The U.S. in Cuba

Published in La Cronica de Hoy
(Mexico) on 15 February 2010
by René Avilés Fabila (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Joseph Locatelli. Edited by Jessica Boesl.
Two days ago, in Havana, during the beginning of the International Book Fair, the splendid author Nadine Gordimer, recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, said that she was happy with the arrival of Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, but this devotion would disappear if he did not fulfill his campaign promise to lift the embargo on Cuba.

In these same pages, I have commented that to promise is not the same as to accomplish, referring to the case of Obama specifically. He has not been able to put his promises into practice because there is a political, social and economic system that impedes it. But how ridiculous is it that a Swedish panel of judges has given, under pressure, the Nobel Peace Prize to a man that presides over the biggest military power in the world, whose war industry will not stop its immense production. Its best scientists never cease inventing more and more deadly weapons. The Swedish judges should think more about the prize that is to be given to a person that has worked long and hard against war.

With the Nobel Prize already in his hands, Obama, who without a doubt has a pacifist spirit, attacked Afghanistan. On Saturday, a brutal charge of more than 15,000 people from North America and NATO, its eternal ally, began to attack in zones supposedly in the hands of the Taliban. In this nation, Afghan troops recently killed many children because they thought they were with the feared enemies that were in their house, so to speak. As if this were nothing, the “pacifist” Obama has increased the pressure on Iran because no one else can join the exclusive nuclear club; he continues destroying Iraq, today the ruins of a nation, placing military bases in Colombia and consolidating his military presence in South Korea.

But Gordimer is only asking for something simple: to make up for a lengthy injustice against Cuba and to suspend the fierce blockade that has existed for a half century. Enough already of suffocating Cuba just because it decided to look for a different road than the one desired by the U.S. for Latin American countries. If this island has suffered grave hardships, it has been in large part due to the blockade imposed by the United States, who have obsessively punished a small country for its audacity in selecting a socialist path.

The history of the differences between Cuba and the United States is well known. It is obvious that no gringo government representative has read "Listen, Yankee: The Revolution in Cuba" by sociologist C. Wright Mills, published in 1960, nor has he ever understood the battles of Ernesto Guevara. Quite simply, world policies have tried to suppress the right of Cuba to choose its own political destiny. When I got my degree from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), I did it with a thesis about Guantanamo. Even then, it was already an unnecessary military base due to long range missiles and ships and submarines that did not need to stock up 200 miles from their own territory. It was a relic with no military value; on the other hand, it did have political value. It would remain there as a symbol of North American power in Latin America. Recently, Guantanamo was transformed into a high security prison where pain and torture are frequent, where the violation of human rights is something normal. Why not retire it? Why not give it another use or flatly leave it in the hands of its legal owners, the Cubans?

Obama is the first U.S. president to promise that Guantanamo would stop being a prison and to suspend the blockade. Neither has occurred; with discretion, he has postponed the moment. The reason is that, supposing Obama is of the same species as Nelson Mandela, the North American system impedes him. The United States will never stop being a warlike power. Manifest Destiny will not disappear because it is a pillar of the nation chosen by God to govern the world. Until today, it has done it, but the planet has changed; there are emerging powers, religions that grow and disagree with Christianity, and personas that will not accept that the United States is the watchman appointed by God to make sure we behave. This power has supported coups in Mexico and Chile, has sustained military dictatorships and has exploited entire countries. Is it time to stop protecting us so well? If Gordimer supposes that the U.S. can suspend the blockade on Cuba, consider a more convenient case: the relationship with Mexico. Despite its promises to search for more just treatment, it has endured U.S. policies against migrants. Why, then, imagine that there will be a good and pacifist man that will quickly solve the problems at the bargaining table and not with weapons?

At this point, it is not clear to anyone why the Swedish occasioned to choose to award Obama a prize that is meant to be given to people that truly fight for peace.


Hace dos días, en La Habana, durante el arranque de la Feria Internacional del Libro, la espléndida escritora Nadine Gordimer, Premio Nobel de Literatura, dijo que ella estaba feliz con la llegada de Barack Obama a la presidencia de Estados Unidos, pero que esa devoción desaparecería si no cumplía su promesa de campaña de levantar el bloqueo a Cuba.

En estas mismas páginas he comentado que no es lo mismo prometer que cumplir, refiriéndome al caso específico de Obama. Sus ofrecimientos no han podido ser llevados a la práctica, pues cuenta con un sistema político, social y económico que se lo impide. Pero qué ridículo que un jurado sueco le haya dado, apresuradamente, el Premio Nobel de la Paz a un hombre que preside a la mayor potencia militar del mundo y cuya industria bélica no detiene su inmensa producción ni sus mejores científicos cesan de inventar armas cada vez más mortíferas. Los suecos tuvieron que pensar mejor el galardón que cada año entrega a una persona que ha trabajado larga y tenazmente en contra de la guerra.

