continued support for Colombia’s terrorist groups, its illegal arms trading with North Korea and the sanctuary it provides American criminalJoAnne Chesimard.
It’s hard to see how the U.S., and the freedom that it represents, is winning.
Nevertheless, President Obama still has an opportunity to put the U.S. on the right side of history, or with those Latin Americans who want democracy.
He can use the summit to promote freedom and criticize authoritarian regimes in Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, and Ecuador.
He could point to Brazil’s economic mess and argue on behalf of free markets and less crony capitalism.
He could call for more transparency and promote a free press, especially in light of a major Mexican reporter fired for criticizing the government.
It would be a shame if the winner of this summit is Raúl Castro and anti-U.S. elements in Latin America.
So far, it looks like they are winning because President Obama does not have the stomach to stand up to thugs!
I hope that President Obama proves me wrong over the next few days!  
As Fausta Rodriguez Wertz wrote, no circus, please!
P.S. You can hear my show (CantoTalk) or follow me on Twitter.



Tags: US-Cuba talks 2015, Castro & Obama in Panama  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

The Latin America summit in Panama this week


GUESTS:  Fausta Rodriguez-Wertz, editor of Fausta's Blog, and Cecilia Torres, originally from Colombia, join me for a look at the upcoming meeting of Latin America leaders in Panama.....one of the major topics is the anticipated meeting between President Obama and Raul Castro of Cuba......the US-Venezuela rift.....Colombia and FARC.....the marches in Brazil....the latest on the murder of Alberto Nisman in Argentina....plus other stories......

Click to listen:


Check Out Politics Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio





Tags: US-Cuba talks, Marches in Brazil, Argentina and Mr Nisman, US-Venezuela  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

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