English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Bogota, 15 February 2020 – There are three of them and they are sitting on a wall in front of a restaurant in the Chapinero neighborhood. The girl is restless and the mother tries to keep her from walking into the busy avenue. Meanwhile, the father asks for money. He is about 20 years … Continue reading “In the Streets of Bogota, Thousands of Venezuelans Barely Survive”
Cubanet, Miriam Celaya, West Palm Beach, 9 December 2018 — Judging by the winds that are blowing through Cuba, those people who say that nothing changes on the Island should begin to reconsider such opinions. It is a fact that some changes have begun, and not precisely those from the seat of Power – which … Continue reading “Between Strikes and Demands: From Obedience to Rebelliousness / Miriam Celaya”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 December 2018 — The Cuban government has yielded to the pressures and unrest that have been incubating in Cuban streets for weeks, since new measures were announced to impose new controls over the private sector. In an unusual gesture, the authorities have softened some aspects of the rules that regulate self-employment after a barrage … Continue reading “Cuban Government Yields to Pressures from Self-Employed and Keeps the Right to Hold Multiple Licenses”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 February 2020 — The Cuban Association of Autonomous Carriers (ACTA) in Havana, Mayabeque and Artemis provinces, released a document on Thursdays with five demands of the Government which, if not satisfied, will lead them to maintain the work stoppage that began several days ago, after new regulations governing the sector went into … Continue reading “Cuba’s Taxi Drivers Will Remain Idle if Their Demands Are Not Met”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 November 2019 — A little more than a year has been enough for the authorities to have back down on several measures adopted at the end of 2018 that restricted the work of private carriers in the Cuban capital, a sector that responded to these limitations with complaints and several strikes. After … Continue reading “Cuban Government Gives Way and Modifies License for Private Carriers”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 December 2018 — “I’m going to the hospital, I have high blood pressure,” “I’m on my way to pick up some customers,” “my wife called me because she has a pain,” were some of the justifications given this Friday by the drivers of shared fixed-route taxis when a inspector stopped them for circulating … Continue reading “For Second Day, Taxis Circulate Empty in Havana”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, December 7, 2018 — The Government has pressured private shared-taxi* drivers in Havana not to join a transport strike this Friday in protest of measures that seek to regulate the self-employed sector. The police have threatened to confiscate the vehicles of those drivers who don’t go out to work. The tension … Continue reading “"If You Join the Strike, We’ll Confiscate Your Car"”
