Letter of the Day | How will we vote?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Our Cuban brothers have suffered for many years under sanctions imposed by a far more powerful nation to the north, and, recently, those sanctions have intensified significantly.

At a recent United Nations assembly, the issue of these sanctions arose and member states were asked to vote on them. Many leaders of our smaller Caribbean neighbours had the courage to vote against their continuation. Inexplicably, though not entirely surprisingly, our leaders capitulated and bent the knee to the wishes, or rather dictates, of a higher power, and abstained from voting. The explanation offered by our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kamina Johnson Smith, was either a very weak excuse or a downright falsehood.

Not long ago, a similar response to such dictates resulted in the expulsion of Cuban medical personnel who had provided longstanding and invaluable service to our island, particularly to the less fortunate among us.

Last night brought a major shift in the corridors of power in the United States as the Democratic Party seized control of both the House and the Senate. According to renowned American commentator Lawrence O’Donnell, “The Trump reign of terror is over. This changes everything. The governing of the country has now shifted out of the White House. Most of his executive orders, which are wildly illegal, will be dragged into court. This will now be as powerless a presidency as we have seen in our lifetime.”

This leaves me wondering: if the same issue comes up for a vote in the near future, how will we vote?

John Royes