14ymedio – Page 274 – Translating Cuba

Cuban President Diaz-Canel Visits Tenement Where Celia Cruz was Born but Does Not Mention the Queen of Salsa

The official media described Tamarindo as one of the 62 “most complex” neighborhoods in the capital. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2021 — Miguel Díaz-Canel closed his tour of the Popular Council of Tamarindo on Friday, in the Havana district of Santo Suárez, with a visit to the Las Margaritas site. The cuartería in the municipality of Diez de Octubre is very popular because it is the place where the Cuban singer Celia Cruz was born in 1925 and where her sisters later lived.

The name of the Queen of Salsa did not come to light in any of the president’s statements, which later made headlines in the official media. Despite the great success of Celia Cruz and her status as a favorite among Cubans when it comes to dancing, her name and her voice were banned for decades in the national media and it was not until 2012 that she could be heard on the radio.

Under a strong security operation and surrounded by bodyguards, the president toured the streets where the hurried repair of sidewalks, facades and the park that bears the name of the neighborhood was notable.

In an attempt to appease the rebellion unleashed on July 11, Díaz-Canel has visited some of the neighborhoods where there were the strongest clashes between protesters and the forces of order, such as La Güinera, Los Sitio and San Isidro.

A few blocks from the place chosen for this Friday’s visit, exactly on the corner of Toyo, one of the most tense moments of the protests continue reading

took place. The photographs and videos of uniformed men beating young people who tried to join the demonstration, as well as the reaction of these who overturned and stoned some patrol cars, went viral on social networks.

In a report broadcast on the noon newscast, they described Tamarindo as one of the 62 “most complex” neighborhoods in the capital with a population of 34,000.

“We are making a tour of the Popular Council to assess all the actions that you know are being done in the neighborhoods,” the president told several residents.

Last July 16 marked the 18th anniversary of the death of Celia Cruz, known as La Guarachera de Cuba, one of the most popular and important artists of the 20th century in the American continent and an icon of Latin music within the United States.

A day after her death, Granma published a brief note in which it noted that the singer popularized Cuban music in the United States and was “used as an icon by the counterrevolutionary enclave in South Florida” because Cruz was active for decades “in the campaigns against the Cuban Revolution.”

During her fifty-five-year career, the singer of Guantanamera , La negra has tumbao, JPor si acaso no regreso, and La vida es un carnaval, accumulated innumerable awards and recognitions that have not stopped after her death, such as several Grammys, a stamp honoring her from the US Postal Service, and her election as the first Latina on the Walk of Fame at the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem (New York).

The sadness of not being able to return to Cuba, after going on a tour of Mexico in 1960 accompanying the band Sonora Matancera, saddened her until her death. She could not return even when her mother died. In 1990 she sang at the Guantánamo naval base and from there she took a handful of earth, which she asked to be deposited in her coffin.

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Cuba’s Ladies in White Show Solidarity With the 11J (July 11th) Detainees

Berta Soler (center with sign), leader of the Ladies in White, during a demonstration in Havana in 2018. (Ladies in White)

14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 3 September 2021 — The leader of the Ladies in White, Berta Soler, joined the fast of other dissidents on Thursday in support of the opponents José Daniel Ferrer and Félix Navarro, both former prisoners of the Black Spring of 2003, who were arrested on July 11, the day of the massive protests throughout the island.

Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba, is in the Mar Verde prison, in Santiago de Cuba, according to a letter released by the authorities with the signature of Ferrer himself, although his family still doubts his having signed it, while Navarro, President of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy has been on a hunger strike for 11 days in the Combinado Sur prison in Matanzas.

In declarations to 14ymedio, Soler says that her “solidarity fast” extends to “all those detained on July 11 and 12,” among which are other figures of the dissidence, such as the artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, leader of the San Isidro Movement.

“We want them free and healthy. Freedom now,” said the Lady in White on her networks, and she also demanded proofs of life from both Ferrer and Navarro. continue reading

The dissident said that the first to show solidarity with a fast, in concrete support of Félix Navarro, was Caridad Burunate. “The day after her initiative we are in solidarity with her,” said Soler.

Along with them, she says, there are another twenty Ladies in White fasting – spread between Havana, Santa Clara, Santiago de Cuba and Guantánamo – from seven in the morning to noon.

At the same time, Soler denounces that the harassment of the headquarters of her organization has not stopped: “Here we have the patrols and the State Security agents are visible, and they detain everyone who comes.”

According to the Cubalex legal advice center, the list of detainees, which reached 917 people since July 11, now contains 427 names of those confirmed to be still detained as of this Friday.

From the same day of June 11, the Government unleashed a tough hunt to identify and imprison the protesters through the videos and photos that were published on social networks.

The official press reported this Friday that in Sancti Spíritus “criminal proceedings are progressing for the riots of July 11” and specified that 11 people were charged, one of whom is still waiting for his case to reach the courts.

An article published in the newspaper Escambray states that they carried out five criminal proceedings in which the detainees were accused of “creating a climate of destabilization” during the protests and one of them, in addition, was accused of “instigation to commit a crime.” He was sentenced to nine months of deprivation of liberty.

The local media pointed out that this person “publicly incited, through social networks” … “the people of Sancti Spíritus go out, demonstrate against the Government and subvert order, in the midst of a complex epidemiological scenario due to the pandemic” of covid-19.

Nine of those involved “received administrative treatment”, which in this case translates into fines amounting to 5,000 pesos, as provided in Article 8.3 of the Penal Code for crimes of “public disorder” or “contempt.”

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‘I Didn’t Care If I Died or Lived,’ Says Cuban Rafter Hospitalized in the US

Capote left from Playa Herradura, in Mariel, Artemisa province, along with three other young people who died during the crossing. (Collage)

14ymedio, Havana | 2 September 2021 — After ten days at sea that left him on the brink of death, Cuban rafter Julio Cesar Capote will be able to begin his asylum process on U.S. soil. “I didn’t care if I died or lived,” the 21-year-old confessed to Telemundo 51 on Wednesday.

Capote was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on August 25 in the vicinity of Fowey Rocks, in southern Florida, while sailing in a precarious six-and-a-half-foot boat. Due to his physical injuries and the degree of dehydration in which he was found, the rafter had to be hospitalized.

“I was thinking a lot of things, if I was going to make it, if I was going to die, what was going to happen to me,” Capote told the television channel shortly after being discharged from Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, from where he left accompanied by family members living in the United States.

The young man had his legs bandaged because of the burns he suffered during the crossing, which he made together with three other migrants, who, Capote himself explained to the Coast Guard, had died on the journey.

About the crossing, the rafter reported that the companions who died were young people. He left from Playa Herradura, in Mariel, Artemisa province, together with his uncle, Chenli Yoan Capote, 21, and siblings
Josue Gabriel, 22, and continue reading

Karen Rojas Pareta, 18. “Three days later, the raft capsized and our food, water were dumped, everything,” he said.

“The sun began to burn us and the girl’s and her brother’s nails began to fall off, their hands began to peel, their ribs began to burn and she said ’I can’t take it anymore’ and jumped into the water with her brother. The brother was worse than her; from the time he left he was vomiting, dehydrated, vomiting blood and everything”, says Capote, who then stayed with his uncle, who “had already started to hallucinate.”

