14ymedio

Traffic Light Power Failure Causes Accident in Havana

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 7 March 2023 – A traffic accident in Havana on Tuesday left two people with light injuries: the drivers of cars which collided at the intersection of Calle 17 and Avenida de los Presidentes (Calle G) on El Vedado.

During a power cut — and consequent loss of traffic light functionality — one of the drivers, travelling on Calle G in a white VW hit an orange Fiat 126 travelling towards calle 17 and ended up on its side in the middle of the road. Both drivers – each over sixty years old — emerged unhurt but extremely nervous.

As reported to this paper the driver of the orange vehicle was bleeding as he hung onto his spectacles and the other driver of the white car was limping. The former was helped by a nurse — a friend of the family. The other — from Ciego de Ávila — was just on his way back from the nearby Heart Surgery and Cardiology institute — from a meeting where they had reviewed his recent open heart surgery.

The little orange Fiat 126 which was travelling on Calle 17 and ended up on its side. (14ymedio)

Both parties had additional problems though: The Fiat driver, faces the problem of getting replacement parts for a car that was first imported to the island in times of business with Eastern European communist countries. The driver from Ciego de Ávila couldn’t even get home because of the lack of available public transport.

“It was the power-cut’s fault”, said one of the rubberneckers at the scene. “But the drivers themselves were a bit negligent — one of them for not respecting the right of way on Calle G and the other for not driving slowly enough and stopping”.

“The main cause was the power cut”, said one of the rubberneckers at the scene, “but the drivers themselves were also to blame”. (14ymedio)

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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‘The Blackouts are Taking Off Again’ Throughout Cuba

Unit 2 of the Matanzas thermoelectric plant, Antonio Guiteras, is also out of service. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2023 — Heat begins to squeeze the inhabitants of the Island, and the demand for energy grows faster than the generation recovers. This Tuesday, many Cubans choked on their breakfasts when Cuban television announced power cuts of up to seven hours in some parts of the Island.

“Yesterday in Sancti Spíritus they turned off the electricity around 5 in the afternoon and turned it on around 8:30. The blackouts are taking off,” says the 14ymedio correspondent in the province, which is already enduring the first prolonged cuts.

A little later, the Unión Eléctrica (UNE) disseminated on its social networks the summary of yesterday’s activity, confirming 7 p.m. as the worst moment of the day, when there was a deficit of 541 MW. The company also published its generation forecast for today, when a deficit of 23% of electricity is expected in the evening, the time of highest consumption. The company expects an electricity generation capacity of 2,277 megawatts (MW) and a maximum demand of 2,860 MW.

In total, 237 MW of the generation produced in the thermoelectric plants are missing, since the following are out of service: unit 6 of the Máximo Gómez, in Mariel (Artemisa); unit 3 of the Ernesto Guevara, in Santa Cruz (Mayabeque); unit 2 of the Antonio Guiteras, in Matanzas; unit 5 of Diez de Octubre, in Nuevitas (Camagüey); Unit 2 of Lidio Ramón Pérez, in Felton (Holguín); and unit 5 of Antonio Maceo, called Renté, in Santiago de Cuba. continue reading

They are joined by three units under maintenance, one in Cienfuegos and two in the Renté plant, in addition to the deficiencies in the distributed generation. As for the generation, 933 MW do not work and 322 MW are under maintenance. In that context, the 20 MW provided by the Puerto Escondido unit and the 70 MW of the Renté plant, whose unit 5 enters at peak time, fall short.

Despite the lack of expectations that citizens already have in the face of the Government’s promises, some customers regret having believed the words of the Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy, who proposed a maintenance program aimed at repairing the thermoelectric plants that would began in January, when the climate is cooler and therefore favorable, and end in May, to tackle the warm weather when demand skyrockets.

In January, the minister announced that with this plan the power cuts weren’t going to disappear, but they would be for only one or two hours compared to 14 to 16 hours last summer, when an unprecedented crisis led to a multitude of protests in different parts of the country. However, already in February, blackout periods began to be extended to three and four hours.

“And we thought that at this point the situation was going to be resolved with scheduled maintenance,” complains a disappointed user on the UNE networks.

Between February 13 and 22, from the center to the east of Cuba, there were four large blackouts that left half the Island in the dark, fueling the fears of the population and the feeling of grievance among the inhabitants of that area, who feel discriminated against. All the Turkish floating power plants that contribute to electricity generation are located in the west.

The authorities of the sector said that one floating plant was going to be sent to Santiago de Cuba to minimize the problem, since the location of all of them in Havana — due to the greater presence of companies and concentration of population — was catastrophic for the east of the Island, but the inhabitants continue to feel affected and report that the floating plant still hasn’t arrived.

“The party started again, to suffer with the Apagón [blackout] orchestra giving their annoying concerts all over Cuba. The same never-ending story,” a client bitterly quipped, in a play on words that recalls the traditional Aragon orchestra. Another is already ahead of the fear that exists on the Island: “I’m just saying that the heat is coming and they are fucking us again with 10 or 12 hours of blackouts.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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More Than 2,600 Migrants Have Been Returned to Cuba This Year From Several Countries

The number of repatriations from the United States grows by the hundreds almost weekly. (Twitter/Chief Raul Ortiz)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 7 March 2023 — More than 2,600 Cubans who were trying to migrate have been returned to their country from different nations so far this year, the Ministry of the Interior of the Island reported on Monday after including the last 75 returned by the United States.

The United States Coast Guard delivered a group of rafters a day earlier — 54 men, 20 women and a minor, most of them residents in the provinces of Matanzas and Granma — to the Cuban authorities through the Port of Orozco.

