One Dead and Two Seriously Injured by ‘Motorina’ Fire in Matanzas

The fire occurred in a building located on 9th street in the Camilo Cienfuegos district. (Twitter)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 20 September 2021 — A fire in a house in the city of Matanzas caused the death of a 19-year-old girl and wounded two, a 13-year-old boy and a 20-year-old young man. The authorities presume that the girl died as a result of the injuries left by the flames from the fire of a ‘motorina‘ — an electric motorbike — as was explained to the local press by sources from the Ministry of the Interior.

They also specified that at this time several forensics experts are processing the evidence that was collected to determine details of what happened in the property, located on 9th street, of the Popular Council of Pueblo Nuevo, in the Camilo Cienfuegos district.

The head of the Matanzas Fire Station, Captain Juan Michel Eckelson Aldana, explained that they received the call at 2:20 am but that upon arrival, the neighbors were already putting out the fire with their own resources. He said the rescue team was able to confirm a “high concentration of smoke, poor visibility, high temperatures and a high level of combustion in the area of the room.” continue reading

The rescue ended in the early hours of the morning and Aldana pointed out that the material losses are “significant.”

Dr. Raúl Moreno Peña, head of the Plastic Surgery and Burns Service at Comandante Faustino Pérez Hospital, reported that the young woman died at the scene of “severe burns, inhalation and suffocation.”

Regarding the 20-year-old patient, he specified that he has 63% of the body surface with burns and presents a “critical life-threatening” condition. A situation very similar to that of the 13-year-old boy, who is admitted to the intensive care unit of the Eliseo Noel Caamaño Pediatric Hospital, and who is in serious and life-threatening condition.

Last May, a fire in a motorina caused the death of three members of a single family in the city of Sancti Spíritus, including a seven-year-old boy. The vehicle, which was plugged in to charge the lithium battery, exploded inside the house. The accident became the most serious of its kind in Cuba, where these accidents are increasingly frequent. In 2019, 208 fires of electric motorcycles with lithium batteries were recorded, 164 of them serious and 44 minor.

With the transportation crisis, electric motorcycles with lithium batteries have become increasingly popular on the island, a phenomenon that has increased since the product is also offered in state stores in freely convertible currency. In the last year, 10,000 total units of 21 models have been marketed, including motorcycles, bicycles, scooters and electric tricycles.

Official investigations revealed that among the main causes of fire are reckless acts when charging electric motorcycles, for example leaving the lithium battery charger connected without the corresponding control, using inappropriate chargers, not cooling the motorcycle before charging it, replacing devices original to the electric motorcycle or the illegal manufacture of batteries.

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Cuban Artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara Again Declares a Hunger Strike

Otero Alcántara was arrested on Sunday July 11 and is accused of “attack,” “resistance” and “contempt.” (EFE)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 29 September 2021 — The artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been on a hunger strike since Monday, as confirmed by the San Isidro Movement (MSI), of which he is a part, this Wednesday.

“They confirm that Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara has been on a hunger strike since Monday, September 27. His body is weaker than ever, he has just been ill with coronavirus and is also weakened by previous strikes,” reads the tweet in which the collective reports the situation.

According to the MSI, the artist is asking for his release and that of all political prisoners. “We want him free NOW! Enough of injustices! Enough of sacrificing lives just for thinking differently!” the group demands in its message.

Otero Alcántara, the most visible head of the San Isidro Movement, has been in prison again since the protests of July 11. The artist is accused of public disorder, instigation to commit a crime and contempt, since he attended a birthday party in April in which the residents of the neighborhood where he resides ended up singing Patria y Vida.

The activist has been detained on numerous occasions since 2018, although the repression against him intensified in November 2020, when he began a hunger and thirst strike together with several activists to demand the release of rapper Denis Solís. The action ended with the invasion of the police on November 26 at the headquarters of the San Isidro Movement in Old Havana, where the members of the group were entrenched, and the arrest of the 14 activists who were inside the building.

This event prompted the protest of a group of artists and intellectuals on November 27 at the entrance of the Ministry of Culture to ask for solutions from the authorities of the sector. At that time, the confrontation between the protesters and the officials even ended up coming to blows.

At the end of April, Otero Alcántara once again declared a hunger and thirst strike to demand an end to the police siege of his home. State Security entered his home early in the morning and transferred him to the Calixto García Hospital, where he remained for a month controlled by the security forces without explanations.

In the middle of this month, the artist was named one of the 100 most influential people of the year by Time magazine.

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Cienfuegos and Guantanamo Join the Peaceful Marches of ’20N’ in Cuba

Image of the July 11 protests. (Capture)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2021 — The initiative of the Archipelago collective is getting more and more support in the main Cuban cities. The last to join the  demonstrations called for this coming November 20 (20N) are Cienfuegos and Guantánamo.

In the city of Cienfuegos, a dozen people presented the corresponding notification to Governor Alexandre Corona Quintero and the mayor of the City Council of the city, Mario Liván Abrahantes Quintero, for a march against violence and a demand that the rights of all Cubans be respected.

The demonstration will leave the intersection between Calzada and Gloria until it reaches [José] Martí Park, where it is planned that a wreath will be placed to the hero of national independence. The march will last about three hours, starting at 2:00 pm, and the presence of about 2,000 people is expected.

Like the previous calls, for Havana, Holguín and Santa Clara, the objective is also to demand freedom for political prisoners and the solution of differences between Cubans through democratic and peaceful means. In addition, it is noted in the text that the current Constitution does not prevent demonstrations and that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights considers the right to march without violence a basic right.

The text indicates, as its previous references, that the anti-covid regulations will be complied with and public order will be kept at all times and a response to the request is requested which, if not received, will be considered affirmative. continue reading

In Guantánamo they also delivered a similar document addressed to Mayor Yuni Silvente Calderín. The request was signed by nine people and specifies that the demonstration will begin on Flor Crombet and Oriente streets, and will culminate in Mariana Grajales Park. In addition, the participation of around 2,000 people is expected, the document points out.

This movement, which already comes from five Cuban provinces, has been joined by the Cuban Christian Democratic Party (PDC), which released a statement on Monday in which it expresses its support.

The party defends that the march has been “called in evident conformity with citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and association” recognized by national and universal legislation, and “urges the Government of Cuba to order that the country’s law enforcement agencies provide protesters due protection during the course” of it.

Furthermore, it asks the international community to express itself clearly and firmly regarding the Cuban people “who have been seeking for more than six decades to be able to peacefully exercise their democratic rights” and condemn the “campaign of discrediting and intimidation” that the authorities have been launched in recent days against the organizers of the march, mainly the artist Yunior García , the visible head of the Archipelago group.

The statement is signed by the president of the PDC, Andrés Hernández, and the three vice presidents of the party, among whom is Enix Berrio, the artist’s uncle, and the leader of the San Isidro Movement, Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, in prison since the anti-government demonstrations of  July 11.

