Category: Translator: Regina Anavy

The defeat, according to the Swing Completo portal, made the Island team face the “reality” that “it is no longer a favorite against the other teams in the area”

A fan identified as Juan Carlos agreed with the journalist that a renewal of the national team is urgently needed. Young people, who are usually the main competitors, have been moving away from a sport that has been forgotten by Cuban managers. “The headquarters in Ciego de Ávila is not ideal.”

The defeat, according to the Swing Completo portal, made the Island team face the “reality” that “it is no longer a favorite against the other teams in the area.” For Ibargüen Shue, all that remains is to “prepare for the new Olympic cycle.”

For its part, the Cuban official media Jit only highlighted the performance of Alain Román, from Ciego de Ávila, who opened the eight games of Cuba in the qualifying phase and achieved four victories. In addition, the national representative won fifth place in the last world contest held in Auckland, New Zealand (2022).

The best result on the Island was recorded in 1988, when it obtained fourth place in Saskatoon, Canada.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

At the end of last month, the legal entry of 404,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants was recorded through the parole program

The agency also reported that so far, more than 547,000 migrants have successfully scheduled asylum appointments on the southern border through the CBP One application. Of these, 44,100 applicants were processed at points of entry last month.

Similarly, in their report, U.S. authorities reported irregular entries of 19,000 migrants last March. Of these, 13,411 came across the southern border; 5,323 entered through Florida (Miami Sector and Miami Field Office), which includes an unspecified number of arrivals by sea. In addition, 631 arrived in Tampa, which reported 4,241 cases in the fiscal year that began in October 2023.

The U.S. Government also reported in the same month the admission of 110 unaccompanied minors, totaling 791 in five months. Last year there were 1,395, a record number.

The information comes after the controversy that arose over denials of humanitarian parole, which Cubans, Venezuelans, Nicaraguans and Haitians have denounced this month. A spokesman for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service told Martí Noticias that due to “a technical change to inform applicants more quickly if they are eligible, a large volume of non-confirmation notices were sent.” This is being improved.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

 The Ali Administration explained that it is a “motor boat” that will be connected to the national network, chartered for two years to Karpowership

Although the Guyanese Minister of Public Works, Deodat Indar, said that the patana would leave Cuba, the announcement leaves several unknowns. First of all, the capacity of none of the power plants that the Island has installed coincides with that planned by Guyana (36 MW). For example, the Erol Bey (63 MW), the Suheyla Sultan (240 MW) and the Belgin Sultan (15 MW) are anchored in Havana. This Wednesday, 14ymedio verified that they are all in their respective enclaves. The constant monitoring by this newspaper of the ships that reach port in Havana Bay has not revealed that a new patana has arrived in Cuban waters.

However, the tug and fire boat Karadeniz One, which also belongs to Karpowership – and which has moved several of the Turkish power plants that Cuba rented – has been anchored in Havana Bay since the beginning of April. This could indicate that this is the ship that will transport the supposed patana. However, according to this newspaper, on Wednesday the Karadeniz One was still in Cuban waters.

A week ago, the Guyanese vice president, Bharrat Jagdeo, also revealed the price that his country will pay for the patana, for which Guyana will also supply the fuel for electricity generation. “There is a charge for capacity and a charge for operation and maintenance. Combined, that’s less than eight cents (dollar) per kWh (kilowatt per hour),” said the official, who did not offer the total figure. The data give an idea of what Cuba could be paying for each of these ships.

“We couldn’t produce there because the main transmission pipe can only send power to Georgetown”

As explained by the Ali Administration, the Turkish power plant will be installed on the Berbice River, which flows into the Atlantic, since Georgetown, the capital, cannot handle the wattage of the power plant. This problem dissuaded the Government from hiring a 70 MW floating power plant, as they had initially planned.

