English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Maité Rico, Madrid, 1 June 12017 — Carmelo Mesa-Lago (born Havana, 1934) has spent a good part of his life trying to open a breach of good sense in the wall of absurdities with which that the Castro regime has ended up plunging into bankruptcy a country that was, in the 1950s, the third … Continue reading “Carmelo Mesa-Lago: “The Cuban Government Panicked After Obama’s Visit””
Oscar Espinosa Chepe was one of the best informed and courageous Cuban economists. Despite the difficulties to access the internet, he was always up to date on the regional and local [Economics] organizations’ publications; and his works were always well documented and objective. His criticism was based on publications and official figures, but he also … Continue reading “Carmelo Mesa-Lago Remembers Oscar Espinosa Chepe”
14ymedio, Carmelo Mesa Lago, Miami, 5 March 2017 — In his speech to Congress last Tuesday, Donald Trump was magically transformed into a statesman and looked “presidential” for the first time. He offered something for every member of society: new infrastructure, one million jobs, paid maternity leave, cutbacks in the high cost of medicines, special education … Continue reading “After Trump, the Deluge / 14ymedio, Carmelo Mesa Lago”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, May 20, 2024 — One of the main opposition platforms in Cuba, D Frente [D Front], announced this Monday a reform of its organizational chart and the date of its first convention to “continue advancing” in “democratic change,” “the establishment of the rule of law” and “citizen sovereignty” on the Island. … Continue reading “The Cuban Opposition Platform D Frente Reforms Its Organizational Chart and Announces Its First Convention”
14ymedio, Havana, February 9, 2021 — “Are you calling about work in the public sector?” asks a voice on the other end of the phone at one of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security’s employment offices in Havana’s Cotorro district. “You have to bring your I.D. to look at the job openings we have,” explains … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Sector Workers Seek Government Jobs to Get Them Through the Crisis”
Among the shelves of the Frutas Selectas Food Stand in Holguín there are photographs of the revolutionaries Camilo Cienfuegos and Ernesto Che Guevara, as well as a large poster with the slogan of this State company: “Selected Fruits: the most select from the tropics.” What is missing is fruit for sale. Frutas Selectas is a … Continue reading “Cuba’s Slow Collapse, a Country that is Running out of Food”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 May 2020 — With the arrival of the coronavirus, Cuba has entered a phase of great difficulties that affect the tourist industry, imports and families’ standard of living. Experts agree on this, trying to predict the impact of the pandemic on an economy weakened over many years. “One internal factor and three … Continue reading “The Impact of the Pandemic Will be Devastating for Cuba, Economists Warn”
14ymedio, Havana, November 20, 2019 — Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), warned on Tuesday that “timely and quality statistical information is an essential condition” for the government to perform effectively. The official called for a break in statistical silence in a region where many countries make … Continue reading “Without Mentioning Cuba, ECLAC Urges Improved Statistics”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2019 — On Friday, Cuban president Diaz-Canel, published a column in the official newspaper Granma where he describes the Cubans who criticize his management as like the “Biblical Cain,” while defending the use of the term “coyuntural” — temporary situation* — to name the return of he economic crisis in the country. In the best … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel Calls Opponents "Cain" and Defends the “Temporary Situation””
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 24 September 2019 — Carmelo Mesa-Lago is a known but enigmatic figure. An economist cited by both Tyrians and Trojans, with a father born in Guanabacoa and a mother from Regla, for decades we have seen him explain Cuba through his data and figures. Few know his informal, almost domestic side, in which … Continue reading “The Memoir of a Great Figure of the Cuban Exile”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, August 4, 2019 — “This was one of the places where more people joined,” remembers Loipa, a resident of Malecón and Escobar in Central Havana. Twenty-five years after the Maleconazo*, the events of that day have taken the form of an urban legend that older people tell and younger ones don’t … Continue reading “‘Maleconazo’ Turns 25 Between Legend and Oblivion”
14ymedio, Havana, July 24, 2019 — Russia isn’t waiting time. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s tour through Latin America, which began this Tuesday with his arrival in Havana, sent the clear message that the old ally maintains with the Island a “deep agreement on the international agenda,” said the Minister of Foreign Relations, Bruno Rodríguez, during a … Continue reading “Lavrov Closes Ranks with Havana and "With the Cuban Leaders"”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, July 15, 2019 — Many economists have been seized by incredulity at the official announcement that Cuba’s Gross Domestic Product recorded an increase of 2.2% in 2018, almost double the 1.2% published last December by the same authorities. In his speech last Saturday before Parliament, president Miguel Díaz-Canel took a surprising … Continue reading “Did the Cuban Economy Grow 2.2% in 2018?”
14ymedio, 27 June 2019 — Cuban president Miguel Díaz-Canel announced, on Thursday, a salary increase for workers in the state sector. A statement read on Television News detailed that the minimum wage on the island is set at 400 CUP per month, about 16 dollars, while the average salary reaches 1,067 CUP (roughly $42.70 US), … Continue reading “Cuban Government Announces Salary Increase for More than 1.4 Million State Workers”
14ymedio, Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Pittsburgh, April 9, 2019 — The 60th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution is an opportune time to examine how things have changed and how things remain the same in the intervening years. The country’s market economy lasted until 1958 but, by 1961, had been transformed into a centrally planned economy overwhelmingly dominated … Continue reading “Change and Continuity in Cuba”
