Ecuador Tries To Cut Cuban Immigrants
HAVANA TIMES, March 29 — In an effort to put a break on the increase in convenience marriages, a way used by many Cubans to emigrate, the government of Ecuador will now require a temporary visa for foreigners wanting to marry in this South American country.
The announcement came from Eduardo Barrera, director of Foreign Immigration. The number of Cubans marrying Ecuadorians increased from 88 in 2007 to 1,542 in the first nine months of 2009. An estimated that 15 percent of those marriages were considered false, reported IPS.
Why should this be an issue between ALBA countries? The goal should be to treat ALBA as a federation. This ecuadoran ministry does not appear to have got that memo. And maybe that is intentional too — as all the ALBA countries have anti-ALBA/socialist elements working in their governments.
And if cubans want to leave their country — for whatever reason besides imperialist intrigue — it would be wrong to stop them. And then shady legal dodges like this one would not have any logic to them anymore, would they?