The U.S. and Cuba: A New Game
Andy Turner, Mavis Anderson and Paulo Gusmao
Latin America Working Group
The atmosphere is noticeably different between the United States and Cuba. Migration talks have resumed after having been suspended by the Bush Administration, the electronic signboard outside of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana is off, and restrictions on Cuban-American travel have been completely removed. The next step is travel for all. Our allies on Capitol Hill say that the signals from the White House are positive. Right now, the “Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act ” is on the move (HR 874 in the House and S 428 in the Senate). Members from both sides of the aisle are co-sponsoring the bill in numbers we’ve never seen before on Cuba legislation.
You might be asking, “why just travel, and why now?” The answer is simple. The travel ban holds together the embargo. Ending the travel ban would be a significant move toward dismantling the entire embargo. What the simple one-page bill does is exactly that – it prevents the President of the United States from barring any American citizen from traveling to and spending money in Cuba.
“Travel for all” has become a rallying cry for groups from all over the country. Every major Protestant denomination in the United States, plus the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, supports ending the travel ban. Academic organizations are asking what happened to their Cuba study abroad programs, while the Chamber of Commerce and Farm Bureau both see the sense in travel and trade. Human Rights Watch and Freedom House, two major human rights groups, both believe that more engagement rather than isolation will bring positive changes in Cuba. And Cuban Americans, too, overwhelmingly support travel for ALL Americans (67% according to Bendixen & Associates’ recent poll). As important as these endorsements are, congressional offices are telling us daily that they need to hear from constituents. That’s YOU!
With this broad grassroots support, we’ve been racking up the co-sponsors and starting to move into the FINAL PUSH this fall. We may see a vote in the House as early as October on the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act. We’ve launched a NEW MEDIA campaign called “End the Travel Ban on Cuba” with a fresh new Facebook page, which is quickly becoming the focal point for our activist outreach. On September 30, there will be a NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION where targeted delegations will fly to Washington to meet with and educate their members of Congress, while thousands of constituents from across the country call Congress and urge their representatives to change course on Cuba. Be part of this buzz! Stay tuned for email alerts as we move quickly toward recovering our right to visit Cuba. (Sign up for alerts here.)
