With the July 1 announcement that Cuba and the United States will
formally establish diplomatic relations and open embassies on July 20,
the people of Cuba are hoping that the end of the US blockade will
soon follow. In the United States, opinion is divided, with some
wishing to maintain the blockade, but with the majority wanting to
move toward the normalization of relations, implying an end of the
blockade and the establishment of possibilities for commerce and
travel.
However, Cuba and the United States have different understandings
of normalization. For Cuba, it involves full respect for its
sovereignty, without interference in any form. For the government of
the United States, and for the majority of the people, normalization
is understood in the context of the neocolonial world-system.
Please see my blog post, “Cuba is and will be sovereign,” at
http://www.globallearning-cuba.com/blog-umlthe-view-from-the-southuml.
Charles McKelvey
Professor Emeritus
Presbyterian College
Clinton, South Carolina
Section on Political Science from the South
Division of Philosophy and History
University of Havana
Havana, Cuba
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