At another point “a piece of the raft fell off” and the uncle jumped into the sea to try to rescue the piece, but “the waves were too big and he was carried away.” He spent about ten days adrift until he was found by a citizen who was sailing south of Florida and alerted the Coast Guard.

Regarding the rafter’s legal options, Immigration attorney Willy Alllen told the television channel that, at the Customs office, there is the possibility of being granted the so-called ’parole’, a document with which, after a year and a day, he can opt for residency under the Cuban Adjustment Act.

The lawyer also said that they could eventually send him before an immigration judge, but he stated that cases like Capote’s are isolated, because most migrants intercepted at sea are medically treated and repatriated to Cuba immediately.

At the beginning of last August, a Cuban managed to pass the “Credible Fear” Review on the high seas in the United States. The migrant, identified as Ernesto Urgellés, according to his relatives, was a policeman in Cuba and had been intercepted along with other rafters, who themselves were returned a few days later to the island by the Coast Guard.

Urgellés cannot enter the U.S. while his asylum request is being studied, so he must remain at the Guantánamo base or in some third country that will provisionally accept him.

Translated by: Hombre de Paz

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‘Our People’ Do Not Want to Return to Capitalism, Asserts Cuban Minister of Economy

A Cuban may not own more than one business (though it may have widespread activity), since it is contrary to the socialist principle against accumulating wealth. (yelo34)

14ymedio, Madrid, September 1, 2021 — The ministers of the Government’s economic area, led by Vice Prime Minister Alejandro Gil, appeared on the Mesa Redonda (Roundtable) television program on Tuesday, presumably to give the “Necessary answers regarding the actors of the Cuban economy.” Although little news came out of this tedious exercise, there was time to finish the program by denying that the approval of the MSMEs [micro, small, and medium-size enterprises] could mean a return to capitalism which, as they argued, is not what the people want.

Gil contended that the approval of the norms that regulate non-agricultural cooperatives and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which comes into force on September 20, is nothing more than an improvement and modernization of socialist principles. “We do not want a capitalist and neoliberal style project,” he argued, despite the fact that the Cuban economy is increasingly on the path to a ruthless state capitalism.

“We are going to achieve a country with greater coherence, where people can develop their life project. This is more socialism and more Revolution,” Gil claimed in a kind of final argument.

Along the same line, the ministers had already referred to the impossibility of having more than one company per person, a rule that is based on the constitutional (socialist) principle of avoiding the concentration of property and wealth. Nor, for the same reason, can one company be continue reading

a partner of another. “It would be laughable if successive MSMEs were set up where the owner was always the same person. If this happened, it would be in a way breaking the rule,” they warned. Of course, they pointed out that the company’s corporate purpose can be so broad that it includes multiple services.

The ministers went over the most frequent doubts that have circulated since the legislative content became known, but the answers did not clarify much, when all they did was limit themselves to repeating what was already known.

For example, they insisted on pointing out what they have considered priority sectors for the first phase — which will be food production, technology-based companies related to additive manufacturing, robotics or the creation of new materials or establishing technology parks, local development projects — without explaining how they plan to manage, right off the bat, such a radical change in the country’s productive fabric.

The Minister of Economy also referred to the possibility of foreigners investing and, in that sense, recalled that the rule is the same as for the state-owned company: only a company that is set up as a mixed-ownership company may be formed with capital from a resident in Cuba and another abroad. But according to the Foreign Investment Law (2014), a “mixed company” is a “commercial company that takes the form of a corporation,” something that is prohibited to individuals and reserved to the State.

Nor does it change anything with respect to exports and imports, which can be done as long as they are channeled through a state company, and they are “prohibited” for professions, such as architects, lawyers, engineers, teachers, journalists or veterinarians.

Gil argued that professionals can work in the private sector, but cannot create a company dedicated exclusively to an activity that is not allowed, so that, based on their statements, a lawyer, for example, could offer legal services to a company, but could not represent it in court.

“There are a range of malicious opinions that say that if you are a professional you cannot work in a MSME or that if you work in one you have to develop an activity for which you are not qualified. This is not the case. . . . What is not allowed are activities that are dedicated only to professional services. Computer scientists, the pet veterinarian, the bookkeeper for accounting activities are allowed.” A short and very restrictive list.

The Minister of Labor and Social Security took on one of the questions that will remain to be answered later. Maria Elena Feito Cabrera gave assurance that the salary of workers in private companies may be decided by employers with the participation of workers through a collective agreement and with the participation of unions. But she did not specify whether there could be unions other than the official ones and whether employees could form their own collectives to look out for their interests.

The worst of last night’s news came from the Central Bank of Cuba, which affirmed that companies will be able to request loans in Cuban pesos, but not in foreign exchange, though in all probability they will have to buy a multitude of raw materials and supplies in the international market.

“To grant financing in that currency [freely convertible] we would have to have individuals involved who have income in that currency and the capacity to repay the financing, hence the possibility of withholding money for exports, or liquidity for sales to Mariel [Port of Mariel Special Development Zone], or for sale in MLC [Freely Convertible Foreign Currency] stores,” he explained.

Translated by Tomás A.

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More Than 400 People Continue to be Detained After the Cuban Protests of July 11

No one detained during the 11th July protests is still listed as missing by Cubalex. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Havana, September 1, 2021 — At least 405 people arrested during the protests in Cuba that began on July 11 remain in prison, according to a report by the Cubalex legal advice center. These data, collected independently with the help of a group of volunteers, show that of the total number of arrests (898), the crimes most commonly charged are “public disorder,” “contempt,” “instigation to commit a crime,” and “assault.”

One of those who remains imprisoned is Liliana Ferrer, 20, arrested in the La Güinera neighborhood of Havana in the heat of the July 12 protests. The young woman is currently in the Guatao prison accused of assault. Her mother, Lizandra Ferrer, tells 14ymedio that she spoke with her by phone this Wednesday but that “she doesn’t know anything about her legal proceedings.”

“She’s accused of assault but there are many charged with the same crime who were bailed out for 2,000 pesos. Then they paid a fine and are now free,” she says in anguish. “So I don’t understand what’s happened with her. They haven’t held a trial. I already hired a lawyer but he hasn’t gotten a change of status for her so she can be at home.”

She explains that on the block where they live the authorities have done “like three investigations” regarding her daughter’s social behavior and continue reading

that she knew that they have always “spoken highly of her, that she doesn’t meet with antisocial people and that she is a good little girl. I don’t understand why she’s going through this.”

The mother claims she doesn’t know precisely what evidence they have against Ferrer. “Some people, including the lawyer, have told me that they accuse her of having a bottle in her hand and that in a photo of her you can see when she gives it to a man who asks for it,” she explained.

The sisters Lisdani and Lisdiani Rodríguez Isaac, both 22 years old, are in a similar situation. They are being held under a “precautionary measure of provisional imprisonment” in Guamajal Prison, in Placetas, Villa Clara, for the crimes of “public disorder, contempt, instigation to commit a crime, assault, and the propagation of epidemics.”

Also in prison awaiting trial on assault charges are Livan Hernández Lago, from Artemisa; Luis Felipe Castillo Ochoa, from Havana, and Maykel Armentero Oramas, in Villa Clara. María Cristina Garrido, from Mayabeque, charged with the crime of attack, is also accused of “public disorder, resistance, and the propagation of epidemics.”