“We couldn’t produce there because the main transmission pipe can only send power to Georgetown. That’s why we’re thinking of taking the patana to the Berbice River at Everton. That way, we could send the energy (to the national network). We had to look at the river, the depth, the connection to the existing network, what has been done and the type of fuel (to be used),” Jagdeo said.

Faced with the local media’s doubt as to whether the hiring of the patana is “viable,” the Guyanese president, for his part, defended the deal with the Turkish company and blamed the previous administration for stopping the construction of the Amalia Falls hydroelectric plant (projected at 900 million dollars) for being expensive and defective. “We would have had 165 megawatts available from Amaila Falls to boost the energy we need now,” the president said.

For 2025, when the contract with Karpowership begins, the state GPL has planned the completion of a $2 billion project to convert gas into energy, which is estimated to deliver about 300 MW to the country. At the moment, the company has placed all of its hopes on the chartered patana to supply part of the electricity that two broken engines in its facilities, according to the local press, have left uncovered. According to the media I News Guyana, GPL generates about 165 MW of energy, 15 MW below the current maximum demand for electricity of 180 MW.

Cuba has not lost its footing in the energy situation in Guyana, which is in the middle of a dispute with Venezuela, another energy ally of the Cuban regime

The Government has also attributed the increase in blackouts to the entry of 2,000 new customers to GPL since 2020; to the rise in temperatures – which cause a more frequent use of air conditioners; and to the increase in hotel facilities in the country, which is undergoing a spectacular economic boom after the discovery of important oil fields.

Cuba has not lost its footing in the energy situation in Guyana, which is in the middle of a dispute with Venezuela, another energy ally of the Cuban regime, over the Esequibo oil region. Given the exports of Venezuelan crude oil to Havana – which have fallen by 39% in recent months despite the fact that Caracas has increased its exports – it is possible that the Island is looking for another supplier in the region.

The proposal to build a refinery for 2027 in Guyana, which is estimated to produce 1.2 million barrels per day, could be one of the reasons that Havana is tempted to do more and more business with Georgetown.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

Some 91% of state entities and 74% of the “forms of non-state management” maintained accounting activity in their accounts

Among them, she cited the resistance on the part of suppliers of goods and services to execute collections through electronic payment channels, inadequate organizational and control measures by regulatory entities and economic actors who do not regularly deposit or use their personal bank accounts for the economic activity of their businesses.

In August 2023, the BCC approved several provisions to promote bancarización in the face of the shortage of banknotes in the country. Among them, cash withdrawals were limited, and all economic actors were forced to offer an electronic means of payment to customers, which in turn would result in greater control of operations and reduction of fraud.

The resistance of the population is verified in the operations quantified by the BCC at Saturday’s meeting, to which the uncontrollable – and very high – amount of those produced in the informal market should be added, which would drastically reduce the official data.

The meeting was also a review of all the initiatives that the entity should have to boost the economy and “correct the distortions,” but according to the official press, there is no concrete measure.

The meeting was also a review of all the initiatives that the entity should have to boost the economy and “correct distortions”

Marrero indicated that “additional incentives should be sought to stimulate cash deposits in the country’s banks, improve the quality and provision of services, ensure the mechanisms for the collection of foreign exchange, seek external financing and increase the appreciation of risks in the face of cyber attacks.”

It remains to be known how the BCC plans to put the plan into practice, although a reader of Cubadebate says citizens could regain confidence in the system. “Start by establishing, and I’m not saying ’recover’, RELIABILITY in the banking system. Remove RIGHT NOW the limitations to the amount of money that can be deposited and the unnecessary tax on deposits; and the limits on the monthly amount of money that can be transferred and the amount of money that can be withdrawn… All that and more has upset the customers. And the money will flow towards the banks, which is what they were invented centuries ago.”

