Cuba’s non-elected President, Miguel Diaz-Canel arrived in Buenos Aires on December 9th, 2019 to attend the swearing-in of Argentina’s President-elect Alberto Fernandez Perez. A large part of the Cuban President’s time was devoted to meeting with Argentinian business leaders who do business in Cuba.
Argentina sells Cuba agricultural products and is a relatively large business partner to Cuba when a leftist/socialist party is in office, as is the case with the new Argentinian President and his vice president, the former first lady and president of Argentina, Kristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Diaz-Canel also met with the head of Argentina’s communist party, a doubtless very productive meeting as the Cuban press states about all of Mr. Diaz-Canel’s meetings, though nothing of any significance ever seems to materialize. Cuba’s Juventud Rebelde newspaper published a grainy photo showing Mr. Diaz-Canel meeting with fifty Argentinian businessmen, and mentioning that he shook hands with each participant.
The Cuban government will try to squeeze as many interest-free loans and outright grants from the new Argentinian president, but besides that little else will occur between the two nations. Cuba’s business environment is toxic to most foreign corporations, and the Cuban communist party continues to enact and enforce stifling regulations on foreign businesses, regardless of political leaning.
By Frank Gonzalez
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