In Holguín province, Marco Antonio Pintueles, a business student, is also accused of assault after his arrest in the Plaza de la Revolución in that province. The young man is currently in the Provincial Prison, according to a report by his mother, Dairy Marrero, speaking to Radio Martí.

The woman says that she went to the Prosecutor’s Office seeking information on her son’s case but didn’t get answers “anywhere” and considers what happened “an injustice.” “He’s a boy who just turned 18. I didn’t know he’d been arrested until about five days ago when he called me from prison,” Rivero explained this Tuesday.

The crime of assault, according to the Cuban Penal Code, carries a prison sentence of one to three years.

On Cubalex’s list, no detainee is reported as missing. One of those who had been included in this category is the dissident José Daniel Ferrer, but his family reported this Friday that they had received a letter signed by him, which they are “fairly certain” is from him. In the letter, Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), said he is being held in Mar Verde prison, in Santiago de Cuba.

“We give some credence to it, but we can’t guarantee that it’s really his own handwriting,” said his sister, Ana Belkis Ferrer García. The dissident has been incarcerated since July 11.

The activist also said that the letter complains that since August 12, Ferrer “remains confined semi-naked in an isolation cell, in cruel, inhuman and degrading conditions” and that “on two occasions they have forceably put him in the uniform of a common prisoner. They refuse to give him his own clothes, so he’s in his underwear.” Regarding his health, she said that he had “serious problems with heartburn and constant stomach pain.”

Translated by Tomás A.

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“My People Will Never Allow any Kind of Injustice to be Done to Me”

Yomil believes that ‘De Cuba Soy’ is the most important song in his life because he is committed to a just cause, even putting part of his career at risk. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, Luz Escobar, 31 August 2021 — It’s not so long since the reggaetoner Roberto Hidalgo Puentes, known as Yomil, distanced himself from politics and asked that artists be left alone, but it’s been an eternity. The death of his colleague in the duet, El Dany, changed everything forever and now he not only claims justice to clarify the negligence that cost his “brother” his life, but he also takes to the streets of Havana shouting “freedom,” as he did on July 11^th with thousands of other protesters. Now, with his song De Cuba Soy, he has once again placed himself in the spotlight and speaks openly with 14ymedio about his commitment to democracy.

Escobar. You presented De Cuba Soy stating that it was “the most important issue” of your career, why do you see it that way?

Yomil. I believe that when an artist joins the just cause knowing that he may lose everything he has fought for, the work surpasses all successes. It is the greatest contribution I can make to my people.

Escobar.The video is risky, starting with the choice of the director who was controversial within [Cuba’s] institutions, and continuing with its aesthetics, which is quite unusual. How did this collaboration with Yimit Ramírez come about? Was he aware of the risks involved?

Yomil. I started a friendship with Yimit some time ago. I saw his work and it interested me, I take a lot of risks when working with talented filmmakers and he was not going to be the exception. I knew I would do something tough, knowing how important this topic is to my life, and I just let him create and go free, but I never thought he was going to impress me so much. I’m very proud of the result and his creativity, that’s why I respect him a lot.

“I knew I would do something tough, knowing how important this topic is to my life, and I just let him create and go free, but I never thought it would impress me so much. I am very proud of the result”

Escobar.It has been less than a week since the song and the video were released and it has already received attacks and threats from the official press and cultural institutions. Did you expect it? Do you have support around you?

Yomil. Of course, I knew that this was going to happen when I saw how they have acted with other artists who have manifested themselves in the same line. I knew they were going to threaten, offend and defame me, that’s not news to anyone. But on the part of my team continue reading

, they have known how I think for a long time, so that did not take them by surprise either; and as for the public I am more than satisfied with the reaction and support. I am very happy because I know that since I was at zero hour with my people, my people will never abandon me or allow some kind of injustice to be committed against me. That’s what keeps me calm, because if not, things would be very different.

Escobar.Other artists who have openly assumed their critical vision towards the Government are imprisoned today, such as Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, Maykel Castillo or Hamlet Lavastida. Are you afraid of finding yourself in a situation like that?

Yomil. I believe that I have not crossed any limits, since I am an artist and I have the right to be free in my work. Since I decided to risk everything, I am psychologically prepared for the worst, but I think the government is idiotic in reacting to some things and very smart about others. If something like this happens to me, they know that young people follow me and are capable of doing anything for their favorite artists. The proof of that was the loss of my brother Dany, when the people, spontaneously and without any convocation, went out to bid farewell to him in different provinces and cities around the world. Something like this had never happened in the country and I think the Government realized the great level of appeal that Yomil and El Dany had in Cuban society, so I don’t think they will make unexpected decisions that make their situation worse. There could be another July 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 14^th and they know it. So I think they will leave it at that.

“The Government is idiotic in reacting to some things and very smart about others. If something like this happens to me, they know that young people follow me and are capable of doing anything for their favorite artists”

Escobar.Speaking of El Dany, at one point in the song you refer to him and the need for justice to be done, to what do you think the lack of answers about what happened in the hospital that day is due?

Yomil. It was medical negligence, and the treatment they gave him was a total lack of respect, since only they know the measures they took with the nurse who was on duty that morning. That’s why, because of the respect and brotherhood that I have towards Daniel, I will always ask for justice, because if that had happened to the son of any high-ranking leader in this country, believe me, they would imprison the whole country, but they looked the other way when it came to my brother, and that hurts and offends.

Escobar.On July 11^th, you took to the streets together with those who were demonstrating against the Government. Did your vision of Cuba change from the political and social point of view then?

Yomil. I think that my vision on the social political issue of my country changed since I began to travel and worry about the serious problems we are experiencing, noticing that the Government has a hard time accepting different points of view and criticism, when I go out on the streets of my Havana and see how it deteriorates more every day, when arriving at any province and seeing how suspended in time it continues to be, when seeing the way the Government acts in the face of the thousands of problems that exist due to its mismanagement, when seeing how disconnected they are from reality, and so on. There are many things that I have seen, I have lived and I have learned. When one is acquiring maturity and knowledge, one must contribute his grain of sand to try to accelerate that process of change that my country is sorely lacking. I live here and I know that the most precious thing human beings have is time and that Cuba is in no condition to lose it, on the contrary, it is time to recover it, because there is only one life.

“I live here and I know that the most precious thing that human beings have is time and that Cuba is in no condition to lose it, on the contrary, it is time to recover it, because there is only one life”

Escobar.Yomil and El Dany sang the song Música Vital with several Cuban artists who today remain silent in the face of the repression that took place on July 11^th. How do you feel about that?

Yomil. I don’t really know, because I haven’t seen any of them making any statement against me, but I did have a meeting last Saturday with the president of the Institute of Music. They summoned me at 10 am at my company to explain the reason for my song and I explained all the reasons in a meeting that lasted more than two hours. She told me that, on the part of the institution, nothing was going to happen, but that she would wait for the response of several artists from the union who were supposedly outraged, since they are committed to socialism. I respect their position always and when they respect mine, and depending on their answer, they will have mine too. I think they are not prepared to put up with being told a few truths (laughs), but so far, these are just speculations, so let’s wait and see.

Escobar. What do you visualize when you think of “a change” for Cuba?

