837.00/3203
The Chargé in Cuba (Reed) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 16.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that a feeling of optimism as to the possibilities of reaching an understanding between the Government and the opposition elements has emerged from the acts and declarations of representative members of both factions during the last week or ten days.
President Machado and other spokesmen of his Administration, such as Senator Viriato Gutiérrez, have strongly emphasized in published statements the need for concerted action if the country is to be saved from an economic collapse, and these appeals have found a hearty response in all sectors of the Cuban press.
The Government’s first really concrete gesture of conciliation toward the opposition was the release from prison of 4 Orthodox Conservative Congressmen on November 4, which I reported in my despatch No. 920 of November 5, 1931.39 The succeeding day Ex-Senator Ricardo Dolz, one of the principal opposition leaders, was set at liberty, and subsequently a score or more of less important political prisoners were released.
When the House of Representatives met on November 9, the Orthodox Conservatives, with the exception of the 4 who had just been released from jail, were in their seats after an absence lasting since before the August insurrection, and while it is true that their leader Carlos Manuel de la Cruz, in a speech from the floor denied that the release of his colleagues constituted any really important step in the direction of a political rapprochement, he nevertheless laid great stress upon the imperative necessity of reaching an accord.
In the Senate, on November 10, the committees of the three parties held an informal meeting at which it was resolved to expedite consideration of the constitutional reform bill. Informal discussion of the provisions of the bill by the party groups began on November 11 and is expected to continue throughout the present week. It is announced that the formal debate on each article will probably commence next week.
The newspapers report from day to day meetings between persons representing the divergent political points of view and although the subjects discussed thereat are entirely a matter of conjecture, the fact that such conferences are taking place, coupled with the other factors already mentioned, creates an impression that a serious effort is now [Page 78] being made to arrive at some kind of an adjustment of the conflicting political interests.
The repeated failures of similar efforts during the past two years render it impossible to predict any measure of success in the present instance. It may, however, be said without risk of exaggeration that the desire for political peace is now stronger on both sides than it has been at any time during the last two years.
Respectfully yours,
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