Obama: ‘We Have a Clear Monument to What the Cuban People Can Build; It’s Called Miami’

“And today I want to share with you my vision of what our future can be. I want the Cuban people, especially the young people, to understand why I believe that you should look to the future with hope, not the false promise which insists that things are better than they really are, or the blind optimism that says all your problems can go away tomorrow. Hope that is rooted in the future that you can choose, and that you can shape and that you can build for your country. 

I’m hopeful because I believe that the Cuban people are as innovative as any people in the world. In a global economy powered by ideas and information, a country’s greatest asset is its people. In the United States we have a clear monument to what the Cuban people can build; it’s called Miami. Here in Havana, we see that same talent in ‘cuentapropistas’ cooperatives and old cars that still run.”