of the gall was accused of using funds from the former colonies to fund his campaign. in france, a 15 member, special court tries legal cases against politicians and power activists say the system is the latest and fair because 12 of the 15 members are in peace and only 3 are judges, french, andy, corruption, association, antique, or, has a 150 cases against politicians for alleged corruption and says it's been fighting to restore ethics for 2 decades, according to a recent pool, more than half a french people think that politicians are corrupt. you foresee so cruise the penalties and quote little you the gap is getting wider between the ruling class and french citizens who cannot understand why politicians who are accused of several charges. what do not have to resign in the past. politicians stepped aside until the trials were over. that's no longer the case. for the present sack was ease back in court in 2023. he's expected to deny wrongdoing and allegations of corruption. but it will take more than words for much of the french public to start

believing their politicians are honest from a job without a 0 paris. ah, this is al jazeera, these are the top stories given mccarthy's bid to become us. house speaker is now the longest voting process in a 164 years these alive pictures. after 3 days, the lever rounds, the republican has failed to get support from hard line party members who are blocking his bed. another round of voting is taking place now, and miss a unilateral cease fire announced by president vladimir putin has come into effect in ukraine as, according to russian state television. it coincides with the orthodox christmas holiday, but ukraine's leader has dismissed the 36 hour pause and fighting their accusations on both sides of continue strikes and shelling. charles stratford is in care of with more. that is reported by the into fact roches state media. they are quoting,

the russian defense ministry is saying that russian positions of come under attack in various locations along the eastern front line in lou ganske, dawn exc. and in the upper is your of course, we have no way of independently verifying this information, but it would be consistent with what we know was a rejection of this cease fire by the ukrainians present zalinski. calling this a cynical ploy, giving the chew tea to russians, potentially to move men and equipment closer to the front lines. israeli government says it will impose punitive measures against the palestinian authority outward approach. the un over the occupation of thursday, the un security council held an emergency session after the intrusion into the alex and mos compound bi israel's national security minister. the secretary general of the p aloe says the measures equate to piracy of palestinians. money or my thing

for me, chinese authorities of urged people to limit the number of trips and gatherings ahead of the lunar new year because of the rising cove in 19 cases. but they stopped short of banning travel altogether. china is facing scrutiny over its surgeon infections. at least 29 people have been killed on the streets of clark are in mexico following the arrest of a powerful cartel leader of india, guzman. lopez, is the son of the jail drug. lord l. chapper. you're up to date, those are the headlines. the news continues here on out or 0 after inside story ah, a record number of cubans left their homeland last year to get into the united

states. the president joe biden is bringing in laws to make that harder for most of them. so what's causing this mass exodus and can conditions change for the people of cuba? this is inside story. ah hello there and welcome to the program. i'm laura kyle. cuba saw as largest departure of people last year since fidel castro's revolution in the 1950s most headed for the us over the border with mexico along with many thousands from other countries. migration has become something of a political crisis for the white house. and president joe biden has announced new measures. more visas will be granted for some going through official channels. but those who simply turn up at the border will be immediately turned away to level

reports from miami. ah, a new year new arrivals and a new plan by president joe biden aimed at slowing the rising tide of migrants trying to answer the us illegally. today, my administration is taking several steps to stiff an enforcement for those who try to come without a legal right to stay. and to put in place a faster processor, i was as a faster process to decide a claim of asylum. that you measure would create a legal opiate narrow pathway for the growing number of cubans, nicaraguans and haitians making their way north of to $30000.00 migrants a month. those with sponsors and to pass background checks will be allowed into the us to live and to work the 2 years. but they will have to travel by plane. if they try to smuggle themselves in by land or by say, and get caught, they will be bought. this week, the arrival of hundreds of migrants from cuba forced the closure of a national park of the coast of florida. on thursday, they were moved to the u. s,

milan and another measure a bit reducing the number of illegal migrants. the u. s. is just resumed visa concert at services in cuba. it's hoping more people will follow this legitimate route instead. if you are in a burning building, it does not seem right to say, but before you jump from the 2nd floor, please go to your computer, get on mine schedule an interview, go to the conflict, come back to the burning building. wait for a couple of months and then you can jump right when somebody has to flee to be alive, they have to flee, and our systems have to honor and recognize that context. the new policy has the land border firmly and its sites. but in florida, where the border is at the water, the question is, how will it work here? all di, economic conditions in cuba. lastly to blame for the populations master parcher. more than 220000 cubans arrived at the border between the us and mexico over the past year. that still is 6 times as many in the previous year. many have fled