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Number of Cuban Migrants Crossing the Darian Migrants Doubles

A group of Cubans during their journey through the Darien jungle in 2020. (Facebook)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Lorey Saman, Mexico, 27 September 2021 — Cuba is the country with the second most migrants (10,742) who have crossed into Panama through the Darien jungle in the first eight months of 2021. The only country that surpasses it, which is far ahead, is Haiti, with 43,623, according to statistics from the National Migration Service of that country.

Since last June, Haiti and Cuba report a considerable increase in irregular migration through Panamanian territory with the aim of reaching the United States. The Island, with 2,600 a month, doubled the average of those who entered each month between January and May.

The increase in the transit of Cubans through South and Central America is also reflected in the latest figures published by Mexico’s National Commission for Refugees (Comar). In total, 7,375 nationals of the Island have requested refuge, which are surpassed in this case by Honduras (29,699) and Haiti (18,883).

Given the delay in refugee processing in the city of Tapachula continue reading

, the land port of entry for migrants, in the south of the Mexican state of Chiapas, bordering Guatemala, many choose to continue north, moving through the country without documents.

The most recent were those that gathered by the thousands in the middle of this month under a bridge on the border that connects Ciudad Acuña, in Mexico, with Del Rio, in Texas. They were mostly Haitians, but there were also Cubans, Venezuelans and Nicaraguans, according to authorities’ reports.

In this regard, the Biden Administration announced last weekend that thousands of Haitians and other nationalities requesting asylum in that country have already been released into the United States.

Alejandro Mayorkas, Mexico’s secretary of National Security, told local media that at first 12,400 migrants were released and said that his office follows current law when determining whether to deport them or not. In addition to this figure, some 2,000 Haitians have been returned by plane to their country, 8,000 returned voluntarily to Mexico and 5,000 were transferred to US reception centers.

While the migratory crisis on the US border seems controlled for the moment, in the south of the continent, in Necoclí (Colombia), the tensions continue to center on the thousands of foreigners who crowd in that municipality while they wait to continue on their way to the US.

The authorities report that in that area there are around 20,000 people waiting to cross the Colombian border with Panama. With quotas restricted to 500 people a day, many will have to wait more than a month in this town on the Gulf of Urabá.

Wilfredo Francisco Menco, representative of the Public Defender of the People, told El Espectador that many migrants are in a very vulnerable situation because not everyone can rent a room and several have had to set up camps on the street. “These precarious conditions in which they live are generating health problems for them.”

Added to this are, among other problems, the shortage of drinking water and the increase in garbage production, which went from 15 to 45 tons per day. According to Canal RCN, the health system is on the verge of collapse due to the fact that the municipal hospital does not provide enough to care for locals and foreigners. In addition, the food that reaches the area is not enough to feed everyone.

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The ‘House of Preserves’ Falls a Few Days After Opening

A before and after in the presentation and quality of the products in the store located in the municipality of Cerro. (Collage)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 28 September 2021 — Almost three weeks after the inauguration of La Case de las Conservas (The House of Preserves), the products that the store sells today are far from the presentation and quality of those initially praised by authorities and the official press at the opening of the establishment.

This Tuesday one could find the Rial brand mayonnaise from that initial batch, which “is not of very good quality, but since it is the only one you can find, you have to buy it,” according to the shopper Alberto, a private sector worker in Havana speaking to 14ymedio. Apart from this sauce, one could also buy cumin, which had run out a few days after the market’s opening and that is once again for sale today, explains the customer.

Located in the Ayestarán neighborhood, between May 19th and Néstor Sardiñas streets, in the Cerro municipality, in Havana, the store specializes in “all kinds of preserves,” according to an article in the Havana Tribune. The official newspaper reported on September 12 that “there will be a permanence of products” that “will be controlled and regulated.”

As of days ago, at La Casa de las Conservas products such as jams and vinegar are now supplied by continue reading

mini-industries and not by state-owned factories which have higher production and quality. They arrive without labels, they only have a small paper tag attached with the description of the content and come in very rustic packaging, some buyers complain, although others, like Tania, don’t notice.

“We no longer look for attractiveness in shopping, what one tries to do is sort things out and that is why the huge line and killer conditions to continue to buy here,” the woman said with resignation. “But yes, there’s no longer ketchup or mustard or Taoro jam or VitaNova, which was the star product of this place,” she says.

The reluctance of customers also comes because food made in mini-industries is often far from the details printed on the labels. Tomato sauces mixed with beets to increase volume, tasteless pickles and sweets made with poor quality fruits are some of the most frequent criticisms of the production of these factories.

Customers also complain about long lines and say that every time merchandise arrives, no matter how little, they stop selling and until everything is downloaded and accounted for, marketing is not restarted. In addition, on several occasions they have demanded that the store workers place the notice board with the products that are dispensed in the window.

Since its inauguration, only one item from of each line can be purchased at La Casa de las Conservas and they scan the customer’s identity card “so that the same person does not buy again for a month,” a buyer complained on September 13.

According to various testimonies collected by 14ymedio, some people have arrived at the time when the 400 turns in line are distributed, at 5 am, and have not been able to enter until a day later. “The worst thing is that you cannot line up to buy a particular product, because it usually happens like in any other store, that things run out before your turn is due. That is why, after waiting so long, you have to buy whatever they have,” laments Alberto.

“Add to that that since your identity card has already been registered, if you don’t want to buy because the product you wanted ran out, you have to wait a month to buy again in the store.”

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Yunior Garcia Takes on Activism Against the Totalitarian, Abusive Power of the Cuban Regime

Artist Yunior García was one of the leaders of protests by intellectuals in front of the Ministry of Culture on November 27; he was also violently loaded onto a State Security truck during the historic events of 11J. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, Cuba | 27 September 2021 — For many years, Yunior García Aguilera has not been satisfied with just being a playwright. Since 2016 when he stood up at a meeting of the Hermanos Saíz Association and asked 15 questions that upset the authorities, the artist, who was born in Holguín in 1982, has not taken a seat in any comfortable position.

He was one of the leaders of the protest by artists and intellectuals in front of the Ministry of Culture on November 27 (27N). He was also violently loaded onto a State Security truck during the historic events of July 11th (11J), when he protested with other colleagues and friends in front of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television.

These days, the spotlights are on him as the most visible face of the peaceful demonstrations scheduled in various cities for November 20 (20N).

All this has happened without interrupting the work he does with his theater group. Without losing the smile that always accompanies him, he talks with 14ymedio about 20N, his hopes, and persecuted art in Cuba.

Luz Escobar. What has it been like to take the step of saying publicly what you think?

