Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Cuba critical of all 4 Florida Senate candidates

Posted on Tuesday, 12.29.09
Cuba critical of all 4 Florida Senate candidates
The Associated Press

HAVANA -- Cuba's official media lashed out at all four main candidates
to become Florida's next senator - Democrats and Republicans alike -
saying Tuesday they will do nothing to improve relations between Havana
and Washington.

Republicans Marco Rubio and Charlie Crist and Democrats Kendrick Meek
and Maurice Ferre all have voiced support for continuing Washington's
47-year trade embargo on the island, according to an article Tuesday in
the Communist Party newspaper Granma.

The paper called them part of a "Miami mafia machine that dominates the
city and North American policies toward Cuba."

Rubio, the son of Cuban parents, is a conservative former Florida House
speaker who is challenging Gov. Crist for the Republican nomination.

Meek is a Democratic Congressman, and Ferre is a former mayor of Miami.

Each candidate addressed the hardline US-Cuba Democracy Political Action
Committee (PAC) last week, arguing why he would be the best to fight for
democracy in Cuba.

Florida is home to hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles who have left
the communist-run island since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution. US-Cuba
policies are one of the main issues that dominate the state's politics.

While many Cuban-Americans favor a hardline approach to the island,
polls indicate a growing number support efforts to improve relations.

The general election will be held in November 2010.

The candidates are seeking to replace retiring Republican Mel Martinez,
a Cuban-American who is also a strong proponent of the embargo.

Cuba critical of all 4 Florida Senate candidates - Florida AP -
MiamiHerald.com (29 December 2009)
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1402118.html

No comments: