Chronicle on Cuba - September 2004

Exile Community

September 2: Joe Garcia, the public face of one of the most influential Cuban-American groups in the country, is stepping down as executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation to lead South Florida recruitment efforts for a Democratic organization. The New Democrat Network is an independent group that raises money in support of moderate Democrats. In 2002 it launched a Hispanic outreach effort to boost the party's standing among the fastest-growing group of voters. Garcia, who starts immediately, will serve as a senior advisor to the group's president, and will be responsible for developing a strategy to lure more Cuban American and other Hispanics to the Democratic ticket. ''We should advocate for a better long-term Cuba policy with anyone who will listen,'' Garcia said. "The Democrats are listening.'' Foundation chairman Jorge Mas Santos hailed the move, suggesting it would benefit Cubans to ensure they're represented by the Democratic party. ''We don't want the extreme left of the Democratic Party to guide the Cuba policy or thinking on Cuba,'' Mas Santos said. "It is important to keep all the bases covered because we don't know who is going to win in November and we can't be so irresponsible as to put Cuba's fate in the hands of one person or one party.'' (The Miami Herald, 2/9/04)

September 6: In a letter addressed to the Pope and all Cuban bishops, the “Cuba Democracia Ya!” International Platform requested that those who suffer "political exclusion" be mentioned in the Catholic hierarchs' public statements on September 8, Cuba's Patron Saint's Day. (Encuentro en la Red, 6/9/04)

September 19: A summit of the International Committee for Democracy in Cuba attended by representatives from a number of Cuban exile organizations came to an end after 3 days of sessions. The Cuban Democratic Directorate (DDC) sent several delegates while the Washington-based Center for a Free Cuba, whose Executive Director is Frank Calzón, was also represented. Carlos Alberto Montaner, from the Liberal Union, took part in a panel discussing proposals made by the Committee. Angel Garrido, international representative of the Lawton Foundation, led by political prisoner Oscar Elías Biscet, submitted before the Summit an open letter from his organization, demanding the release of Elías Biscet and all other prisoners of conscience. [For more on this, see also Foreign Affairs] (El Nuevo Herald, 19/9/04)

September 21: Speaking at a Democratic Party rally in Little Havana, a prominent Miami exile figure denounced President Bush as leading "probably the worst administration we've ever had on Cuban policy.'' The remark by Joe Garcia, former executive director of the Cuban American National Foundation, signals what could be an unprecedented battle for Hispanic voters in the upcoming presidential race. ''Part of it is our fault,'' Garcia said. "Because he's been saying exactly what we want to hear -- words like freedom, democracy, liberty. But he hasn't done anything to bring this about in Cuba.'' Garcia left CANF to accept a post with the New Democrat Network, a recruitment arm of the Democratic National Party that is launching a $6 million media campaign targeting Hispanics. (The Miami Herald, 22/9/04)

September 28: A nationwide Democratic Party advocacy group announced the launch of several television ads aimed at Cuban-Americans, considered a pivotal voting bloc in Florida. The ads, part of a $1 million effort, begin airing in Miami this week on the Telemundo and Univision Spanish-language networks and aim to speak to Cuban-Americans about jobs, health insurance and prescription drugs -- key issues identified by the New Democrat Network. A separate Internet ad critical of President Bush's policies will also be launched this week. (Sun Sentinel, 28/9/04)