Start by establishing, and I’m not saying ’recover’, RELIABILITY in the banking system. Remove RIGHT NOW the limitations on the amount of money that can be deposited and the unnecessary tax on deposits

Juana Lilia Delgado Portal, minister president of the entity, also exposed a list of wishes to be fulfilled in 2024, among which the priority seems to be looking for projects that increase income abroad to capture foreign currency, as well as “implementing a new mechanism for the allocation and management of liquidity.” Nothing about this is clear either.

Another priority is the recovery of remittances, which have plummeted in recent years in a scandalous way. Last year, emigrants sent just under 1.973 billion dollars to the Island, 46% less than in 2019, when 3.716 billion were captured, according to the NGO Cuba Siglo 21.

In 2020, Donald Trump’s Administration made the decision to sanction the entities that negotiated with Fincimex, the Cuban military bank. As a result, the main remittance shipping company, Western Union, decided to suspend services to the Island until the regime found a way to circumvent sanctions in the Orbit company. Although money is circulating again – with difficulties, such as the suspension in 2024 for an alleged hack of Fincimex – the volumes are no longer the same, and there are many Cubans who resort to unofficial channels, such as Zelle, to send money.

In many countries, the Central Bank is the key institution of macroeconomic policy. This is not the case in Cuba. The BCC will “accommodate” – with unbacked liquidity – the level of fiscal deficit ordered”

The BCC also mentioned its priority of “resizing the foreign exchange market,” a task entrusted to it by the leadership at the end of the year, but, as economist Pedro Monreal has pointed out on several occasions, the entity lacks independence and does not use the most “powerful” mechanism that analogous institutions usually use, such as the interest rate.

“In many countries, the Central Bank is the key institution of macroeconomic policy. This is not the case in Cuba. The BCC will “accommodate” – with unsupported liquidity – the level of fiscal deficit ordered,” he said this February.

*Translator’s note: Bancarización is a term used in Cuba and other Latin American countries referring to reforming the banking system. All economic transactions will be made by debit card, including cash withdrawals and the payment of salaries. The term does not have a counterpart in English so the Spanish term is used throughout this translation.   

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

“There are indisciplines that are becoming habits. It makes me mad, and we have to be more strict about ordering, organizing, controlling and disciplining. We have to reach everyone,” he scolded, after hearing Deputy Prime Minister Jorge Luis Tapia Foncesa say that the demand for food is not covered due to the low level of contracts with the farmers.

“One of the causes is the lack of demand, of control, the preparation of the cadres and the lack of systems. Today the production rate for contracts is only 60% for the farmers who are hired. To that must be added the quality of that process,” he said, ignoring the insistent claims of the farmers, who complain not only about the low prices offered by the State but also the high levels of non-payment and the legal consequences – penalties – in case of not being able to comply with the agreements, something frequent due to lack of raw materials, fuels, fertilizers and even thefts.

At the end of the first quarter, all the provinces were “in decline” in the Housing program

Apart from this, the only data that surfaced this Tuesday was the negligible fulfillment of the housing program in which, at the end of the first quarter, all the provinces were “in decline.” According to the general director of the area, Dilaila Díaz Fernández, the plan to recover the housing deficit in 10 years has not progressed. The loss of housing capacity continues, and the construction of basic units has not been completed for three months. The proposal to use the native red clay for building has not been adopted, and reviving the production of marble for export was also planned.

The official also regretted that “the social and State microbrigades have not been activated as the main housing construction force,” a proposal by Ramiro Valdés just a year ago. Yesterday an angry Valdés Mesa urged the recovery of the movement created by Castro in 1971 and in force until the ’90s, based on the idea that homeless workers build their own houses.

As for the economy, which worries citizens so much, little could be known. Manuel Marrero said that there is “dispersion in the way the measures are being implemented” and that it is necessary to be more dynamic and hardcore. “We are lacking a strong hand in many places; we need to take exemplary measures in defense of our people,” he warned. It can be assumed that he was talking about corruption and the diversion of products.