Yunior García. I believe that all artists and intellectuals have social concerns and somehow need to participate in the reality of their country. The problem with Cuba is that perhaps there are too many prejudices continue reading

within the intellectual, academic and artistic world, in part because many need to feel like a valid interlocutor before the authorities, the institutions, the power, and that fills you with limitations. Over time, I have tried to shed those prejudices; to not accept those impositions they have tried to sow in our minds, that it is not possible to speak with certain Cubans, that they have no legitimacy; to forget about all the labels that are placed on the traditional opposition or on the Cubans who have decided in one way or another to take on dissidence, activism, in the face of a totalitarian and abusive power.

“I have tried to shed those prejudices; to not accept those impositions they have tried to sow in our mind, that it is not possible to speak with certain Cubans, that they have no legitimacy.”

Colliding with all the limitations, with State Security, with surveillance, with having gone to jail, with not being able to leave my house sometimes because agents prevent me, with having my internet cut off; these are things most artists and intellectuals have not experienced, which is why they view this type of situation from a distance, sometimes from a comfortable distance.

Escobar. Many may say that you have been radicalized.

García. The proximity of these realities of which I spoke has been very uncomfortable, which  makes it increasingly transparent in the essence of what I am seeking. It is not about portraying the most moderate image possible so that some, who have not yet understood the Cuban reality, do not reject my speech, but rather assume the truth and behave honestly. Rather than radicalism, I would like to call it total transparency, not wearing masks.

Escobar. How much has the treatment received from the government’s repressive apparatus changed in recent months?

García. The discourse of power has become quite clear in recent times. At first they treat you as if you are confused, they try to approach you as someone who is perhaps surrounded by bad company. They try the discourse of the good cop who pretends to help you, who wants you to continue doing your work as an artist without it affecting you too much. But when you maintain a firm position, to continue thinking as you have decided and acting in accordance with the way you think, the pace of surveillance increases, the pressure on you increases and then there is now an officer who attends to you and they start limiting your rights.

The first time was shortly after November 27th, when an agent named Jordan prevented me from leaving my house and said that he was coming on behalf of the Cuban people. But now, for example, that same agent has already approached relatives and friends trying to pressure them, always with a speech in which he purports not to position himself as an enemy.

“Now, for example, that same agent has already approached relatives and friends trying to pressure them, always with a speech in which he purports not to position himself as an enemy.”

With their clumsiness, they help you define yourself as an artist, as a citizen, as a Cuban. You start to truly see all the repression, all the abuses, the lack of freedom and you begin to live it closely, no longer in a book or in an interview.

Escobar. How much has your relationship with arts institutions changed in the last year?

García. I want to continue being an artist, I would love to be able to continue doing theater, making movies, even television. It is something that I would never give up because it is the essence of who I am, but of course I also want to continue engaging in activism, functioning as a human being, as a citizen of a country. Sometimes people tell me, “dedicate yourself to writing”; as artists they have always instilled in us that if you have a talent you must exploit it and if you are an artist “you must speak through your work.” But I wonder: would they have said the same to José Martí, who was an excellent poet, who was a playwright? How would Lorca or Brecht or any other artist have reacted? We live in a concrete reality and one does not spend one’s entire life being an artist; most of the time you are a citizen and you have to go stand in a line, be at the bus stop, move around.

With the institutions it has been a bit tough. Right now the theaters are closed, my group is still open, they continue to pay us a salary, but we don’t know if when the theaters open they will let us present our works. For example, I have received some refusals: a telenovela project that I was working on will no longer be possible. I don’t know if from now on I will have to write under a pseudonym.

What I do know is that I could not continue belonging to an organization like the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) after their complicit silence with regard to the repression and abuse which followed July 11th. An organization that perfectly accepts a power that represses its citizens and violates their rights, imprisons people for exercising their right to demonstrate and does not direct a single word to the citizenry, one whose speech is in favor of that abusive power, is an organization to which I cannot belong. That’s why one of the first decisions I made after July 11th was to give up my membership.

What I do know is that I could not continue belonging to an organization like the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) after their complicit silence with regard to the repression and abuse which followed July 11th

Escobar. How was the group Archipiélago born and how would you define it?

García. As a playwright, I obviously have a constant dialogue with the work of Virgilio Piñera. That notion of him on the Island is a reference for me, the unfortunate circumstance of the water everywhere, it is something that has always also evoked in me a slightly dissident response. Yes, okay, we are an island, but we really are an archipelago.

From the poetic point of view and from the political point of view, the notion of the island has been extremely present, of being separated from the world, of reacting like a monolith, of that false unity that is nothing but exclusion, because that unity is about excluding anyone who does not accept the official discourse. That is why, in contrast to Virgilio’s idea, I prefer to think in terms of an archipelago rather than an island.

We are different islands, we have the right to think differently, to propose different notions of a country, but in the end we have to live together in the same space. It is a concept that does not deny the difference.

We want to build a diverse country where differences are respected and where there is space for dissent, not only for the different ideas that already exist, but for new ones that may arise. Establishing a dogma, a single standard, an immovable model seems to me anti dialectical, something irrational.

Escobar. Why the November 20 march?

García. In all of history, those who are discriminated against have never obtained rights by gift or grace of the group in power. Rights have been conquered and they have been conquered through civility, through social participation, through marches, and through struggle in the streets. This is what happened with minority communities, with all those groups or people who have been discriminated against in the history of humanity, therefore marching is a right, demonstrating is a right which definitely must be conquered in Cuba.

In more than 60 years, an anti-government demonstration has never been allowed and we believe it is time to finally conquer that right, which is in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Cuban Constitution itself.

In more than 60 years, an anti-government demonstration has never been allowed and we believe it is time to finally conquer that right, which is in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

We are living in a moment of crisis which perhaps has seldom been experienced in the history of Cuba, a crisis in all sectors. There is a popular dissatisfaction and discontent that grows daily. It is not about taking advantage of that discontent, it is about showing solidarity with it, taking it on as our own, because we are part of that dissatisfied society, which needs to change the reality of Cuba; and perhaps the most obvious way to do that is by demonstrating, going out to the streets to tell the government that we need a new social pact, that the one they have imposed on us has expired, is inefficient and has failed.

Escobar. How do you experience the smear campaign launched by various official sites and groups against you following your call to march?

García. What I have felt is a lot of solidarity from people who no longer subscribe to these types of attacks and who realize they are defamation campaigns to dehumanize you. When they have no way to attack you, they invent. They have to link you to the CIA, or call you a “mercenary” or “annexationist,” which is a ridiculous 19th century idea. I don’t believe any Cuban currently thinks of annexing the country to any territory, we are doing everything within sovereignty, we do it without any type of economic interest. No one is paying us to organize this march; those who oppose us have nothing to say, therefore they have to lie. What it also shows is that this no longer works for them: a large part of society realizes that this is manipulation. On the contrary, every day the messages of support grow, the people who say I am with you and I am going to march and see you on November 20. That old discourse is over, they failed, they have lost the battle ideologically and socially, they no longer fool anyone.