These people, without documentation, had participated in six illegal exits from the country by sea and were then intercepted by the US Coast Guard, the note said.

It also specified that with this operation — number 25 of the US Coast Guard Service in 2022 — a total of 1,918 Cuban rafters had been returned.

One of those returned is under detention “for finding himself as an alleged source of serious criminal acts, which were investigated prior to his departure,” it added. continue reading

Last week, other groups of irregular Cuban migrants were deported by the governments of Mexico (22 people), the Bahamas (128) and the United States (41).

The Government of Cuba insists that it maintains its commitment “to regular, safe and orderly migration” and insists on “the danger and life-threatening conditions represented by illegal departures from the country by sea.”

In addition to the Bahamas, Mexico and the United States, so far this year migrants have also been deported to Cuba from the Cayman Islands and the Dominican Republic.

In the case of the United States, since October 1, U.S. Coast Guard crews have intercepted more than 5,740 Cubans, a high figure compared to previous years.

At the beginning of 2023, the Government of Washington implemented a policy to welcome 30,000 monthly migrants from Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba and Nicaragua. In parallel, it will immediately expel to Mexico migrants from those countries who try to cross its southern border in an irregular way.

Mexico, for its part, agreed to admit 30,000 migrants a month who are sent from U.S. territory.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba: Villa Clara Will Control the Prices of the Main Agricultural Products

The pricing of 20 agricultural products will take effect on March 11. (Provincial Government)

14ymedio, Havana, 7 March 2023 — Despite the failure of this type of measure in the past, Villa Clara will begin to control the prices of some agricultural products in the face of the “excessive and intolerable” rise of prices in the basic food basket. The resolution, issued by the Governing Council, establishes the maximum values for the wholesale and retail marketing of 20 high-demand foods, as of March 11.

Alberto López Díaz, governor of Villa Clara, announced the measure as “our own war” against high food prices and assured that the “opinions” of individual producers and other productive forms of 13 municipalities were taken into account. The price cap will be flexible and periodic, according to the production of the agricultural harvests.

In the meeting with farmers, the official lashed out at vendors, whom he accused of “indisciplines, illegalities and high prices,” while pointing out that “it is preferable to lose some product rather than allow impunity for those who abuse the humble people and demoralize society.”

The rule includes malanga, banana and tobacco, sweet potato and cassava, while in the vegetable group there are squash, cabbage, cucumber, pepper and tomato. Among the grains are rice, black and red beans, dry and tender corn. The fixed prices also include papaya, guava and pineapple. continue reading

The decree establishes that the marketing margin of the twenty foods may not exceed 40% of the value paid to the producer. It also includes a “reorganization” in the sales network in areas that are “really needed” because, the provincial government argues, right now there is disorder, and “anyone can mount” an illegal business without a license and payment to the treasury.

Authorities say that a pound of rice — a food that has been scarce in most Cuban families — is sold in the province at 135 pesos ($5.70). With the new rule, the price to the commodity stockpiles will be 70 pesos ($2.92), the price in the wholesale market will be 84 pesos ($3.50) and for the retailer (final consumer) 90 pesos ($3.75).

A pound of black beans for the retail buyer will be set at 120 pesos ($5), a pound of red beans at 130 ($5.42), dried corn at 45 ($1.88), tomatoes at 42 ($1.75) and pepper at 55 ($2.29), for example.

Food sales will only be allowed with an authorization issued by the provincial delegate of Agriculture, which in turn will have to have the endorsement of the municipal authority and be “reconciled” with the president of the productive form to which the producer belongs.

The decree also includes other market surveillance measures, such as the creation of five engagement groups with territorial authority to reduce the risk of illegal food transfer to other provinces. Their powers will not replace the municipal structures, but they will monitor compliance with what was agreed by the Government Council.

Producers who sell above the set limits will be forced to market the merchandise at the price set by the decree, and if they re-offend, the decree warns, their marketing license will be withdrawn. Similarly, the new rule orders telephones and emails to be available for complaints from citizens about irregularities.

In 2021, the Cuban government failed with a similar experience in setting the prices of agricultural products. At the beginning of that year, the maximum prices for sales in the private sector were approved, but, in August, the authorities reversed because the measures were a brake on production since the producers could not recover the money they invested.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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‘Hildina’, the Young Woman Who Exposes Poverty in Cuba on Her YouTube Channel, is Detained for More Than 7 Hours

Hildina’s channel on YouTube has more than 103,000 subscribers. (YouTube/Capture)

14ymedio, Havana, 9 March 2023 — Cuban YouTuber Hilda Núñez Díaz, also known as Hildina, was arrested on Thursday in Santiago de Cuba by police agents. More than 30 officials blocked access to the block where the young woman lives, they burst into her house and, after conducting a search, they seized her telephone and her computer.

“Hildina is already at home, she was fined and threatened, according to them (the Cuban regime) ‘for using social networks to discredit the government,’ and they made threats of all kinds as they well know how to do,” reported her own Facebook page.

“She has no way to communicate because they kept all her devices (cell phone, laptop, etc.)” adds the publication. “She is feeling very bad psychologically after everything she was put through and being treated like a criminal. Thank you to everyone who has shared what happened with her. Do not stop doing it.”

On Thursday morning, the Facebook page of the 24-year-old Youtuber had denounced that Hildina was being “interrogated” by State Security after a “big operation.” Several weeks ago, the young woman recorded a video in which she gave an account of the threats to which she was being subjected by the regime’s political police, who had prohibited her from “recording in Havana.”

