China Donates a 5 MW Photovoltaic Park to Cuba for More Than 114 Million Dollars

The 5 MW that the new photovoltaic park would provide will not alleviate even 1% of the energy demand

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 20 September 2023 — The Chinese Government donated more than 114 million dollars (almost 107 million euros) to Cuba for the construction of a photovoltaic park with a generation capacity of 5 megawatts (MW) in Holguín, the official press reported on Wednesday.

According to the Cuban News Agency (ACN), the project is in the “initial phase.” Currently, “the conditions of the terrain” and “the necessary assurances in the execution of the construction works and assembly” are being evaluated.

The park, adds the local radio station Radio Mayarí, will be located in the capital municipality of Holguín, a province frequently affected by power cuts due to generation problems and fuel shortages. continue reading

The regional project to change the energy matrix is committed to renewable energies and includes the gradual installation of photovoltaic parks

The regional project to change the energy matrix is committed to renewable energies and includes the gradual installation of photovoltaic parks in other adjacent municipalities.

The Cuban government hopes to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, which currently account for 95% of national energy production, and especially the import of crude oil, due to the high costs it entails.

However, the 5 MW that this new photovoltaic park would provide will not alleviate even 1% of demand at the time of highest daily consumption in Cuba, according to data from the state Electric Union (UNE).

The national energy transition plan estimates that by 2030, 37% of its energy will come from renewable sources, although currently these barely represent 5%, and investments in this area are minimal.

Last August, the Cuban authorities announced another donation from the Asian country, which included 9,259 solar panels for the state company BioCubaFarma. The purpose of the project is to install the panels at the National Center for Scientific Research, in Havana, and achieve a generation capacity of 5 MW.

Months earlier, in December 2022, the official press also announced the installation of a third solar park in Sancti Spíritus with a donation of equipment from China that will barely have a maximum generation capacity of 2.2 megawatts, 1.4% of the province’s daily demand.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Inter-American Press Association Demands the Immediate Release of Cuban Journalist Henry Constantin

The director of the digital magazine La Hora de Cuba, Henry Constantín, in an archive photograph. (EFE/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Miami,18 September 2023 — The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) demanded on Monday the immediate release of Cuban journalist Henry Constantín, victim of arbitrary detention by the Island’s authorities since last Friday.

The director of the independent magazine La Hora de Cuba, from Camagüey, was arrested that day by State Security agents in Havana, during the inauguration of the G-77 Summit plus China, according to a statement from the IAPA.

It is the second time this month that the journalist has been arrested. Constantín is also regional vice president of the Commission on Freedom of Press and Information of the IAPA, a hemispheric organization based in Miami (USA).

On this occasion, Constantín was arrested “for being illegally in Havana,” and told that he will be returned to Camagüey “within fifteen days, if transport appears,” as the detainee himself said through a phone call, the IAPA reported.

The journalist had already been arrested on September 4 in Camaguey along with his colleague José Luis Tan, a collaborator of Diario de Cuba, while they were trying to cover the trial against the activist Ienelis Delgado Cué. continue reading

The repression against journalists and independent media continues to be carried out by both the Communist Party and the Ministry of the Interior

For her part, journalist Neife Rigau, a collaborator of La Hora de Cuba, said that “the regime monitors me, persecutes me and cuts my Internet connection constantly,” according to the IAPA, adding that she received a summons from State Security for an “interview” on September 17.

“We strongly condemn Henry’s arrest and demand his immediate release,” the president of the IAPA and global director of Licensing and Printing Innovation of The New York Times, Michael Greenspon, and the head of the Press and Information Freedom Commission and journalistic director of the Argentinian newspaper La Voz del Interior, Carlos Jornet, jointly said in the statement.

Both complained that “the regime continues to arrest, harass and monitor independent journalists.”

In the report on Cuba presented at the semi-annual meeting of the IAPA last April, the organization pointed out that in that country, “repression against journalists and independent media continues to be carried out both by the Communist Party and the Ministry of the Interior.”

