Josefina Vidal & Pavel Vidal
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015
This AP photo shows Roberta Jacobson, the U. S. Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Western Hemisphere Affairs, arriving in Havana Sunday -- March 15th.
Cuba's Josefina Vidal. {Photo courtesy: Reuters/Gary Cameron}
Starting Monday -- March 16th, 2015 -- America's Roberta Jacobson will go head-to-head across an amicable table with Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs. This is the third such session between the two diplomats as they seek to re-establish diplomatic relations between their two nations. The first session was held in Havana, the second in Washington, and now the third is back in Havana. As I will explain later, all this diplomacy got a kick-start in October of 2013 when U. S. President Barack Obama watched a video of a speech Josefina Vidal made at Colombia University. The brilliant Ms. Vidal is a quintessential peace-maker but if she can pull this one off she will deserve the next five Nobel Peace Prizes -- at least!
Next week, because of the ground-breaking overtures Josefina Vidal has made with President Obama, this very important lady will be Havana for key discussions on March 23rd and 24th. This is Federica Mogherini. She was born 41 years ago in Rome and she is now the European Union's Chief of Foreign Relations. Ms. Mogherini hopes the 28-nation EU can sharply increase trade relations with Cuba. When she announced her trip to Havana, Ms. Mogherini said, "Cuba is facing a very interesting period and the European Union is keen to see how we can take the relationship forward with strong momentum." The very significant reason "Cuba is facing a very interesting period" is because of the diligence and brilliance of one person -- Josefina Vidal.
French President Francois Hollande, encouraged by U.S.-Cuban detente, will arrive in Cuba on May 11th. No previous French head of state has visited the island.
Josefina Vidal, Cuba's Minister of North American Affairs, has emerged as arguably the most important person on the island in 2015. She has virtual unrestricted decision-making power in the ongoing negotiations with the United States to normalize relations with Cuba. In her prime, the awesomely capable Cuban has stepped into the limelight as the 88-year-old unwell Fidel Castro and the 83-year-old tired Raul Castro engage in the process of transitioning power to non-Castros.
Josefina Vidal's brilliant, heart-wrenching speech at the Kennedy Library in Boston in 2002 stunned Caroline Kennedy and some of America's top historians. This photo shows Ms. Vidal moments before she stood up and delivered a brilliant, heart-wrenching speech at Columbia University in New York on September 26, 2013. This entire speech is available on YouTube and you may want to check it out. Why? The speech was shown to President Obama and it encouraged him to begin serious negotiations with Ms. Vidal about normalizing relations with Cuba.
Pavel Vidal...note the last name...is a brilliant, young Economics Professor who is being trusted with guiding the long-moribund Cuban economy into the 21st Century.
Pavel Vidal is internationally respected as an economist. He is currently negotiating with the Paris Club of Nations that claim Cuba owes them $22 billion or so in past debt, with France claiming that Cuba owes it $5 billion. But France and the others are talking with Pavel Vidal on restructuring the debts into a fashion that Cuba can handle. Pavel Vidal believes Cuba needs to become a part of the international monetary system that it has been excluded from for decades because of the U. S. embargo, an embargo that many economists and historians believe would have long-since doomed any other nation in the world, including much larger nations than Cuba.
Cuba needs to resurrect its economy.
Pavel Vidal plans to accomplish that.
Cuba needs normal relations with the U. S.
Josefina Vidal plans to accomplish that.
Moral: "Vidal" is now the key name in Cuba.
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