New York Times
(Editorial)
February 21, 1958. p. 8.
There is much discussion in and out of Cuba of the Presidential and congressional elections that are supposed to be held on June 1. Considering the state of ferment in Cuba, the rebellion that covers the whole eastern third of the island, the incessant bombings, hangings, arrests and sabotage, and the protests of groups of all kinds against the elections and the Government, it is hard to see how valid elections can be held.
In order for an election anywhere to make sense there has to be a state of law, order and freedom. Cuba has none of these qualifications. There is an obvious lack of such things as an amnesty for all political prisoners, immunity for the return of political exiles, guarantees of freedom of assembly and political campaigning, a revision of the electoral rolls and provisions to insure secrecy, neutral supervision and fair counting of the votes. As things stand, none of these measures is being taken. The only candidates are pro-Batista men plus a few discredited oppositionists with little popular following. The same army and police leaders against whom the island is in partial rebellion will run the election.
It also is an unhappy but inescapable fact that none of the real opponents of the regime—the Twenty-sixth of July Movement, the Revolutionary Directorate, the Federation of University Students, the Autentico Organization, the Civic Resistance Movement and the major figures among the exiles—would trust President Batista and his followers to hold a fair election or abide by it if it went against them.
Such being the case, it was dangerous of American Ambassador Earl E. T. Smith in his press interview at the State Department in January to come out in favor of “acceptable elections.” This was interpreted by all opponents of General Batista as a move favoring the regime-which it was surely not intended to be.
A point has been reached in the Cuban struggle where there is nothing helpful that the United States or any outside country or agency can do. Only Cubans can settle the tragic conflict dividing them.