The issues addressed were a priority for Cubans, from food production, to the “resizing” – euphemism for reducing – the State sector and the future Business Law and electronic payment systems, among others, but the explanations were, once again, null. “We are updating the action plan from the content, structure, program … to guarantee the active participation in its construction by the organizations, the Osde (Higher Organizations of Business Management) and the territorial governments, because no projection is alien to the functions and missions that we fulfill from our institutions,” said Mildrey Granadillo de la Torre, Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning, speaking without saying anything.

“We are missing a strong hand in many places; we need to take exemplary measures in defense of our people”

Marrero added that the problems detected must be identified and classified to see who can solve them, and he took advantage of the moment to divert responsibility to the smaller administrations: “The work of this structure, although I do not generalize it, in a large percentage is insufficient, very weak, because they are not taking advantage of all the powers that a Board of Directors has,” he said, specifically referring to the “battle against prices.”

He followed this by criticizing the provinces, in his opinion better attended to by the Government than by local leaders. “They are not getting into the communities, they do not meet with the people, there is inattention to the communities in many places, and this is experienced by several of the national leaders who visit a place, a community, and people take the opportunity to transfer the countless dissatisfactions they have, because they do not always find that space.”

In the meeting they also apparently talked about the reduction of the fiscal deficit, the development of the country’s business system and the integration of all economic actors, especially the private enterprises. Also about the advance of the maternal and child program and illegal mining. What was said? At the moment, it’s a mystery.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

“We do not tolerate illegal immigration, much less anarchy at the hands of illegal foreigners,” said Ron DeSantis

In that same month, DeSantis signed projects that tighten penalties against migrants. For example, law SB 1036, which increases prison sentences for people convicted of serious crimes after having been deported for illegal entry; law HB 1589, which prohibits irregular foreigners from obtaining a driving license, and law HB 1451, which prevents counties and municipalities in Florida from accepting identification cards issued by other jurisdictions to irregular foreigners.

“We do not tolerate illegal immigration, much less anarchy at the hands of illegal foreigners who, in the first place, should not be here,” the Republican said.

Between January and the first week of April, the acting head of the Border Patrol of the Miami Sector, Samuel Briggs, documented the arrival of 83 rafters. On his social networks he reported a group of 24 migrants from the Island who landed on March 19 in Duck Key, in Monroe County, Florida. Another contingent of 20 Cubans landed on the last day of February in the Florida Keys, while 25 more made landfall in January in Biscayne National Park.

The Governments of Havana and Washington have a bilateral agreement for all migrants arriving by sea to U.S. territory to be returned to the Island, and since April 2023 they resumed deportation flights for “inadmissible” people detained on the border with Mexico.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

Annually, according to official accounts, it extracts about 80,000 tons of salt that converts into approximately 40,000 tons

For 2024, the plan is “similar”: to extract 32,000 tons of raw material to produce 16,500 of coarse salt that is destined for the Electrochemical Industry of Sagua la Grande, in Villa Clara, for animal feed, while 8,500 tons go to the basic basket and social consumption.

“Even in the midst of material and structural difficulties, workers hope to re-export the salt as they did years ago, given the quality of their product,” said Yenisleydys Domínguez Sánchez, technical chief of the factory.

The official said that at the Industry and Commerce Fair of 2023 they spoke with the representative of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) about the possibility of exporting the product. There was a potential customer, an electrochemical company, that might be interested, but for now it’s only an idea.

In February, the Minister of Energy and Mines Vicente de la O Levy pointed out that up to 9,000 tons of salt were in the warehouses of Cuba’s factories without being able to be transferred. “Problems with transportation have affected the delivery to consumers,” the leader said.

This April, the official media Cubadebate published an extensive report in which it addressed the situation in depth. The experts then said that the geographical and climatic conditions of the Island complicated the obtaining of the product in certain conditions: rains dissolves the salt pans and hurricanes devastate the facilities. As a result, Cuba had to import salt last year.