because of sources and food medicine and power. after former president donald trump tightened sanctions on cuba in 2019 a trade embargo brought in by president john f. kennedy has also been in place for 60 years. the pandemic had a devastating impact on cuba tourism industry. it was a vital source of revenue that came to a standstill. and in july 2021, the biggest protest since cuba revolution in the late 19 fifties broke out over the government's handling of the economic crisis and the pandemic. the widespread crackdown that followed added to those wanting to leave. ah, let's bring in our guests now. rosa maria pyre, founder of cuba, decide a movement to change political and economic systems in cuba towards democracy. she joins us from miami, helen yappy as senior electra in economic and social history at the university of

glasgow. she joins us from her. and joining us via skype from washington. d. c is andrew seeley, he's president of the migration policy institute. i one welcome to all of you, rosa maria, we outlined there some of the reasons why people leave cuba so called push factors . but why did we see such a rise in numbers over the past year? well, we have a strain, it's not only economical prices, they each season in the, in the going to have been doing that in the last year or, and medicines in the pharmacy. they have, they have to find for medical attention people in many, many we're going to start in. but under the impression and increase and increase,

we say that there are more than $1000.00 a year. if you all a know that we have while we're talking about me, you know that the only thing that for me is to, well, in that a why that people e k, a r a means it say, wait a day, you know, people in the matter that actually in the last year,

at least 3000 profit being but there were more brought it in september last year that you like 2021 on that you know what that is? not b now ray. so go to bomb and they are in november of 2021. when the, if you only care she a law, i remove that. he says, for a few months from that day to deal. now i know there's plenty to any why jill and december last year, more than more than $267000.00 view, the border of the we are coming up more than 2 percent. even population

escaping ever escaping there. but all being, well now i do know the math on a day you go and do blood pressure over the u. s. government and yeah, been doing that stands for 60 ok under before we address many of those are the points that raise. maria brought up the i just want to make clear this nicaragua element because it did seem to be a key factor in the past years. migration push wasn't at this opening up of transit between cuba and nicaragua. the fact that cubans could leave to correct you without a visa or easily obtain a visa and then travel by land across the u. s. this was a major route for cubans to be able to take yes, this has become the principal route. i mean, we have seen some people leaving on my boat as well, directly from cuba,

but the primary route has been people find in nicaragua because they no longer need to be. and there are charter companies that have started doing multiple flights a day from, from that to another place, actually to, to managua. and then people hire a smuggler and head or sometimes go on their own for pieces of entire smuggler, for pieces in head up to the us border until yesterday us was allowing almost all cubans in. there's also no deportation agreement with you. but right now, as part of the many problems in relation to the diplomatic relationship between the 2 countries. so you have a situation where somebody is that where people are desperate, where people, you know, have lost hope in the future of the country. and economic situation is bad, little situation is bad. you have the possibility of getting out. there's a route that opened up and you know, if you make it to us, we're in there. the danger is, you know, i mean, this is a dangerous journey. even with the smuggler, there's lots of danger from organized crime. but if you make it to the us border,

at least until yesterday, we were pretty much assured of getting into the united states and that there was a lot of people really to take a she said more than 2 percent of population at risk. why do you think cuba and the curriculum test to open up that rate you know, it, it could be, you can read it one of 2 ways and they are not mutually exclusive. i mean, one is the nicaraguan needed human tourism, which is probably true at the end of it. i mean, they were desperate also for, for tourists and, and human tours are important for our work. but look, i, you know, both the cuban in nicaragua, governance are also looking to leverage their relationship, leverage migration in the relationship with u. s. government. and they're figuring that the more this becomes a, a bigger crisis are politically in the united states for joe biden. then they will probably be able to negotiate something with them. i think it is worked out for you . there are talks going on in may not be just because of this, but there have been going on between us in cuba. does not seem to work out for or

any ortega in nicaragua, that's not going anywhere. but i'm sure whether that was the original intention or not. it certainly became a side benefit and it may well have been part of the original legend is knowing that this one would cause political havoc in the u. s. and would bring the u. s. to negotiate, alan, do you see the major push fact as being as res maria says, people escaping tara, getting away from a dictatorship or is it the economic factors, the die economic conditions that people are living and without hope of them improving in the near future? what is the major push back to that from cuba? there is no doubt that most of these are enormous migrants as they all over latin america. and i mean, you know, here in britain we also have a massive increase in illegal immigration from people who are desperate to improve their life. now at the top of this, you have a price on someone talking about will have being on fire. but we should step back