“The number of attacks was reduced, not because of a change of official strategy but because dozens of reporters left the country. The gag against the freedoms of the press and expression is rooted in the Criminal Code, the Law of Associations, Law 88, the Constitution, as well as in specific decrees,” the report added.

The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It is made up of more than 1,300 publications from the Western Hemisphere.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

A Hundred Cuban Migrants Ask for Legal Status in Miami To Be Able To Stay in the United States

About a hundred people gathered in front of Miami’s Versailles restaurant to ask for changes in the application of immigration rules. (Cubans in Miami/ Capture)

14ymedio bigger EFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, 18 September 2023 — A hundred Cuban migrants demonstrated this Sunday in Miami (Florida) to ask for legal status to stay and work in the United States after a court ruling that limits the ways to obtain permanent residence.

The protesters gathered in the central Versailles restaurant to ask the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, to consider the I-220A country entry form as a valid way to obtain permanent residence (known as the “green card”).

This form, also known as the “order of freedom under parole,” is given to certain people who were detained by immigration officials when they entered the country irregularly and were then released.

We are asking with humility, not demanding, asking the United States Government to legalize us, to allow us to work

“We are asking with humility, not demanding, asking the United States Government to legalize us, to allow us to work,” said one member of the protest, in which they showed posters requesting “freedom for political prisoners in Cuba.” continue reading

On September 12, the Superior Board of Immigration Appeals of the United States Department of Justice ruled against the I-220A being considered as a humanitarian permit to stay in the country.

It is a decision based on an appeal by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on a specific case, that of Olty Cabrera Fernández, processed with an I-220A upon entering the country.

The decision of the appeals court agreed with the U.S. Government, which considers that the only option to benefit from the Cuban Adjustment Act, established in 1966, is a humanitarian permit, which is currently obtained with a legal sponsor within the United States.

The court ruling could affect tens of thousands of Cubans who arrived in the United States through the different border points since 2021, who were given the I-220A document after being released by the immigration authorities.

Immigration lawyer Willy Allen said that he does not believe that people who have the I-220A are in any danger of being detained or deported immediately

However, in statements to local media, immigration lawyer Willy Allen said that he does not believe that people who have the I-220A are in any danger of being detained or deported immediately.

Allen considered that this is a particular case that can be appealed.

For her part, Cuban-American congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, of the Republican Party, asked the Secretary of National Security to recognize the I-220A as a humanitarian permit.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Brazil Will Sign an Agreement With Cuba To Jointly Develop Medicines

The Minister of Health, Nísia Trinidade, stated at a press conference that the agreement will include developing innovations in vaccines and medicines. (EFE)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 16 September 2023 — The Government of Brazil announced this Friday in Havana that it will sign an agreement with Cuba to “exchange” knowledge in science and technology, and to develop medicines “jointly.”

The Minister of Health, Nísia Trinidade, said at a press conference that the agreement will include developing innovations in vaccines and medicines for chronic diseases such as Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

In addition, the two countries will again form a binational committee with health authorities, which was created in 2002, and to which, according to Trinidade, the Government of Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022) did not give “continuity.”

This committee will define “the work agenda” for a collaboration that the minister described as “a win-win” for both sides, although she did not mention how much will be invested in the agreement.

Trinidade said that Brazil will benefit from the “leading knowledge that Cuba developed” and the Island, in turn, from the Brazilian ability to “produce medicines at scale.” continue reading

The Minister of Science and Technology put on the table the possibility of training Cuban professionals in the management of satellite surveillance systems

Beyond drugs, the Minister of Science and Technology, Luciana Santos, put on the table the possibility of training Cuban professionals in the management of the satellite surveillance systems available to Brazil to prevent natural disasters and support agriculture.

The ministers are part of the entourage of the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who arrived this Friday in Havana to participate in the G77+China meeting, a group that Cuba presided over last year.

This is the first visit of a Brazilian president to the Island since 2014, and the first since Lula assumed his third term in January (he already visited in 2003, 2008 and 2010 during his first two terms).

