Starting today, hundreds of thousands of descendants of Spaniards who went into political exile around the world will be able to petition for Spanish citizenship under the provisions of a law intended as reparation for past injustices.
In Havana, hundreds of people have been standing in line since Thursday outside the Spanish Embassy to obtain the necessary application forms.
Estimates indicate that some 200,000 Cubans on the island could be eligible for Spanish citizenship.
In South Florida, where about 1.3 million naturalized U.S. citizens of Hispanic origin reside, Santiago Cabanas, Spanish consul general in Miami, said he believes that thousands may petition for citizenship, especially among the Cuban and Venezuelan communities.
It is estimated that 500,000 to 1 million people around the world could benefit from the so-called “Law of Grandchildren” approved in December 2007 to grant the rights of citizenship to the descendants of Spaniards who were exiled for political reasons.