Twenty-four-year-old Núñez “is being interrogated” by State Security after a “large operation,” states the young woman’s own Facebook page. Several weeks ago, Hildina had filmed a video where she recounted the threats to which she was being subjected by the regime’s political police, which had forbid her from “filming in Havana.” continue reading

“They know absolutely everything,” she decried, alluding to the blackmailing agent, who told her they would “complicate her life” and they reminded her that she was the mother of a small boy. “Where is the freedom of speech?” she demanded. “They don’t want people to know the reality of Cuba.”

Núñez continued working on her YouTube channel despite the media campaign against her launched by the regime. A Facebook profile associated with the state, Mercenarios en la mira [Targeted Mercenaries], attempted to discredit the young woman. It accused her of “hypocrisy,” of “manipulating the reality” of Cubans and of “selling herself as a good samaritan.”

A few minutes before Hildina’s arrest was made public, the same profile published another post. They described her as, uncovered, a “terrorist,” an “imposter with proven links to those who from the U.S. fund and incite violent acts on our national territory.” In addition, they mention, her presumed links with businessman Manuel Milanés and YouTuber Ultrack.

“Behind Hildina and her ‘inoffensive’ videos is the same strategy which ’spawned’ the most rancid and violent mercenaries living in the U.S.,” spewed Mercenarios en la mira [Targeted Mercenaries].

In her last livestream, on March 5th, Hildina said she received 34,000 pesos — around $200 — from a subscriber to her channel who lives in Germany. With that money, she went to the streets to buy food and give it to several disadvantaged people in Santiago de Cuba. In the video, the young woman divulged that State Security had prevented her from filming in a market in the city and that a woman had reprimanded her, calling her an “opponent.”

The report of Núñez’s arrest resulted in a wave of indignation among users. “Her content only talks about the day-to-day for Cubans and helps a lot of needy people with basic needs,” stated Jonathan Trujillo Pérez. “This is a violation of human rights. Once again, censure and the lack of freedom of expression are on display.”

The Cuban regime has toughened repressive measures against activists and opponents who live on the Island. The pressure for them to stop publishing content that challenge the government propaganda is one of the priorities of the political police.

Duanys Moreno, the young man provided minute-by-minute reports of the explosion at the Supertanker base in Matanzas, was harassed by State Security and spent several days subjected to torture and threats. Months later, he once again filmed from exile. “The most important thing in a struggle is to preserve life,” he declared to 14ymedio, alluding to the risk YouTubers face when complaining about the crisis in Cuba and the strict surveillance to which the regime subjects them.

Ruhama Fernández, also from Santiago, exiled today in Florida, was the victim of harassment and repression by the Political Police, who did not stop pressuring her to stop doing her work on YouTube. The young woman denounced many of the ills of the city and the country, such as the chronic shortage of food and the misery in which many families survive.

Translated by: Silvia Suárez

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Cuba’s Official Press Blames the Major League Players for Cuba’s Defeats in the Classic

After losing to Italy, the so-called Team Asere is at the bottom of group A, with “minimal” chances of moving to the next round. (Jit)

14ymedio, Havana, 9 March 2023 — Cuba’s options within the World Classic seemed to evaporate after adding another defeat, in an extra inning, 3-6 against Italy. It was “a good game,” said Cuban manager Armando Johnson. “I thought that once we tied we could do the job, that we could win the game, but you already saw that we couldn’t.”

Journalist Francys Romero was blunt after the defeat of the Cubans when he commented that the options for Team Asere in the World Classic are “minimal” and “reduced to 20%.” He did not fail to recognize, however, that it was “a game of total vertigo with constant returns of both teams in 10 innings” in front of some 6,000 spectators at the Intercontinental Stadium, in Taichung, Taiwan, with a capacity of 20,000.

The newspaper Pelota Cubana lamented that the Cuban representative “could not defend the great mound work of Roenis Elías.” The Chicago Cubs baseball player also offered his opinion about the panorama: “This is baseball. We have to keep fighting and moving forward. We went out to win; things didn’t go the way we wanted, but here we are, ready for tomorrow.” continue reading

The official newspaper Cubadebate, in its publication this Thursday, found those responsible for this defeat. There was the possibility of “breaking the tie in the third inning, after consecutive singles by Yadir Drake and Yadil Mujica” to which the “sacrifice of Yoelkis Guibert” was added, but “the major league players Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert were incapable of scoring.”

The same media stressed that against the Italian starter Matt Harvey, “Moncada perished in a fly to third and Robert tapped a harmless grounder to David Fletcher. Meanwhile, in the fifth inning, Moncada again struck out, with Quintana on third and Guibert on first.”

Faced with the comments about the lack of productivity presented by the Cuban batting, Johnson acknowledged at a press conference that “the offensive has not been working” and that “we wanted to have some runs, but (Italy) was ahead and we couldn’t.”

As for indications of a possible rotation of Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert, the Cuban manager said it would be analyzed among the “group of coaches” in the hotel. “I think that if there has to be some movement, it will happen. We are waiting to meet and do the relevant analyses.”

Francys Romero confirmed that “a conversation between the coaches and players took place at the clubhouse in Cuba.” In that talk, the one who took the baton was the manager and former shortstop of Industriales, Germán Mesa, who recalled that they still have possibilities and will continue fighting in the tournament, taking up the phrase of Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra: “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

The collaborator of Play-Off Magazine, Renier González Jr., lamented that although we have the best players in the world, “if we continue with these managers, we will not make much progress.” Through his Twitter account he exhibited his annoyance: “A team with a lot of potential is not being managed in the right way. Outs are given away in bunt hits. The pitching is handled badly. Players are lined up with a terrible defense.”

