Cuban lawmakers vote in new five-year term for current president
The vote comes as Cuba grapples with an economic crisis that has displaced hundreds of thousands from the country.
Cuba’s National Assembly has approved a new five-year term for incumbent President Miguel Diaz-Canel, a move that is expected to bring little change as the country grapples with an economic crisis and a civilian exodus.
“We must face this mammoth challenge without slowing down,” said 62-year-old Diaz-Canel in a speech following his victory on Wednesday. He called on his cabinet to “face obstacles and resolve inefficiencies” over the next five years.
Diaz-Canal won reelection with votes from 459 of the 462 lawmakers present. He first assumed the presidency in 2018 and has largely rejected proposed structural changes to Cuba’s political and economic system.
“He has proclaimed himself president of continuity when the country that calls for it, and even the agenda of the Communist Party itself, is an agenda of constant change,” Arturo Lopez-Levy, an analyst at the Autonomous University of Madrid, told me. the AFP news agency.
The lawmakers who voted to renew Diaz-Canal’s mandate were themselves faced with elections last month for Cuba’s 470-member National Assembly.
Critics point out that the Cuban government does not allow opposition challengers. Half of the candidates in the parliamentary elections in March came from locally elected municipal assemblies, while the other half were nominated by groups representing other segments of society, such as trade unions.
However, all candidates are analyzed by election commissions linked to the Communist Party, which critics say does not allow for real opposition.
In recent years, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation have devastated the Cuban economy. Gross domestic product (GDP) fell 11 percent in 2020, and prices rose 40 percent from January to October last year, according to the Associated Press.
The United States has also had a trade embargo on the island since the 1960s, which critics say has added to the already bleak economic situation. Meanwhile, the US has defended its decades-long sanctions based on Cuba’s human rights record.
However, the economic crisis in Cuba has driven many citizens beyond their means, with thousands making desperate attempts to reach the US.
In 2022, the US estimates that about 306,612 Cubans – about 2 percent of the island’s population – have crossed the southern border into Mexico.
Some Cubans also try to reach the US by sea in rickety boats, a dangerous gamble that often costs them their lives. Between August 2022 and January 2023, officials said at least 65 Cubans had died trying to make the crossing.
However, Cubans who reach the US often face deportation and detention. In January, the administration of US President Joe Biden announced it would automatically expel Cuban asylum seekers attempting to enter the US from Mexico — a decision condemned by immigrant and refugee rights groups.
Instead, the government unveiled a new “parole” program that would allow Cubans and citizens from three other countries to come to the US for up to two years, provided they meet certain conditions — including having a sponsor who can support them financially. to support.
“If you are trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua or Haiti… don’t just cross the border. Stay where you are and legally apply from there,” Biden told White House reporters in January.