[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 198 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H9629-H9630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            CUBA AND BOLIVIA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Barr). The Chair recognizes the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, 2 weeks ago, a human rights activist 
in my native homeland of Cuba, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, better known as 
Antunez, was detained in Cuba on his way to the airport. Antunez was 
going to speak at an event hosted by Freedom House and Justice Cuba, 
right here in D.C., to educate the public on the brutal realities of 
what continues to occur every day in Cuba.
  But, instead, Raul Castro sent his thugs to detain Antunez and 
prevent him from boarding the plane. The regime promised Antunez that 
he could travel if he only ``tempered his activism.''
  Mr. Speaker, anyone who knows Antunez, who spent many a year in 
Castro's jails, knows that he will not abandon his principles, nor 
should he ever be forced to do so.
  As Antunez always says, ``Ni me callo, ni me voy,'' which means, ``I 
won't stay silent and I won't leave.'' He is talking about his activism 
in Cuba.
  Mr. Speaker, the Castro regime wants to paint a picture that people 
on the island are free, that human rights abuses do not exist in Cuba, 
but we know better. That is why there continues to be, every day, 
arbitrary arrests and beatings to stop dissidents and activists from 
speaking out--that is the menu every day--reminding the world that what 
these activists want is freedom. That is really what transpires in 
Castro's Cuba for dissidents.
  Our message to those brave fighters for freedom in Cuba must be that 
we are listening to their plight, that we will stand with them in 
opposing Castro's evil rule, and that we have not forgotten about them 
or their continued fight for freedom and democracy.
  So I urge this administration to continue to undo the damage done by 
the previous administration and their failed policy toward Cuba. I urge 
the administration to offer unequivocal support for the brave Cuban 
people, like Antunez. They deserve our unwavering support, and they 
deserve our solidarity so that the people of Cuba achieve what they 
have been seeking for decades, and it is simple, Mr. Speaker: freedom, 
democracy, respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law, free 
and open markets, and liberty from communism.
  Mr. Speaker, in Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, leftist dictators 
refuse to follow the rule of law, circumventing or ignoring completely 
their constitutions in order to maintain their hold in power. This 
practice has now spread to Bolivia, where strongman Evo Morales is 
taking a page from this playbook.
  Less than 2 years ago, in 2016, Morales imposed a constitutional 
referendum to eliminate term limits for Presidents so that he could run 
for a third term.
  But what happened in Bolivia?
  The majority of the people said no. They went to the ballot box and 
they rejected this by a vote through a referendum.
  What did Morales do?
  He went to the court system that he has already rigged in his favor 
to seek the outcome that he desired. And, sure enough, his spineless 
cronies granted him his wish and approved his illegitimate run for a 
fourth term, agreeing that it was his human right--the only right, 
apparently, that is respected in Bolivia--to run for another term, 
ignoring completely the human rights of millions who voted to uphold 
their laws under their constitution.
  The court's decision last week to lift constitutional limits on 
reelection should be disturbing to all of us and should serve as a 
wake-up call throughout the hemisphere. If we don't pay attention to 
Bolivia, it will soon become another Cuba or another Venezuela--failed 
states.

  The decision to allow Morales to run for yet another term further 
erodes the democratic institutions in that country.
  Sadly, this was not the first time that Morales or his thugs have 
chipped

[[Page H9630]]

away at Bolivia's democratic foundations in order to remain in power. 
In 2013, the constitutional court allowed him to run for a third term, 
stating that his first term didn't count--do-over, mulligan--because it 
occurred before the 2009 constitution took effect. What a farce.
  This was obviously a cynical, political ploy, and should have served 
as the harbinger of worse things to come for Bolivia, and indeed it 
was, not to mention the ruling falls outside of the court's mandate to 
interpret and evaluate compliance with the constitution.
  Responsible nations in our hemisphere, Mr. Speaker, must not remain 
silent, nor should this esteemed body. We must speak out in the support 
of the people of Bolivia to democratically elect their next leader.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in support of the 
Bolivian people before there is another crisis of democracy right in 
our hemisphere.

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