In a powerful speech that was both conciliatory and tough, President Barack Obama encouraged Cubans to embrace democracy and its leaders to tolerate dissent even as he highlighted how much the longtime foes have in common.
“Havana is only 90 miles from Florida, but to get here, we had to travel a great distance, over barriers of history and ideology, barriers of pain and separation,” Obama said in the address televised across Cuba. “I have come here to bury the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.”
Speaking at the Gran Teatro de la Habana Alicia Alonso before a packed audience, Obama emphasized the cultural and historical ties the nations share, saying that they transcended politics.
And while he praised the island’s commitment to healthcare and education, he said the ruling party needs to listen to its people.
“I believe citizens should be free to speak their mind without fear, to organize and to criticize their government and to protest peacefully,” he said. “And that the rule of law should not include arbitrary detentions of people who exercise those rights.”
“And yes, I believe voters should be able to choose their governments in free and democratic elections,” he added.
Obama reassured the public in the audience, which included President Raúl Castro and his cabinet, that the United States was not interested in imposing its ideals or form of government on the island. But he said listening to critics was the best way for any nation to grow.
He also acknowledged that Cuba has often taken the United States to task for its economic inequality, its use of the death penalty, racial discrimination and wars abroad.
“But here’s what the Cuban people need to understand,” Obama said. “I welcome this open debate and dialogue. It’s good. It’s healthy. I’m not afraid of it.”
“We do have too much money in American politics,” he conceded. “But in America, it’s still possible for somebody like me, a child who was raised by a single mom, a child of mixed race who did not have a lot of money, to pursue and achieve the highest office in the land.”
Castro sat through most of the speech stone-faced, listening to it through a translator. But he broke into applause when Obama mentioned ending the half-century economic embargo.
Poetic flourish
The speech was laced with Cubanisms — la pelota, ropa vieja — many supplied by members of the Cuban-American community who were invited to the White House last week.
The president also evoked independence hero José Martí, who is revered on both sides of the Florida Straits, with a reference to his poem “Cultivo Una Rosa Blanca“ (I Have a White Rose to Tend).
In the poem, Martí offers a white rose to the “cruel one whose blows break the heart by which I live.”
“That poem is the essence of peace-making,” said Miami attorney Pedro Freyre who was in the audience at the ornate theater. “It says I give a white rose to my friend and to my enemy.”
“I thought it was a brilliant speech — a perfect balance between offering peace and reconciliation but still challenging the Cuban government,” said Freyre, whose clients include a number of U.S. companies trying to do business with Cuba.
It wasn’t lost on the Cuban-Americans in the audience that exiles figured so importantly in the speech. After thanking the Cuban government and people for their kindness, Obama immediately launched into their story — the pain of exile and their ultimate success in their new country.
“In the United States, there is a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build,” Obama said. “It’s called Miami.”
“I’m particularly grateful for the recognition,” Freyre said.
Dissident meeting
The speech comes at the tail end of a historic, three-day visit to Cuba and threatened to be overshadowed by the terrorism attacks in Brussels, Belgium, which have left at least 30 dead.
At the beginning of his address, Obama pledged his support to Belgium.
“This is yet another reminder that the world must unite,” he said. “We must be together, regardless of nationality or race or faith in fighting against the scourge of terrorism.”
Despite the attacks, it appears the White House will continue with Obama’s planned schedule on the island.
After the speech, the president immediately headed to a meeting with members of civil society, including dissidents, at the U.S. Embassy.
They gathered around a small oval table with Obama seated in the middle.
“All of the individuals around this table have shown extraordinary courage. They have spoken out on behalf of the issues that they care deeply about,” Obama said. “Some of them represent specific constituencies inside of Cuba. Some of them have broader concerns regarding democracy, the ability to speak freely, worship freely, or assemble or are advocating on behalf of democratic practices here in Cuba.”
He acknowledged those he had met before — some in Miami and at last year’s Summit of the Americas in Panama — but said he was meeting others for the first time.
“There are people here who have been detained. Some in the past, some very recently,” Obama said. “ As I have said consistently, part of our policy with respect to engagement with Cuba is not simply me meeting with President Castro or government-to-government relations.
“Much of this is a matter of us being able to hear directly from the Cuban people and making sure that they have a voice and making sure that their concerns and their ideas are helping to shape U.S. policy,” he said. “My hope is that by listening and hearing from them that we can continue to refine our policy in such a way that ultimately the Cuban people are able to live freely and prosperously.”
