English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, April 16, 2024 — Cuba and Vietnam agreed on Monday to a protocol that covers more than 50 new agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in numerous sectors of the economy, trade, investment and other areas, such as education and science. The document is the result of the 41st Intergovernmental Commission for bilateral economic and … Continue reading “Vietnam Donates 1,650 Tons of Rice to Cuba”
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 28 March 2024 — Since technical advisors from Vietnam left in frustration in 2022, the rice farmers of Sierpe, a town in Sancti Spíritus province, are increasingly feeling pressure from the state to increase production. They are not happy about having to turn over the bulk of their crops to … Continue reading “Rice Production in Sierpe, Cuba Falls 62 Percent after Vietnamese Advisors Leave”
14ymedio, Havana, August 23, 2023 — Cuba will receive a shipment of 1,200 tons of rice donated by the Government of Vietnam. Although it is not known when it will arrive, a “symbolic delivery” took place this Monday during a meeting between officials of the Communist Party of the Island and a delegation from Ho … Continue reading “To Compensate for the Shortage, Vietnam Makes a Third Donation of Rice to Cuba This Year”
14ymedio, Madrid, 4 July 2023 — In the absence of an increase in agricultural production, and in the midst of an unprecedented shortage and inflation, more rice donated by Vietnam will arrive in Cuba. In May the Asian country sent 5,000 tons; this time it will send 2,000. The first shipment left the port of … Continue reading “Two Thousand More Tons of Donated Vietnamese Rice Will Arrive in Cuba in September”
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 2 May 2023 — The residents of La Sierpe, in Sancti Spíritus, glued their eyes and ears to national television this weekend while the news of the official visit of senior Cuban officials to Vietnam was presented. The tone disseminated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was exalted. “For Vietnam … Continue reading “Tired of Cuban Inefficiency, the Vietnamese Abandon Their Successful Rice Project”
14ymedio, Madrid, 26 April 2023 — The rise in prices accelerated in March in Cuba, where eating and drinking is already almost 11% more expensive than when the year began. With an increase of 4.5% in the third month of the year alone, acquiring food and non-alcoholic beverages costs 75% more than in March 2022. … Continue reading “In March, the Price of Rice in Cuba Skyrocketed by 23.1 Percent Despite Donations From Vietnam”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2023 — Cuba is scheduled to receive a new donation of rice in May. The five thousand tons being provided by Vietnam is intended to help relieve a shortage affecting almost half the island. Do Viet Duc, general director of State Reserves of Vietnam, said that it will consist of white … Continue reading “Vietnam to Donate Thousands of Tons More Rice to Cuba to Deal with an Unprecedented Shortage”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 18 May 2021 — Cuban families describe Vietnamese rice sold in the rationed market as shriveled, with a bad smell and little expansion when cooked. “Here we call it ’the military man’ because it comes in platoons, there is no way that it will fall apart,” Manso García, a traditional rice producer from the Rodas … Continue reading “Cubans Prefer to Pay 10 Pesos for Uruguayan Rice Rather Than 7 Pesos for Vietnamese”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 May 2019 — Twenty years have passed since the start of the collaboration between Cuba and Vietnam to increase the island’s rice production. The authorities plan to produce 86% of internal demand in the new phase of the project, which begins this year and should end in 2023. This new cycle, the fifth … Continue reading “Cuba Tries to Meet 86% of the Demand for Rice with Help from Vietnam”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 June 2016 – Rice is again a symbol of friendship between Cuba and Vietnam. The signing, this Thursday, of the record of delivery and receipt of 5,000 tons of rice donated by the Vietnamese Communist party – the State – is added to the joint agricultural programs carried out by both countries … Continue reading “5,000 Tons Of Vietnamese Rice Arrive In Cuba / 14ymedio”
When someone shows up in the same place over and over again, in Cuba we say “he’s like white rice.” It’s a very popular way to refer to someone whose presence is excessive, be it in a determined sphere, activity, or process. The metaphor obviously comes from the starring role this grain has in the … Continue reading “Raúl Castro Goes to Vietnam to Ensure Rice on Cuban Plates / Yoani Sánchez”
In the absence of stevedores, the authorities summon the population and the Army 14ymedio, Havana, July 8, 2024 — The Cuban authorities have put the population to work unloading rice from the ships due to the lack of stevedores in the ports. This is recognized in articles in the official press published this Monday, one … Continue reading “If You Want the Rice From the Cuban Ration Book, You Have To Go Unload the Ship”
14ymedio, Havana, 4 April 2024 — A donation of 68 tons of rice from China landed this Wednesday at the José Martí International Airport in Havana. The aid is part of a program to send a total of 408 tons of the product this April to the Island – 1% of the 36,000 tons consumed … Continue reading “China Will Send 1 Percent of Cuba’s Monthly Rice Need for April”
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, August 17, 2023 — With the lack of rain, the departure of Vietnamese technicians and, now, a new state regulation that will limit the amount assigned for producers’ consumption, the rice-growing region of La Sierpe, in Sancti Spíritus, is living through difficult times. This norm, which has not yet gone … Continue reading “Cuban Rice Producers Threaten to Stop Growing if the State Limits Their Own Consumption”
14ymedio, Havana, June 30, 2023 — Members of Cuba’s ruling party offered an unprecedented, sudden and impassioned defense of capitalism on Friday. The statements came as part of an extensive two-person interview published in Cubadebate on the role of micro, small and medium-sized companies companies (MSMEs) in the nation’s economy. Though they acknowledged the misgivings … Continue reading “Cuban Officials Praise Chinese and Vietnamese-style Capitalism”
