Spanish Citizenship Attracts 10,000 Cubans
HAVANA TIMES, December 30 – Some 10,000 persons in Cuba have begun the paperwork to acquire Spanish citizenship since a law that confers that status to descendants of Spaniards exiled during the 1936-1939 civil war or under the subsequent dictatorship of Francisco Franco came into force on December 22, reported IPS citing sources from the Spanish consulate in Havana.
This is very fascinating news! I was recently in Colombia and I noticed grafitti with “Que se vayan los espanoles” or “Boot out the Spaniards.” According to a group of youth I approached, I was told that the reason why Latin America is the way it is because of the Spaniards and their legacy. Some went as far as to claim that they– “the Spaniards”– never left power, and added that there were only two exceptions of countries with leaders of non-Spanish descent, Benito Juarez in Mexico (from the 19th century), and Evo Morales of Bolivia (current President). The news of 10,000 Cubans claiming to be descendants of Spaniards made me think hard and seriously about the young people’s comments.