The previous president, Jair Bolsonaro, was openly hostile to the Cuban government. He had no qualms about calling it a “dictatorship” and froze a program that brought hundreds of Cuban doctors to Brazil.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba Is Among the Countries With the Most Migrants Killed in the Caribbean in 2022

The land route between Mexico and the United States, through the deserts of Sonora and Chihuahua, is considered the deadliest in the world for migrants. (OIM)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Geneva, 12 September 2023 — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that in 2022, along with Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Cuba was one of the countries with the highest number of deaths in the Caribbean crossing, although it did not provide the figures by country. The organization’s report described the situation as “very worrying,” with 350 deaths – 104 of which were people who tried to travel between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico – far exceeding the 245 recorded in 2021.

“These alarming figures remind us of the need for States to act,” IOM’s regional director for Central, North America and the Caribbean, Michele Klein Solomon, said in a statement. She considers it crucial to increase data collection to “ensure that routes are safe and accessible.” In years prior to 2021, the records of deaths and missing persons in the Caribbean did not exceed 170 people.

The organization also recorded a record number of deaths and disappearances of migrants throughout the American continent

In 2022, the organization also recorded a record number of deaths and disappearances of migrants throughout the American continent, with at least 1,457, almost half of them (686) on the border between the United States and Mexico. continue reading

According to the IOM, the number of victims on the continent exceeds that of 2021 by 10% (1,316), and before that year the 900 confirmed deaths and disappearances had never been exceeded. These figures are based on data from IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, which since 2014 has been constantly monitoring victims on migratory routes throughout the world.

In addition to the 686 dead or missing on the northern Mexican border, another 141 were registered last year in the Panamanian Darién Gap, which connects South America with Central America.

Since IOM began this follow-up project 10 years ago, there have been at least 4,664 deaths and disappearances on the U.S.-Mexico border, 499 on the sea route to the United States, 328 between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, and 320 in the Darién Gap.

Marcelo Pisani, IOM’s regional director for South America, added, however, that the data on migrant victims on the continent are incomplete, so the real figures could be much higher.

For example, in the case of deaths and disappearances in Mexico and the United States, IOM regrets that it lacks complete data from the immigration care offices of the border state of Texas, or those of the search and rescue agency of Mexico.

Despite the lack of complete data, that border route between Mexico and the United States is consolidated as the deadliest land route

Despite the lack of complete data, that border route between Mexico and the United States is consolidated as the deadliest land route for migrants in the world.

The 686 victims on that route last year are the second worst figure in that area since IOM began compiling these statistics 10 years ago. In 2021 there were 729 dead and missing.

Almost half of the deaths on the northern Mexican border last year (307) occurred during the crossings through the dangerous deserts of Sonora and Chihuahua, IOM highlighted, indicating that this figure is even higher than that of migrants who died when crossing the Sahara in Africa (at least 212 last year).

Regarding the situation in the dangerous Darien Gap, IOM considers that the number of real victims could be significantly higher than the official figures, taking into account that in 2022, about 250,000 people arrived in Panama by that jungle route, while so far in 2023, the number has already exceeded 300,000.

Although the deadliest land route for migrants on the planet is the one that separates the United States and Mexico, the one that registers the most deaths and disappearances is maritime: the Central Mediterranean, where at least 1,417 people lost their lives in 2022, while in the western part of that sea there were 611 victims.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Mexico Will Extend the Agreement To Receive Doctors From Cuba for One Year

A small group of Cuban health workers out of the 52 who have arrived in Guerrero, Mexico. (Facebook/Salud Guerrero)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Mexico, 12 September 2023 — The Government of Mexico will extend for another year the agreement with Cuba to hire specialists from the Island. The director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), Zoé Robledo, insisted this Tuesday that it is to cover the staff deficit in public health.

In the same appearance, at the usual morning press conference of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Robledo reported on the visit of Tania Margarita Cruz, deputy minister of the Ministry of Health of Cuba and Yamila de Armas Águila, president of Cuban Medical Services. She announced that the agreement signed by López Obrador on his trip to Havana in May 2022 will be extended by one year.

