Cubans watch power slip away By Tamara Lytle and Rafael Lorente Washington Bureau Published in The Orlando Sentinel on June 18, 2000 WASHINGTON - For years, the Cuban American National Foundation had the field mostly to itself when it came to U.S. policy toward Cuba. Backed by the Cuban-American community`s campaign donations and reputation as a solid voting bloc, the foundation was often the only powerful voice in the nation`s capital talking about Cuba. But the saga of a 6-year-old shipwreck survivor plucked from the waters between Havana and Miami has exposed a loss of clout for the foundation that even generous campaign donations may not be able to restore. Elian Gonzalez is not the reason for the foundation`s slip from power, but his "miracle" rescue and high-profile legal struggle have turned a national spotlight on the group`s decline. The biggest challenge facing the foundation is a growing effort by U.S. businesses and farmers to restore trade between the United States and Cuba. Lobbying by groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Farm Bureau has added powerful, contrasting voices to policy debates involving Cuba. Those familiar with the situation also point to Pope John Paul II`s 1998 visit to Cuba and his stand against the U.S. trade embargo; the 1997 death of Jorge Mas Canosa, the foundation`s powerful and charismatic leader; the end of the Cold War in Europe and elsewhere; and the loss of White House influence that peaked during the Reagan and Bush administrations. The Cuban-American community`s apparent losing battle to keep Elian Gonzalez in the United States, and the negative publicity the battle has generated throughout the country, has just added to the foundation`s woes. "The foundation`s finest hours are behind it," said William Goodfellow of Center for International Policy, a think tank that promotes peace in Central America. Jose Cardenas, the foundation`s Washington representative, disagrees. He says the group will soon redouble its efforts in Washington, even adding staff, to counter the business and farm lobbies. "For the first time, we have real opposition," Cardenas acknowledged. "But that doesn`t necessarily mean that, because we have opposition, we`ve lost clout." The foundation`s finest hour may have been during the Reagan and Bush years. Backed by two powerful presidents for more than a decade, the foundation generated thousands of dollars a year in campaign contributions to gain access and influence. But the contributions have continued to flow in the years since. Since 1980, the foundation`s political action committee, Free Cuba PAC, has donated more than $1 million to federal political candidates. Despite strong anti-Castro support from Republicans, the PAC has split its contributions almost evenly between the GOP and the Democratic Party. But the PAC`s contributions tell only part of the story. The foundation`s leaders and board members have also given substantial amounts to federal candidates and elected officials. A computer analysis of donations from foundation directors shows that, as a group, they have given at least $220,000 to federal political candidates just since the 1996 elections. They also have donated more than $100,000 to the Free Cuba PAC during that time. Though it lacks the millions of dollars wielded by other politically active groups, the Cuban-American community has succeeded by concentrating on an issue - Cuban independence - that few others care about, Goodfellow said. "They`re sort of the foreign-policy equivalent of the National Rifle Association," he said. But largesse alone does not buy the sort of power it used to. Mas Canosa`s death left the Cuban foundation without the kind of charismatic, untiring leadership it was used to in Washington - and in South Florida, where the foundation now competes for power and attention with the likes of Miami Mayor Joe Carollo and Democracy Movement leader Ramon Saul Sanchez. And the Elian Gonzalez case is a high-profile reminder that most of the rest of the country does not share the foundation`s passionate hatred of Castro, especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Pope John Paul II`s visit to Cuba - just the fact Castro allowed it to occur - also hurt the foundation`s cause because the Roman Catholic leader`s message was that the world should reach out to Cuba for the sake of its people. American businesses and farmers have begun to feel much the same way, hoping to open a new market for their goods. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is leading the charge to end the decades-old U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba, starting with food and medicine. Farmers, Goodfellow said, have now "gotten up a head of steam." "I think it`s only a matter of time before the restrictions on food and medicine are lifted. I think the embargo will unravel," he said. Goodfellow noted that Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., a powerful lawmaker who has worked to strengthen the embargo in the past, changed his position this year on the sending of food and medicine to Cuba. Bay of Pigs veteran Luis Arrizurieta says the business community`s interest has made the foundation`s fight more difficult. "We are fighting not only Castro but the whole group of companies that want to do business with Cuba," said Arrizurieta, 70, a foundation founder and a Miami Lakes resident. "I don`t think we are losing power. I think we are losing public opinion. We can`t afford the millions of dollars of propaganda." In addition to the U.S. Chamber, groups such as U.S. Wheat Associates and the Congressional Black Caucus have sent delegations to Cuba recently and have publicly lobbied for a weakening of the embargo. The same business and agricultural lobbies recently pumped record millions into a successful effort to establish freer trade with China. Now they are expected to turn their attention to Cuba. But the foundation lacks more than the millions of dollars generated by those other lobbies. Since George Bush left office in 1992, the Cuban group has had a diminishing presence in Washington. Cardenas, the foundation`s Washington representative, concedes the group`s focus has drifted from Washington during the past eight years, largely because many people thought the Castro regime would fall in the wake of the Cold War`s end in Europe. The group turned its attention southward by the mid-1990s, he said, thinking it had to start preparing for a post-Castro Cuba. Cardenas said the foundation`s hiring of a new executive director - Joe Garcia, former chairman of the Florida Public Service Commission - is just one of many changes to come. The 35-year-old Garcia is equally at home in Cuban and Washington political circles, Cardenas said. Cardenas also hinted that the foundation hopes to find common ground with a new administration in the White House next year. Within the parameters of existing U.S. policy, Cardenas said, the foundation may be willing to consider changes in its approach to Cuba. "Nobody is happy with the current situation," he said. He made it clear the foundation is not ready to give up. "We`re still here," he said. "People are still answering our phones." <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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