Yomil. I see Cuba being State with the rule of law, where ordinary Cubans are the highest authority, where there is no abuse of power, repression or censorship for thinking differently, where dialogue is accepted as a way to solve problems, because I think that the first thing we have to have is a change of mentality and make it an open country, not only of the so-called “revolutionaries” who, for me, have nothing of revolutionaries. It must become a country of everyone and for everyone, also for those Cubans who had to leave it, many risking and losing their lives in order to have a better future, who had to start a life from scratch in a foreign country to help their families and have a dignified life. I want my country to be one of the best in the world and I tell you with total confidence that it can be done, as long as everything that needs to be changed is changed.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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Polish Officials Prevent a Cuban Family From Crossing the Border With Belarus

“They were very violent,” said the Cuban who spoke with the Belarusian authorities. (Screen capture)

14ymedio, Havana, August 31, 2021 — A family of five Cubans, including a minor, was returned to Belarus at gunpoint on Monday by Polish border guards. The migrants were trying to cross into Poland and request asylum, they stated.

In a video shared by the Belarusian Border Guard, the Cubans, standing in the cold and rain, said they were beaten and threatened by the Polish soldiers. “We arrived here [in Belarus] forced by them, threatening us with their weapons, forcing us to jump the border,” said a Cuban who spoke on behalf of the group, also made up of a woman and two young people. The migrant also clarified that they requested political asylum in Poland, and even asked for a doctor to attend to them, but the border guards “did not understand.”

The video shown by the Belarusian authorities included a recording of the Cubans when they were intercepted in the neighboring country. The moment was recorded when the guards opened the door of the vehicle and the migrants, upon being discovered, demanded to see the police while the uniformed men tried to drop off two other foreigners who were also in the car.

In another part of the material, Cubans are heard shouting “human rights” and the girl, between sobs, pleading: “Please don’t hurt me.”

“They were very violent,” said the Cuban continue reading

who spoke with the Belarusian authorities, who also confirmed that they were beaten, their claims were not heard, though he specified that “they did nothing to the girl and the woman.”

The expulsion of the Cuban migrants from Poland, happened almost two months after Belarus president Alexandr Lukashenko, in response to the sanctions of the European Union (EU), said that he was not going to stop the migratory wave toward Poland. It was not been the first time that Lukashenko threatened to open the floodgates to illegal migration to that geographical area in response to political and economic pressure from the EU, reports La Voz de Galicia.

In recent years Russia has become an irregular gateway to Europe for hundreds of Cubans. At present, the Eurasian country does not require a visa for nationals of the Island. Many arrive in Moscow with the intention of emigrating to other countries across borders, often starting with Belarus.

A report from El Diario.es in mid-July stated that one of the busiest routes for Cubans to reach European soil is through the Balkan peninsula. In 2017, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned of the increase in the migratory flow in that area. That year alone, at least 168 refugees were recorded who remained stranded in detention centers in Serbia, faced with difficulties in successfully crossing its border to continue on their way to a European country.

[from Russian] A family of refugees was forcibly taken to the Belarusian border

Translated by Tomás A.

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Pharmaceutical Authorities Say Cuban Vaccines Have Lowered the Mortality Rate in Havana by ‘Six Times’ Without Providing Supporting Data

Vaccination in Cienfuegos is expanding with the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine. (Dep. Cienfuegos)

14ymedio, Madrid, August 31, 2021 — The lethality of covid-19 has dropped in the four Havana municipalities where vaccination began, according to the biopharmaceutical authorities who appeared on the State television Mesa Redonda (Roundtable) program this Monday, without providing data.

The objective seemed to be to clear the doubts and fears of Cubans about national vaccines against covid-19, an issue that worries a population who now wonder how, despite the progress of the immunization campaign, infections are increasing, deaths are not falling, and foreign vaccines have arrived on the island. But the absolute lack of data, and the absence of any mention of Sinopharm, which is already being injected in Cienfuegos, will not help calm the less trusting.

The Roundtable this Monday thus became an exercise in faith, since none of the graphs showed the segment they were referring to.

Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of BioCubaFarma, as well as the directors of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB), Marta Ayala Ávila, and the Finlay Vaccination Institute, Vicente Vérez, wanted to make clear from the beginning of their interventions the difference between efficacy and effectiveness.

The first refers to the results in the trials, which are carried out in healthy and selected people, while the second refers to the real impact, when applied to the general population. Based on this starting point continue reading

, they explained that any vaccine, despite having obtained excellent results in testing, may fail when inoculated in the elderly or people with pre-existing diseases. But the authorities did not offer a single piece of information that would allow us to analyze these variables.

Martínez Díaz recalled that the objective of the vaccine is, above all, to prevent the disease from developing in a serious way since the Delta variant, which spreads at double the speed of the original strain and has a viral load 1,000 times higher, has ruined the plans of many countries to return to normalcy as soon as possible.

“In clinical studies, many of the vaccines, including Cuban vaccines, showed efficacy rates of 100% or close for avoiding death, for lessening severity; a lower percentage (92.8% in Abdala and 91.2% in Soberana) of avoiding the disease, and a little lower to avoid transmission,” said the president of BioCubaFarma, who recalled that all were developed for less harmful strains and have had to review their data after Delta arrived. “Pfizer has reported that its effectiveness has been reduced by 39% in relation to infection, for example,” said Martínez, without revealing, once again, the data of the national vaccines.

“What happened at the beginning of July? The more contagious delta variant began to circulate in Havana, and the number of cases increased. Unvaccinated people began to get sick and, to a lesser extent, the vaccinated,” said the president of BioCubaFarma. How many in each case? That he didn’t say.

Those present wanted to highlight the decrease in lethality and infections in Havana, particularly in the four municipalities that began vaccination first, but they hardly gave their word as a guarantee. The comparative graph of the Island with Havana indicates the improvement of the capital, as well as the other line that aggregates without differentiating the four pioneers — Regla, La Habana del Este, Guanabacoa, and San Miguel del Padrón.

A brief analysis of the few official data available in this regard shows a mixed result. The page on which these figures have been turned for months allows us to compare the contagions of covid-19 by Havana municipalities. Any of the first four to initiate immunization has, indeed, much fewer infections than Diez de Octubre, one of the last two. But all of them show figures similar to those of the other bottom municipality, Marianao. Although there are more variables, including sociodemographic ones, that could influence this, they are unknown.

In any case, Cubans have almost completely stopped trusting official data. The shortage of PCR tests and the delays that backup their processing complicate having an estimate of the sick and even the deceased, as revealed by the Minister of Health, José Ángel Portal Miranda, to Invasor, the provincial newspaper of Ciego de Ávila, two weeks ago.

Beyond the capital, where despite having a huge number of people vaccinated with the full cycle there is still no public data (“we’ve only had eight weeks to measure effectiveness,” said Martínez Díaz by way of apology). The official also stressed that it is being studied in Matanzas and in other municipalities where time has passed after vaccination and “the results are positive.” But he didn’t give a number.

About Abdala, Ayala said that more than five million people have received one dose, four and a half million the second dose and more than three and a half million the third: a total of 13.6 million vaccines administered. “Neutralization is more intense with the Alpha and Beta variant, and with the Delta there is even an important level of neutralization, although that is where it is reduced, an issue that has also been reported for most of the vaccines that are approved worldwide” said the director of the GIGB without enlightening the public with any figures.