a little and say, well, who has the cuban house on via and the cuban house has being set on fire? as you said in your introduction, not just through the most comprehensive and longer enduring of sanctions, of sanctions regime against one single country. that's the united states located against cuba. but since 2019, the trump administration pursued a maximum pressure strategy in order to make life unbearable cubans and i agree with that. there was scarcity, your basic medicine. and this is the country which is prior to the topic capacity to produce almost 70 percent of the medicines it consumes domestically. so you have this terrible guy called me. you have to be leading figure in biotech sector, the only country in latin america and the caribbean. was the capacity to parade its

own kind of 19 back, but then on able for several months to administer that same which was linked to the 11th of july process, which is also mentioned because it couldn't access syringes. why? because the global syringe production is dominated by the united states. now the extent of sanctions has become absolutely suffocating cookie. but so let me give you a little example. i'm a british citizen in britain. if i send a one time transaction to a european bank account using the what that transaction is currently blocked. so you know, the question is, with these shortages, how can you by get the necessities that the cuban people are accustomed to having? i'm need when they can use the international financial system because all sanctions, so it's a very complicated problem, but we need to look pools and not just unreason. maria,

to what extent do you agree with that, that united states sanctions? it's longstanding, trade embargo, all of this has created the cube that we have today and created the situation that is pushing so many people to leave. well, i don't, i don't what i'm medicine for. that is that it wasn't bad. actually they do that. and then a united states, you know, united nations united states, and i believe that also offer cuba by either now doing a more hi thomas in the human with that help because they, they keep going. people. is that what they show in the moment they refuse these things? they're not being and they don't,

they're a fun that actually they know i, they both are the longest a, b, b i used to use that. is them by my addition to everybody that is, wow, this fun right now, if you, if you've ever been the man in the say i get in the house possible, you say a leader may have that. now, why are they in that? and then you know, in the, in bible they are demanding the end of the day. and the end of the day we

are, you know, we have the right to the side. i did you sign a bicycle dictatorship for more than 60. i'm just going to jump in the room or if they get a chance to respond because she has a point, doesn't she? let's look at the recent protests in 2021. up to 700. i rested from those protests in human rights. i was actually i, i was in cuba, 11th of july, i believe that maria was, and i've written about my experience and also about these phenomenal many media manipulation that happened. and there was a plaque to flow from somebody as an organization that seems to have been prepared for those demonstrations. and there's a lot of evidence back. yeah about,

you know, the, we have to, we have to recognize that the united states congress. and this is code, but i would definitely agree funds and $20000000.00 every year, but what they call democracy promotion regime. now the cubans of calls cool this regime change regime. but we have to recognize that that's a lot of money i'm. it is being challenge to channels to people who are proponent over transition to democracy at, sorry, i transition to capitalism because i only need the double you if you're going to go for each other. i'm already of lightly different debates and the one that we thought about from we're not going to be debating regime change in queue, but let's just have them just one moment. so i want to bring in and try and get the

conversation back a little bit onto migration because we still need to look at the u. s. changing policy towards people who want to go to the u. s. and andrew, let's ask a very basic question here. should mass migration be brought to an end or shouldn't be encouraged? what is the right on the if people want to leave cuba, should they be allowed to, or should they be stopped? and yeah, it's a complicated question. it depends on who you ask. i mean, i, you know, i think you could, a lot of cubans would like to leave you know, on the other hand, the u. s. ready political system, you know, at some point, reaches a breaking point when there's a perception that there is no order at the border. and so that, you know, there is a, you know, there's conflicting ideas. i think there's a lot of people leave you to leave freely and go where they wish, but in the end, countries are the other thing that changed. let me just go back to the migration