The managers of the salt companies estimate the demand for the basic basket at 7,300 tons per quarter, which is done unevenly

The managers of the salt companies estimate the demand for the basic basket at 7,300 tons per quarter, which is done unevenly. “The distribution is made according to the number of people living in each household. Thus, in the first month of the quarter, which is March, 4,100 tons are distributed, and all families receive one bag of salt per nucleus,” said the director of the Ensal Salt Company, Jorge Luis Bell Álvarez.

“In the second month of the quarter, 2,800 tons are distributed, and only families that have more than four people receive salt. In the third and last month of the quarter, between 900 and 1,000 tons are distributed, and many families receive salt plus those who are owed a bag from the last distribution,” he added, speaking about the rest of the year.

In addition, the CEO of Geominsal, Fabio José Reimundo, announced several investments with which they aim to increase the production capacity from four to ten tons per hour of salt. “We have already bought most of the equipment, but we need another 1.5 million dollars. That would help us increase the production and transport of the salt,” he said.

The authorities affirmed that the objective is to prevent the population from spending 150 pesos on a bag of salt, although this newspaper found that in many areas of the capital up to 250 pesos are charged.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

“Yes, there are containers. They should control the garbage more so that these things don’t happen”

Another citizen, Omar González Rojo, uploaded a photo showing a mountain of garbage in the middle of the street. “Look, we have gone through all the channels to solve the problem of the micro landfill on Peña Blanca Street [in Santa Clara], and they tell us that they don’t have any containers. Where did they go? Yes, there are containers, and they should control them more so that these things don’t happen. Isa’s Alley is still waiting for a dumpster to help the community,” he said.

Several users also commented that the garbage cans are bought by the so-called plastic collectors. After melting them, they use plastic to make various items: hangers for clothes, food storage containers (pots or storage containers) and broomsticks, which they then market.

The situation of solid waste collection throughout the Island is critical. On repeated occasions 14ymedio has reported the shortage of fuel and measures to collect garbage and the proliferation of landfills.

The residents of Playa and Luyanó have contacted, more than once, this newspaper to denounce the serious situation of the garbage dumps which smell bad and are overrun with rats. Another risk is that the mountains of garbage are being set on fire, causing serious consequences to the community.

On March 12, the official newspaper Escambray published that in Sancti Spíritus, the lack of personnel to collect the garbage is turning the province into a giant landfill. They also do not have enough transport: only eight of the 21 vehicles and none of their 25 tractors operate.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

“It is an issue that has a lot of impact for the people in this complex moment that we are going through and is also part of that sensitivity that the Vietnamese leaders have had

Also in the appointment with the president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, reference was made to the donation, as well as to a credit granted for the purchase of the grain – “a very important gesture for us,” he said – which has guaranteed the distribution of the rice for several months through the family basket.

Although not enough to solve the demand for a fundamental product in the Cuban diet, free shipments of Vietnamese rice are common. In 2023, the official press announced at least three shipments, one of 5,000 tons in May, another of 2,000 in September and 1,200 at the end of October, in addition to the cooperation for grain production until 2025.

However, the collaboration of Vietnam’s technicians in the municipality of La Sierpe, in Sancti Spíritus, failed. The Asian professionals, who had come to Cuba 20 years earlier with equipment and machinery, never achieved the expected returns and ended up departing the Island in mid-2022, leaving the project mortally wounded.

Despite this, Díaz-Canel praised “the sensitivity and support of Vietnamese entrepreneurship, which has bet on its business in Cuba, despite all the financial difficulties” and reflected on its common history. “We are two nations that have heroically confronted our enemies; we are two nations committed to socialist construction; we are two nations that respect, love and admire each other,” the president said.

The rest of the agreements extend to all kinds of areas: from agriculture and fishing to biotechnology, health, construction, transport, finance, science, technology and environment; from culture, tourism, sports and education to industry, energy and mines; from information, communications, higher education and finance to customs, work, social security and justice.

