As reported in a prior post, on February 24, Cuba held a referendum with 6.8 million “YES” votes (78.6% of eligible registered voters) approving a new constitution for the island.
Pompeo’s Statement
Two days later, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement entitled “Cuba’s So-Called Referendum.” [1] It said the following:
- “On February 24, the Cuban communist regime held what it called a “national referendum” on revisions to its constitution. No one should be fooled by this exercise, which achieves little beyond perpetuating the pretext for the regime’s one-party dictatorship. The entire process has been marked by carefully managed political theater and repression of public debate.”
- “The new constitution primarily affirms the Communist Party’s role as the only legal political party and decrees the socialist system “irrevocable,” blocking the possibility of desperately needed economic reform. This document also fails to guarantee the Cuban people their fundamental freedoms.”
- “While the regime claims Sunday’s vote was democratic, Cuban authorities harassed and detained dozens of observers and peaceful protestors, confiscating phones and devices. Earlier this month more than 120 activists initiated a hunger strike to send a message to the regime that the Cuban people reject these oppressive tactics. We strongly condemn these attempts to silence peaceful protests, which show that Cuba’s leaders fear the Cuban people.”
- “The United States continues to stand with Cubans who have suffered for 60 years the revolution’s failed political system and economic mismanagement. We believe that history is on the side of the brave Cuban people, and that this hemisphere is a region where democracy, freedom, and human dignity reign supreme. We urge the democracies of the world to join us in standing with the people of Cuba and their peaceful calls for democratic reform.”
Cuba’s Response
Cuba strongly rejected Pompeo’s “disrespectful statement,” which, Cuba said, is “an expression of the imperialist ideas which are deeply rooted in the foreign policy of the current US administration . . . [and] a reflection of the already announced desire to impose once again, in the western hemisphere, the Monroe Doctrine, accompanied now by some McCarthyist intolerance.” Moreover, the Cuban statement also said the Cuban people expressed “their will in a massive way, despite the pernicious campaign launched by the United States which was intended to influence their vote. It’s been long since we Cubans decided to frustrate every US attempt to govern our country’s destiny.”
Finally, the Cuban Foreign Ministry stated, the U.S. “should put an end to the practice of interfering in the internal affairs of other States and the electoral or voting processes of other nations. This is a weird habit that is contrary to International Law, with which the US government defies the norms that govern relations among sovereign States.”
Conclusion
There are legitimate grounds for the U.S. asserting that the new constitution makes the Cuban Communist Party the only legal political party and the socialist system “irreversible.” In addition, there is evidence that the Cuban government harassed and detained critics of the new constitution.[3] But it is hardly diplomatic for the U.S. to say that this was a “so-called referendum.”
Cuba, on the other hand, had legitimate grounds for its criticism of the Pompeo statement. But, in this blogger’s opinion, Cuba went overboard in calling that statement an Interference in Cuba’s internal affairs that was contrary to international law.
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[1] State Dep’t, Cuba’s So-Called Referendum (Feb. 26, 2019).
[2] Cuba Foreign Ministry, Declaration by the Foreign Ministry of Cuba (Feb. 26, 2019).
[3] See Cuba Arrests Opponents of Proposed New Constitution, dwkcommentaries.com (Feb. 14, 2019); Cuban Citizens Approve New Constitution, dwkcommentaries.com (Feb. 26, 2019).
