(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
Day Three: “Creo en el Pueblo Cubano. I Believe in the Cuban People”
Standing in the El Gran Teatro de Havana, President Obama spoke directly to the Cuban people — especially young Cubans — about his vision for what the future could hold for the U.S. and Cuba.
“I believe that you should look to the future with hope; not the false promise which insists that things are better than they really are, or the blind optimism that says all your problems can go away tomorrow. Hope that is rooted in the future that you can choose and that you can shape, and that you can build for your country.” — President Obama
For more than fifty years, our policy towards Cuba was not making life better for Cubans. In many ways, it was making it worse. So, in the lead up to the December 17, 2014, I worked with President Obama, the Cuban government, and the Catholic Church to bring about a change in policies that would actually increase engagement between Americans and Cubans and help open a new chapter in our relationship.
The message the President delivered today was one of hope, of optimism, and most importantly, of friendship toward the Cuban people.
Here are six key moments from today’s speech that you should see.
President Obama: “Like so many people in both our countries, my lifetime has spanned a time of isolation between us. The Cuban Revolution took place the same year that my father came to the United States from Kenya. The Bay of Pigs invasion took place the year that I was born. The next year, the entire world held its breath watching our two countries, as humanity came as close as we have ever come to the horror of nuclear war. As the decades rolled by, our governments settled into a seemingly endless confrontation, fighting battles through proxies. In a world that remade itself time and again, one constant was the conflict between the United States and Cuba. I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas. I have come here to extend the hand of friendship to the Cuban people.”
2. “Creo en el pueblo cubano. I believe in the Cuban people.”
President Obama: “Many people on both sides of this debate have asked: why now? There is one simple answer: what the United States was doing was not working. We must have the courage to acknowledge that truth. A policy of isolation designed for the Cold War made little sense in the 21st century. The embargo was only hurting the Cuban people instead of helping them. And I have always believed in what Martin Luther King called ‘the fierce urgency of now’ — we should not fear change, we should embrace it.
“But that leads me to a bigger, and more important reason. Creo en el pueblo Cubano. I believe in the Cuban people. This is not just a policy of normalizing relations with the Cuban government; the United States of America is normalizing relations with the Cuban people.”
3. “As President of the United States, I have called on our Congress to lift the embargo.”
President Obama: “As President of the United States, I have called on our Congress to lift the embargo. It’s an outdated burden on the Cuban people, and the Americans who want to work, do business, or invest here. But even if we lifted the embargo tomorrow, Cubans would not realize their potential without continued change here, in Cuba. It should be easier to open a business. A worker should be able to get a job directly with companies who invest here. Two currencies shouldn’t separate the type of salaries that Cubans can earn. The Internet should be available across the island — so that Cubans can connect to the wider world, and one of the greatest engines of growth in human history.”
4. “I believe that every person should be equal under the law.”
President Obama: “I believe that every person should be equal under the law. Every child deserves the dignity that comes with education, health care and food on the table. Citizens should be free to speak their mind without fear — to organize, criticize their government, and protest peacefully, and the rule of law should not include arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights. Every person should have the freedom to practice their faith peacefully and publicly. Voters should be able to choose their governments in free and democratic elections. I believe those human rights are universal. I believe they are the rights of the American people, the Cuban people, and people around the world.”
5. “There’s already an evolution taking place in Cuba, a generational change.”
President Obama: “So here’s my message to the Cuban government and people: the ideals that are the starting point for every revolution — America’s, Cuba’s, and liberation movements around the globe — those ideals find their truest expression in democracy; not because America is perfect, but precisely because we are not, and we — like every country — need the space that democracy gives us to change. There’s already an evolution taking place in Cuba, a generational change. Many suggested that I come here and ask the people of Cuba to tear something down; but I am appealing to the young people of Cuba who will build something new. El futuro de Cuba tiene que estar en las manos del pueblo cubano.”
6. “Si se puede.”
President Obama: “Sometimes the most important changes start in small places. The tides of history can leave people in conflict, exile and poverty; it takes time for those circumstances to change. But the recognition of a common humanity, the reconciliation of people bound by blood and a belief in one another — that is where progress begins. And if the Cuban people face the future together, it will be more likely that the young people of today will be able to live with dignity and achieve their dreams right here in Cuba.
“The history of the United States and Cuba encompasses revolution and conflict; struggle and sacrifice; retribution and now reconciliation. It is time, now, for us to leave the past behind. It is time for us to look forward to the future together — un futuro de esperanza.
“It won’t be easy. There will be setbacks. It will take time. But my time here in Cuba renews my hope, and my confidence in what the Cuban people will do. We can make this journey as friends, as neighbors, as family. Sí se puede.”