There are things one cannot fully understand until you experience them in your own flesh. When they use the same lies against you that they already used against others, you realize that they were lying when they stigmatized those people, and that also generates a feeling of solidarity with those who, before you, have been fighting for their ideas and have been demonized by those in power. I believe that this has also made us unite perhaps as never before. We are reaching a consensus that may be unprecedented. There is a general feeling of respect that we do not think alike and we have different strategies for the country we want to build, but it is time to unite.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Most Cubans Live in Poverty on Less Than $ 1.28 a Day

From left to right, Cuban doctor Dayli Coro, members of the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights Alejandro González Raga, Yaxys Cires and Ernesto Ortiz, during the presentation of the report, in Madrid. (OCDH)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Madrid, 27 September 2021 — Food shortages continue to be the main problem for most Cubans, followed by covid-19 and the economic consequences caused by the ‘Ordering Task’*. This data is presented by the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights (OCDH) in its fourth report on The State of Social Rights in Cuba, presented this Monday in Madrid, which notes that for 60% of the island’s population the most important issue is the food crisis.

No less than 71% of Cuban families live on less than $3.80 USD per day. This means, according to the OCDH, that “in a three-member household (the average norm in Cuba), each person survives on less than $1.28 a day,” which places millions of Cubans “below the threshold of poverty, according to World Bank standards ($1.90 a day).”

During 2021, 45% of Cubans claim to have deprived of at least one meal a day, while 73% rate their family’s diet as “deficient,” six points higher than last year. For the majority of respondents (56%), the food they are eligible to buy through the ration book only lasts five or ten days a month.

Among the concerns of the island’s inhabitants, the health crisis is the second most critical area (59% consider it the main problem). The OCDH survey indicates that 79% of Cubans rate government action in this regard as fair to very bad. continue reading

Eight out of every ten Cubans admit not having been able to get medicines in pharmacies, mainly due to shortages (29%); 24% got them “by other means” and 14% were able to obtain them thanks to shipments from abroad.

“Although the official propaganda boasts of providing free public health care for all,” says the Madrid-based organization, “43% of those surveyed affirm that they themselves or a close relative have had to pay or give something [of value] to health professionals to access or expedite any consultation or service.”

In addition, 21% say that their family’s health status has worsened, 20% indicate that they have taken expired medicines and 15% have bartered items for medicines.

The third most cited problem in the Observatory survey, at 29%, are the effects of the so-called ‘Ordering Task’*, in force since the beginning of 2021, through which the Government “feigned a monetary unification and raised wages and prices,” notes the OCDH.

Another striking figure is that 80% of those who responded to the study have suffered power cuts in the last three months and 82% affirm that they do not have permanent drinking water service in their homes.

“In addition to the clamor for freedom, the growing deterioration of social rights was one of the causes of the civic protests in July and is at the base of the political change that millions of Cubans want or demand,” said Yaxys Cires, director of Strategy of the Observatory, referring to the 11 July protests. “The social outbreak made obvious to all eyes the fallacy of the propaganda idea that Cuba is the paradise of social rights.”

In a new feature, just over a month before the planned total reopening of tourism in Cuba, the study delves into the working conditions in this sector. The majority (55%) answered that there is “discrimination of some kind,” 72% of them consider that it is mainly due to political ideas. Lack of influence (36%), sexual orientation (33%) or being part of an independent civic organization (32%) are also pointed out as causes of segregation.

In fact, 54% believe that there is more political and ideological control in this labor sector.

The field work was carried out in 11 provinces throughout the island and is based on a total of 1,141 personal interviews conducted between June 25 and July 19.

“Cuba’s problem is the system as a whole, which affects all aspects of the country’s life,” Cires said. “This merits a process of urgent and profound changes in the economic, social and political spheres. In fact, in a less demanding vision, it would be possible to propose the resignation of the full Council of Ministers, due to the immobility and little empathy with the people, due to the failure of the Ordering Task and the disastrous management of public health, understood not only as its collapse during the pandemic, but also due to its accumulated deterioration.”

The report — mostly charts and visuals — can be accessed by clicking on this image.

*Translator’s note: Tarea ordenamiento = the [so-called] ‘Ordering Task’ which is a collection of measures that includes eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and other measures throughout the economy. 

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COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

With Hopes and Setbacks Food Services Reopen in Havana

An employee of the Coppelia ice cream parlor, in Havana, this Friday. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 24 September 2021 — “We must take advantage of today, tomorrow is only for those who book by phone,” an enthusiastic customer said this morning outside the Coppelia ice cream parlor, in Havana, one of the state premises that opened its areas with tables available to the public this Friday, after months offering only the To-go option.

Like the Cathedral of Ice Cream, other state establishments in El Vedado and Centro Habana are also organizing their operations to begin receiving customers after the authorities reported on Thursday the reopening of gastronomic services in the capital and other provinces of the country.

“Consumption within the facility was suspended, but it was possible to buy take out,” a woman who was waiting in line for take-out ice cream told this newspaper. Along with her, several people carried five-liter containers to take the product home.

Although the authorities announced that the central location would only begin by serving those who reserve a table through various telephone numbers, the mechanism still did not seem well oiled and the employees postponed the start of this type of service until Saturday. continue reading

“All this time ago, people have lined up here to buy ice cream to take home. But now things have become a bit complicated for them because they are serving very little at the tables,” Yoana, 25, explains to 14ymedio. “But that’s only a few days, you’ll see that by spending some money on the workers here, everything will be solved,” adds the young woman, who this Friday was able to enter Coppelia to consume the two sundaes allowed per person.

Yoana pointed out that the tables are well separated from each other and only two people are allowed at each one. The young woman ended up ordering two ice cream sundaes: one with almonds and another with strawberry-bonbon, for a value of 25 pesos each, which came accompanied by six sweet cookies.

Despite the reopening, this newspaper was able to verify that the line this Friday morning was like any other day and in less than 20 minutes customers could be seated at a table. All the ice cream parlor’s salons were open, except for the “4 Jewels,” which is air-conditioned and sells a creamier and more expensive ice cream. Formerly, the ice cream was sold in Cuban convertible pesos, but after the ’Ordering Task’* it went to Cuban pesos. This Coppelia location is among the most visited in the capital.

A few yards from Coppelia there are two other very busy state establishments on Avenida 23 in El Vedado in Havana: the Buona Sera restaurants, which planned to serve customers in the afternoon, and El Cochinito, where its employees could not confirm if they would receive customers this Friday.

As in Coppelia, at the entrance of Buona Sera and El Cochinito they have placed a table with a container containing bleach, and according to the hygienic sanitary measures imposed by the authorities, it is mandatory to disinfect your hands before entering any public establishment.