Among the dissidents at the meeting were Berta Soler, with Ladies in White, activist Guillermo Coco Fariñas and Cuban Human Rights and National Reconciliation Commission Founder Elizardo Sánchez.
Momentous Reaction
Obama’s speech resonated with many. As he walked out of the theater after the address, Carlos Saladrigas, a Miami businessman, said he was “awed” by president’s eloquence.
“He literally touched on every point he needed to touch on,” he said, noting that Obama was “so respectful of Cuban sovereignty but yet challenged everyone here to dream and think of a better future. I think the reaction of the Cuban people will be overwhelmingly positive.”
Ric Herrero, director of CubaNow, which supports engagement with Cuba and lifting the embargo, was also enthusiastic about the speech.
“I think it’s one of the most momentous speeches ever delivered on Cuban soil. I’m still on a high,” he said.
“It was great to see him come here and embrace a debate over our differences yet do it in the spirit of reconciliation,” he said. “It’s a model I think we should all follow.”
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL.) said the president should have made more demands of Cuba. Even so, he praised the speech, calling it a “a major improvement from yesterday's disastrous joint press conference in which the leader of the greatest nation in the world was subjected to a babbling and cynical lecture from a third world dictator on human rights and social justice.”
“I appreciate the President's optimism for the future of Cuba and his nod to the exile community in South Florida,” Curbelo said in a statement. “His emphasis on human rights and democracy is commendable — especially to an audience replete with Castro sycophants.”
Marion Smith, executive director of the Victims of Communism Foundation, also took issue with Obama’s comment about burying the last remnant of the Cold War in the Americas.
“Mr. President, until the Cuban people are free from Communism, remnants of the Cold War live on,” he said.
María Lastres and Jesús Magán and their dog, Loli, watched Obama with rapt attention from their modest apartment in Havana’s Centro neighborhood — a U.S. flag hanging from their balcony.
“Who would have thought we’d see this,” Magán said, agape. “I mean, we were trained to combat the Americans!”
After Obama turned to Spanish to say, “Creo en el pueblo cubano” — “I believe in the Cuban people” — Magán grabbed his iPhone and asked Lastres to snap his picture as he posed next to the TV set, giving a thumbs up.
“This is the best photo of my life,” he said in English (he also works on the side as a translator).
“Let me watch!” his wife shushed him.
They didn’t expect Obama to go as far as he did in his speech. They also praised Raúl Castro for how he's handled Cuba's slow opening.
“There he goes. There he goes. Here comes the big stuff,” Lastres said, as Obama began to discuss democracy and human rights.
“Hold on,” broke in Magán. “Oh my God,” he said when Obama spoke about freedom of speech. “Ay ay ay.”
They listened pensively to the president’s remarks about Cuban exiles. “He’s a church preacher,” Magán said.
And when Obama wrapped up with a “¡Sí se puede!” Magán yelled, “¡Wepa!”
Historic Setting
Earlier in the day, at the iconic theater where Obama spoke, the sound system was playing “Hasta Siempre, Comandante” — a tune about Ernesto ‘Ché’ Guevara — and other hits from the revolution. The grand neo-baroque building dates to 1838 and was initially built to host the Galician Center of Havana. It was restored to its current glory in 2015 after three years of work.
Members of Congress on the presidential delegation to Cuba began filing into the theater at about 9:30 a.m. They included Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Amy Klobuchar, D-Mn., Dick Durbin, D-Il. and Dean Heller, R-Nevada, along with Democratic Reps. Steve Cohen and Charlie Rangel.
Among those watching Obama’s speech from the center of the first balcony: The vice president of Cuba and heir apparent to Castro, Miguel Díaz-Canel; Politburo member Esteban Lazo; Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca and other high-ranking Cuban officials.
Florida Rep. Kathy Castor, who represents the Tampa Bay area, came with a stash of Tampa Bay Rays baseball caps to hand out ahead of the baseball game.
The last time a U.S. president visited Cuba was Calvin Coolidge in 1928. As it turns out, he also delivered an address from the same theater. During his keynote speech at the Pan-American Conference, Coolidge urged the nations of the Western Hemisphere to embrace peace and value the principles of freedom and democracy. The time had come to “beat our swords into plowshares.”