• Group of 40 women from Washington state who are leaders in social,
                   economic and professional spheres

                   BY GABRIEL MOLINA

                   "IF you start opening doors for food and agricultural and medical
                   products, I think that’s going to lead to a broader awareness in the
                   United States about why we should change our relationship," U.S.
                   Senator Mary Cantwell recently told Granma International. The
                   congresswoman arrived in Havana on January 14, at the head of a
                   group of women leaders from her home state of Washington.

                   National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcón described the 40-strong
                   group as "one of the most important to have come from the United States.
                   Political delegations that visit Cuba receive more press coverage in their
                   nation, but this group is very important because it consists of representatives
                   from Washington’s civil society. It is a female delegation involved in politics,
                   in a concrete struggle to improve the quality of life, society and the environment.

                   "The senator is a woman who was born
                   just before the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. This reflects
                   something important, for the majority of the people living in the
                   United States today had not yet been born or were children when the
                   blockade and the other forms of aggression began. She has a very
                   clear position, and is very consistent in seeking normal relations
                   between the two countries."

                   A member of the delegation, real estate attorney Rosanne Lapan,
                   explained that the delegation consists of members of the Center for
                   Women and Democracy, at the University of Washington, along with
                   other interested women from Washington state.

                   The Center aims "to create networking with women leaders in other
                   countries around the world and to help create trade and promote
                   women as leaders in their countries." This is their first trip to Cuba
                   and they are interested in initiating better relations that will enable
                   them to carry out business on the island.

                   The trip’s organizer, Laurie McDonald Johnson, is the founding chair
                   of the women’s organization that travels to various nations, "so that
                   we can form a chain and learn from each other." She visited the
                   island "a little over a year ago" and is very interested in the strides
                   made by Cuban women; she hopes that this visit will establish better
                   understanding with them. The group has recently visited Poland, the
                   Czech Republic and Hungary, and has come here to meet with
                   women leaders in business, social services, political affairs and other
                   sectors.

                   "It’s very impressive in Cuba how women have progressed, how
                   women have risen to powerful positions, and so that’s one reason
                   why we would like to be in Cuba. As the relationships start to
                   strengthen between the United States and Cuba – and hopefully the
                   embargo is gone soon – we would like to have women at the table
                   to discuss how we have trade negotiations."

                   As for the makeup of the delegation, "We have various leaders –
                   businesswomen that are leaders in the shipping industry, in the
                   biotech industry, leading doctors in our country, educators, scientists,
                   lawyers, real estate investors, transportation commissioners, an
                   architect¼ "

                   "When we created this distinguished delegation to come to Cuba, I
                   asked the senator if she would lead it. We have two senators from
                   our state, both women and both Democrats."

                   Referring to Senator Cantwell, Johnson explained, "She’s a
                   businesswoman herself, in the technology field¼ very successful¼ ..
                   She also is very much for eliminating this embargo with Cuba, and
                   she is spearheading, especially, bringing in agricultural products from
                   the United States. In Washington state we have apples, wine, many
                   products that would be interesting for Cuba, and we could import and
                   export our products together.

                   "We’ve made some fantastic contacts," she stated, noting that they
                   had already met with Vilma Espín, president of the Federation of
                   Cuban Women; Concepción Campa, director of the Finlay Institute;
                   and Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, a meeting she described as
                   "very good."

                   Senator Cantwell, who was elected last year, added, "It’s important
                   that we allow agricultural and medical products to be shipped to a
                   variety of countries around the world, including Cuba. We’ve basically
                   made that decision, but have not allowed for private financing, which
                   very much limits Cuba’s access to food and medicine, and I think that
                   we should change that¼ I hope that we will take up that task this
                   year, 2002."

                   Evaluating the opinions in the upper house about normalizing
                   relations with Cuba, Cantwell noted that there has been no
                   calculation of how many senators feel one way or another. However,
                   when a bill was presented that would have allowed private financing
                   for agricultural and medicine sales to Cuba, attempts to exclude that
                   provision were defeated by a majority of 61 votes. "So there were
                   61 senators who said, ‘Let’s go further than our current relationship
                   with Cuba.’

                   "We have a delegation with 40 women from my state, and those
                   women want to see these products and a relationship develop
                   further. We had a conversation today [with Foreign Minister Pérez
                   Roque]¼ that was a positive exchange of views.

                   "I think we’re at a time when our countries need to work closer
                   together. I’m glad that Cuba is providing some structural support to
                   our need to deal with terrorists at Guantánamo. I think that we
                   should look at our relationship and figure out now, in these times of
                   tough economies for both our country and yours, how we might
                   work together to further commerce."

                   As our conversation came to an end, Cantwell emphasized: "I’m
                   very impressed with the women we met today from the Cuban
                   Federation of Women, and women that we met in the cabinet."

                   Another visitor, Barbara Lindsay, summarized the attitude of the
                   delegation: "When we get home from our delegation meetings and
                   we want to end our country’s embargo against Cuba, we laugh and
                   we say, ‘Perhaps it will take just 40 women to do something that
                   nine U.S. presidents could not do.’"

                   Alarcón told GI, "These women are impressed with Cuba, which is a
                   mystery to them. For their generation, which is young with regard to
                   the conflict between the two countries, this is a different reality.
                   They’re not part of the past and are working for change."