Malliotakis says Cuomo’s trip to Cuba is a mistake
Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, whose mother Veralia left Cuba in 1959 to escape the Castro regime, is highly critical of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s trade mission to that country, charging that the idea of promoting trade will fall flat.
“I do not understand the purpose of this trade mission or see any concrete benefit for the State of New York, aside from perhaps small agricultural trade with the Castro regime for its monthly food rations. Due to the dual currency system, the Cuban people possess little to no purchasing power,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “There is the Cuban Peso, the currency the government pays its citizens, and the Convertible Peso, the currency in which most goods are denominated and sold. The average Cuban worker earns 250 pesos a month, the equivalent of USD $10. However, most stores, whether touristic or not, sell goods in the much stronger Convertible Peso. It is for this reason that many Cubans rely on their family residing outside of Cuba, as mine relies on me to provide the basic essentials such as aspirin, shaving razors, and shampoo.”
Malliotakis (R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) had earlier expressed her disapproval when President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. government would take steps to normalize relations with Cuba.