The governor of Havana, Reinaldo García Zapata, said this Thursday on the State TV Roundtable, when announcing the reopening, that it is essential to maintain the use of the mask, the disinfection of the hands and surfaces of the establishments, the locating of tables two yards apart, and among others, and a limited capacity depending on the characteristics of the premises.

Taking reservations by phone is viewed with suspicion by customers. “I am afraid that this is going to be allow the employees to sell the places and only accept their friends and resellers. As a 76-year-old retiree said, who is going to control whether someone actually called, or if they were put on the list for being a partner of a worker.”

“There are very bad experiences in reserving by phone. In the 80s some restaurants in Havana offered their service like this and when the number was not busy the phone would ring for long minutes and no one answered,” the man recalls. “Once part of the telephone exchange even collapsed when thousands of people called to reserve a turn to buy toys because of the rationing.”

“The measures are still the same, but I didn’t really see that anyone complied with them all: the bleach bottle on Coppelia’s door is there, but everyone passed by as if it didn’t exist, nobody took that on,” said Yoana. “Of course, everyone walks around with a facemask and some with their chlorine bottle in their backpack or purse.”

The authorities insisted that food services be reserved in advance to avoid prolonged stays while waiting fator the entrance of the premises. Private businesses such as Lolita del Mar, Mercy Bar Café, Bom Apetite and Ranchón Costa Bella, among others, have published on their social networks that from this Friday they will be offering food services at their facilities but customers will also be able to consume the orders at home because they will maintain Take-out service.

In other private businesses in the municipality of Playa, among them Tropikna Sport Café and Glamor Café, they are waiting for the authorization to open from Public Health, but the “approval” of the inspectors from the Hygiene and Epidemiology Directorate is still lacking, affirm the owners of the premises.

However, most of these businesses have told their customers that they will continue to bring the food to their homes and the main platforms that manage these purchases have extended their delivery hours throughout the capital. “Here we will continue to provide home delivery service from our premises to the door of your house so that you maintain your comfort and care,” reads the announcement.

Along with the 533 locales that will provide in-person food services, the notary services and Civil and Property registries have been resumed.

*Translator’s note: Tarea ordenamiento = the [so-called] ‘Ordering Task’ which is a collection of measures that includes eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and others.

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Cuban Prosecutor’s Office Asks for Six Years in Prison for Lady in White Who Participated in 11 July Protests

Abascal is also a member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy. (Facebook)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 21 September 2021 — The Municipal Prosecutor’s Office of Jovellanos requested a sentence of six years of deprivation of liberty for the Lady in White Sissi Abascal Zamora after her participation in the demonstrations on July 11 (11J). According to the official document, dated September 15, which 14ymedio had access to before the opposition opened it to the public on its Facebook profile, Abascal, age 23, is accused of the crimes of attack, contempt and public disorder public for protesting in the park of the town of Carlos Rojas, in Matanzas.

The accusation against the young opponent, member of the Pedro Luis Boitel Democracy Party, was lodged by Silvia Martínez Monteroa, the major of the National Revolutionary Police of the municipality of Jovellanos.

The document, received by the activist on Tuesday, specifies that Abascal  is currently in home confinement as a precautionary measure and pending trial. It also points out that during the protests she shouted phrases such as: “Patria y Vida,” “down with the Castros” and “down with the Revolution,” and that she “asked the local people to join her.”

The Prosecutor’s Office also reproaches her for going out to protest “despite knowing the difficult situation the country was going through” due to the “measures to intensify the economic blockade by the United States Government” and “the defamatory campaign organized from that nation to destabilize the economic and social order of the country.” continue reading

“They are fabricating these crimes for me, because at no time did I hit officer Silvia Martínez Montero and she is accusing me of having done it. We were the victims. My sister’s head was broken, my mother was hit everywhere and my father was unjustly imprisoned for 47 days,” she denounces.

“I am peaceful. I raise my voice and I will continue shouting what I shouted that day: ’Change’, ’freedom’, ’down with the Castros’,’ down with the dictatorship’, ’Díaz-Canel singao [motherfucker]’, ’freedom for all political prisoners’, ’Long live free Cuba,’ ’patria y vida’, she added.

The Prosecutor’s Office also explains in the document that Abascal placed a white sheet on the branch of a tree in the park that read “Patria y Vida,” while the protesters shouted “phrases against the revolutionary process” and expressions such as “henchmen,” “murderers,” “police officers” and “also banging on pots and pans with sticks.”

At another moment, they claim that the activist “pushed officer Martínez Montero in the chest” and, when she fell to the pavement, “took the opportunity” to hit her “repeatedly with her fists.”

So far, the Cuban government has not recognized official figures of detainees, injuries or deaths as a result of the 11J protests. It only admitted the death of Diubis Laurencio Tejeda, 36, a resident of the Havana municipality of Arroyo Naranjo.

Among the hundreds of anonymous citizens who came out on July 11 to protest were also several of the main figures of Cuban dissidence. who were also detained. Among them, the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement; Félix Navarro, from the Democratic Action Unity Table; and José Daniel Ferrer, from the Patriotic Union of Cuba.

According to a list drawn up by several volunteers under the coordination of the Cubalex legal advice center, of the more than 1,000 detainees from those days, 533 are still in jail.

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Cuban Artist Hamlet Lavastida is Released from Prison and Travels to Poland

Hamlet Lavastida is interviewed on Polish television shortly after landing at the Warsaw airport. (Courtesy)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, Cuba | 26 September 2021 — Hamlet Lavastida was released this Saturday and taken to José Martí International Airport in Havana, where he boarded a plane bound for Poland. After more than three months of detention in Villa Marista prison, the artist left the island along with his girlfriend, poet Katherine Bisquet Rodríguez, as confirmed to 14ymedio by the artist’s family.

State Security took it upon themselves to manage Bisquet’s consular procedures, she said. The young man “was driven to the airport and guarded by more than twenty agents until he boarded the plane, telling him it was a ‘one-way trip’ without possibility of return.”

According to this same source, Lavastida and Bisquet would be making a stopover in Madrid and are expected to arrive in Warsaw in the next few hours. “It was all done with a lot of secrecy by the political police and we are waiting for Lavastida to be in free territory so he can recount more of the details,” they added.

Upon arriving in Europe this Sunday, Bisquet published a post on her Facebook page in which she said that their exile was the “only option for Hamlet’s release from prison.”

“They have violated us, they have expatriated us, they have murdered us, they have imprisoned us, they have censored us, and it has all been done quietly, closely, in our backyard, in our own house”

The poet explained that Lavastida was taken by State Security to the airport Saturday afternoon, from a protocol house where he had been isolated since September 20 “and the location of which is unknown” because “he was transported there with his head between his legs.”