González Jr. stressed that “as long as we aren’t looking for trainers, coaches and people prepared in the world’s major leagues, we will continue the same way.”

Group A accomplished its second date in which the Netherlands remains undefeated (2-0,) followed by Italy (1-0), Panama (1-1), Taiwan (0-1) and Cuba (0-2).

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cuba: Some 200 Cold Rooms ‘Invented’ by Fidel Castro to Preserve Potatoes are Damaged

Potatoes ready to be stored in refrigerated chambers. (Granma)

14ymedio, Madrid, 8 March 2023 — Enfrigo, the state company dedicated to the conservation of cold products, has damaged 206 of its 574 refrigerated storerooms and must dedicate them to warehousing because they no longer refrigerate. The machinery, its directors told the the official Communist Party newspaper Granma this Tuesday, is obsolete and there are no longer parts on the market to repair it.

In total there are 31 refrigerators of Bulgarian origin on the island distributed throughout all the provinces with the exception of Cienfuegos, in turn made up of 368 active cold rooms: 284 are used for refrigeration and 84 for freezing.

The rest, says optimistic Adolfo Velázquez Concepción, director of the entity, “has great rental potential” to store products from private companies or cooperatives that are engaged in wholesale trade, something that is already being done in Havana, Holguín, Villa Clara and Matanzas.

The acquisition of new equipment will have to wait, due to the lack of financing, although the official said that they are negotiating with foreign firms to achieve “the necessary liquidity to support the purchase of parts that allow modernizing some components of the refrigerator machinery.” continue reading

For the past six years, Velázquez Concepción continues, the company has not been able to obtain any parts for the ammonia compressors, so the workers – who are called ’Committees of Innovators and Rationalizers’ – are forced to invent alternatives that postpone, as far as possible, the loss of more cold storage.

Other problems presented by most of the equipment are leaks, roof breaks or structural deficiencies, which lead to the development of ingenuity. According to Maivy Milanés Gómez, director of Business, Foreign Investment and Development of Refrigo, last year this ingenuity led to the adaptation of evaporators, and the recovery of the Packing Base and the water pump of the supply network, and the fabrication of rubber band couplings, among other achievements.

An Imprisoned Cuban Poet is the Image for PEN International for March 8th Women’s Day

The Cuban poet, storyteller and activist María Cristina Garrido, imprisoned in Cuba for participating in the popular protests on July 11, 2021. (Facebook)

EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami/Havana/Barcelona, 8 March 2023 — PEN International, the world association of writers, has chosen the Cuban poet, narrator and activist María Cristina Garrido, imprisoned in Cuba for participating the popular protests of 11 July 2021, as its image for the International Women’s Day.

“We need international and everyone’s support to demand freedom for the writer, sentenced to 7 years in prison,” requests PEN International in a statement released this Wednesday.

“On International Women’s Day, as we embrace the theme of equity, let us not forget the case of Cuban poet and activist Maria Cristina Garrido Rodríguez,” Zoe Rodríguez, President of the International Organization’s Women Writers Committee, said in the statement.

“Her unwavering courage in the face of unjust persecution serves as a reminder of the urgent need for equitable action in every society. Let us work towards a world where every woman is free to express herself without fear of punishment or persecution,” added Rodríguez. continue reading

“PEN International chooses figures from different parts of the world, imprisoned people, and campaigns for their freedom, which sometimes have results and other times do not,” the poet Luis de la Paz, president of the PEN Club of Cuban Writers in Exile, told EFE.

“Because it is Women’s Day, they took up the case of María Cristina Garrido to ask people to show solidarity with her, disseminate the information they have about this unjust imprisonment and write to figures of the apparatus of power in Cuba to get her released,” De la Paz commented.

“She is a very young writer (she was born in 1982), a lover of freedom like every writer, whom the Cuban government imprisoned after the protest that took place on the island in more than 48 cities. She was sentenced to seven years,” he said. the poet and also Cuban activist.

The writer María Cristina Garrido Rodríguez and her sister Angélica, who demonstrated on July 11, 2021 in San José de las Lajas (Mayabeque), were sentenced to 7 and 3 years in prison, respectively.

After her arrest, Garrido was beaten several times by the Cuban political police and subjected to forced disappearance for 18 days. Currently, she is incarcerated in the Guatao women’s prison, where “she has been subjected to cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment, such as isolation and beatings, and has been denied adequate food, water and sanitary conditions, as well as visits and family calls at some times.”

Last October, during the 88th congress of the organization held in Sweden, María Cristina Garrido “was visualized” with an empty chair in her name, noted De la Paz.

For their part, independent feminist activists in Cuba reiterated this Wednesday their demands regarding gender equality. Yo Sí Te Creo [Yes I Do Believe You] in Cuba (YSTC) demanded, for example, to have access to official figures on femicides – there are no official data – and a comprehensive law against gender violence.

The platforms reiterated on social networks the need to have shelters for victims of violence, to implement comprehensive protocols to care for them, as well as “the release of women and sexual dissidents detained for political reasons.”

The independent observatory Alas Tensas, in turn, reported the day before that it has verified 134 gender murders since it began recording these events in 2019.

The joint work between this platform and others that collect data on sexist violence made it possible to verify 14 femicides in 2019, 32 the following year, 36 in 2021 and a similar number last year.

For this reason they demand “the declaration of the State of Emergency due to Gender Violence” and condemn that they have not been heard.

A group of Cuban feminists demonstrated this March 8 in front of the Cuban Consulate in Barcelona against sexist violence and to demand the release of political prisoners on the Island.

