The presidential tour of Algeria, Russia, China and Turkey was a journey towards the light: we wanted to go east, where the sun rises, but also (we think) towards the beginning of the end of many difficulties and shortcomings, the light among the first. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
Maybe many days have passed. Maybe that’s not journalism. But I don’t want to leave this travel chronicle unfinished. There are details that only find space in the closed text of the afterward. Sorry for the delay. there is jet lag.
I have to start by remembering that the days (and nights) were tough when we left Cuba. Between blackouts due to plants entering but immediately leaving the system, nothing is more important than light, although the issue of supply worries and concerns the government, as only supply above demand lowers the pressure on competitive prices. And because our markets are severely undersupplied. To deny it would be lying to us.
During the preparations, it was easy to see that all destinations (Algeria, Russia, China and Turkey) had the topic of energy in common. Some because they have hydrocarbons, some because they also have their own technologies, or more or less both.
The other conclusion was even more obvious: in the critical conditions the country is facing, a Cuban presidential trip should have a strong economic motivation, even if it also had a very high political motive.
Thus, before the departure, the WhatsApp group of communicators involved in the trip identified themselves with a name very similar to that of Viaje a la luz. Because we drove east where the sun shines, but also (we think) towards the beginning of the end many difficulties and shortcomings, light among the first.
Algeria provided the first glimpses when its government decided to resume fuel supplies that eventually halted due to accumulated debt or interest. That is why it was so important that President Abdelmajid Tebboune, at the end of the official talks, announced interest waivers and the restructuring of Cuba’s debt with more flexible terms.
To this good news came the decision to donate a photovoltaic system to Havana, which will tax the entire system (SEN); new agreements for health services, manufacturing and marketing of medicines and collaborations in various other areas.
I still remember the impact it had on reporters as I deciphered those early announcements that we barely understood in the translation channel. Minutes earlier, the official talks seemed too long and at least I thought they didn’t agree.
As both leaders took their respective podiums, I breathed: Díaz-Canel smiled.
His wish, expressed early on, that Cuba intends to raise economic ties to the level of political ties in the four countries on the tour was confirmed.
A kind of revival of the historic alliances forged almost parallel to the legendary Battle of Algiers seemed to be emerging at the face-to-face meeting of the two current Presidents of both nations.
Affection for the island conquered by Fidel, Raúl and Che during the decade of rebellion and emancipation in what was then the Third World is still in the air when one speaks of Cuba. Our small country continues to be a benchmark for solidarity, commitment and political honesty.
Many days after first experiencing this feeling, I met someone in Istanbul who works with the owner of the Turkish Patanas that are helping to solve the lack of electricity generation in Cuba.
I learned from him that the leading businessman of the Karadeniz Holding group, choosing Cuba in front of other clients, did not do it only for business reasons, although it is clear that it was also for business reasons. People close to him say he has a special sympathy for the historic Cuban leadership. That Che Guevara is one of his idols and that this admiration also extends to the commander of the revolution, Ramiro Valdés, because he knows that he fought and is still working on behalf of the Argentines, precisely in the attention to this sector of the economy.
“But of all the reasons why he chose Cuba, the basic one is that he confirmed that there is no corruption in the country’s leadership.” This is very rare to find in the world today.
In Turkey in particular, the perception of the sentimental component in talks and agreements is increasing, the weight of the heroic tradition in mutual evaluations. But there was also a clear harmony in the vision of the development, which relied on innovation, clean energy and talent, among other things.
Enough has been published about the agreements between the two countries. What didn’t fit into the hasty chronicles was the character of the final item on the program.
In Istanbul, Díaz-Canel and several ministers met with about 40 Turkish businessmen and a great dialogue ensued. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
It happened in Istanbul, the dazzling Turkish city that grows on the banks of the Bosphorus, where all the worlds of this world seem to cross and almost all Turkish novels are set. By the way, we were not fooled: in reality, young men and women often have the same stunning beauty as in fiction.
There, in Istanbul, Díaz-Canel and several ministers met with around 40 Turkish businessmen and a great dialogue took place. Each one brought up a project or a question related to investment opportunities in Cuba in specific areas. The Cuban President exchanged questions and answers with each of those present and ended up telling them half-jokingly, half-seriously that they left many tasks to him, but, he added, “You will have noticed that I took note from all”. And he clarified that he is not used to filing papers. He will closely follow each proposal and its fate.
In Istanbul we saw a statesman controlling his government’s priorities and program. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
What we saw there was a statesman who controlled his government’s priorities and program down to the last detail, and at the same time a leader who gave his team space to lead the processes that are his responsibility.
The results of these discussions with business people interested in practically all areas that also import to Cuba should be visible from 2023. Others are already bearing fruit; They just needed the boost from that meeting to unlock negotiations, mobilize resources, and build trust between the parties, which is definitely only possible when those involved look at each other and say tête à tête.
Turkish businessmen expressed their interest in practically all areas that are also imported to Cuba. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
China
From China, as from Russia, it is worth writing separately. It should only be mentioned how the first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba was received in the Asian giant, the distinction of being the only country in Latin America to be invited after the conclusion of a historic congress that revealed transcendent changes that have had an impact on the entire planet, but with much more reason in a country like Cuba, whose bilateral relationship with China is strategic.
Official reception of the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba in the Asian giant. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
The stopover in Cuba lasted less than a week (crammed with work) before embarking on another tour, this time around the Caribbean, where friends (or rather relatives?) smaller in scale and population; those who sometimes have nothing to give and give everything; the last to separate from their metropolises; those still waiting to be redressed for the crimes of human trafficking and other worldly abuses, the survivors of so many hurricanes; Worshipers of the sun, the sea and music.
I’ll try to give you my own version of events.
The first stop is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, run by Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, so charismatic and talkative that you can understand him in English as if he speaks Spanish. He likes to say that his grandfather lived in eastern Cuba and that he feels like we have something in his blood. Count and count and laugh out loud. He is a warm host, always ready for good memories and the best forecast.
In these short-lived countries, threatened by climate change like ours, they don’t seem to be in the rush of Cubans. They laugh loudly and happily, as if we all had centuries to live. The most important thing now is affection. There are no benefits one way or the other. But there are a lot of things that need to be done urgently.
Fidel and Chávez are revered here for getting it and for all the good and productive things they have done so much in such a short time.
The new presidential tour almost begins with a photo in front of their portraits at Argyle Airport, which owes much to their management.
Fidel and Chávez are worshiped in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves likes to say that his grandfather lived in eastern Cuba and that he feels like there’s something of us in his blood. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
The first stop is St. Vincent and the Grenadines, that of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, so charismatic and talkative that in English you can understand him as if he were speaking Spanish. Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.
The hug between Díaz-Canel and Ralph Gonsalves, a hug between friends or should we say relatives? Photo: Alejandro Azcuy Dominguez.