She said she was also transferred to the airport terminal by the political police “without allowing my father and family to take me there and bid me farewell.” State Security was in charge of all her immigration procedures.

“There is no justification that can even come close to disguising the macabre plan that their political power has unleashed over our lives. They’ve named this plan ‘political rationality’. On several occasions I’ve heard more than one agent say that it was not useful to have Hamlet imprisoned and that, as a result of this ‘political rationality’, they decided to release him on the condition that we both leave the country,” she wrote.

Bisquet said that they both have “many things to do, many things to build.” She took the opportunity to announce that “after a brief recovery” from everything they’ve experienced, they will be providing their testimonies.

“They have violated us, they have expatriated us, they have murdered us, they have imprisoned us, they have censored us, and it all has been done quietly, closely, in our backyard, in our own house,” she said, but she also said that today in Cuba “the people are alive” and in “these last few months something has changed “,” there is a growing force. A force that is accumulating within us.”

“Nothing will go unpunished. Every act of repression and every humiliation against our lives will have a translation in an important part of my literature. Every detail, every word, every gesture, every body,” said Bisquet.

Lavastida had returned to Cuba from Germany on June 21st, after finishing his residency at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien gallery in Berlin. After completing the regulatory period of isolation, he was arrested on June 26th as he exited the government isolation center in the Flores neighborhood of the capital, and transferred by State Security to Villa Marista prison. The authorities informed his family that he was under “investigation” for the alleged offense of “instigating a crime.”

The 38-year-old artist, declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, is one of the most relevant creators of his generation

The 38-year-old artist, declared a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, is one of the most relevant creators of his generation and in recent months has maintained a confrontational discourse against the regime by denouncing the repression his Cuban colleagues experienced, especially since November 27th. Between 2011 and 2015, he resided outside the island and was prohibited entry into the country as a result of public statements that upset the authorities.

State Security made it known that he was being investigated for an exchange that took place in a private group chat of opposition artists–27N–on Telegram, where he proposed marking banknotes with the logos of San Isidro Movement and 27N, an initiative that did not come to bear.

Known for his critical works, the Cuban government believes Lavastida “has been inciting and calling for acts of civil disobedience on public roads, using social media networks and directly influencing others,” as published on Razones de Cuba, a government website.

Human Rights Watch, PEN America and PEN International all condemned his arrest and demanded his unconditional release, as did dozens of artists and activists inside and outside the island, including Lester Álvarez, who stated that the only reason Lavastida was under arrest was for “freely expressing his opinion on the authoritarianism of the Cuban government.”

During the artist’s imprisonment in Villa Marista prison, he was denied four requests for a change of precautionary measures and three complaints. Furthermore, he was infected with COVID-19 and transferred to an isolation center without notifying his family.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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Group of Cubans Ask Authorization to Demonstrate in Havana on 20 November

The signatories have sent the petition to Reinaldo García Zapata, governor of Havana, and Alexis Acosta Silva, mayor of the Old Havana Board of Directors. (EFE)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 21 September 2021 — With the reopening of tourism and schools, scheduled for the middle of November, a way is opened to the reactivation of citizen protests. A group of artists and intellectuals who participated in the spontaneous demonstrations on July 11 has requested authorization for a march against violence on Saturday, November 20, in which they plan to demand that the rights of all Cubans be respected, the release of political prisoners and the solution of differences through democratic means.

The group meets under the name of Archipelago and is led by the playwright and actor Yunior García Aguilera. The letter presented to the authorities on Tuesday is signed by the filmmaker Raúl Prado Rodríguez, the actor Reinier Díaz Vega and the editor Miryorly García Prieto, among others.

The march, if approved, will run along the Paseo del Prado, from its beginning on the Malecón avenue, in Old Havana, to Monte Street, passing by the statue of José Martí in Central Park, where they will deposit a floral offering and a few yards later they will also hold a rally in front of the National Capitol, the seat of the Cuban Parliament.

The signatories have sent the petition to Reinaldo García Zapata, governor of Havana, and Alexis Acosta Silva, mayor of the Old Havana Administrative Council. In it they state that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. continue reading

The document’s signatories also note also that the Cuban Constitution of 2019 “recognizes” the rights of assembly, demonstration and association for lawful and peaceful purposes; and that no law in force in Cuba prevents or limits the ability to march.

For these reasons, they request that the act be allowed to take place, which would last approximately three hours and can accommodate, they estimate, some 5,000 protesters. “We make this request with enough time in advance for its approval. If we do not receive a timely, pertinent and well-founded response, we will consider this request approved,” they announce.

The applicants insist that they are committed to guaranteeing the peaceful nature of the march and that they will maintain the anti-covid measures that are required, but they also ask that, in return, not only the demonstration be allowed to take place, but also to keep telecommunications open and not restrict citizens’ freedom of movement.

The authorities usually place patrols at the homes of activists or journalists when they know that there is a formal or informal convocation and, on occasions, they prevent them from leaving their homes or, directly, they take them to the police stations if they try to break through that cordon.

In addition, cuts in the internet — in order to prevent the dissemination of information or moving images of the protests — are common, as happened on July 11th and 12th during anti -government protests, in which there were more than 700 arrests, as well the death of the man. Etecsa’s mobile network was not working normally for at least three days.

The request is being made two months in advance and for a date on which not only international travelers might have returned and schools could be open, and some recreational and food services might be back in operation if the data on covid-19 infections improves.

This was indicated this Monday by Manuel Marrero, who asked that the reopening on the island be gradual depending on the data for each territory. The prime minister said Monday that local authorities should prepare the design of their strategies and added that where the epidemiological situation is bad there will not be an opening “for now.”

This Tuesday, the Ministry of Public Health announced 63 deaths and 8,289 new cases of coronavirus. The percentage of positivity rises once again to 16% and in some provinces it is extremely high, such as Sancti Spíritus (36.2%), Camagüey (35.7%) and Pinar del Río (26.8%).

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Under a Strong Police Operation, Cubans Venerate the ‘Patroness of the Incarcerated’

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 24 September 2021 — Surrounded by metal fencing to control entry and with a strong police operation reinforced at each corner, this is how the Church of La Merced in Old Havana looked on Friday. Despite the rigors of the pandemic and the rain, hundreds of devotees came to this temple to place a candle before the “Patroness of the Incarcerated.”

Located in the neighborhood of San Isidro, the church is frequented by both the Catholic faithful and those who worship the greater orisha Obbatalá, with whom Our Lady of Mercy is syncretized in Santería. Dressed in white, the faithful arrived early on September 24 to pray specifically for those locked up in prisons.

The location of the church could not be more perfect. San Isidro has been the center of Cuban rebellion since Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and other activists founded the Movement that bears this neighborhood’s name and that has led loud, rebellious acts. Today, the artist is in prison, as are other members of the group, and the State Security closely monitors the area.

