Another shocking issue has been the oil price hike. We had managed to strike a balance for some time with normal oil prices consumed in the country, and these changes in recent months have considerably unbalanced the economy. In addition, a sort of decades-long power crisis fueled by the oil price hike is wrecking havoc since in the wake of the privatization process of power producers and generators the impact has been strong. In turn, there were hopes that the US Congress would pass a textile parity law which would spur investment growth in duty-free zones. However, there are still no signs of the benefits to Mexico.

So Meijía’s administration raised expectations and encountered the real impossibility to economically face right now its campaign promises.

Cuba

Traditionally, Fidel Castro had got closer to what used to be England’s colonies in the region –CARICOM member nations- while the Dominican Republic resumed its diplomatic ties with Cuba two years ago after 20 years of rupture.

Apparently, Castro’s administration has showed particular interest in approaching the Caribbean towns and nations. This is proved, on the one hand, by his presence in the Association of Caribbean Nations, a regional political cooperation organization integrating member countries of the Group of the Three (Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico), the Central American nations and the CARICOM members, apart from Panama, Dominican Republic and Haiti. He seeks to get involved in devising regional strategies. On the other hand, Cuba has also engaged in the ACP group –nations from Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific isles that negotiate with the European Union. Despite his definite acceptance in the group is still being discussed, Cuba is already viewed as beneficiary of the Copenhagen Agreement.

Likewise, Cuba has always been interested in the Haitian crisis by providing skilled human resources, above all, in the health sector. So in regional terms the approach has been evident as well as a greater openness from Cuba to get involved and play an active role in the region.

Haití

That is the big dilemma of the Haitian people. When Jean-Calude Duvalier’s dictatorship fell, people believed the country would at last devise a national course toward development as some retarded effects have a significant impact. On the one hand, the impact of deforestation of the Haitian Republic, on the other, the lack of a major national industry or productive sector and also fundamental scourges of the Haitians: poverty, soaring illiteracy and lack of sanitation.

So in view of the gloomy horizon the strategy should aim at development policies. But the successive political crises that hit the different governments in Haiti with military dictatorships, civilian government overthrows and political forces incapable of forging minimum agreements and the last major political crisis –denounced by the OAS- over last May fraudulent legislative elections have led the opposition and part of the people to regard governments and Congresses as legitimate. The previous government ruled without a Congress for a long time. So amid that political instability –plus the disappearance of the traditional armed forces in Haiti, giving way to a national police instead- no process has been completed.

Some external elements also exist: precisely due to the lack of organized military forces, Haiti is a free drug trafficking route. Today, much of the drug crossing the region goes past an Haitian border that lacks total control: there are no forces preventing drugs from entering the Dominican Republic and from there Puerto Rico or the United States directly.

Puerto Rico

The last plebiscites in Puerto Rico raised the issue of the Independence. In general, there never was an independent option. However, the last plebiscite showed a considerable number of abstention positive vote –those who voted for the peculiar option ‘neither yes nor no’, which was majority. What are the long-term perspectives?

Much of the plebiscite electorate agreed on Puerto Rico’s poor economic performance. For one, people expressed the country’s need to become independent , break the chains of the past and for another, some fear that same recovery of independence should lead Puerto Ricans to a turbulent situation.

The US Federal Administration’s contribution to Puerto Rico is highly important for the nation’s economic survival. Besides, they acquire a series of privileges for their ‘free associate nation’ status with regard to the US that does not want to lose. For instance, they do not want the migratory restrictions imposed by the US on countries such as Dominican Republic, Haiti or Jamaica. That vote stands for the dual aim of longing for independence and facing reality: in the economic situation of our countries self-reliance is a difficult choice.