Cuban feminist organizations have scheduled “international marches” in New York, Madrid, Uruguay and Barcelona to demand their rights and give voice to what they consider to be an alarming rise in cases of gender violence in the country.

“These marches on March 8 are intended to sensitize women in the international community about the real and unknown situation of Cuban women and to achieve solidarity at all levels,” the president of the Cuban Women’s Network, Elena Larrinaga de Luis, told EFE, gathered together with a group of women in front of the Cuban consulate, located in the center of Barcelona.

Cuban women will not be able to participate in the International Women’s Day event since they have been prohibited from demonstrating to demand their legitimate rights due to the absence of political freedoms in Cuba, explained Larrinaga de Luis.

They demand more state intervention and transparency since the government does not present official figures of the victims of gender violence. “Make a complaint to the world and show solidarity with the entire Cuban people,” argued one of the protesters, Kenia Hernández Barrera.

So far in 2023, Cuba has already suffered 16 femicides, almost two cases per week, according to the independent observatories Yo si te creo Cuba (YSTC) and Alas Tensas (OAT), in addition to the “increase” in disappearances and kidnappings of women and girls in the country.

Cuban women have also marched this March 8^th (8M) due to the increase in “political persecution” in the country, with 992 political prisoners of which 136 are women, imprisoned for their ideas, according to data provided by the Cuban Observatory for Human Rights.

The protesters denounce the political repression and demand immediate freedom for all those imprisoned since the protests of 11 July 2021 (11J), when Cubans came out to demand respect for human rights, better living conditions and greater freedom of expression.

Cuban feminist organizations argue that the massive protests against the government marked a before and after in the country, increasing persecution and harassment against activists, journalists and relatives of political prisoners and the prohibition of any form of public dissent.

Teresa Rodríguez, one of the protesters and the mother of three young people imprisoned for 11J, explained to EFE: “I am here in front of the consulate to demonstrate against the dictatorship and in favor of the freedom of political prisoners in Cuba.”

“The great struggle from exile is to explain what it means to take up the dictates of a single party and the danger that dissenting implies for a person, and to understand that one lives in a country where violence is perpetrated against women from the public sphere and private,” Larrinaga de Luis pointed out.

Cuba is the only country in the Western Hemisphere that has not classified gender violence as a crime, and any social demand is understood as a challenge to the State, the activist added.

“The dictatorship has not created a law, not one, that is capable of defending women, the rights of women and the rights of girls,” said Kenia Hernández.

The great struggle of Cuban feminism, in addition to eliminating institutional and gender violence, is the “real recognition of the woman as such, as a natural person and subject of law,” highlighted the president of the Cuban Women’s Network.

Cuban feminist organizations have taken to the streets this Wednesday and have gathered in different cities to fight and give a voice to all those women residing in Cuba who have not been able to exercise their right to demonstrate on March 8.

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Member of Parliament, Labeled a Repressor, Has No Opinion on a Democratic Transition in Cuba

Arelys Falcón Hernandez, rector of Medical Sciences at the University of Cienfuegos and a member of Cuba’s National Assembly.

14ymedio, Madrid, March 6, 2023 — While on a private visit to the Spanish city of Santiago de Campostela, Arelys Falcón Hernandez — the rector of Medical Sciences at the University of Cienfuegos and a member of the Cuban National Assembly — was interviewed by the newspaper Correo Gallego. Falcón responded in ways reminiscent of Fidel Castro until, near the end of the interview, she was asked a question about a possible transition to democracy on the island.

Falcón’s name was added to a “list of repressors” compiled by the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba for having fired a university professor, the engineer David Martinez Espinosa, on October 19, 2021. Martinez had helped publicize a protest march that had been planned, and later repressed, for November 15 of that year. She avoided the topic, claiming that her previous responses were reflections of her personal opinion. “I am not going to make assessments as a deputy of the National Assembly because that is not the purpose of my trip,” she said.

When the interviewer asked if allowing members of the opposition to join the National Assembly was something being considered, Falcón rejected the idea, saying that the Cuban Communist Party, to which she belongs, shall decide the chamber’s composition. “In Cuba there is only one party,” she replied, “but the National Assembly… is a diverse body in which there are people with religious backgrounds, housewives who are unaffiliated… Everyone has the opportunity,” she said. continue reading

She claimed that candidates for 50% of the seats are nominated by the population at-large and by large-scale organizations, as though these groups act independently. As far as Falcón is concerned, the process is very transparent. Though Cuban electoral law does state that all citizens in “full enjoyment of their civil rights” can apply and may be approved to be candidates after a review of their qualifications and abilities, an independent candidacy has never been successful.

In April 2015, two independents — Hildebrando Chaviano and Yuniel Lopez — were vying to represent two separate Havana constituencies. Their names did appear on the ballot but their accompanying biographies, scripted by electoral commissions, described them as “counterrevolutionary elements.” Neither was elected.

Falcón did consider it appropriate to comment on other issues, one of them being a possible thaw in relations with the U.S. now that the Democrats are in the White House. She does not see any sign of a rapprochement, rather the opposite. “The Biden government has not lifted a finger to undo any of the measures adopted by the Trump administration,” she complains, adding that Cuba wants to improve relations, but without pressure or conditions. “The allegedly more open attitude of the new American government seems farcical to me,” she said.

As far as Latin America goes, Falcón stated she believes that recent elections there have produced governments in several countries that may be more inclined to look favorably on economic integration, or on creating common markets in which Cuba is a member. She would not go further, however, indicating that Cuba respects the policies of other countries and does not interfere.

