This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Raúl Castro of Cuba to Address Warming of Relations With U.S. at U.N.
At the U.N., Raúl Castro of Cuba Calls for End to U.S. Embargo
(1 day later)
President Raúl Castro of Cuba is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on Monday. Azam Ahmed, The New York Times’s bureau chief for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, who recently visited Cuba, considers what Mr. Castro might say and how it is likely to be received.
President Raúl Castro of Cuba called for an end to the economic embargo of his country on Monday at the United Nations General Assembly, repeating a sentiment offered earlier in the day by President Obama.
The main issues are likely to be the warming of relations with the United States, the slow transition to a more market-driven economy and the lifting of the American trade embargo.
“Diplomatic relations have been restored between Cuba and the United States,” Mr. Castro declared, adding: “Now begins the long and complex process” of lifting the 53-year-old embargo.
The embargo could be the most difficult issue to address; lifting it requires a decision in the United States Congress. For Mr. Castro to be able to talk about this in New York, at the General Assembly, with an American audience watching closely, will be a unique opportunity.
President Obama, speaking in the U.N. chamber earlier in the day, suggested that the U.S. Congress would eventually do just that.
Mr. Castro will probably try to frame the lifting of the embargo as the next crucial step for Cuba to open up to the world and to bolster its economy.
“I’m confident that our Congress will inevitably lift an embargo that should not be in place anymore,” Mr. Obama said in his own speech.
On the heels of a visit to Cuba by Pope Francis, Mr. Castro might do a little grandstanding and take a few swipes at his neighbor to the north.
In addition to lifting the embargo, Mr. Castro also called on the United States to return the land occupied by an American military base in Guantánamo Bay, and end anti-government radio and television broadcasts as well as programs he described as “subversive and destabilizing.”
Mr. Castro spoke bluntly when the pope arrived in Cuba, denouncing United States policies and lauding the Cuban state for its commitment to equality. Again, he will have a global audience that does not often tune in when he makes the case for his country’s revolution. If he does shake his finger at the United States, Mr. Castro is unlikely to go overboard for fear of alienating the members of Congress who will be listening.
The United States and Cuba re-established full diplomatic relations in July, when the diplomatic missions in each country were upgraded from interest sections to embassies.
On Tuesday, Mr. Castro is scheduled to meet with President Obama on the sidelines of the U.N. meetings. It will be the second time the two leaders have met since the announcement of an agreement that led to the resumption of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States.
Mr. Castro and Mr. Obama met for the first time in April and were expected to meet again on Tuesday.
Cuba has daunting economic problems, and the government is slowly trying to make changes to increase revenue and lessen people’s reliance on public funds.
In his address to the General Assembly, Mr. Castro also declared his solidarity with other left-leaning governments of Latin America including Venezuela and Ecuador.
The state has announced layoffs in the public sector in the past, but it is hard to know if it actually followed through.
And he blamed the Western industralized nations of NATO for what he characterized as their destabilizing involvement in the Middle East for the current refugee crisis and said, “Europe should take full responsibility for the human crisis that it helped create.”
There are persistent complaints from Cubans, and among business leaders who are eager for new opportunities, about the slow pace of change. Mr. Castro might address this, but he is not likely to commit to swift, drastic moves away from Cuba’s socialist system. He often cites China and Vietnam as examples of socialist countries where business is thriving.
