In the Right Direction

The phrase “to turn the page of history” is very often abused. However, this time it can be justly applied to the Summit of the Americas, which came to an end in the early hours of yesterday morning in Panama, where the staging of reconciliation between the United States and Cuba has eclipsed all other matters at the meeting, and has blurred the lines in relation to the lack of tangible results on other matters.

Barack Obama and Raul Castro’s announcement that their countries are heading toward reopening embassies is excellent news, despite the fact that the anticipated elimination of the Caribbean island from the list of states promoting international terrorism did not take place over the weekend.

With Cuba, Obama has put into practice the tactic that it is more effective to trade with countries with which the United States has serious differences rather than maintain a lack of communication, which can be prolonged – as indeed has happened – for decades. This accomplishes two things: First, it helps to eliminate an element that the rulers of these countries use as an excuse to continue with their authoritarian politics. Moreover, in the case of Cuba, Obama is now focusing international attention on the movements made by Raul Castro’s regime. In Panama, the U.S. president underlined that respect for human rights is not a matter for debate. It is now time for Castro to take steps to show that in Havana, there has also been a change of attitude. The conciliatory words of the Cuban president at the summit should be welcomed, but little has changed in his country since last December, when the end of a half a century of disagreement between the U.S. and Cuba was first announced.

When things are in this state, the big milestone still remaining is the lifting of the American embargo, imposed on the island in October 1960, with the aim of bringing down the regime of Fidel Castro. This has clearly not achieved its objective; rather, it has contributed to the precarious conditions on the island. Obama will have to convince the U.S. Congress – controlled by the Republican opposition – to bring this important measure into effect. And here is where the course of the restoration of relations between Washington and Havana may become complicated because the decision of Congress will respond to a complicated combination of forces ranging from a mixture of ideological forces, to the American electoral calendar, to the position adopted by the influential Cuban community in the United States. In any case, Obama has said he is willing to lift the embargo, but he has warned that the final word belongs to the U.S. Congress. Democracy must be faithful to its own rules, and the president must respect them. And that is another conclusion the summit has reached.