The vaccine, however, scored somewhat this Monday, when it received the favorable technical opinion of the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) of Mexico. The experts were in favor of giving Abdala authorization for emergency use, a step prior to reviewing the data by expert personnel from the Sanitary Authorization Commission (CAS).

The Roundtable also spoke of the Mambisa — an intranasal needle-free vaccine — the forgotten candidate which, according to the official, shows “encouraging results.” And in this case there was a figure, 78.8% of those vaccinated in phase I had an immune response.

There were also more details about the study carried out on inoculating minors with Sovereign. If the data offered by Vicente Vérez, from the IFV, are true, the efficacy prospects are better than in adults. In adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, almost 93% responded adequately with two doses of Sovereign 02 and only 7% remained below the required levels. As for children from 3 to 11 years old, less than 1% did not respond, “and that is very good news,” said Vérez Bencomo.

The director of the IFV had more in his hand than anyone else to talk about the inoculation in Cienfuegos with the Chinese vaccine, Sinopharm, which has aroused not a little skepticism both among those who believe that it shows the scarce effectiveness of the Cuban vaccine and among those who think that if it is was going to “renounce, even in part, sovereignty” it could have been done earlier to buy time. However, Vérez made an exit in this regard and it occurred to him, on the contrary, to relate Soberana Plus with others, adding more amazement to the matter.

“Soberana Plus was designed as a booster for vaccination with Soberana 02 and it is planned to use it as a booster of other existing vaccines, such as Sputnik and AstraZeneca, in some international studies that are being done. The sites with which we are collaborating are interested in the ability of Soberana Plus to strengthen immunity, taking into account that it is very safe,” he said.

As for the international recognition of vaccines, and beyond the positive news for Abdala, things are going slowly. Vérez Bencomo said that on August 30, the phase I study in convalescents for Soberana 02 was accepted in one of the Lancet family journals (The Lancet Regional Health-Americas), while Martínez Díaz recalled that Cecmed, as a regulatory authority, is the entity that authorizes or not the emergency use, and not the World Health Organization (WHO), whose mission is to recognize vaccines.

“Soon we want to have a virtual meeting with the WHO representation to show the results and start talking about the recognition process and make our results transparent with them,” he said.

If the authorities have these positive data, perhaps the WHO can see what Cubans still do not know.

Translated by Tomas A.

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Cuba is Depopulated, and the Regime Looks the Other Way

Cuba schoolchildren at a daily assembly repeating: “Pioneers for Communism, we will be like Che!”

14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 30 August 2021 — There is no worse way to escape from problems than to not face them. The State newspaper Granma published an article entitled “The problem is not that the population ages, but that it decreases” which, among other things, highlights the fact that, as of 1978, the fertility on the island has not covered the replacement rate of the population. Without fertility it is impossible for the population of a country to grow. Do they realize that now?

The fact that Cuban women of childbearing age do not have immediate plans for motherhood is something that should concern communist leaders, because it involves serious present and future risks. In this blog we have denounced it on numerous occasions. Cubans reject paternity and/or maternity: in the absence of migration, Cuba depopulates.

The alarm signals sounded at the end of 2020 because the population was reduced, as fewer people were born than those who died, according to official information from the ONEI (National Office of Statistics). The drama is served. The Cuban population is moving away from the trends registered in recent decades, while the migratory balance is negative and life expectancy grows again, not accounting for the negative influence of the victims of Covid-19.

If a journalist asked Cuban President Díaz-Canel for an assessment of this situation, which brings with it numerous problems for the country’s potential growth, it is most likely that he would launch a harsh criticism of the US embargo (and call it a ’blockade’) of the United States, without assuming direct responsibility for his government.

The fall in fertility has much to do with the lack of future expectations of Cubans, especially the youngest, and the notable distrust continue reading

that exists in broad sectors of society about the possibility of living a future of well-being and quality of life. In short, a better future for the children.

This idea reduces the number of children of a couple. Whoever tries to compare this demographic behavior of Cuba with that which existed before 1959 is lying. It is true that Cuban fertility had undergone significant changes towards modernity at the beginning of the 20th century, but in no case were the results as gloomy and pessimistic as the current ones. Cubans of the 1950s had two or three children, and they ensured the replacement of the population. Furthermore, Cuba in those decades had one of the highest in-migration balances in Latin America.

In 2021, Cuba faces high mortality and very low fertility, with data never before known in history and in other countries that have been more successful in their population policies. At the same time, these changes are fueled by continuous and increasing economic failures of the communist social model, a general impoverishment of the population, the supply crisis in most sectors, and the bankruptcy of the interventionist state, incapable of stimulating population growth.

Experts who affirm that Cuba is in an advanced stage of the second demographic transition justify their argument by saying that it presents fertility and mortality indicators similar to those of developed countries in Europe. They are simply wrong or do not want to acknowledge the harsh reality of the problem they face. Cuba cannot be compared to Norway, Denmark, Italy or Spain. Nothing to see there. If the socioeconomic conditions of the different countries are taken into account, it is evident that the Cuban problem is different.

The same specialists allege that the causes of the demographic decline in Cuba respond to the economic and housing situations, the sociocultural pattern, the social and economic characteristics of the country in each moment, external and internal migration, high divorce rates and individual socioeconomic problems. But with this, it cannot be explained why there are cases of young couples, with good jobs, their own home, family independence, and they do not want to have children. The matter is complicated and obliges one to avoid superficialities.

What has failed? Everything. There is not a single economic, social, legal, cultural, social aspect, or ethical values, that indicate that in Cuba the situation can be reversed, not even by hypocritically blaming women for the drop in fertility. This is a problem that is difficult to fix, which will require great collective efforts to overcome as the population deficits will accumulate in the coming years.

And if society does not have anchors to solve a problem of this magnitude, which is becoming more and more entangled, the attitude of the communist government of putting its head under the ground waiting for it to fix itself does not work. The ostrich tactic may end up creating more problems on the horizon for years to come.

In particular, family policies in Cuba, based on an enormous intrusion of the state into family and individual life, have been an absolute failure, and the process of economic and social destruction on the island has taken care of the rest.

The drop in fertility in Cuba is the most visible result of the failure of the regime’s public actions. Worse still is to imagine the impossible, and from there to fall into the most absolute of the ridiculous.

For example, Granma’s phrase that “low fertility is also a combined effect of a society with high levels of sexual and reproductive health and access to contraception, which recognizes equal rights and opportunities for people, it represents an achievement that is still pending in many countries in our region.

If burying one’s head in the sand is serious, it is even more so to act irresponsibly and recklessly in a matter of great economic and social impact, with effects on future generations. What seems evident is that those who have the responsibility of achieving a successful country, with an economy capable of integrating everyone’s wishes, are unable to face the demographic challenge, and have thrown in the towel, thinking that over time it is possible that everything will change and the current status quo be overcome.

The regime is unable to understand that its policies to support the population, interventionist, interfering, controlling and intrusive, simply do not work. They believe that what they do is enough, and they don’t want to acknowledge the disaster.

But to believe that this is fixed by prioritizing the provision of subsidies to mothers with three or more children under 12 years of age for the construction or rehabilitation of houses is a big mistake. Or that this policy can be better developed from the provinces and not with a national vision, or that it depends on the state of housing, or the attention of the Ministry of Public Health to infertile couples, etc. etc. what they do is squander resources from a depleted state budget.

And what is worse, resources that are not evaluated in terms of their effectiveness in achieving the objectives.

