2024-07-03 21:56:29
Foto: Shutterstock
Text: Hugo Leon
Two old acquaintances will face each other this Thursday with their sights set on the US presidency: Donald Trump and Joe Biden, who will have their first debate of the current electoral contest.
As 9pm approaches, the scheduled time for the televised debate, supporters of both contenders, analysts and reporters are rubbing their hands. The latter, knowing that this will be a no-holds-barred event that will make headlines, while voters, because they know that this debate has a high weight in the future of the presidential elections.
For analysts, this is the moment of truth, as there are less than five months left until the elections and the candidates will have time to talk about key issues such as the economy and migration.
Others believe that it will be a dialogue with few concrete proposals and many attacks, even of a personal nature.
The truth is that since emigration is one of the topics on the table, Cubans find the debate just as important as even the most American of Americans.
The future of hundreds of thousands of Cubans who have arrived in the United States in recent years, and of many others who are waiting in Mexico and even in Cuba, will depend on the proposals that the candidates outline.
It is estimated, for example, that more than 300,000 Cubans are waiting on the island for confirmation of humanitarian parole, a Biden policy that many believe could disappear depending on the outcome of the elections.
This time, and unlike previous debates between the two politicians, the microphones will be muted throughout the debate, except for the candidate whose turn it is to speak, and there will be no audience during the live broadcast.
On the other hand, this debate will go down in history as the first between a sitting president and a former president. As if that were not enough, it is the first time that a candidate convicted of federal crimes will be running for office.
Whatever happens in this presidential debate, including any mistakes, will take its toll on the candidates in an increasingly polarized country that does not allow anyone to make predictions.