“We are going to continue the collaboration with the Government of Cuba, so that mission in our country will be extended for one more year, and its scope may be expanded,” said Robledo.

The Mexican government paid Cuba $9,667,115 between July 2022 and May of this year for a contingent of 718 doctors, according to a source from the Ministry of Health who asked 14ymedio for anonymity. The payment was initially established under the name of the Cuban Medical Services Marketer (CMSC), but from September it was redirected to the company Neuronic Mexicana, a subsidiary of Neuronic S.A. Cuba. continue reading

Since 2018, according to the official, Neuronic Mexicana has been a representative of the products and services of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry of the Island, under the presidency of the Cuban Tania Guerra.

Since the agreement began, on May 8, 2022, Mexico has hired 806 Cubans from 36 specialties, according to the head of the Instituto Mexicano de Segura Social (IMSS) on Monday. The health workers are distributed in Baja California (51), Campeche (51), Chiapas (2), Colima (86), Guerrero (52), Michoacán (71), Hidalgo (39), Nayarit (109), Oaxaca (68), Quintana Roo (31), Sonora (60), Tamaulipas (15), Tlaxcala (105), Veracruz (25), Yucatán (3) and Zacatecas (28).

According to the IMSS director, thanks to the support of Cuban doctors, 665,194 consultations, 42,600 ultrasounds, 38,600 dialysis sessions, 23,492 surgeries, 3,212 studies, 1,983 deliveries, 891 cesarean sections, and 592 endoscopies have been performed.

“They are really complex specialties, now present in 16 states of our country. Many hospitals had never had a specialist doctor before,” the official said.

Mexico has 2.4 doctors per 1,000 inhabitants, more than the average of 2 per 1,000 inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean, but less than the average of 3.5 of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), according to the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The Government of Mexico has defended the hiring of Cubans by accusing Mexican doctors of not wanting to work in rural areas, while health personnel have responded that there are areas in which they cannot work due to violence.

The opposition has also argued that the agreement is a rapprochement of López Obrador with the authoritarian government of the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel. Without referring to the controversy, Robledo said that “it has been an extraordinary experience. Cuban doctors are saving the lives of Mexicans.”

Robledo did not address the withdrawal in April of this year of 18 Cuban physicians in the state of Morelos because they did not have a professional card. The specialists were in hospitals in Axochiapan, Ocuituco, Tetecala and Temixco. 14ymedio received the complaint of the leader of the union of the Ministry of Health, Gil Magadán Salazar, who reported that “one said he was an anesthesiologist, but he did not know how to insert the anaesthesia. We have a dermatologist who has not given a consultation, and the others seem to be gerontologists, areas that we do not require.”

Robledo also did not mention the privileges granted to the Cubans  in some states such as Michoacán, where they are guaranteed accommodation in a double room and free food that includes “breakfast and buffet, while dinner will be à la carte,” while Mexican doctors are offered salaries below those of the Cubans.

For his part, the Mexican Secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer Varela, announced that as part of the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 during the 2023-2024 winter season, the Cuban Abdala vaccine will be applied, of which they have 5,386,200 doses under protection in the warehouses of the Birmex company, and the Russian vaccine Sputnik, of which they will receive more than 4,000,000 doses.

Alcocer Varela specified that the acquisition of another 10,112,693 more doses will be necessary, but he did not specify whether they will be Abdala or Sputnik. “The critical delivery route will be for the second half of October of the doses already indicated. Cofepris, which imports the vaccines, is already authorizing them for emergency use in a population aged 5 years and older, and the transfer of the vaccine will be carried out through Birmex Laboratories,” he said.

He also reported that “there is good news” about the Mexican vaccine Patria, which may be included among the options for the winter vaccination campaign, but without giving details.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Justice 11J Denounces That 17 Cubans Are Still Imprisoned for the Protests in Nuevitas a Year Ago

Images of the protests in Nuevitas in 2022, in the middle of a blackout. (Screen capture)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 7 September 2023 — At least 17 people who participated in the protests in the town of Nuevitas, Camagüey, in August 2022 remain in prison waiting to be tried, the NGO Justicia 11J said on Thursday.