part. i mean, the thing that change is that the u. s. closed down, it's console it a few years ago. actually before the 2900 sanctions. this was somewhat separate. it was part of the hardening of the policy for you, but it was also result of the specific incident where a lot of u. s embassy employees and culture employees were, were getting headaches and mysterious illness. and no one universe caused by the yes was down. what that meant is, per year, is there existed legal pathways for humans to get to united states, a lottery, $20000.00 humans a year to go through a watery united states. another $45000.00 a year. we're going to the diversity visa and, and many more. we're actually going through family additions, right, people being, being requested by family members to get a green card to come to united states. so there are lots of reasons for humans to wait around for their legal turn. it states getting the pro down is all the legal pathways. right. and so yesterday to actually 2 days ago, the u. s. restarting counselor processing in havana. it remains to be seen how

effective this will be. i mean i, i think if you see that the u. s. is, is, again, processing people, not just the program. and i was yesterday that actually is only minor cubans. but the lottery system, the family reunification, b, l. a sponsorship system which allows people waiting for their, their family unification petition to come to the us earlier in the diversity says, many people might be willing to wait for legal term because there are legal trends to cut. what are, what happened is people lost the legal opportunity come to the u. s. nicaragua, open the process to come to nicaragua without a b, d. u. s. wasn't returning people and people that look, things are really bad. this is my time to go on and i don't have another alternative. i'm going now. that's the help that would you agree with that, that the opening of the counseling office there in about it? it's a step, isn't it? in the right direction. if you're looking to improve relations between cuba and the u. s. yes, i have 2 things that i wanted to add. i mean,

they respect huge full factor for cubans going to the united states. so they have something called cuban adjustment, which is pulse and, and $966.00 and updated a decade later. and basically, it says, but, and any cuban arriving in the united states legally own all legal entry, hold or not. and so on and off the one year you know, claim that residency in the united states now they all the enemy, citizens around the wells that have that privilege. and it's a very big pullback period. also, mean there are many cubans settled in the united states. so when time get hot, they have the capacity to lead. many of the cubans had left in our parents, had time to cuba, had started to invest in small businesses and so on. during the brief approach, mom time the, the by my, my wife will buy them with my president. and the other thing is that they have the, the full, the keep them the united states west. they won the united states, agreed to supply $20000.00 visas for cubans. travelling to states,

all sorts of reasons and they've never really met that target. but in the last 5 years is as the speaker was saying, they basically closed on the coast and not being issuing not issuing visa. so there . 7 are some very simple sets but could be taken by the us administration. this is one very small one, but it taking them a long time by then, you know, many people thought that he would revive the trunk measures and go back to the policy. and indeed, he suggested that campaign during his campaign electro campaign, but he hasn't done that. he's taken, you know, this is an important step. but there's a huge fan of a people who want to go and see a relative or even scientist trying to enter that goal. and so i have conferences and cooperation, academic culture and so on. it's all being frozen and it's creat, see that backlog and association of people who may have very in also personal

reasons or intellectual scientific reasons to go to the united states and haven't been able to. and that is why i talk about ha, the house being set on fire, because the sanctions have created this economic hardship. and then, you know, if anyone is using cuban migrate, migrants as a whole, arguably the united states, which i've been fulfilling it. ok, rosa maria. what do you welcome these changes the of the biden administration, allowing and 30000 people a month, but expelling another 30000 people who don't have the correct paperwork? do you welcome the opening of the counseling office and havana, the improvement of ties? is that something that you that many in the diaspora want to see happen? for many years now, especially since we have been rising our voice.

i donder, situations that you have a feeling it when you do it by food or when you do it by the c is equal or so in that are they all you need to be able to in a safe way is something that we see. we don't know, i don't i don't think i was anyone actually that get a sounding board? is it in a humane where we have to understand that and in this case people is kate, it's escaping for at least what, what they cannot leave a is in that i'm going to get

with me that they all been in new ways. they albany a is not, that's not to say that it could be. the problem is got it. and this because the real conflict is not to be doing a review and the next day or that we have is between a whole nation. think somebody that wants to be free, that was there anything that had been denied for more than 6. ok if they go that they want to hell, they to decide that help in the math or reading a course. let me know that by now i, we do apologize. we do have to leave it. then we may have to leave it on

disagreement as to why people want to leave cuba, but perhaps agreement that people must be allowed to do it, should they want to in a humane fashion. thank you very much, rosemary pyre, haven't daffy and andrew silly for joining us today on our discussion. thank you and thank you to, for watching, you can see the program again any time by visiting our website. that's al jazeera dot com, and to further discussion, do go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com forward slash ha inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter, handle it at a j inside story for me, laura kyle and the whole team here. it's bye for now. ah

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