Falcón also addressed Cuba’s economic situation, which has grown worse since the start of the war in Ukraine, describing the island as “a country under blockade” that is further plagued by pandemic. She described the relationship with Russia as one of friendship and says that the Cuban government is working “with great hope and great commitment to continue guaranteeing the well-being of the people.” That is why, she said, “Cuba is open to all foreign investment.” She mentioned areas such as pharmaceuticals and tourism, citing Spanish businessmen who have worked for decades on the island with beneficial results for both parties. There may be other investment opportunities, she suggested, that are not in that portfolio but which could be attractive.”

Falcón used her stay in Spain to visit and meet with friends in the healthcare education sector. When asked what main difference she found in the Spanish system, she noted that students entered medical schools the first year of their studies.

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Deprived of the Right to Take to the Streets, on March 8 Cuban Women Will Wear a Black Ribbon on Their Hands

Feminist groups have begun to wear a black ribbon tied to the wrist to symbolize their rejection of male violence. (YoSíTeCreo)

14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 8 March 2023 — Gladys lives in Caibarién, a small coastal city in the center of Cuba. Two months ago, her son left with other young people on a rustic raft to try to reach the United States. She since then she has heard nothing from them. A teacher by profession and retired a decade ago, the woman spends her hours checking social networks and calling the family of the other disappeared rafters to find out if they have any news. This March 8, International Women’s Day, will be longer than usual for her: without celebrations or laughter.

“There, that’s where they killed her,” says a resident of Camalote, in the province of Camagüey, when someone inquires about 17-year-old Leidy Bacallao Santana. On February 3, the young woman sought refuge at the police station in the face of threats from her ex-boyfriend, but he chased her and ended up killing her with a machete in front of the uniformed officers. Since the beginning of the year, 16 Cuban women have died in sexist attacks in a country where official propaganda refuses to recognize the femicides that leave so many families in mourning. From the Government, the only stories narrated are those of happy woman, fulfilled and grateful for the system.

Wearing her white coat, Danurys leaves every morning for her job at a doctor’s office. She graduated just a few months ago and dreams of later doing a specialty in pediatrics. This week she has not had anything for breakfast despite the fact that the salaries in the Public Health sector are among the highest in the country. The devaluation of the Cuban peso and the rise in the price of basic products, together with the chronic shortages and the productive inefficiency of the country, mean that a piece of bread, a glass of milk or a sip of coffee have become unaffordable for the pockets of many. continue reading

The young woman from Galena does not want to pack her bags and leave, as more than 350,000 Cubans did last year, but she does not know how much longer she will be able to cope with material hardships and low salaries. She doesn’t even plan to have children in the coming years: “Giving birth here, no, that’s clear to me,” she concludes categorically.

One hundred years ago, the grandmothers of Gladys, Leidy and Danurys took to the Cuban streets demanding their right to vote, they celebrated having achieved the first Divorce Law on the Island after decades of demands, and they fought for labor inclusion and salary dignity. During the first half of the 20th century, the feminist movement on the Island achieved important reforms in the Civil Code and significant demands regarding marriage, maternity, study and work. They were not easy conquests. Many of them spent their tears and their energies at rallies, conferences and public protests, but significantly paved the way.

This year, a group of Cuban feminists decided to deliver a letter to Parliament requesting permission for a peaceful demonstration. The National Assembly did not accept the letter and some of these women were subsequently harassed and detained. The repression has forced them to launch another initiative: to wear a black ribbon on their hands during this day as a sign of mourning, against femicides and in favor of a Comprehensive Law that protects women from sexist violence. A “virtual march” is being organized on social networks to replace the physical demonstration vetoed by the ruling party. Gladys, Danurys and Leidy’s relatives will have to settle for showing their indignation on the internet. At the moment their demands are only allowed in the digital space, but one day they will recover the streets. Almost there.

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Editor’s Note: This text was originally published by Deutsche Welle ‘s Latin America page .

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The State Construction Sector in Cuba Remains Without Workers Due to Flight to the Private Sector

Last week it was announced that 10,000 electrical workers left their positions in 2022, and this Monday the news was amplified with a report on the absence of construction employees, in this case in Sancti Spíritus. (Juventud Rebelde)

14ymedio, Madrid, March 6, 2023 — The flight of professionals from the state sector in Cuba has become an issue for the official press, which gives figures for a situation that was already known at street level. Last week it was announced that 10,000 electrical workers left their positions in 2022, and this Monday the news was amplified with a report on the absence of construction employees, in this case in Sancti Spíritus.

In the last eight years, the province’s Construction and Assembly Company lost 1,000 workers, 500 of them in 2022. The Ministry of Construction estimates that the province needs at least twice as many personnel as it has at the moment.

In 2015, the entity had 2,426 employees, but emigration and flight to the private sector have left it without manual labor, the official newspaper Escambray said on Monday, “I don’t want to spend my last years of work with a salary that doesn’t even reach 3,000 pesos [$125/month] because how am I going to retire? That’s why I went to an SME [small and medium-sized enterprise], with the expectation that my salary would be increased, which is now triple and sometimes more,” argues one of the former workers, who after 30 years in construction refuses to return because he seeks to “subsist.” continue reading

According to Osvaldo Acosta Rodríguez, the company’s head of human resources, there is a lack of incentive to keep workers trained in the sector. “We have a school that still trains workers in the different specialties, but there is no established mechanism to retain those who graduate. The same happens with the inmates who go through school and when they leave the penitentiary center are no longer a responsibility of the Ministry of the Interior or of the Court, which also does not have a legal apparatus for them to stay in construction, even when we give them an evaluation that serves anywhere.”