After protesting the blackouts and shortages, the prisoners have been accused of “public disorder, attacks, damage, contempt, resistance and incitement to commit crimes,” and therefore remain “in precarious condition” awaiting trial.

The organization mentioned the specific case of 21-year-old Mayelín Rodríguez, arrested for recording and disseminating images of the protest on social networks.

“In Nuevitas it was possible to observe a repressive strategy that would be applied in subsequent protests: arresting demonstrators or alleged leaders of the marches both during the events and after them, as part of operations and raids, or after they appeared in response to summonses for interrogations,” the organization said, although Cuban counterintelligence had already used similar methods with the participants in the protests of July 11, 2021. continue reading

Months after the protests, the regime was still looking for the “guilty” of the demonstrations in Nuevitas

Months after the protests, the regime was still looking for the “guilty ones” of the demonstrations in Nuevitas because, despite the fact that it “understood the inconvenience and difficulties of the people due to the frequent blackouts,” nothing “justifies” the protests.

Justice 11J added that “from the beginning of 2022 to date there have been at least 254 public protests of different types and scale.”

It indicated that it has registered “the arrest of 241 people in connection with protests, even if the victim had not participated in protest events in the public space.”

Justice 11J is a working group that records “the government’s response to public demonstrations of different types, in public space and in detention centers,” after the 11J protests.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba’s Candidacy for the UN Human Rights Council Is Being Challenged

Triptych of the exhibition, “Cuba, a sustained commitment to human rights for all,” with which the regime promotes its re-election to the Human Rights Council. (@GerardoPPortal)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 8 September 2023 — About 20 Cuban opposition organizations and 30 individual dissidents, mostly based abroad, signed a statement that rejects the recently announced candidacy for the re-election of Cuba to the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2024-2026. The document, published this Thursday, states that the Cuban State “does not comply with its human rights obligations, as highlighted in several reports presented this year within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review of the Republic of Cuba.”

They consider that this “non-compliance” has caused “an extreme setback” in the effective exercise of human rights on the Island.

The letter is signed by organizations such as the opposition platform D’Frente, the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba, Cuba Próxima and the Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt

The letter is signed by organizations such as the opposition platform D’Frente, the Council for the Democratic Transition in Cuba, Cuba Próxima and the Institute of Artivism Hannah Arendt (INSTAR), among others, to which are added the signatures of the plastic artist Tania Bruguera and the opponents Carolina Barrero and Elena Larrinaga.

The group emphasizes that in the Cuban Constitution approved in 2019, “the one-party system is maintained and free elections are not allowed,” and emphasizes that Cuba has not ratified international pacts on civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, nor their optional protocols.

“This prevents the binding effect of the decisions and pronouncements of the treaty bodies and those derived from the visits of independent experts to verify the real situation of the country in terms of human rights,” adds the statement, disseminated by the Argentine initiative Demo Amlat. continue reading

As another reason for their rejection, they cite the increase in repression after the anti-government protests of July 2021 on the Island, the largest in decades, in which more than 1,000 people were arrested and 700 convicted.

They point out that the people arrested for political reasons “were tried and sanctioned without due process, as a result of the lack of independence of the courts.”

In announcing its candidacy, the Cuban Government said that it “is committed to advocating for full respect for the principles of universality, indivisibility, objectivity, non-politicization and non-selectivity,” and it promotes “the strengthening of international cooperation.”

The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced on September 1 that it will seek re-election on October 10 and began an online campaign to promote its candidacy and appeal to the vote

The Cuban Foreign Ministry announced on September 1 that it will seek re-election on October 10 and started an online campaign to promote its candidacy and appeal to the vote.

Various independent groups, NGOs such as Human Rights and Amnesty International and some States have criticized the Cuban government by accusing it of repeated human rights violations.

