English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 16 February 2024 — Drop the “inertia” and “be nice” were the instructions given this Thursday by Miguel Díaz-Canel on his tour of the municipality of Consolación del Sur, in Pinar del Río, as part of his official tour of the regions of the Island that “do not work well.” Between scolding for … Continue reading “Cuban President Diaz-Canel Tells the Farmers To Be ‘Nice’ and Produce More Milk”
Depending on the brand and strength, packs will cost 60 pesos, while cigars will go up to 10 pesos each 14ymedio, Havana, April 11, 2024 — The prices of cigarettes and tobacco will triple starting this Friday for retail sales, as announced this Thursday by the Ministers of Domestic Trade and Finance and Prices. The measure, … Continue reading “Cuban Bodegas Double the Price of Cigarettes and Triple the Price of Cigars”
14ymedio, Madrid, 5 April 2024 — This Thursday morning, 11 ships full of food remained offshore, unable to enter Cuban ports due to the payment problems faced daily by the Government, said the first Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment, Oscar Pérez-Oliva Fraga, in an appearance on Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel’s new TV … Continue reading “Due to Non-Payment, 11 Ships With Food for Cuba Remained Offshore for Several Days”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 March 2024 — The balance sheet for Internal Trade in Cuba for 2023, published by the Government this Wednesday, provided only one statistic for the sector: 70% of the construction materials delivery plan was met. The rest of the meeting consisted of an accumulation of “enigmatic formulations, abundant exhortations, a drought of … Continue reading “Economist Pedro Monreal Points Out a ‘Statistical Blackout’ in Official Cuban Data”
14ymedio, Madrid, 1 March 2024 — It has been two days since the Spanish agency EFE released the news that Cuba had asked, for the first time in history, for help from the United Nations World Food Program in the face of the milk shortage, but the Government still does not say a single word. … Continue reading “Cuba Buys 500 Tons of Powdered Milk From the United States”
14ymedio, Havana, 20 December 2023 — Corruption in grocery stores and soup kitchens, corruption in sports and educational institutions, corruption in the state sector and in small businesses. The numbers do not add up and Cuban officials were unable to avoid the word (it had been taboo among government leaders for decades) during presentations to … Continue reading “Cuban Parliament Rends Its Garments over State Corruption and the Financial Crisis”
14ymedio, Havana, October 5, 2023 — International businessmen from the wine world gathered this week at the Hotel Nacional in Havana for the government-sponsored XXII Wine Fair. The presentation of the most recent products and most expensive wines from the Spanish brands Torres and Juvé & Camps – the stars of the event – will … Continue reading “In Spite of the Economic Crisis, Cuba Stages an Expensive International Wine Festival”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 5 October 2023 — In a recent discussion on the Cuban State TV Roundtable program, the issue of the relationship of the ’regulated family basket’ [the monthly allotment of rationed goods] to banking was addressed by the Minister of Internal Trade (MINCIN), Betsy Díaz. She spoke about the increase in … Continue reading “The Disaster of the Communist Business Model in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 8 August 2023 — “An hour and a half of more talking about the same thing, pondering a decree that in itself is good but in the general context is useless.” This is the assessment of a reader of the official Cubadebate about the appearance of the president and the vice president of … Continue reading “Cuban Authorities Promise That It Will Be Possible To Pay in Cash, Except at Hotels”
14ymedio, Havana, August 4, 2023 — State and private companies that purchase food products –both agricultural and of animal origin, including meat, poultry, dairy products and fish products – must pay for the wholesale purchase exclusively through electronic payment and immediately. The measure, which is part of the new rules for the “banking-ization” of the … Continue reading “Cuban Government Will Suspend Private Companies That Do Not Enable Electronic Payment Within Six Months”
14ymedio, Havana, August 1, 2023 — Some ten bodegas (ration stores) in the province of Sancti Spíritus have suffered violent robberies, while in another five – in addition to a food processing center – cases of corruption have been detected so far this year. The stolen products affected the delivery of the “basic basket” to … Continue reading “Thieves Decimate the Ration Stores in Sancti Spiritus with the Complicity of Cuban Officials”
14ymedio, Madrid, October 5, 2022 — The authorities will begin distributing food packages this Thursday in the provinces most affected by Hurricane Ian, in a attempt to calm the population. Havana, where more protests have occurred in recent days, will be the last to start receiving them, in the middle of the month, “because of … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Will Deliver Food Packages with the Support of the United Nations”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Valencia (Spain), 16 August 2022 — No one was calmed by the appearance on State TV’s Roundtable show of Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister of Internal Trade, and Ana Teresita González Fraga, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade. The officials used their appearance to announce alleged changes in the role of foreign … Continue reading “In Desperation: Foreign Investment in Trade, Under the Control of the Cuban State”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodriguez, Havana, October 7, 2021 — “In September they didn’t give us anything. Only eggs and some disgusting ground meat. One tablespoon for two people. Not even my dogs would eat it,” complains Migdalia, a housewife in Central Havana who foresees no end to the ongoing struggles to stock her pantry. Public … Continue reading “Cuba’s Meat Markets to Get September’s Chickens in October”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 28 September 2021 — In the rest of the world, tobacco affects the coronavirus, but in Cuba it is the other way around: the coronavirus has ended up affecting tobacco. According to the authorities, the factory that sells Criollos cigarettes in Holguín has barely been able to meet 33% of … Continue reading “Holguin’s ‘Breastbreaker’ Cigarette Factory Barely Met 33% of its Production Plan”
