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NEWS
Cuba's
Transition to Democracy Has Begun, U.S. Secretary of State Claims
Marion Barbel
7 November 2006
Global Insight Daily Analysis
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice claimed yesterday on U.S.
television that the transition away from a Castro-led regime had
"clearly" started in Cuba. She also rejected a power transfer from Fidel
Castro to his brother Raul, or any other current governmental/Communist
figures. Significance: A power transfer to other close members of the
current regime is, in fact, highly probable. However, it is likely to
trigger tensions as some elements of the Cuban-based opposition, and the
Miami-based one, will try to seize the opportunity to make their plea
heard and push for democratisation.
The United States is stepping up pressure
on the incumbent regime with the publication of a report on the
transition in Cuba and a stiffening on the U.S embargo (see Cuba-U.S: 11
October 2006: and 11 July 2006:). The United States has traditionally
tried to intensify political and economic pressures on the island when
it undergoes a state of crisis so as to give a final push to precipitate
the regime.
It did so in the 1990s as Cuba struggled to deal with the collapse of
the Soviet Union. The embargo is generally criticised by the
international community and condemned in a joint resolution from global
summits (see Latin America: 7 November2006:). Reuters reports that Cuban
embassies are struggling to maintain traditional financing mechanisms in
the face of a stricter U.S. embargo.
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