A Newspaper is Born in Cuba / 14ymedio

Screen Shot 2014-05-21 at 4.49.49 PMJournalists and intellectuals sign a statement of support for 14ymedio.

14YMEDIO | 21 May 2014

“Today we welcome a new communications medium, a digital daily that is born in a country without freedom of the press: Cuba.

“The creators of this risky enterprise, directed by blogger Yoani Sanchez, share our democratic values. In their declaration of principals, the 14ymedio team is committed to promoting ‘truth, freedom and the defense of human rights, without ideological or party ties.’

“Cubans look to the future and need information media that opens respectful spaces for debate on the Island. We are sure that this initiative will contribute to the peaceful and democratic transition and the construction of a new country.

“The undersigned, writers and journalists from different countries, call on the Cuban government to respect the right of this medium to exist and be distributed. And we ask that it not limit the freedom of expression and the right to information of its citizens.”

  • Mario Vargas Llosa, writer, Perú / Spain
  • Rosa Montero, writer and contributor to El País, Spain
  • Fernando Savater, “Claves de razón práctica” Magazine, writer, Spain
  • Fernando Trueba, movie director, Spain
  • Arturo Ripstein, movie director, México
  • Paz Alicia Garciadiego, scriptwriter, México
  • Arcadi Espada, journalist, Spain
  • Arsenio Escolar, journalist, director of 20minutos, Spain
  • Pablo Hiriart, journalist and conductor of Noticiero 40, México
  • Moisés Naím, columnist for El País, Estados Unidos
    Rafael Pérez Gay, writer and journalist in Milenio. México
  • Lech Walesa, ex-president of the Republic of Poland, Poland
  • Vicente Molina Foix, writer, Spain
  • Edward Seaton, director of The Mercury, United States
  • Fidel Cano, Director of El Espectador, Colombia
  • Jaime Mantilla, director of Hoy, Ecuador
  • Carlos Salinas, journalist of Confidencial, Nicaragua
  • Nuria Claver, editorial coordiantor of CLAVES de Razón Práctica en PROGRESA, Spain
  • Juan Malpartida, Escritor and director of Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, Spain
  • Martine Jacot, journalist for Le Monde, Francia
  • Pedro Zambrano Lapenta, director of El Diario, Ecuador
  • Roger Bartra, sociologist and essayist, México
  • Esteban Ruíz Moral, artist, Spain
  • Adam Michnik director of la Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
  • Maciej Stasiński, journalist for la Gazeta Wyborcza, Poland
  • Carlos Alberto Montaner, journalist, writer and politician. Cuba/United States
    /Spain
  • Mirta Ojitos, Cuban journalist at Columbia Univeristy, NY. Cuba/United States
  • Dagoberto Valdés, director of the magazine Convivencia, Cuba

Math Exam for University Entrance to be Repeated / 14ymedio

Screen Shot 2014-05-21 at 4.49.49 PMLeaking of the contents forces the Ministry of Education to cancel the results and repeat the test.

14YMEDIO, Havana | May 21, 2014

The Ministry of Higher Education and the National Admissions Committee decided to cancel the results of the Mathematics Exam for Admission to Higher Education for students in the city of Havana. The move came as a result of the leaking of the test contents, which many students in Havana had access to.

The official notice states that the exam will be repeated at 9:00 AM on 26 May. The news has caused consternation among young people who already completed the 12th grade, because access to the university requires passing exams in Mathematics, Spanish and History. Most of these students have been preparing for months, including studying with private tutors. continue reading

The exam was held on 8 May, and shortly afterwards it was learned that several of the capital’s high school students had previously obtained the questions. “Unscrupulous people stole the exam, despite the measures taken,” according to the statement by the Ministry of Higher Education.

“We have to pay for their sins,” a girl from Havana’s Nuevo Vedado neighborhood said. She had barely passed the test without having known the questions ahead of time. “Now  they’re going to ‘toss a pea,’” she added, using teenage slang to suggest that the second test will probably be harder than the first.

The investigations uncovered the involvement of at least three teachers who participated in the preparation of the test; severe penalties await them. As an additional measure, the History and Spanish tests are also being modified at the last minute, for fear that they, too, could have been leaked.