They have denounced, among other things, “arbitrary detentions,” “trials without minimum guarantees” and arrests and convictions “for exercising the right to freedom of expression.” They have also demanded the release of those convicted for political reasons, who, according to NGOs such as Prisoners Defenders, total more than 1,000 people.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Russia Will Help Cuba Build ‘New Generating Capacities’ in Its Power Plants

Unit 2 of the Lidio Ramón thermoelectric plant, known as Felton, is one of those that are out of operation this Thursday. (Cubadebate)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Havana/Moscow, 7 September 2023 — Russia and Cuba addressed, on Thursday, the construction of new generating capacities for power plants on the Island, as reported by the Russian Ministry of Energy in a statement echoed by the Spanish agency EFE. “Electric energy plays a decisive role in the economy of the Republic of Cuba and must become the basis for the development of all industries,” said the Russian Deputy Minister of Energy, Yevgeny Grabchaka, during a meeting with the Cuban Minister of Energy and Mines, Vicente de la O Levy.

According to the report, both officials also discussed bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including issues related to crude oil extraction.

At the end of last month, De la O Levy met in Moscow with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Riabkov, to discuss energy cooperation between the parties.

According to the statement released by the Russian Government, “during the meeting, which took place in the atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding inherent in the Russian-Cuban dialogue, the strengthening of bilateral cooperation was addressed, particularly in the field of energy, in a spirit of strategic cooperation.” continue reading

Both officials also discussed bilateral cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including issues related to crude oil extraction

Russian aid in the field of energy is essential in the midst of the current crisis, which does not subside, taking into account, in addition, the frequent breakdowns suffered by Cuban power plants. This same Thursday, according to the Electric Union of Cuba, unit 2 of the Felton (in Holguín), unit 6 of Energas Boca de Jaruco (in Mayabeque), unit 1 of Santa Cruz (in Matanzas) and unit 6 of the Renté (in Santiago de Cuba) are out of service.

Nor do the refineries have an encouraging outlook. This Tuesday, the Ñico López stopped working again, in the Havana municipality of Regla, put into operation on August 25 after being stopped for a year and responsible for the smell of gas spread throughout the capital last week.

According to 14ymedio, Professor Jorge Piñón, a specialist in the oil sector at the University of Texas (USA), Ñico López’s problem “is not a lack of crude oil to process” but rather “it seems to be technical.”

The plant is “the most sophisticated of the three Cuban refineries,” says the expert, for being “the only one with a catalytic cracking unit, a leading unit in gasoline production. Like the thermoelectric ones,” it shows signs of aging “after its 67 years of operation with a low level of capital maintenance.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Legacy of Cuban Artist Nicolas Landrian Resurfaces in Venice

Still from the documentary Landrián by Ernesto Daranas.

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Gonzalo Sánchez, Venice, 3 September 2023 — Nicolás Landrián was a visionary of Cuban cinema but post-revolutionary censorship ultimately marginalized his work. His films have now been taken out of storage, giving the general public access to his legacy thanks to a documentary, which recently premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, that bears his last name.

“In his time, he was probably Cuba’s best-known filmmaker after Tomas Gutierrez, Alea Titón and Humberto Solás but he remains unknown to the general public,” says the producer of Landrián, Ernesto Daranas Serrano.

The documentary, which was presented as part of the festival’s Venice Classics series, follows the search through Havana’s film archives for cans of footage shot by the director, who was Cuba’s first black filmmaker and whose work was largely forgotten due to censorship.

Landrián (1938-2003) was the nephew of the poet Nicolás Guillén. Though he actively opposed the Batista dictatorship, after the revolution he was accused of having a “licentious attitude” and for comments “not in keeping with a young revolutionary” according to files shown in the documentary.

His camera captured the folklore and idiosyncrasies of Cuban society while questioning the widespread propaganda and fervor following the triumph of Fidel Castro’s Revolution in 1959. (His 1968 documentary Coffea Árabiga even satirized coffee production.) continue reading

Landrián (1938-2003), was the nephew of the poet Nicolás Guillén. Though he actively opposed the Batista dictatorship, he was accused of having a “licentious attitude” after the 1959 Revolution 

“I have never fit in anywhere except in my work,” he often said.

