Andrew Cuomo & Business Delegation in Havana
HAVANA TIMES — The Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo arrived in the Cuban capital on Monday heading a large delegation of business people interested in learning firsthand the Cuban reality and making contacts for future business endeavors.
Cuomo was welcomed at the José Martí International Airport by Josefina Vidal, head of the USA desk at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
Along with Cuomo are executives of major companies including Walt MacNee, vice president of MasterCard, Freda Lewis-Hall, vice president of the world famous Pfizer, and Robin Hayes, vice president of JetBlue, precisely the airline that brought the charter flight to Cuba.
On the agenda for the delegation are meetings with Cuban Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel, Foreign Trade Minister Rodrigo Malmierca, and, according to informed sources, with Cardinal Jaime Ortega.
On Tuesday April 21 at 10 am, Cuomo and his companions will give a press conference at the Hotel Nacional, to which the accredited international media is invited.
Governor Cuomo intends with his visit to open spaces and make contacts for the business community of his state, in accordance with the steps taken by President Obama and his counterpart Raul Castro.
And they are not alone in testing the Cuban waters.
Today Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla began a European tour culminating in Belgium the day after tomorrow to attend the Sixth Session of the Political Dialogue with the European Union. From these meetings depends a possible change of EU policy with Cuba.
Virtually all analysts believe that taking into account the latest developments regarding the Cuba-US dialogue, Europe wants to move quickly toward a rapprochement with Cuba. As an example: Federica Mogherini – the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy who visited Cuba a few weeks ago-, said today that “this block shouldn’t miss opportunities in its relations with Latin America and the Caribbean,” a topic the EU foreign ministers were debating Monday.
Such negotiations are one more reason the New York governor and his delegation are present in Cuba.
You should all remember that Tourism is not the only source for Income for Cubans. Farming and Production of Beef, Pork & Poultry can make for Plenty of $s for the economy. They could market products as ‘free Ranged’ and Non-GH fed or injected.
U.S. would save allot on shipping and having it imported from Australia or New Zealand. The Options are limitless!!
The piss is already running in the streets. Have you seem the Cuban infrastructure?
They will build hotels for US tourists. They know their market and how to serve it. The Castro regime wants their money and know how to get it.
Their customers won’t be the poor, oppressed Cuban slaves who’s job it will be to toil in the hotels.
Since the 1990’s Cuba has contracted foreign hotel corporations to build and manage the resorts in Veradero, Cayo Coco, Holguin & etc.
Italian, French, Spanish and Canadian hotel operators build hotels, golf courses and marinas. You can bet the Castro regime will be delighted to have US corporations do the same.
What Cubans will earn is up to the Castros. In the case of Cubans doctors working in Brazil, for example, Cuba receives as much as $5k per Doctor and yet the Castros pay the Doctor less than $1k. You do the math. If you are concerned about the Cuban worker being exploited, you should take it up with the Castros.
“Cuba did ok so far “? Do you really believe that?
The hotel business in Cuba is of no interest to US hoteliers. The Hiltons, Westins, and Marriotts are looking for a more well-heeled market.
It is a disgrace that Cuomo thought it was appropriate to have dinner 13 years ago with a Cuban spy who was thrown out of the USA for assaulting Cuban-American protesters in Washington. Doesn’t his staff check these things, or are they fine with it?
Cuomo dined with Gustavo Machin Gomeza, who was declared persona non grata and expelled from the United States in 2002.
On April 14th, 2000, Gustavo Machin Gomez was one of nearly two dozen Cuban “diplomats” that violently assaulted a small group of peaceful demonstrators outside the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, D.C.
I believe Cuomo just wants to build there..the hotels for American tourists and let the piss run in Cuba’s pristine waters…
all we want is to outsource like everywhere else and let the Cubans work for pennies….they are better off now..
In my opinion Cuba should no let the US build one Marriot, or Hyatt…let them build their own Cuban stores , their own Hotels…and take the tourism dollars, If Cuba looks like the US why go to Cuba on vacation? Cuba did ok so far…and can do better without American blackmail money…
But it made for a nice vacation.
What does Mr. Cuomo expect to trade with Cuba ? Cuba will take all the tourist dollars he can send for unlimited sun shine, clean air and old world experience. But if he thinks that Cuba will be importing goods from New York for dollars, he is confused.
I support dropping the embargo, but don’t expect a new miracle trading partner. They don’t have telecommunications, they don’t have manufacturing, they don’t have full property rights and they don’t have a transparent legal system. China was in better shape 30 years ago to enter the international trade market.
Until the embargo is lifted nothing “earth shattering” will take place. These ‘dog and pony’ shows are about buying and selling. Cuba has very little to sell and no money to buy. For Cuomo this trip is a waste of time for the NY economy but provides good optics. For Cuba it is more propaganda. After all, it got you excited. ….
NY is a pretty powerful state and in fact would be one of the top countries in the world based on its
GDP. The Governor is the Chief Executive and Cuomo, being the Governor, is making a prime time event out of his visit to Cuba. It is more than showmanship and in fact the steamrolling effect of
what’s been transpiring since 12/14. We’ll see how fast this all moves but I’m still thinking there will
be changes pre-2015 that could be earth shattering.