A Sincere Appeal for Honest Leadership and Constructive Dialogue
Your Excellency the Prime Minister, During your visit to the Cape Verdean diaspora in the New England region, I write to you not with ill intent, but with deep frustration and concern - feelings shared by many who feel increasingly disconnected from the promises made and the realities experienced.
Mr. Prime Minister, why do you keep promising the diaspora progress, opportunities and reforms, when so little has been achieved? Don't you feel a minimum of responsibility, or even a spiritual duty, as a man of faith, for the countless unfulfilled promises that you repeat year after year?
Wouldn't it be more honest - and perhaps even more dignified - for you to sit down with us and admit that there is no real long-term plan for Cape Verde under your leadership? That the current political program, instead of focusing on transformative change, serves the interests of the few, leaving the majority behind?
Cape Verde is at a critical point. Our people continue to suffer because of two fundamental flaws: a precarious health system and a transportation network that isolates our islands and stagnates our economy. These are not abstract problems - they are realities that affect lives every day.
Why do foreign investors, especially from countries like China, receive preferential treatment, while Cape Verdeans in the diaspora - their own people - don't have access to the same incentives or opportunities to make a significant contribution to the country's economic future? If there were a level playing field, we could foster competition, innovation and lasting investment that would truly boost Cape Verde as a whole.
Mr. Prime Minister, I respectfully ask you to reconsider your approach. We don't need yet another prepared speech, read behind closed doors with paid tickets, organized by the consulate as if it were a travelling show. What we need is authentic dialogue - a genuine opportunity for Cape Verdeans abroad to engage directly with you, exchange ideas, present solutions and work together for the good of our nation.
It's time to lead with truth, humility and courage. And it's time to remember the people whose vote entrusted you with this responsibility in the first place.
Welcome,
Antonio Varela
Businessman and Advocate for the Cape Verdean Community in the USA
