Former Governor of Florida Opposes US Blockade of Cuba

Charlie Crist, ex-governor of the US state of Florida reiterated on Monday his opposition of the over-50-year US economic, commercial and financial blockade of Cuba.

Despite his marked differences with the Cuban government, the former governor maintains his opinion that the so-called embargo has not worked for the Cuban people and it harms the economy of Florida, said Brendan Gilfillan, spokesperson for the electoral campaign of Crist, who will again run for governor of the Southern US state.

Crist is one of the growing group of US legislators, entrepreneurs and members of US civil society who have urged president Barack Obama and the US Congress to lift the sanctions imposed on Havana to topple the Cuban political system.

Last February Crist gave the media a communiqué saying that the coercive policy imposed for over 50 years has not yielded fruit and it was time to lift the ineffective measure.

The democrat said that if Washington lifts the blockade it will allow farmers, manufactures and the construction industry in Florida to sell their products and services to Cuba, which would boost the local economy and create new jobs.

Crist, who was governor of Florida as a Republican from 2007 to 2011, will run in November against Rick Scott, who will try to be reelected from the Republican Party.

A recent poll by the Atlantic Council’s Latin American Center revealed that over 60 percent of US citizens is in favor of a change in the US policy on Cuba.

The international community has rejected the blockade and demanded its lifting for the past 22 years in a row at the UN General Assembly. The US measure, imposed in 1962 has inflicted damage to the Cuban people, estimated at over one trillion 157.3 billion dollars.