“We are two nations that have heroically confronted our enemies; we are two nations committed to socialist construction”

In addition, it was agreed to promote the development of Vietnamese investment projects in Cuba, mainly those established in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM).

Cabrisas highlighted the purpose of increasing commercial exchanges with Vietnam on a “mutually beneficial” basis and contributing so that Vietnamese companies invest in priority sectors, such as agribusiness, tourism and renewable energies.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

Some 94.8% have intra-home service, 5% have reliable water trucks and 0.07% have easily accessible sources

But in turn, we must break down the data of those who have service in their home, the “privileged,” which amounts to just over 8.3 million people; divided among those who receive it daily, just over 4 million; every other day, 2.1 million; in cycles of three to nine days, 1.6 million people; and, finally, the 566,000 who have it every ten days or more.

But there is still a worse rung on the ladder than the latter, those who do not have any supply service. That group is made up of 535,876 people, 6.1% of the population, who in turn are divided among those who do not have it because of: an “eventuality” (299,000); those with a service cycle greater than 7 days (386,530); those affected by catchment works (79,681); lack of electricity (4,110); and, finally, the large group: those who receive it intermittently in water trucks: 475,404 inhabitants who have water in periods longer than 15 days.

José Antonio Hernández Álvarez, president of the OSDE Agua y Saneamiento, offered all these data in last night’s broadcast and gave details about what the plans are to solve such a serious situation. “The main problems are in the eastern areas of the country, while in the center we have difficulties, especially in some mountainous territories and in the city of Santa Clara. Right now, the number of people affected in Cuba is around 500,000, although well below what was reported at other times.”

According to his explanation, there are three programs underway with investment – no figures provided – to replace the pumping equipment, improve the measurement and change the energy matrix.

“The main problems are in the eastern areas of the country, while in the center we have difficulties, especially in some mountainous territories and in the city of Santa Clara”

The official devoted part of his screen time to regretting that the water supply depends so much on electrical energy and only a few pumping systems have generators. “These systems are located in densely populated areas, but in recent years they have worsened due to their exploitation and present important problems related to the electricity supply,” he said.

Hernández Álvarez explained that these systems, unlike electricity, take hours to recover after a blackout, since the pipes must be filled first and then the pressure rises and is distributed over distances of several kilometers, which complicates the situation. To alleviate this, batteries have been bought that support the generators and that, in his opinion, have moderately improved the problem.

Despite this, the solutions seem to come more from outside, since the official spoke of the “acquisition of pumping equipment,” the response that produces the most impact. “So far, 1,063 pumps have arrived, and we have already installed 803 of them in several areas of Cuba. The arrival of other equipment is expected in the coming months. In addition, we have had success in recovering 733 pieces of traditional pumping equipment since the previous year.”

One of the most common reproaches of citizens is that, since the Ordering Task*, the price of water has risen seven times, an excessive cost for the terrible service received. Hernández Álvarez gave signs of understanding the annoyance but argued that the cost for the entity has increased 16 times and for fuel, 19 times.

“This results in a real cost of more than 200 pesos, while the population only pays about 7 pesos

“The cost of one cubic meter of water is around 70 pesos, and one person consumes approximately three cubic meters. This results in a real cost of more than 200 pesos, while the population only pays about 7 pesos. This affects the company’s liquidity, and at the end of February there are nine companies that are registering losses,” he added.

The conglomerate, created in 2009 and employing about 24,000 workers, was made up of 29 companies of which 24 were in charge of water and sanitation and five of construction activities. Since 2022, two international economic associations, two subsidiary companies and state-run private companies have joined them, one of which “has the task of repairing the sanitary lines inside the homes.”

Leonel Díaz Hernández, general director of the Water Company of Havana, was there to talk about the specific situation of the capital, which has experienced many problems in recent weeks that improved, he said, after the rains at the end of March.