Thus, “ideological deviation” became his cross to bear and a permanent part of his record. He was subjected to perennial incarceration, then to electric shock in psychiatric clinics, until he managed, along with many others, to go into exile in Miami.

It was there that he would die of pancreatic cancer in 2002. Meanwhile, back on the island, the public’s memory of him began to fade as his films rotted away on archive shelves.

But two decades later, the idea of restoring his legacy came about almost by accident. In 2019 Daranas was snooping around the Cinemateca de Cuba while working on another project and noticed the “unfortunate” state of conservation of the film heritage he found stored in its archives.

One of Landrián’s films that came to have great sentimental value for Daranas was Ociel del Toa (1965). During his childhood he saw this film, a story about people living along the Toa River, countless times in movie theaters because it was used as filler during screening interruptions.

“Half the film was lost and the other half very badly damaged. I wondered about the rest of Landrián’s works. All of them were more or less in the same condition and no one knew where some of them were,” he said.

With a go-ahead from the president of the Cuban Institute of Cinemagraphic Art and Industry (ICAIC), Daranas began searching for the negatives in hopes of restoring them.

Daranas is critical of the role censorship plays in Cuban cinema, a hot topic among Cuban filmmakers, who are currently demanding government officials meet with them to discuss it.

“I am not the only one to condemn censorship in Cuban cinema. It’s an issue for all the members of the union of Cuban filmmakers, who right now are demanding our government have discussions with us about censorship,” says Ernesto Daranas

Little by little, ten of these lost films were found. They include Los del Baile (The Dancers, 1965); En un Barrio Viejo (In an Old Neighborhood, 1963), winner of the Krakow Film Festival; and Ociel del Toa itself,  which won an award at SEMINCI, the Valladolid Film Festival.

Daranas’ documentary recounts efforts to first recover the lost films in Havana and then to send them to Madrid for restoration.

Ladrián comes across as a Christ-like figure who was said to have been born “with his eyes wide open.” He is described in film by those who knew him, such as his wife, Gretel Alfonso Fuentes, and his director of photograph, Livio Delgado.

“With the ten films we have restored and with this documentary, we are hoping to introduce this exceptional filmmaker to a wider audience. He faced a problem that unfortunately many Cuban filmmakers are still facing today, which is censorship,” says Daranas.

“Censorship still hangs like a sword of Damocles over Cuban cinema,” he adds.

“I am not the only one to condemn censorship in Cuban cinema. It’s an issue for all the members of the union of Cuban filmmakers, who right now are demanding our government have discussions with us about censorship and how it has harmed so much cinema and so many lives,” he says.

The screening of his documentary at the prestigious Venice Festival is doubly valuable for Cuban filmmakers like Daranas.

First, it recognizes an “exceptional and virtually unknown” filmmaker like Landrián, says Daranas, who won the King of Spain Journalism Award for his documentary The Last Pipers of Havana. Second, it is validates “the struggle that Cuban filmmakers are still waging today against censorship and exclusion.”

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.</p

Bill Richardson, the Man Who Freed Cuban Prisoners but Couldn’t Help Alan Gross, Has Died

Bill Richardson at a press conference in Havana, in 2011, when he failed in his attempt to obtain the release of Alan Gross. (EFE)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 3 September 2023 — Former governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, of Hispanic origin, was U.S. ambassador to the UN and Secretary of Energy under the presidency of Bill Clinton. He passed away at the age of 75 at his home, the Richardson Center for Global Commitment reported on Saturday.

“He lived his entire life in the service of others, including his time in the Government and his subsequent career helping to release people taken hostage or unjustly detained abroad,” Mickey Bergman, vice president of the Richardson Center, said in a statement.

Richardson died while sleeping in his summer home in Massachusetts, as reported by CNN and other American media. The Democrat, after completing his political career, devoted himself to working to free Americans detained abroad.

Throughout his career, Richardson interceded for the release of hostages and prisoners in places such as Cuba, North Korea, Iraq, Russia and Sudan. In the 1990s, he had a rapprochement with Havana on several occasions.

