The United States Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, stated this Friday that Cuba's economic crisis cannot be resolved without a transformation of the political system and asserted that "the people in charge need to change; that's the only path" for the country to have a different future.
During an exchange with journalists, Rubio dismissed the possibility that the administration of President Donald Trump would settle for an exclusively economic agreement with the Cuban regime.
"The economy needs to change, and its economy cannot change unless its system of government changes. It's that simple: who is going to invest billions of dollars in a communist country run by incompetent communists?" questioned the head of U.S. diplomacy.
Rubio insisted that economic transformation and politics are directly linked, and that one cannot progress without the other.
"Economic change is important; giving people economic and political freedom is important, but they go hand in hand," he stated.
The official also firmly rejected media reports suggesting that Washington might accept a limited solution involving economic reforms without changes to the power structure on the island.
"Any information about Cuba that hasn’t come from me or the president is a lie, because we are the only ones working on that," he said, warning journalists that many of their sources "know nothing" about the process.
Rubio also stated that it is "sad" that Cubans can only prosper when they leave the country.
“It can be seen that Cubans are successful all over the world, except in Cuba. That has to change,” he noted.
According to the Secretary of State, the problem is structural and is a result of a political and economic model he deems unviable. In this context, he reiterated that for Cuba to develop, it is necessary to modify both the system and the direction of the country.
“To change that, we need to change the people in charge, we need to change the system that governs the country, and we need to change the economic model it follows. That is the only way if Cuba wants a better future,” he stated.
The statements come amid discussions between Washington and Havana regarding the situation on the island, acknowledged by both parties in mid-March.
However, the leader Miguel Díaz-Canel has ruled out any transformation of the political system and maintains that his government is committed to an “updating” of the economic model that combines state planning with market mechanisms.
From Washington, the U.S. administration has maintained a tough stance, insisting that the root of the Cuban crisis is structural and that partial economic reforms are insufficient to resolve it.
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