Since this Monday, nearly 70 businessmen residing on the Island have attended an event in Miami sponsored by Cuban-Americans who are trying to give wings to the private sector in Cuba, according to account this Tuesday the New Herald. Both the trip and the seminar are organized by a law firm, Akerman, and the event was opened by former Hialeah mayor Raúl Martínez.
“The Cuban-American community believes that an essential part of a future democratic and prosperous Cuba includes a free enterprise system,” said former Democratic congressman for Florida Joe García, who in November 2022 had a controversial meeting with Miguel Díaz-Canel himself. during a trip to the Island that he made with the objective of opening a stage of cooperation between the state of the Sun and the Island through the SMEs.
The purpose of the meeting is, its promoters say, “to demonstrate that these companies are real and not a facade of the Cuban Government, as their critics in Miami have said.” So much so, that billionaire Mike Fernández, a businessman in the health sector, ironically said: “How many State Security agents are there in the room?” He said. After the joke, he went on to give recommendations on how to succeed in the United States and get around the embargo restrictions.
The purpose of the meeting is, its promoters say, “to demonstrate that these companies are real and not a facade of the Cuban Government, as their critics in Miami have said.”
“It is the beginning of something monumental that will change [el país] unless Cuba receives help from another State, and then they will back down and reverse the situation,” he warned just at the moment when the rumor continues in the air that Joe Biden’s Government could give facilities to these private businessmen, such as opening a bank account in the US or providing credit.
Among the guests was Hugo Cancio, one of the most controversial businessmen for the Cuban exile, who accuses him of profiting from doing business with the regime. “That Cuban businessmen from both sides of the Florida Strait meet, exchange, collaborate and explore joint opportunities in Miami is not only historic, it is the future. At Katapulk we already collaborate with many of these SMEs present here. Now we are also exploring opportunities investment and partnerships,” he told Herald.
Ariel Pereda, who sold food to the state-owned Alimport and now exports to the private sector, also participated, less optimistic and more distrustful – the changes are going to “take time,” he said – but enthusiastic about “the volume, the level of activity, the inventiveness of the private sector, its persistence”.
Among those who traveled to Miami, many did so for the first time, according to the note, which highlights the diversity of fields of the companies involved: transportation, construction, the development of software and clothing, among others. Among the success stories, he cites a company from Villa Clara, D’Cabellos, which has its plant in Camajuaní and is dedicated to hygiene and beauty products. According to the press dossier they brought to the US, since January of last year alone they have sold 2.2 million dollars worth.
Attendees agreed that the current moment of crisis can overcome resistance on both sides. “The Cuban State is bankrupt,” said Aldo Álvarez, owner of Mercatoria, a company that imports “large quantities” of wheat, chicken and cooking oil to sell on the Island.
“I feel super hopeful with all these measures that President Biden is announcing; the news about bank accounts is wonderful,” said another entrepreneur in the tourism sector. “We are not asking for money, loans or credits; we are asking for the possibility of carrying out negotiations independently without people having to mediate.”
“Of course, the Government can destroy it tomorrow if it wanted to, just as our regulations could destroy them too”
Joe García put the governments of the United States and Cuba on the same level when he claimed to take advantage of a good moment that could change. “Of course, the Government can destroy it tomorrow if it wanted to, just as our regulations could destroy them too because the United States is the most natural market to do business with Cuba,” he argued.
Among the questions that most interested the owners of the MSMEs, there were efforts to reduce intermediary costs and a market that does not push them towards resellers. And many things are still prohibited.
Some also asked if it is possible to open a company in the United States to sell or buy supplies, but the answer was negative, due to the restrictions of the embargo. For other reasons, the same thing happens in Cuba, where you cannot have a company, unless you are a resident on the Island. However, that could change, they warned, if the plan outlined by Miguel Díaz-Canel in his meeting in New York with businessmen to whom he spoke of “transformations (…) to facilitate investments by Cuban-Americans and let them be owners of MSMEs registered in Cuba.
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