Ya con el Premio Nobel de la Paz en sus manos, Obama, que sin duda puede tener un espíritu pacifista, se lanzó contra Afganistán. El sábado comenzó una brutal embestida de más de 15 mil elementos norteamericanos y de la OTAN, su aliado de siempre, contra supuestas zonas en manos del talibán. En esa nación, no hace mucho, tropas afganas mataron a varios niños porque imaginaron que eran parte de esos temidos enemigos que, dicho sea de paso, están en su casa. Como si ello fuera poco, el “pacifista” Obama ha endurecido la presión contra Irán, nadie más puede entrar en el exclusivo club nuclear; sigue destruyendo Irak, hoy una ruina de nación, pone bases militares en Colombia y consolida su presencia militar en Corea del Sur.

Pero Nadine Gordimer sólo pide algo fácil: reparar una larga injusticia contra Cuba; suspender el feroz bloqueo que lleva medio siglo. Ya basta de asfixiar a Cuba, todo porque decidió buscar un camino distinto al que Estados Unidos desea para los países de América Latina. Si esa isla ha pasado graves penurias, en muy buena medida se deben al bloqueo impuesto por los norteamericanos, quienes obsesivamente han castigado a un pequeño país por su osadía de seleccionar como camino el socialismo.

La historia de las diferencias entre Cuba y Estados Unidos es de sobra conocida. Está visto que nunca ningún mandatario gringo leyó Escucha, Yanqui, del sociólogo C. Wrigt Mills, publicado en 1960, o que nunca entendió las batallas de Ernesto Guevara dadas en la ONU. Simplemente, los policías del mundo han tratado de suprimir el derecho de Cuba a seleccionar su destino político. Cuando me titulé en la UNAM, lo hice con una tesis sobre Guantánamo. Entonces era una base militar ya sin sentido debido a los misiles de largo alcance y a que barcos y submarinos no tenían necesidad de abastecerse a 200 millas de su propio territorio. Era una antigualla sin valor militar. A cambio, lo tenía político. Quedaría allí como símbolo del poder norteamericano en América Latina. Luego, recientemente, Guantánamo fue transformada en una prisión de alta seguridad donde el dolor y las torturas son frecuentes, donde la violación a los derechos humanos es algo normal. ¿Por qué no retirarla? ¿Por qué no darle otro uso o de plano dejarla en mano de sus propietarios legales, los cubanos?

Obama es el primer mandatario norteamericano que ofrece que Guantánamo dejará de ser prisión y que suspenderá el bloqueo. Nada de ello ha ocurrido, con discreción ha postergado el momento. La razón está, suponiendo que Obama sea una especie de Nelson Mandela, en que el sistema norteamericano se lo impide. EU nunca dejará de ser una potencia belicosa. El Destino Manifiesto no desaparecerá, cuando es pilar de la nación elegida por Dios para regir el mundo. Hasta hoy lo ha hecho, pero el planeta cambió, hay potencias emergentes, religiones que crecen y discrepan con el cristianismo y personas que no aceptan que EU sea el vigilante asignado por Dios para que nos comportemos bien. Esa potencia ha apoyado golpes de Estado en México y Chile, ha sostenido dictaduras militares, ha explotado países enteros. ¿No sería tiempo que dejara de protegernos tan bien? Si Nadine Gordimer supone que EU puede suspender el bloqueo a Cuba, que estudie un caso más cómodo: las relaciones con México. A pesar de sus promesas de buscar un trato justo, ha endurecido su política contra los migrantes. ¿Por qué, entonces, imaginar que de pronto será un hombre bueno y pacifista que solucionará los problemas en la mesa de discusiones y no con las armas?

A nadie, a estas alturas, le queda claro qué ocasionó que los suecos escogieran a Obama para concederle un galardón que le han dado a quienes en verdad luchan por la paz.

www.reneavilesfabila.com.mx

www.recordanzas.blogspot.com
This post appeared on the front page as a direct link to the original article with the above link .

Hot this week

Australia: Donald Trump Made MAGA a Promise on the Epstein Files. They Are Holding Him to It

Spain: Another Threat from Trump

Thailand: Donald Trump Buys Time with Weapons for Kyiv

Turkey: Conflicting Messages to Syria: US Supports Integrity while Israel Attacks

Taiwan: Tariff Showdown Doesn’t Shake Confidence

Topics

Ireland: US Tariffs Take Shine Off Summer Economic Statement

Israel: Epstein Conspiracy: When the Monster Has a Life of Its Own and Rises Up

Spain: Another Threat from Trump

Canada: Negotiating a Business Deal without Trust

Taiwan: Tariff Showdown Doesn’t Shake Confidence

Australia: Donald Trump Made MAGA a Promise on the Epstein Files. They Are Holding Him to It

Australia: What’s Behind Donald Trump’s Latest Crypto Adventure?

Related Articles

Cuba: Summit between Wars and Other Disruptions

Germany: LA Protests: Why Are So Many Mexican Flags Flying in the US?

Mexico: US Pushes for Submission

Mexico: The Trump Problem

Afghanistan: Defeat? Strategic Withdrawal? Maneuver?