The lack of employees joins the thousand problems that prevent having the raw material for construction. Hydraulic works, industrial construction, tourism, road works and, of course, the execution of housing programs hang in the balance.

The Leaders who Benefited from Chavez’s Extravagance Come Together in Caracas

Meeting of politicians related to chavismo in Caracas, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the death of the Venezuelan commander. (EFE/ Prensa Miraflores)

14ymedio/EFE, Madrid, 6 March 2023 — “Chávez and his compañeros in the struggle shook our continent and impacted the contemporary history of our America,” claimed General Raúl Castro this Sunday at the closing ceremony for the tenth anniversary of the death of Hugo Chávez. The former Cuban president knew how to thank the generosity of the deceased, from which the Island continues to consume at the rate of about 50,000 barrels of oil per month on average, and he praised the favorite son of the Cuban Revolution in Venezuela.

“His departure was very painful for us. Chávez was our brother in the struggle, who instantly won the sympathy of our people. (…) Very early Fidel saw in him a revolutionary leader and foresaw his political future, when many still did not even know him,” Raúl said at the event, held under the bombastic name of “World Meeting: Validity of the Bolivarian Thought of Commander Hugo Chávez in the 21st century.”

Castro, who traveled to Caracas, as did Rafael Correa, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, Manuel Zelaya and Luis Arce, among others, referred at length to the friendship between his brother Fidel and the “eternal commander,” who shared, he said, the idea “that victory exists as long as you fight for it.”

“They didn’t stop planning how to turn their dreams into reality. (…) Fidel and Chávez linked their ideas with that colossal ability to think big,” he added. He also explained that Maduro and Chávez himself frequently visited his older brother, giving him “love and affection” during his illness, which was reciprocated by the leader of the Revolution during Chávez’s medical treatment in Havana. continue reading

“He set goals that also point the way for us,” Castro insisted in his speech. We have been marked by Chávez.” There was no lack among the general’s words of the always-present reproach against the United States for “the continuous imperialist aggressions against the Bolivarian Revolution, to overthrow it,” although he praised the “ability of the people and the Bolivarian leadership to resist.”

The event was headed by Nicolás Maduro who requested that they maintain the political, ideological, moral union and ward off any “divisionist force.”

“There are always destructive forces (…) that intend to blur the path of resistance of the revolution, that intend to take advantage of the difficulties (…). The people have to say No very clearly to these forces (…) and take care of the political union, the ideological union, the spiritual union, the moral union of our people,” he said.

The current Venezuelan leader said that, despite the ten years without the physical presence of his predecessor, “there has been a permanent presence of his ideal, his revolutionary drive and the sworn commitment to advance in the construction of the free, independent, sovereign, socialist homeland.”

“Who knows about the difficulties our people have, the threats, aggressions, criminal sanctions, and they believed, the American empire, that they could impose their colonial model on our country. But we have said very clearly, colonial model no, free homeland yes (…) that’s how we are shaping the path for the years to come,” he added.

Earlier, the ruling party paid another tribute to Hugo Chávez in the barracks from which he led the 1992 coup d’état against then Venezuelan president, Carlos Andrés Pérez.

In the Cuartel de la Montaña, an old military museum renamed Fourth of February in honor of the date in 1992 when, from its premises, Chávez led the coup d’état, members of the Government and sympathizers of the man who governed the destinies of Venezuela until 2013 remembered his legacy.

“We have the enormous commitment, 10 years after the physical departure of our commander, (to) continue strengthening popular unity, the vanguard of the revolution in Venezuela and beyond, because this is an internationalist project,” said the Venezuelan ambassador to Cuba, Adán Chávez, brother of the deceased president.

Thousands of Chávez supporters attended the event. “Today I come here to honor our eternal commander Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, the man who woke up the Venezuelan people, the man who told the people that yes, there is love here,” said Francisco Morillo, a Venezuelan interviewed by the EFE agency who was grateful to Chávez for “waking up the Venezuelan people” and ratified his support for the current president, Nicolás Maduro.

The last ten years, said María Eugenia Barrios, another attendee, have been “a very hard battle,” but Maduro “has been overcoming each of the difficulties to benefit us, to continue with the legacy and responsibility that Commander Chávez left him.”

Chávez died on March 5, 2013 at the age of 58, a victim of a cancer for which he was treated for months in Cuba.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Unstable Wall Threatens Passers-by in Calle Zapata, Havana

Several years ago, the now disappeared Pyramids Kiosk stood on this spot, where they sold goods in CUC (convertible pesos) before the Tarea Ordenamiento law came into force. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 6 March 2023 — The outer wall of an old building on Calle Zapata, between calles Infanta and Basarrate, is just one of countless structures in the capital which is threatening to collapse. Each day local residents nervously check on its dangerous angle of inclination.

“Does anyone think that these old wooden poles they’ve put up are going to keep this wall standing upright?”, murmured a passer-by this morning. “It’s tremendously irresponsible. They should just demolish it as soon as possible”, a bread vendor replied. “In Monte a wall just like this one collapsed and killed a colleague of mine”.

Zapata, which starts in the middle of Calle Infanta, is a mainly circulatory route, and although some while ago the line/queue outside the H. Upmann store disappeared on this street, there are still cars and pedestrians travelling through here daily, unaware of the danger.

Several years ago, the now disappeared Pyramids Kiosk stood on this spot, where they sold goods in CUC (convertible pesos) before the Tarea Ordenamiento* law came into force.

Today all that remains is this troubling facade, which seems certain to cause an accident. It’s yet another one in a city whose buildings keep falling down without the authorities doing anything about it.

