English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Cubanet, Luis Cino, Havana, 27 March 2024 — More than a few Cubans in exile are skeptical about the scope and effectiveness of the current protests by the Cuban population. They belittle them, arguing (in agreement with the official narrative) that the demonstrations are only about food and electricity, and that to calm them down will … Continue reading “Popular Protests Have the Cuban Regime Backed Into a Corner / Cubanet”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Madrid, 12 February 2023 — In Cuba there will be elections in March for the National Assembly of the People’s Power (ANPP). These are potentially the most important elections the system provides. Ricardo Alarcón, former President of Parliament, realized this and Raúl Castro dismissed him and did not allow him to … Continue reading “How to Enthrone Democracy and the Market in Cuba in Just 365 Days”
14ymedio, Frank Calzón, Miami, 13 August 2022 — In the midst of the tragedy of the oil tank accident in Matanzas, Cuban President Díaz-Canel made some triumphalist statements modeled on the speeches of the former Maximum Leader. The declarations almost coincide with a birthday of Fidel Castro, a man whose regime is still in power on … Continue reading “One Day, Cubans Will Find Out How Cowardly Fidel Castro Was All His Life”
14ymedio, Ariel Hidalgo, 14 January 2019 — The dissidence, as an organized civic movement, wasn’t born in Cuba until 1983. At the beginning of October of that year, I found myself in Combinado del Este prison, serving eight years for a manuscript critical of the political system, when I met a new prisoner: Ricardo Bofill … Continue reading “The Triumph and Defeat of the Cuban Dissidence”
HAVANA, Cuba , September, www.cubanet.org – I chose to let a few days pass before writing a few lines about the unfortunate death of the eminent Cuban economist Oscar Espinosa Chepe, in Madrid last Monday. I knew that many colleagues would write about it but was not intimidated by the idea that my possible arguments … Continue reading “My Friend Chepe / Rene Gomez Manzano”
Dear Brothers and Sisters: In Santiago de Cuba it is just dawning. Today, Friday October 26, 2012, just 48 hours after the horrible devastation left behind Hurricane Sandy, I got up early to pray and write. Amid the sadness for so many families left destitute, as Eliseo Diego said of the man with the bundle … Continue reading “To My Cuban Brothers and Sisters in Exile / Padre Jose Conrado Rodriguez Alegre”
Before the olive-green autocracy designed economic reforms, the peaceful, illegal opposition was demanding opportunities in small businesses and in the agricultural sector as well as repeal of the absurd apartheid in the tourist, information and technology spheres that turned the Cuban into a third class citizen. General Raul Castro and his entourage of technocrats headed … Continue reading “The Silent Successes of the Cuban Dissidence / Ivan Garcia”