The problem is that within a year the situation will have worsened, and the regime will continue to “evaluate and analyze issues related to demographic dynamics as an aspect to prioritize for the economic and social development of the nation, as well as compliance with the care program to this vital matter.” But that time has already come to an end, and we must act. Another failure in sight.

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South African Opposition Asks for Suspension of 12.3 Million Dollar Payment to Cuba

Relations between Cuba and South Africa have been peppered in recent years by several scandals. (The South African)

14ymedio, Madrid, 30 August 2021 — The leader of the South African opposition party Democratic Alliance, Kobus Marais, has demanded that the government stop the payment of 12.3 million dollars pending to Cuba for the illegal acquisition of interferon alfa-2b in April 2020. The total amount of the sale was $14.7 million, although it was initially estimated at $17 million.

Last week, the new South African Defense Minister, Thandi Modise, warned the Army that “heads will roll” over the controversial import. The case was uncovered in the African country in November 2020, when it was learned that the South African Armed Forces invested large amounts of money buying the drug from Cuba at the beginning of the pandemic, when they believed that the country was suffering from a biological war.

The drug regulatory body Sahpra did not want to buy the Cuban product because it had not been shown to be suitable for the treatment of covid-19, but the Army acquired it using its powers in case of chemical and bacteriological warfare, arguing that it could protect their soldiers.

After months of controversy and investigation to try to purge responsibilities with little success, the position of the new minister continue reading

has been appreciated by the Democratic Alliance, but they also consider it insufficient and ask that the contract be terminated and the pending payment canceled.

According to Marais, the contract cannot continue to exist, as the ministry has invalidated it due to flagrant violations, including failure to consult Sahpra on the efficacy of the drug, as well as violation of government procurement laws and import regulations from South Africa as there is no evidence as to whether a Treasury and Trade and Industry exemption was sought for the exclusive purchase of the drug.

The opposition leader demands immediate measures, since Defense Secretary Gladys Kudjoe revealed that the Government of Cuba is pressing for the missing amount to be paid.

Despite her position, Minister Modise believes that South Africa’s relationship with Havana should not be damaged just because Defense acted outside the law, but Alianza Democrática believes that not paying an illegal contract does not have to imply a diplomatic breakdown.

“The Department of Defense and Cuba should not have entered into a pharmaceutical drug supply agreement without a certificate of approval from Sahpra,” says Marais, who once again calls into question the validity of interferon in the treatment of COVID-19.

Interferon alfa-2b, manufactured by the state company BioCubaFarma, is used in the treatment of viral infections and was used by China at the beginning of the pandemic in combination with other drugs, but there is still no scientific consensus on its usefulness and there are studies that consider it appropriate, versus others who point out that it can aggravate the disease.

The compound, which Cuba tried to promote since the pandemic arrived, was created in the 1980s and interferes with viral multiplication by creating an inhibition mechanism in the first level of response of the organism.

Alianza Democrática also calls for all officials involved in the case to be charged for their actions. “Not only must heads roll for those who were involved in this appalling abuse of public resources, but they must also be held accountable,” he demanded.

Good relations between Cuba and South Africa began with the rise to power of Nelson Mandela and have continued seamlessly with his successors, Thabo Mbeki (1999-2008), Jacob Zuma (2008-2018) and the current president, Cyril Ramaphosa, but the controversies have not stopped, especially in the last two years.

The irregular purchase of interferon has been joined by the hiring of Cuban engineers to cooperate with the Department of Water and Sanitation, denounced by the unions in the sector, since there are professionals in the country without jobs in a country with unemployment rates above 30%, while staff are recruited who are not licensed to practice in South Africa and must be supervised by a licensed national.

In addition, last July, the South African teachers union complained that specialists from the island hired by the Department of Basic Education to train South African teachers earn almost $56,000 annually, a figure much higher than the salary of locals.

There are also exchanges of South African medical students in Cuba that have been problematic, especially this year, when the students protested that they had little to eat, as a result of the shortages on the island and the ’Ordering Task’*.

*Translator’s note: Tarea ordenamiento, the [so-called] ‘Ordering Task’ is a collection of measures that includes 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 others.

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Dozens of Cubans are Scammed by Mexican Officials in Cancun

The scammers’ organization operated from the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cancun. (Luces del Siglo)

14ymedio, Havana, August 22, 2021 — Dozens of Cubans have been scammed by a network that offered advice for naturalization in Mexico. The organization operated from the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Cancun and, according to the documentation published by the newspaper Luces del Siglo, was directed by Víctor Hugo Sulub Chi, an official who works as a Program and Project Supervisor in the federal delegation of the agency in Quintana Roo.

Foreigners, mostly Cubans, were asked for 5,000 Mexican pesos ($250) for each document that was allegedly issued by the National Security Commission of the Secretariat of Governance (Interior) to guarantee that they had no criminal record, one of the necessary papers for the process of obtaining permanent residence.

When these documents were detected as false, the authorities canceled the applications, but the scammed people were also put at risk: even though they did not know about the scam, they could be accused of trying to falsify official documentation.

The Mexican newspaper interviewed two Cubans affected by the network, who explained the modus operandi. One of them, a doctor from Camaguey, said that he had paid 10,000 pesos for the processing of “federal criminal records” for his mother and himself. Although this procedure continue reading

can only be initiated by the interested party or their closest relatives, the victims were asked for a copy of their passport, residence sheet, and birth certificate, along with the money.

Later, the network gave the migrants the documentation so they could present their request for a letter of naturalization, but this went unanswered.

“He told me that this procedure was only done in Mexico City, and he offered to help me complete the procedure, since he told me that he would go to a meeting in Mexico City and that he could go to arrange and collect them. He asked me to deposit 5,000 pesos with him,” says the other person interviewed, a Cuban nurse who later met with the official to collect what had been agreed on.

“I never distrusted the arrangement carried out by Víctor Hugo Sulub Chi. He had my complete confidence because as a public servant of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I thought it was part of the advice he provided me in his capacity as an official. I never thought or guessed that the procedure he offered me was illegal,” she says.

According to the testimony of the victims, they were asked to be patient, and that if they received an email, they should not open it but notify the official. In addition, they were offered the name of a lawyer who would tell them what to do in case of problems, but most of them suspected that they were being deceived and chose not to contact him.

In the article, Luces del Siglo warns that these practices are common and circulate frequently through social media, as was recently proven by a Facebook account, on which illegal services were offered.

The page, with the name “Expert Translator Monterrey, Official Translations,” advertised: “Are you a foreigner going to naturalize and you lack the Certificate of Criminal History in Federal Matters? We can handle it! Don’t spend money on air fare, hotel, taxi, and food to go to Mexico City. We’ll handle the procedure and deliver the legal requirements to you. Get informed or visit us or send us an email.”

Translated by Tomás A.

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Sergio Perez, Psychiatrist Who Harshly Criticized the Cuban Regime, Has Died

Pérez resigned from the Cuban Society of Psychiatry due to the lack of institutional transparency. (Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, August 29, 2021 — This Sunday morning, the psychiatrist and founder of the World Network of Suicidiologists, Sergio Pérez, died of covid-19. His death was reported by Dr. Alexander Jesús Figueredo Izaguirre, who was expelled from the polyclinic of Bayamo for being “counterrevolutionary.”

