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The entire world calls for the United States to end trade embargo on Cuba
Una risoluzione a favore della fine del blocco economico americano contro Cuba è stata votata da 191 paesi, sui 193 appartenenti alle Nazioni Unite.
The United Nations General Assembly voted, overwhelmingly, to urge the United States to end its economic embargo on Cuba. Three months after the historic diplomatic reconciliation between the two countries, a resolution – which is not binding but has political and symbolical value – has been approved by 191 out 193 of member countries: only Israel and the US voted no.
According to the news agency AFP, the American diplomat Ron Godard justified the country’s opposition by explaining that the document fails to reflect the “spirit of engagement President Obama has championed”. It is now necessary to understand the position of the White House, considering that President Barack Obama, in a speech at the United Nations on 29 September 2015, said he thought the Republican-held Congress would inevitably lift “an embargo that should not be in place anymore”, despite he admitted that the US and Cuba still have a long way to go to normalise their relations.
On that occasion, the US leader also talked about a key issue of the diplomatic relationships between Washington and Havana: the US military base in Guantanamo. “We must give back to Cuba a territory we have illegally occupied,” Obama said.
The economic embargo on the island has been established by the United States in 1962. During a speech on 27 October at the UN General Assembly, Cuba’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla explained that according to accurate calculations, the economic damages caused by the embargo exceed 121 billion dollars: a huge value to a small nation as Cuba is.
“Lifting the embargo represents a crucial factor to realise the progress Cuba and the United States have achieved over the last months, as well as to determine future developments. As President Obama acknowledged, the end of the blockade reflects the will of the country”.
However, in order to realise the what both presidents have expressed, the Congress must be in favour of the initiative. It is a possibility that seems still far away, despite the White House has called on the issue. Since the latest mid-term elections, the parliament is controlled by the Republican Party, which is firmly convinced of the need of maintaining the policy started 53 years ago.
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