For many Havanans, this impoverished section of the Cuban capital is considered the site where the spark that fueled the popular protests of July 11th started. Although the first demonstrations took place in San Antonio de los Baños, Artemisa, civil disobedience had begun to take shape much earlier, in a humble house on 955 Damas Street near the Church of La Merced. continue reading

San Isidro has been the center of Cuban rebellion since Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara and other activists founded the Movement that bears this neighborhood’s name and that has led loud, rebellious acts

San Isidro is also a neighborhood where a thin line stands between any young person and prison. Poor, largely dedicated to the illegal market, and with fewer economic opportunities than those in other more prosperous municipalities, many neighborhood families have one or more relatives who have been convicted by a court.

In a country with more than 90,000 incarcerated people, this is not unusual; in proportion to its population, Cuba has the largest number of prisoners in the world. Increasingly worrisome, the regime has unleashed massive arrests and judicial prosecutions following the demonstrations calling for “Freedom” and the end of the current system.

Hence, so many have come today to the altar of the patroness who “liberates, consoles and protects” all who are deprived of their freedom, on this her first Feast Day after the events of July. This is also why the police appeared so nervous around the Church and why the plainclothes officers patrolling the building looked questioningly at anyone who approached.

Along Cuba Street, the fencing, patrol cars and police motorcycles blocked access to vehicles from two blocks away on either side of the Church, although these areas were open to pedestrian traffic. “They are there watching because they know that during these religious events anything can happen, such as requesting freedom for the prisoners and more so now,” a young man commented to this newspaper.

Along Cuba Street, the fencing, patrol cars and police motorcycles blocked access to vehicles from two blocks away on either side of the Church

After crossing the police fence, visitors were required to form a line to place flowers and candles on a railing at the chapel. Church staff then arranged the offerings closer to Our Lady of Mercy. It was possible to enter a second queue to get closer to the statue but “without taking photos”, clarified a young man to whomever he saw with the mobile phone in hand.

In any case, it was of little use to try to send an image or a video as the internet connection barely worked. “As soon as I arrived, everything got very slow, I couldn’t even send audio,” commented a young man who was waiting to leave his flowers. “I don’t know if it’s because it’s cloudy or because they have deliberately slowed it down in this area, in case something happens,” he added.

Along Cuba Street, the fencing, patrol cars and police motorcycles blocked access to vehicles from two blocks away on either side of the Church (14ymedio)

For those who could not reach the chapel, there were always gestures of remembrance and veneration in their own homes and on social media networks, which this Friday were filled with photos of candles, white clothing, and cotton candy or rice pudding, foods traditionally offered to the African orisha. Calls for amnesty for political prisoners also abounded.

One of those who spoke out for the incarcerated was the singer Haydée Milanés: “Today, on the day of the Mercy, Obbatalá, I ask for peace for all Cubans. I also ask for freedom for political prisoners. Incarceration, persecution, repression, censorship, will never be the way. May Obbatalá’s blessing reach us all.”

Text of Tweet: Surrounded by metal fencing to control entry and with a strong police operation redoubled in each corner, this is how the Church of La Merced in Old Havana looked on Friday. Hundreds of devotees came to this temple to place a candle before the “Patroness of the Incarcerated”

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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Cubans Losing Patience after Another Outage at the Island’s Main Electric Power Plant

Photo of Monday’s blackout in Cuba.

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, September 21, 2021 — After so many articles about “improved maintenance at the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant, after so many promises,” this is what they come out with. That was the reaction of one customer, Valette, to an announcement that most of central Cuba would be without power starting at 5:24 on Tuesday. Yes, there will be more blackouts.

After a breakdown at the country’s main electric power facility (CTE), Cubans’ patience is running thin. “Shame on them,” was the response of Hanoi, one of the customers affected. “All these outages over the past two months; they haven’t kept their eye on the ball,” he says. What the Electric Union (UNE) is good at, according to this customer, is “turning off the power right when you need it” and “charging full price for it on the electricity bill.”

Just last Monday the State newspaper Granma reported that Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz had visited Matanzas to tour CTE Antonio Guiteras. “The situation will be getting better every month,” he claimed. Without providing exact figures, he stated that large sums of money had been allocated for the purchase of replacement parts.

Relief was fleeting, however. At 04:09 AM on Tuesday the facility was synchronized with the National Electroenergetic System and seventy-five minutes later it went down due to “relative vibrations in the turbine shaft.”

A surge of complaints on social media followed blackouts which lasted more than ten hours in Santiago de Cuba, Matanzas, Cienfuegos and continue reading

Hoguin. “Ten-hour blackouts in Santiago de Cuba,” tweeted journalist Geisy Guia Delis along with a photo of her three-year-old niece sleeping in a crib on the front porch at dawn because the blackouts last for hours and always happen at night.

Lina, another customer affected by blackouts, feels there is no justification for the problems: “UNE did not provide [aluminum and copper] to maintain the poles… When are they going to tell the truth about these disruptions?”

Meanwhile, Alexander Pupo Casas, the doctor who contracted Covid-19 and decided to quarantine at home before turning himself over to State Security, sent out an #SOSCuba tweet. “Blackouts in the midst of a public health and epidemiological crisis indicate a lack of respect for and insensitivity to the public. The totalitarian communist mafia doesn’t even allow us to rest.”

In addition to  the CTE Antonio Guiteras, service has been disrupted at the following facilities:

    • CTE Otto Parellada
    • Unit 7 at CTE Maximo Gomez
    • Unit 1 at CTE Ernesto Guevara
    • Unit 6 at CTE Tenth of October
    • Unit 2 at CTE Lidio Ramon Perez
    • Unit 3 at CTE Antonio Maceo

The island can look forward to more blackouts. In another social media post, Irma reported experiencing blackouts every seven hours, from 3:00 AM till 7:00 AM. “It’s extremely difficult for people who have to watch for a light to feed their families, especially the little ones. Most people use only electricity for cooking,” she says.

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Cuba: When They Hijacked the Applause

Blackout in Havana, where government buildings are the only ones that remain illuminated. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 24 September 2021 — The blackout on Tuesday night was brief, but as soon as it got dark a man’s voice was heard shouting, “Why don’t you clap now?”

He was speaking directly to neighbors who at nine o’clock “honor” the doctors engaged in the fight against the pandemic. To clarify, in this neighborhood these are the only neighbors who, in addition to clapping forcefully, shout, howl and hit metal objects, as if instead of entertaining the health workers they were provoking an enemy.

In addition to clapping forcefully, they shout, howl and hit metal objects, as if instead of entertaining the health personnel they were provoking an enemy

Twenty-seven years ago, when I was writing a column titled Letters from Havana in the German weekly Wochenpost, I published an article for foreigners, explaining the meaning of a blackout. At the time, I did not consider myself an independent journalist, but as a freelancer, which seemed more elegant to me.