“The medical sciences in Cuba and in the world have just lost one of the greatest psychiatrists who ever lived,” he said, and asked that the news be released. “It’s the only thing I ask, as another doctor is buried in the dark because of his ideology.”

The doctor’s death adds to the official statistics of the Ministry of Health, which has registered 5,144 deaths since the start of the pandemic, and 640,438 positive cases from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This Sunday 77 deaths and 6,277 new infections were reported.

Pérez used social networks as a channel to express his critical stance about the Cuban government. “The worst enemies of any government are its corrupt, inept, indolent, and demagogic officials,” he said in a post on August 17.

He was always blunt in his comments, such as when he rebutted Miguel Díaz-Canel’s words continue reading

about putting “heart to Cuba,” which the physician considered a “poetic and manipulative style.”

“Cuba must be given freedom, equality, and fraternity. Cuba must be given food, medicine, decent housing, potable water, good roads, transportation; refrigerators and fans at reasonable prices, because in a hot country they are necessities, not luxuries. Cuba must be given hope and well-being.”

Last May, Pérez resigned from the Cuban Society of Psychiatry in solidarity with Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who was detained for 29 days at the Calixto García hospital without being able to communicate with his friends, and was only seen by means of heavily-edited videos disseminated by State Security. The doctor asked the authorities to explain what was happening with the artist.

Even before being admitted to intensive care at the Carlos Manuel de Céspedes Hospital, in Bayamo, Granma province, Pérez lamented that “in Cuba the most there is, is “there isn’t,” alluding to the shortage and chronic lack of resources.

In 2016, before the visit of then U.S. President Barack Obama to the Island, the psychiatrist sent a forceful message to the Cuban regime, saying: “A country is going badly when a prostitute has more freedom than a physician.”

After being denied permission to leave the country on several occasions to participate in international events in his specialty, he predicted that his situation would not change, and he would continue “professionally isolated, controlled, and scrutinized by Cuba’s Ministry of Health.”

Translated by Tomás A.

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Cuban Government’s Silence is Prolonged in Response to the Request to Authorize Humanitarian Flights From the U.S.

Skyway Enterprises had been planning 20 shipments to Havana from July 22 to September 28. (Skyway Enterprises/Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 29 August 2021 — Cuban authorities have not yet authorized the landing on the island of cargo airlines from the United States with humanitarian aid despite the fact that the island is experiencing a collapse in its healthcare system and despite the voices that are clamoring for a humanitarian airlift to bring resources to families and hospitals.

In mid-August, local media in Florida reported that a group of U.S. executives had requested permission from the government of the island a month ago, but that Havana had not yet responded. A silence that has lasted until now.

“So far we do not have permits to land on the island, which the Cuban government must give,” Rey Gonzalez, an executive of IBC Airways, explained to Cubanet last Thursday. “We are not flying to Cuba because we do not have those permits. Once we have those documents to land in the country then we can work with local agencies to send humanitarian aid. But so far we don’t have that.”

It was in early July when cargo airlines IBC Airways and Skyway Enterprises obtained temporary authorization from continue reading

the U.S. Department of Transportation to travel to the island with humanitarian cargo. The permit, which will be in effect until November 30 and was made public on August 13, includes charter flights “for emergency medical purposes, search and rescue, and other travel deemed to be in the interest of the United States.”

In Miami, organizations such as Solidarity Without Borders (Solidaridad sin Fronteras, SSF), have been dedicated to collecting humanitarian aid. Dr. Julio César Alfonso, president of the NGO, told América TeVé that since the announcement was made, they have not stopped receiving donations, but the arrival of medicines, food and supplies to Cuban homes has slowed down.

SSF also presented last week the web page of its program of “direct assistance” to healthcare professionals on the island, with the aim of sending medicines and medical material, which will function as the main link for aid. They also intend to “coordinate different humanitarian assistance operations directly with all the health professionals in Cuba who voluntarily decide to join our support network,” said Alfonso.

While they continue to collect donations, the IBC Airways executive affirms that at the moment it is not known if the Cuban government intends to grant the permits to the airlines. “Unfortunately, we can’t do anything until Cuba grants those landing permits, and there is no information on when or if they will authorize them,” Gonzalez explained.

IBC Airways requested to fly twice a week to Havana until November. The airline reported that it will carry diplomatic mail and 7,500 pounds of humanitarian aid on each flight, in coordination with the CubaMax agency.

Like IBC Airways, Skyway Enterprises is authorized to operate flights to Havana, Villa Clara, Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas. The latter company had scheduled 20 shipments to Havana from July 22 to September 28, after which date it will be able to fly only twice a week to the Cuban capital.

In August of last year, the Trump Administration suspended private charter flights to Cuba as part of a package of sanctions against the island’s government. “The Castro regime uses tourism and travel revenue to fund its abuses and interference in Venezuela,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote on his Twitter account at the time, announcing the decision. “Dictators cannot be allowed to benefit from U.S. travel,” he added.

Two months later, the U.S. government vetoed the takeoff of two cargo flights to Cuba that, according to Skyway Enterprises and IBC Airways, were for “humanitarian” purposes and did not fall under the exceptions for the suspension of air connections between the two countries.

The Department of Transportation consulted with the State Department on the procedure to be followed and finally the U.S. Executive concluded that the flights “would not be in the interest of U.S. foreign policy.”

Cuba’s response was swift. Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez described the ban on humanitarian cargo flights as “a ruthless act.” “The Trump administration is stepping up the punishment of Cuban families in both countries right up until now,” he lamented in a message on Twitter.

The silence of the Cuban government is surprising at a time when the country is facing a strong resurgence of the pandemic, aggravated by the lack of oxygen, medicine and doctors, overcrowded hospitals and collapsed funeral services.

In social networks and independent media, photos and videos are circulating showing the deplorable conditions of many hospitals and the complaints of the doctors themselves about the lack of supplies to do their work.

Translated by: Hombre de Paz

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Fear of Blackouts Triggers Interest in Electric Generators in Cuba

In the centrally located shopping center Plaza de Carlos III, this type of device has just landed in one of the stores that only accepts payment in foreign currency. (14ymedio)

14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, Havana, 25 August 2021 — Electric generators have become the latest object of desire for Cubans. Private businesses, tourist rental houses and domestic spaces increasingly need these devices in the midst of constant blackouts.

“With the neighbors on the ground floor we bought a generator, small but that helps us, if the power goes out, we can keep the entrance hall lit, turn on a couple of fans and the occasional light bulb inside the house but, without exaggerating, is is not enough” 14ymedio hears from Verónica Echavarría, a resident of a two-story building in the Havana neighborhood of La Víbora.

The equipment, purchased on the black market, cost more than $600, which the emigrant children of both families helped to pay for. “When we bought the generator there were only private offers from people who travel and bring them, but they have told me that they are already putting them on the shelves in the stores, although I think the prices are very high,” says Echavarría.

In the centrally located Plaza de Carlos III, this type of device has just landed in one of the stores that only accepts payment in foreign currency. On Tuesday, some customers asked about the power of two coveted Westinghouse appliances, a brand that Cubans remember from the refrigerators of the first half of the last century, which continue to operate in many homes. continue reading

The models are the iGen4500 [4,500 maximum watts] for the value of $ 2,355 and the iGen4200 that costs $1,565, figures well above what is paid for similar devices in other countries in the region, such as Panama, the Dominican Republic or Mexico; a price that scared off potential buyers.

