In Wake of WTO Protests

U.S.-Cuba 2000 Conference Held in Seattle

by Nalda Vigezzi

On December 4–6, 1999, following the meeting of the WTO and the massive protests surrounding it, the U.S.-Cuba 2000 Conference was held in Seattle. The dates and location were designed to coincide with the events around the WTO.

Over 250 participants from around the country gathered to learn more about Cuba, share experiences, and discuss issues concerning U.S.-Cuba relations, as well as to build participation for the Second Meeting of World Solidarity with Cuba, to be held November 10–14 in Havana. Despite lengthy delays in approval by the U.S. government of their travel visas, the nine-member Cuban delegation finally arrived; their contribution was insightful and inspiring.

The Conference was organized by the National Network on Cuba (NNOC) and included topics such as Youth, Women, Education, Health Care, Religion, and Bilateral Relations.

The opening event of the Conference was a public meeting attended by nearly 1,000 people. Opening statements were made by Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Rev. Lucius Walker, and Otto Rivera of the Union de la Juventud Communista, the Cuban organization of Communist youth activists. The principal address was given by Cuba’s 34-year-old foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, who headed Cuba’s delegation to the WTO. He spoke eloquently about the growing failures of globalization to provide education and health care or address the worsening problems of poverty, the gap between rich and poor, and environmental destruction. (The WTO supposedly promotes “free trade.” But the hypocrisy of the “free trade” masters of the world economy who blockade Cuba and prevent free trade with that island is plain to most of the world.)

Democracy and Unions in Cuba

Two of the most interesting panels dealt with topics about which Americans receive the most distorted information: Democracy and Labor.

Canadian scholar and author Arnold August spent a year and a half studying first hand the Cuban electoral system. He spoke about the grassroots nature of nominations, the equal access of all candidates, the protections of a secret ballot, the right of recall, the impressively high voter participation (97 plus percent), and the accountability of elected officials to the people they represent. (Yet the big business media in the U.S. constantly denounce Cuba as a “dictatorship.”)

As for labor unions in Cuba, more than 95 percent of Cuban workers are affiliated with the Cuban Federation of Labor (Spanish initials, CTC). This membership is completely voluntary, according to Manuel Monteiro of the CTC’s international relations department. The unions and workplaces, as well as the neighborhood associations, are cornerstones of Cuban society, providing a forum for the discussion and debate of issues. [See the accompanying article by W.T. Whitney on the Elián Gonzalez case for further discussion of the problems of political restrictions and political control in Cuba. — Editors.]

A highlight of the Conference was the special appearance by the Boston group “Singing with the Enemy,” who performed their work Embargo. The Cuban Institute for Friendship Among the Peoples (Spanish initials, ICAP) knew of this group’s work from their performances in Cuba and enthusiastically requested that they be part of the program.

The Conference unexpectedly but necessarily took up the issue of Elián Gonzalez and unanimously adopted a resolution demanding his return to his father in Cuba.

If you would like to participate in the November 2000 Solidarity Meeting in Havana (mentioned above) or a May Day in Havana Conference on Women in the Labor Movement, you may contact the U.S.-Cuba Labor Exchange at 313-561-8330.