“We continue with the projects related to the use of renewable energy sources, and in the coming months we will acquire two other power generators from solar panels, while we introduce other equipment such as water trucks that work with this type of energy,” he added.

In 2020, the Mission of Cuba to the United Nations responded in writing to a note from the Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment in which he asked about “human rights and related relations related to water pollution, water scarcity and floods.”

In it, the regime gave all kinds of details about the many measures (plans, programs, legislative incorporations, etc.) taken by the Government to provide water to the population and thus guarantee a service that in 2010 the UN declared “essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights.” However, the last three paragraphs were dedicated to holding the United States responsible for limiting the Island’s resources, and this time not because of the “blockade” but “due to the illegal usurpation of our territory by the United States Government, with the imposition, since 1903, of a naval base in the province of Guantánamo.”

The text detailed: “One of the consequences of this illegal usurpation for the full enjoyment of the right to water and sanitation is that we cannot comprehensively manage the surface and groundwater that form in the mountains of the Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo provinces because they conclude their journey in the occupied area.”

*Translator’s note:  The Ordering Task was a collection of measures that included eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) 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 a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

The Government was not happy about the waste, judging by the litany of obstacles it imposed on the company in 2023. To this was added the failure to export a shipment of coal that no international buyer wanted, and that was “stalled” in Mariel while Ceballos managers saw a multitude of “competitors with less expensive products” closing deals abroad.

Havana also did not allow them to enter the group of companies that could carry out transactions enjoying an exchange rate of 120 pesos for a dollar, a decision that the managers described as “contradictory,” Ceballos being “a leader of the Avileño exporting pole.” The solution was to cut heads: from 12 floors they went to eight; they fired workers in charge of “indirect work” and “centralized resources” to tackle corruption.

A few days ago, “after four years without honoring their commitments,” they achieved a figure of which they are proud: 1.1 million pesos, in terms of foreign sales of coal, hot pepper and mango puree. They regained, they say, the confidence of the Government, which allowed the French Development Agency to approve the delivery of 4.9 million pesos this year to buy supplies that have not yet arrived. Their star product: the pineapple, on whose success they have bet everything.

Its “young general director,” Exnier González, regrets that 60% of its workers are old and 30% are women, who “look for options other than strong field work under the sun.” Many have left for “other sectors that offer greater benefits, such as private forms of management.” From October to February, there were 310 employees of Ceballos, most of them professionals or directly involved with the production.

Invasor again resorts to euphemisms to say that, unlike what happens with the leaders, they can’t afford to pay for certain employees, who must leave: “The competition is very unequal, because while the state entity obeys control systems that do not allow it to overcome certain limits in the formation of wages, the private sector can increase payments from the inflation of the sales and marketing prices, an aspect of great weight when the real possibility of satisfying the basic needs of the worker and his family is relevant.”

González’s plan: a “dignification and rescue program” that will work by offering the worker food and future “payment systems that respond to the increase in production.” All this appears, for the time being, on paper. No decisions have been made, and the manager admits that he is “still far from compensated for his needs.”

Of those 3,170 gallons of fuel that the entity received, the figure fell drastically to about 185   

Now, the head of Ceballos demands from the Government “a little more fuel.” “Of those 3,170 gallons that the entity received in times of bonanza and that literally allowed ’bathing in oil’, the figure dropped drastically to about 185 in most days and become a real headache when it came to allocating them,” the newspaper explains.

Resentful, with a small workforce and little money – a business system that González calls, with optimism, “a new type” – Ceballos has 27,182 acres at its disposal over which it is difficult to “maintain control.” It is “a changing scenario, exposed to multiple factors, where there are no certainties of resources,” says the newspaper.

The truth is that, compared to the agro-industrial entities of neighboring provinces, Ceballos is almost a successful company. In Sancti Spíritus, for example, the official press activated the alarms this Saturday for the catastrophic collapse of potato production. In an article of consolation for the losses, Escambray revealed the magnitude of the failure: the total production amounted to 1,392,881 pounds of potato, “far below what was expected.” Conclusion: the tuber is not expected to “reach everyone in the province,” who are now accustomed – like most Cubans – to its intermittency.