Portable, running on gasoline, on wheels and quite quiet, these Westinghouse models could be the perfect solution to face power outages in Cuba, especially during the summer months, when the heat forces people to use their fans more frequently. But the price is an insurmountable obstacle, a detail that has not escaped the sellers of the informal market.

“I offer a simpler and more compact range, which allows you to turn on only the basics in a house: some lamps, a fan and to charge mobile phones, but which does not provide for air conditioners or refrigerators,” Ismael, a 34-year-old merchant, tells this newspaper. For years, Ismael has specialized in the import of these devices. “There are several of us who travel frequently to Mexico and we bring them,” he explains.

“Although they are more modest equipment, they are easier to sell, because few people have the money for something more powerful. Private business owners are the most frequent customers, but right now they have little interest because most are closed or only offering services from home,” adds Ismael. “People are looking for something small, that makes little noise but that prevents them from spending the whole night sweating because there is no current.”

“They are very expensive, but I would give what I don’t have for one of these,” says a customer in Plaza Carlos III who lives in San Antonio de los Baños, where the July 11 protests began. “If there is something in my life that makes me indignant and annoys me, it is being without electricity in the house.”

One of the main triggers of the July 11th demonstrations in the town were the very long power cuts that occurred in recent weeks. After that protest, the situation has hardly improved. “The matter is not easy,” laments the frustrated buyer, who is curious about the arrival of a brand of American origin on the island “despite the embargo.”

The Westinghouse iGen4200 is sold on Cuban classifieds sites for just over $ 1,000, half a thousand less than in state stores, but “it is complicated equipment and it is better to have the import or official purchase papers very clear.” , recognizes the owner of a food service in Miramar that recently acquired two of these devices to be able to guarantee the preservation of food and the work of the kitchen during the blackouts.

“I can’t afford to be buying anything under the table because if they make a record of me and I don’t have the papers, I lose everything: the generator and even the business,” he warns. “So in the end I bought it through the official path to avoid any headaches in the future,” hoping that in a short time “prices will fall or new offers of solar panels that have a lower cost will enter the market.”

“But in the meantime, I prefer to have the backup that this is, and that serves me for my work and for my family. They are strong devices and if they are taken care of they can last many years.”

Recently, the Cuban authorities relaxed customs regulations for the importation of solar panels and other devices that generate energy from sources parallel to hydrocarbons. But, the presence of these devices on the black market is still minimal and some solar heaters for the self-employed have barely arrived in official stores.

At the moment, fuel generators are accompanied by “new problems,” he acknowledges. “They cannot be kept inside the house because of the smell they emit, and although they say they are silent, the noise they make is annoying.” Putting them outside is risking them “being taken away, so I had to create a mechanism that looks like the Alcatraz jail so they don’t steal them.”

The cost of the two devices, plus the enclosure to care for them, amounts to more than $5,000. “If you add to that what I spend on fuel each month, in order to recoup this investment, I’m going to have to spend years selling pizzas and food combos. If I don’t figure it out, I’ll have to get rid of them later.”

Ernesto, 29, a resident of Cienfuegos, also aspires to have a generator to be able to support his business linked to cryptocurrencies. “I am going to have to buy a device, because having electricity is essential for my business.”

Skillful with technologies and internet searches, Ernesto has not escaped that these same models can be bought for half or three-quarters of their price in other Latin American countries or in the United States.

“Why do they cost so much here?” he wonders indignantly, although he has no choice but to pay what they ask in stores foreign currency stores or on the black market. An electric generator is not a luxury on the Island of Blackouts.

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Cuba: Despite Strict Containment Measures, the Pandemic Rages in Pinar del Rio

The province registers seven deaths in the last day, in addition to seven patients in critical condition and eight serious. (Ronald Suárez / Facebook)

14ymedio, Havana, 23 August 2021 — “There is a line of crosses that extends every day and nobody knows how far it will go,” cultural promoter Ronald Suárez posted on his Facebook account, along with several photos of the Pinar del Río cemetery. In the cemetery you can see the accelerated resurgence in covid-19 that afflicts that Cuban province.

This Monday, the people of Pinar del Río confirmed what they had been dreading for days. With 2,042 cases detected the previous day, the province has been at the forefront of infections on the Island, even surpassing the numbers of much more populated provinces such as Matanzas, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Camagüey, Holguín and Havana, where the outbreaks have been worrisome.

In the city of Pinar del Río, the number reaches more than a thousand positive patients, despite the fact that the provincial capital has undergone the strictest and most prolonged measures of those implemented throughout the country, to try to contain the pandemic from the first cases detected on the island in March of last year. Among the provisions, notable are that only essential workers are allowed to leave their homes; opening hours have been reduced in state stores; and provincial borders are closed.

In the entire province there are currently 6,560 confirmed active cases, a figure that strains the precarious infrastructure of one of the poorest territories in the country. Five out of every 100 people from Pinar del Río “have contracted the disease since the beginning of the epidemic” and 14,275 in the last 15 days, Suárez pointed out. “An outrage for a territory with just 580,000 inhabitants.”

The province registered seven deaths in the last day, in addition to continue reading

seven critically ill and eight seriously ill patients, including two pregnant women under 30 years of age. The day before, explains Suárez, the territory had “five fewer criticals and the same number of serious ones. In other words, there are people who died in a matter of hours, without ever appearing in the counts. The disease did not give them time.”

Before Francisco Durán García, National Director of Epidemiology, broadcast today’s report on television, it was already known that “the news for Pinar del Río would not be good, for the times that from my balcony we saw the hearse pass by on the way to the León Cuervo Rubio hospital, “wrote Suárez.

However, the leads in the principal local media Guerrilla hardly seemed to be aware of the situation this Monday. The main news spaces were dedicated to the anniversary of the Federation of Cuban Women, talking about foreign investment in Cuba, and denouncing an illegal exit attempt that ended with the confiscation of a speedboat.

At full speed, the authorities have had to set up new confinement centers. In the municipality of La Palma, the Liberato Domingo Azcuy school has become a makeshift hospital to house 31 children with symptoms of covid-19, and this Sunday 35 health workers from Pinar del Río from the Henry Reeve brigade returned from Matanzas, to face the outbreak of infections in that province.

At full speed, the authorities have had to set up new confinement centers. In the municipality of La Palma, the Liberato Domingo Azcuy school has become a makeshift hospital to house 31 children with symptoms of covid-19, and this Sunday 35 health workers from Pinar del Río from the Henry Reeve brigade returned from Matanzas who had traveled to face the outbreak of infections in that province.

But the pandemic is not the only problem for the people of Pinar del Río. The shortage of basic products has taken a toll in a population that has been required, for months, to present a “mobility credential” to be able to buy the few products that arrive in a rationed way and in dribs and drabs to the province.

The problems in the water supply and the power cuts also affect a region where, strikingly, there were hardly any popular protests on July 11 when the demonstrations spread throughout the island.

“In Viñales we are desperate because of the problems we have with water and this, despite the fact that there are many positive people,” explains Lucía Escalante, by telephone from the place that until just over a year ago was a vibrant tourist center and now is going through a deep crisis. “We had to call the delegate from outside the polyclinic and complain because even in the clinic there was no water to wash the sick hands.”

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