I began my dissertation by narrating the joy that erupted in any neighborhood the moment the lights come on, forgetting about people trapped in elevators, interrupted television shows whose viewers had not been able to see the end of the day’s episode of their favorite novela, students who could not do their homework and, of course, people who were unable to cook because their cooking appliances were electric.

On one occasion I recounted an incident involving impatient neighbors who threw bottles and garbage from their balconies at midnight because the electricity had not been restored according to schedule. To conclude, I added, continue reading

“But that happens very rarely.  Almost never. What always does happen is the chorus of relief, perfectly coordinated like a gigantic orchestra, with which the people of Havana console themselves when the lights come on.”

Today, that text, which would be taken as confrontational from the official angle, seems to me light, complacent, folkloric.

The same view of Havana, in this case illuminated. (14ymedio)

I am not saying that people aren’t happy when the electrons resume their travel through conductors, that is, when the lights return. Of course they are, but the enthusiasm is not the same and neither is the anger manifested the moment the blackout arrives.

The chauvinistic vanity that convinced us that we are part of the “civilized world” also made us believe that we were not to be compared with the 780 million people on this planet who currently live without electricity.

Those are “the others,” we live in the Northern Hemisphere, also in the Western one.  As if that were not enough, here we created a socialist revolution with our sight set on that Leninist definition that “communism is the power of the Soviets plus electricity.” According to statistics, our access to electricity is 99.8%, but they fail to add the adjective “guaranteed” to the noun “access.”

The last one was short and partial. The houses in the neighborhood were dark, but in government buildings, generators were activated immediately. In the Plaza de la Revolución the lights remained on

From our balcony on the 14th floor you can appreciate the magnitude of the blackouts. The houses in the neighborhood were dark, but in government buildings, generators were activated immediately. In the Plaza de la Revolución the lights remained on.

The forecasts are not favorable. Power plants suffer from lack of maintenance and technological obsolescence; the fuel that powers them threatens to become more scarce every day and even the cables show signs of fatigue.

The irritation caused by these blackouts undermines citizen enthusiasm. Furthermore, it even diminishes the desire to applaud the sacrifice of doctors, because among other things, in a subtle but evident way, the propaganda has politicized this tribute, extending it to those responsible for the darkness.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez
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Cuban Organizers of the Peaceful Marches on November 20th (20N) Expect 8,000 People in Holguin and Santa Clara

Poster announcing the marches planned for November 20th

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 23September 2021 —  This Thursday in Villa Clara, about twenty citizens joined the Archipelago collective in its call to peacefully demonstrate on 20N. In addition, the thirty signatories joined the initiative this Wednesday in Holguín.

As playwright Yunior García did in Havana, citizens from Villa Clara and Holguín submitted a document notifying local authorities of their intention to march peacefully “to demand that all rights of all Cubans be respected.”

In the text they also request “the liberation of political prisoners” and that a resolution to differences in their ways of thinking be achieved through “democratic and peaceful means.”

As detailed in their requests, shared on the Archipelago’s social networks, in Holguín the march would last about three hours and would begin at two in the afternoon. Around 5,000 people would participate, marching from Loma de la Cruz to the city’s statue of José Martí. In Villa Clara, the demonstration would go from the Train Station – where, they say, “José Martí will be offered flowers at his monument” – to Loma del Capiro, passing by the church of Carmen. Some 3,000 people would participate. continue reading

In their requests they also point out that they expect “the right of the press–national and international, official or independent–to inform adequately and truthfully” be respected.

“We request that authorities guarantee: the full exercise of our human and constitutional rights; the protection of protesters against those who try to prevent peaceful demonstrations; and the normal telecommunications service during the march,” write the signatories of both texts reiterating that there is “no law that prohibits, regulates or limits the full exercise” of this type of activity on the island.

In their requests they also point out that they expect “the right of the press–national and international, official or independent–to adequately and truthfully report on the organization and development of the march.”

The group insists that the demonstration is taking place “after extensive and in-depth discussions with various members of civil society” and after the Government’s decision to open the country to international tourism on November 15. It clarifies that, therefore, the planned security measures “promote the peaceful and civic nature of the march, with absolute adherence to public order and the health measures imposed by the covid-19 pandemic.”

By sharing the documents on their social networks, they announced that in the coming days “citizens of the entire country will present similar documents to the authorities of their locality.”

The initiative to march on 20N began in Havana last Tuesday when a group of artists and intellectuals — known as Archipelago — who participated in the spontaneous demonstrations on July 11 (11J), requested authorization for the peaceful protest. The document was delivered to the capital government and in addition to García Aguilera, was also signed by filmmaker Raúl Prado Rodríguez, actor Reinier Díaz Vega and editor Miryorly García Prieto, among others.

Hours after the plans for the 20N march were made public, the regime called for a new, world-wide caravan to “demand the end of the US blockade” against Cuba.

Officialdom reacted quickly. This Wednesday, hours after the 20N march was announced, the regime called for a new, world-wide caravan to “demand the end of the US blockade” against Cuba and “the lifting of the sanctions that punish the Cuban people.”

As reported to the official press by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, the caravan is promoted by Cuban émigré Carlos Lazo. Lazo leads the Puentes de Amor (Bridges of Love) initiative, and recently traveled to the island from the United States, where he resides, to meet with Miguel Díaz-Canel.

The Government also mobilized State Security to defame Yunior García Aguilera through a letter on its Facebook page “Razones de Cuba” in which they call the playwright “egocentric,” “hypocritical,” “lacking national values,” “an instrument of the enemy” and “ungrateful for all the projects “the Revolution” that “he wishes to overthrow” has subsidized and awarded him.

García Aguilera, a native of Holguín and a resident of the Cuban capital, was one of the 30 artists who, on November 27 following a spontaneous demonstration in front of the Ministry of Culture, participated in the meeting with Vice Minister Fernando Rojas.

The playwright has been very critical of the regime’s repression on social media since July 11, showing solidarity with those detained after the protests. “How similar are all dictatorships! It doesn’t matter with which color they are presented to us or with which hand they give the orders!” wrote the playwright who was also arrested that Sunday along with other creators in front of the Cuban Institute of Radio and Television.

After being released, he made public his resignation as a member of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (Uneac) by stating that he could not “continue to belong to an organization that turns its back on a considerable part of the people and chooses to show obedience to an abusive power of attorney. ”

As a result of July 11, García Aguilera met with singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez after urging him through an “open letter to the owner of a lost unicorn.” Following the meeting, according to the playwright, Rodríguez promised to “advocate for the release of all the prisoners who participated in the protests,” something characterized by the singer-songwriter himself in a later writing, where he referred to the “non-violent.”

Translated by Silvia Suárez

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