[Marxism] Spain reopens ties with Cuba (and a comment on the falling dollar)

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So this is a third point -- following on the welcome to Chavez and the
withdrawal of troops from Iraq -- where Zapatero has marked a clear
improvement over his predecessor
Aznar. For all I know, of course, his domestic policy is probably about
as bad as average for Europe these days. Anyway, I assume that until I
know differently.  But the changes on these three points are very
important for working people everywhere, including Spain.

They also come at a time of heightening tension between imperialist
European capitalist classes and the US.  The Bush administration, with
an apparent okay from Greenspan, is playing a game of chicken with the
world capitalist economy -- using the threat to let the dollar keep
dropping, pointing to the advantages for US trade and reduction in
European markets. But Washington also knows the falling dollar is a
potential catastrophe for the whole system.

Refusing to attempt a rescue of the dollar on their own is aimed at
blackmailing European bankers and other big capitalists -- who cannot
afford the collapse of  the world's most important market, which is
still a key producer as well.  The administration is demanding that THEY
foot the bill for salvaging the dollar by resuming and reaffirming their
willingness to finance the US deficit. The result may be shaping up, if
the Europeans bow as I think they are likely to, as the first
inflationary US economic upturn since the 1960s.

The alternatives are a very possible catastrophic collapse now or a sick
upturn now and catastrophe at some later date.  I think that as long as
they have any choice in the matter, capitalist classes pretty much
always choose the latter.  As Keynes said, "In the long run we are all
dead."
Fred Feldman



Early yesterday, at about 1:30 AM, notice was sent
out to the accredited journalists here in Havana that
the Cuban foreign minister would be conducting an
interview and correspondents were invited to Cuba's
foreign ministry, MINREX. No agenda was given for this.
Many of the top journalists, Cuban and foreign, went to
MINREX to wait to see what would happen. Cuba's Foreign
Minister, Felipe Perez Roque came in and introduced the
new Spanish ambassador to Cuba, and the two went inside
for discussions. An hour and a half later, they came
and told the journalists to wait another half hour, and
then the Spanish ambassador left, making no statement,
beyond that he had to report to his government.

Official contacts between the new Spanish government
and the Cuban government are highly positive steps
coming after the Spanish president withdrew Spanish
troops -- as promised - from the US occupation force
in Iraq, and other steps as well. A new wind is now
blowing, as we saw earlier this week during Spain's
tumultuously enthusiastic reception for the President
of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez Frias.

Not long ago a small band of European officials tried
to enter Cuba with the declared purpose of making a
public demonstration of support for the island's U.S.-
paid and orchestrated opposition movements. They did
not get past the Jose Marti airport, but were rather
unceremoniously given the boot and put on the next
plane back to Europe. In part that visit was aimed at
disrupting the new Spanish administration of Prime
Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.


Walter Lippmann, CubaNews
 <http://www.walterlippmann.com/> http://www.walterlippmann.com
======================================================

Cuba, Spain renew official contact

Nov 26 07:04

AFP

 <http://afr.com/articles/2004/11/26/1101219706892.html>
http://afr.com/articles/2004/11/26/1101219706892.html

Cuba and Spain renewed "official contact" on Thursday, some
17 months after the European Union imposed sanctions on the
communist island, Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque
said.

"We met at the Spanish embassy ... and we have
re-established official contact with the Spanish ambassador
in Havana," Perez Roque said in an impromptu press
conference at the foreign ministry, where he was joined by
Spanish Ambassador Carlos Alonso Zaldivar.

After the brief remarks, the diplomats went to another room
to hold a private meeting.

The meeting marked the first official talks that a
high-ranking Cuban government official has had with a
diplomat from an EU country since June 2003, when the
European bloc slapped diplomatic sanctions on Havana after
Cuban courts sentenced three Cubans to death for attempting
to flee to the United States and handed down heavy jail
sentences to 75 other dissidents.

A month ago, a fresh political row erupted after Cuba
refused to grant entry to three parliamentarians - Jorge
Moragas, external relations spokesman of Spain's right-wing
opposition Popular Party (PP), and Dutch colleagues Boris
Dittrich and Kathleen Ferrier - who had arrived in Havana
to meet with Cuban dissidents.

Since 1996, the European Union has had a common policy
toward Cuba, conditioning better political ties on
political changes in the Americas' only communist-ruled
one-party state.

However, Spain, under its new Socialist government elected
last March, has been pushing for dialogue with Havana and a
"new type of relationship" with the communist island in the
belief that sanctions have produced only a stalemate.

Spain's foreign ministry late on Thursday stressed Madrid's
desire to see normal relations between the whole of the
European Union and Cuba.

"The foreign ministry notes the announcement by the Cuban
authorities and signals that its objective is the
normalisation of contacts between the Cuban authorities and
all the embassies of the European Union, not just specific
embassies," a ministry statement read.

"Spain will continue working with all its EU partners to
achieve this normalisation with a view to reaching the
objectives fixed by the common (EU) position adopted in
1996," the ministry added.




.





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