*Translator’s note: The Ordering Task was a collection of measures that included eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso (CUP) 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 a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy
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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.

“He started well. He arrived at eleven in the morning and returned with the balita at eleven thirty. But it began to take longer and longer”

Now, she hopes that the person who is filling his orders will not fail him. The last time she went to look for the gas herself – several days ago – using the Ticket application, the experience in line was overwhelming. “I returned with a headache,” she says. She had booked an appointment with the application since the beginning of February.

Her pension of just over 2,000 pesos is not enough for Sonia to pay a “high rank” courier, who for 1,000 pesos makes his way quietly in the line and, through contacts, gets a privileged position. The line was a “disgrace, a disaster,” says Sonia, who saw twenty people ahead of her who, she knew, had already taken their turns a few days before.

“They sold 20 places in line ‘on the left’ and gave them the balitas. The line, if you do it by Ticket, doesn’t move. Where did they get those 20 positions from, if I bought my turn in February?” she asks. Between the crowd and the corruption, Sonia’s case is frequent among Cubans who must go through official channels – or by “economic” means, such as hiring cheaper and unreliable couriers – if they want to acquire a gas cylinder.

If they are lucky they will make money, but often even that is not enough. On the other hand, in Holguín, 14ymedio found, the lines to buy gas are formed in the usual way: you buy on a first-come, first-served basis. Virtual platforms have been inactive for more than a month.

But from Pinar del Río to Guantánamo, the same law prevails: fighting for a turn in line is only the first step. Then comes the sun – more inclement as the summer approaches – and the endless wait among overwhelmed young and elderly people who threaten to faint at any moment.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.

“I have a pension of 3,400 pesos per month, so I need my daily retirement and a little more to be able to buy an egg,” complained a man who also came to inquire about the price of the product. “To top it off, you have to buy the whole carton because they don’t sell them one at a time, so I don’t even have enough in my pension.”

Indispensable in multiple recipes, the egg affects the price of many other products. When it gets more expensive, so do the offers of pastry, birthday cakes, cold salads, breaded dishes, croquettes, meringues, tortillas and whatever mixture you need that requires some white or yolk.

“People complain because the small marquesitas (cheese pastries) cost 180 pesos and the large cost 250, but because of the price of eggs, I have had to raise everything,” the owner of a small sweet shop on Primelles Street in the neighborhood of El Cerro explains to 14ymedio. “Right now, for example, we are not making cappuccino cake because it needs a lot of eggs, and we can only make two or three meringue sweets a day.”

“I have several suppliers who give me a discount if I buy more than ten cartons, but I don’t like to have so many eggs at once because they spoil, and if a long blackout occurs I lose everything,” explains the entrepreneur. “I’ve bought some dehydrated egg but it’s not the same; it’s good for some recipes but not for all.”

“Imported eggs at 3,000 pesos a carton. Minimum purchase of ten cartons,” reads an ad on Facebook. “We are located in Playa and don’t have transport at home,” added the classified with a photo of some light brown eggs, most appreciated by Cubans who associate them with the Creole product that was once available from farmers or non-industrialized farms.

The shortage of eggs in the rationed market – there are places where the product has not reached the State stores for months – has pushed consumers to the informal trade networks and private companies. In all of them, the price has increased by 75% in one year, and the supply varies according to the imports that arrive in the country.

Plump and fragile, the egg now appears at an excessive cost. Those who grew up laughing at a friend who only had scrambled eggs for lunch at home now swallow their jokes and dream of an intense yellow yolk into which they sink a piece of bread. Then, when they are about to put the delicacy in their mouth, they wake up suddenly with the screams of a street vendor who proclaims: “Let’s go, the eggs have arrived, at 3,500 pesos the carton!”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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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.