*Translator’s note: The “Ordering Task” [Tarea Ordenamiento] is a collection of measures that include eliminating the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC), leaving the Cuban peso as the only national currency, raising prices, raising salaries (but not as much as prices), opening stores that take payment only in hard currency which must be in the form of specially issued pre-paid debit cards, and a broad range of other measures targeted to different elements of the Cuban economy.

Translated by Ricardo Recluso

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Gas Rationed in Villa Clara to Deal with Cuba’s Fuel Crisis

Restrictions on gasoline purchases have remained in place for several years. (Vanguardia)

14ymedio, Havana, 6 March 2023 — Sales of gasoline are being limited to thirty liters per automobile at service centers in Villa Clara according to Yudit Hernandez Carrazanathe, coordinator of Governmental Programs and Objectives, in an interview with local broadcaster CMHW. The measure takes effect immediately and applies to all gas stations in the province.

The decision to ration gas is an attempt to address the critical fuel shortage. The so-called motonetas (motorized tricycles or motorcycles outfitted with compartments for carrying cargo or passengers) may only buy twenty liters while motorcycles will have to get by on ten.

Though Hernandez did not say if customers will have to wait a certain period of time before buying more gas after the allotted amount has been purchased, a local driver who uses his vehicle as a taxi told 14ymedio, “The lines at the gas stations are so long that no one can buy more than once a week.”

“I would have to quit work to spend all my time in line buying the gas I need to transport passengers,” he says. “If I do that, I may as well turn in my taxi license because I won’t have time to drive people around.” continue reading

Hernandez added, “Filling other containers with gasoline at service stations is also prohibited except in special cases authorized by local governments, which may allot five liters of gasoline to owners of electric generators.”

This raises the ire of customers who use gasoline for other activities. “If I’m painting and I need a little bit of gas, do I have to ask the local government for permission?” asks one person on CMHW’s Facebook page.

“The only thing left to ration is the air we breathe. Everything else is already either unavailable or in short supply,” writes another, who adds that she intends to buy a horse to get to work because “this is going cause taxi fares to shoot up.”

“Then why are we wasting gasoline on election campaigns if all the parliamentary representatives are already elected?” asks yet another.

Restrictions on gasoline purchases have remained in place for several years. Officials have justified the measure not as a response to fuel shortages but as a way to assure a consistent supply.

This week, long lines to buy gas stretched several blocks leading to the few stations in Havana that were still selling it. Although officials have not announced any restrictive measures in the capital, 14ymedio observed dozens of drivers who had been waiting in line since dawn to buy gas at the service center on the corner of Infanta and San Rafael streets.

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Tourism is Still Stagnant in Cuba, With 50 Percent Fewer Visitors Than Before the Pandemic

Near the Havana capitol tourists ride in a horse-drawn carriage. (flickr)

14ymedio, Havana, 6 March 2023 — The collapse of tourism in Cuba once again marks a milestone this February, when the Island barely registered 186,343 visitors according to preliminary official data. Although we will have to wait until later to have the complete report of the National Office of Information and Statistics (Onei), the official newspaper Cubadebate anticipates that between January and February, 489,000 tourists arrived on the Island. The newspaper admits that this is barely half (51%) of what was recorded in the same period of 2019, comparing the numbers for the first time with a pre-pandemic year.

The total is obtained by subtracting the tourists received in January, which were 302,657. Comparing that figure with that of 2020, the last year considered normal, just before COVID-19, the Island had 23% fewer international travelers. However, the decline is much more abrupt with the second month of the year as a reference. In February 2020, Cuba received more than 400,000 tourists, so the fall is more than 53%.

If the same comparison is made with the year 2019, when more than 450,000 tourists arrived on the Island, the decrease is greater than 58%. If the months of January are compared, the decrease is slightly less, 49%, hence the average offered by Cubadebate, although the data are not yet exact, so there is a mismatch in the numbers.

With the data advanced yesterday, Canada is helping the recovery, with 252,650 tourists in 2023, 80% of those who arrived in the same period of 2019. They are followed, at a great distance, by Cubans living abroad, with 51,187, and the United States, with 24,451, in these first two months. continue reading

In the following block, the European markets appear but do not stand out, according to the official press, due to the “non-recovery of long-distance travel from the Old Continent and the inadequacy of air connections.” Thus, the list is led by the United Kingdom (13,596), followed by Germany (13,585), France (13,103), Italy (11,373) and, at the tail end, Spain (10,613), which was traditionally one of the largest groups.

Russia continues to be the only market that retreats and passes from 35,871 travelers in 2022 during the first two months of the year to 20,589. Sanctions for the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.

According to the official press, during the first five days of the current month of March, which represents the period of maximum tourist arrivals for Cuba, only 470 flights landed at Cuban international airports, and the sea route is not significant, providing 12,180 visitors of which 3,794 are crew members, a “product of the restrictions from the United States.”

The news is not encouraging, and the objective of the Cuban Government, which once again puts all its hopes into tourism to obtain foreign currency, pay its debts and import needed products, among many other things, seems too ambitious.

The Government announced at the end of last year that it expects to reach 3.5 million foreign visitors in 2023, a small figure compared to the more than 4 million who visited in the years after the thaw and the 5 million it aspired to before the arrival of COVID-19. However, the first signs indicate that the target could be unattainable again.

This happened in 2022, when the authorities predicted 2.5 million tourists to drop to 1.7 million in October. Ultimately, 1,614,087 foreign visitors arrived on the Island in the first year without a pandemic, contributing to the increasingly evident shipwreck of the national economy.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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