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WORLD NEWSFriday 18 September 2015
Cubans hope Pope visit will accelerate warming with US
M. WEISSENSTEIN
N. WINFIELD
Associated Press
HAVANA (AP) — Seven-
teen years ago, a newly
named Argentine arch-
bishop laid out his thoughts In a series of interviews
on the meaning of a papal
visit to Cuba.
“Through the presence, the
voice and the prophetic
mission of the pope, the
church offers a path for-
ward to peace, justice and
true liberty,” Jorge Mario
Bergoglio wrote. “Not ev-
erything will be the same
after he leaves.”
Millions of Cubans hope
those words written about
John Paul II’s 1998 trip to
Cuba prove true when their
author, now Pope Francis,
flies into Havana on Satur-
day.
Across the island, Cubans
are excitedly looking at the
pope’s 10-day trip to Cuba
and the United States
through the lens of his role
as the mediator of detente
between the two countries.
Many say they expect the
visit to help transform the
diplomatic warming from a
phase of abstract political
negotiation into real ben-
efits for the Cuban people.
“The pope achieved the re-
establishment of relations
between the two coun-
tries,” said Miguel Marceli-
Opposition to Puerto Rico reform plan grows amid crisis dents Barack Obama and
DANICA COTO
Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico
(AP) — The Puerto Rican
government’s fiscal re-
form plan is coming under
increased scrutiny amid
growing concerns that it
does not have legislative
support and that some
measures are too austere
and could push the U.S.
territory into a deeper
economic crisis.
Gov. Alejandro Garcia
Padilla met Wednesday
with members of President
Barack Obama’s Cabi-
net while his administra-
tion prepares to negotiate
with bondholders over a
$72 billion debt that he
has said is unpayable and
needs restructuring. Other
top Puerto Rico officials
traveled to New York and
no, a member of a worker-
owned gardening services
cooperative. “A big part of
why he’s coming is so that
there’s new momentum in
that relationship.”
Tourists riding an American classic car are driven past a billboard promoting a welcoming mes-
sage for Pope Francis, in Havana, Cuba. Francis will visit Cuba from Sept. 19-22, before arriving in
the United States, making him the third pontiff to visit the island nation.
across Havana this week,
people almost universally
said they would be at Fran-
cis’ Mass in the Plaza of the he expects to have strong
Revolution on Sunday. Vir-
tually none said they would
attend because of person-
al faith.
met with restructuring ex-
perts to prepare for the
negotiations.
Economists say that if no
agreements are reached
and if some of the plan’s
measures are not imple-
mented, the island’s gov-
ernment could face a
severe liquidity crunch in
the next three months that
could force it to either
partially close or default
on major bond payments.
“The hurricane is upon us,”
said Mike Soto, founder
of the Center for the New
Economy, a Puerto Rico-
based think tank that re-
leased an analysis of the
plan Wednesday.
“This is going to hit us now, they believe will not ma-
and in a very severe way
soon.”
Among provisions in the
five-year plan released last
“I’ve never been to a Mass.
I don’t know what that is,”
motorcycle taxi driver Jose
Manuel Echevarria said as
he waited for a friend to re- tioning that the pope’s mis-
turn with an axle to replace
one snapped by one of
Havana’s many deep pot-
holes. He’s going to the pla- message. But some long-
za to watch an event that
historical significance.
“He’s coming to Havana
and then he’s going from
Havana to the U.S.,” Eche-
week are salary freezes
for government employ-
ees, creation of a fiscal
control board and deep
budget cuts for munici-
palities and the University
of Puerto Rico. The plan’s
authors warned that even
if it was fully implemented,
the government would still
face a $14 billion financ-
ing gap and be unable to
meet debt payments as
scheduled.
But opposition has risen.
Representatives of bond-
holders have questioned
the validity of the govern-
ment’s numbers, saying
officials are presenting a
worst-case scenario that
terialize. A Virginia-based
group called Main Street
Bondholders accused the
governor on Wednesday
varria said of Francis. “It’s ton and Havana.
obvious, no? He’s not go- “Francis won’t explicitly
ing for any other reason.” be political at all when
Vatican officials are cau- he’s here, but everything
he does will be profoundly
sion is pastoral, not political, political in its implications,”
saying people should ex- said Austen Ivereigh, au-
thor of “The Great Reform-
er: Francis and the Making
of a Radical Pope.”
The pope feels the half
century of hostility be-
(AP Photo/Desmond Boylan) tween the U.S. and Cuba
polarized the politics of
pect no explicit diplomatic Latin America, forcing
people to choose be-
time observers of Francis tween Washington’s and
said it is clear he sees the Havana’s visions for the re-
visit as many Cubans do — gion, Ivereigh said. While
as the second stage of his the pope values the social
role in midwifing normal re- achievements of Cuba’s
lations between Washing- revolution such as free uni-
versal health care and ed-
ucation, he has staunchly
criticized its decades of re-
pression. He looks to heal-
ing the rift between the
U.S. and Cuba as a way
of steering the island on
a path toward a new sys-
tem that both cares for the
needy and provides liberty
while avoiding the excess-
es of capitalism, provid-
ing a potential model for
the region. “He has a very
ambitious vision for Latin
America, and Cuba plays
a key role in that,” Ivereigh
said. Francis has down-
played his role in the de-
tente, saying he did “only
little things,” but both Presi-
Raul Castro praised the
of distorting the island’s pope in their Dec. 17, 2014,
financial situation. “Cen- speeches announcing the
tral to (his) debt avoid- deal. Obama noted the
ance strategy is the very importance of Francis’
suspect claim that Puerto “personal appeal” to both
Rico very simply cannot leaders in a pair of secret
pay its debts,” the group letters at a critical stage
said in a statement. in the 18 months of secret
Hundreds of government negotiations. The Vatican
workers held a protest late also hosted the final meet-
last week to denounce ing last October at which
the proposal. the two sides finalized the
And legislators from both deal. Francis has never
the opposition and the been to Cuba but has a
governor’s own party said veritable Cuban brain trust
this week that the plan in the Vatican.
does not have the votes The head of the Vatican’s
needed to be adopted, congregation for priests,
especially provisions that Cardinal Beniamino Stella,
call for slashing the bud- and the No. 3 in the Vati-
get of the island’s largest can secretariat of state,
public university by one- Monsignor Angelo Becciu,
third and imposing a 10- both served as ambassa-
year waiver from future dors to Cuba during a pe-
minimum wage increases riod when the church was
for young workers.q finding new freedom to
operate on the island. q