In 1996, as a Democratic congressman, Richardson obtained the release of the political prisoners, Carmen Arias Iglesias, Luis Grave Peralta Morell and Eduardo Ramón Prida, after holding a two-hour meeting in Havana with Fidel Castro. According to the Spanish newspaper El País, the American politician sought the release of 12 people. continue reading

In 1996, as a Democratic congressman, Richardson obtained the release of the political prisoners, Carmen Arias Iglesias, Luis Grave Peralta Morell and Eduardo Ramón Prida, after holding a two-hour meeting in Havana with Fidel Castro

Richardson returned to the Island as governor of New Mexico in 2009 to promote commercial and cultural exchange. The Democrat, close to Barack Obama, took advantage of the fact that in 2001, commercial operations of American companies in Cuba had resumed after Washington excluded food and medicines from the financial and commercial embargo that had been applied to the Island since 1962.

As part of that trip, which Richardson himself paid for, he met with Deputy Chancellor Dagoberto Rodríguez and the then-president of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcón, according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

In 2010, he returned to the Island to promote commercial and cultural exchanges and, in addition, to act as an intermediary in the release of contractor Alan Gross, imprisoned in Cuba. The following year, in September, a new attempt at liberation was thwarted. “My feeling is that there are some elements in your government [the one in Cuba] that do not want to improve relations with the United States,” Richardson said at the time.

“Cuba’s action seemed to be an extraordinary snub towards the prominent Spanish-speaking Democrat and former UN ambassador who has had cordial relations with the government of the Island. There was no information from the Cuban government about why Richardson could not see Gross, who had usually received visits from diplomats and members of the US Congress,” The Washington Post published.

In this same newspaper, Richardson published an article in 2013 in which he highlighted the Havana fiasco. “I learned this lesson in the worst way,” he wrote, “in 2011, when the Cuban authorities initially refused to release and hand over to me USAID worker Alan Gross, and I said that I would not leave Cuba without him.”

“My public complaint made Cubans less willing to negotiate; they were clearly upset that I had tried to embarrass them. Gross is s till in a Cuban prison today,” he added then.

In 2010 he returned to the Island to promote commercial and cultural exchanges and, in addition, to act as an intermediary in the release of contractor Alan Gross, imprisoned in Cuba

Gross was finally released on December 17, 2014, simultaneously with the five Cuban agents of the so-called Wasp Network, imprisoned in the United States.

Bill Richardson’s name appeared on several occasions among the candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. Just a few days ago it was known that this year he was nominated again, this time by four Democratic senators, Bob Menéndez, Joe Manchin, Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján.

“Needless to say, I am honored by this nomination for a prestigious award, knowing that it is a remote possibility,” Richardson told The Hill newspaper on August 25. His nomination was backed by 14 letters from former hostages and their families, praising his role in their release.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, lamented the death of the former governor of New Mexico on Friday. “He was a patriot and truly genuine, and he will not be forgotten,” the President said in a statement in which he reviewed the many milestones in Richardson’s life.

“Bill Richardson carried many heavyweight titles during his life,” Biden said in his message. “Few have served our nation in so many ways or with so much insistence, creativity and good cheer,” he added.

Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, also mourned Richardson’s death with a message in which they referred to the politician as “a masterful and persistent negotiator. He helped make our world a safer place and managed to free many people unjustly detained abroad,” the Clintons stated.

Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena, California, although he grew up in the Coyoacán neighborhood of the Mexican capital since his father, a banking executive of Anglo-American and Mexican descent, was stationed there. His mother was Mexican of Spanish origin.

As a child he was sent to study in the United States and later graduated in Political Science at Tufts University in 1970. From a very young age he began his political career as a Republican congressman. He also worked in the State Department with Henry Kissinger during the Richard Nixon Administration (1969-1974).

In 1982 he was elected congressman of the House of Representatives for New Mexico. He spent 14 years in Congress, where he met Bill Clinton (1993-2001) and began to get involved, circumstantially, in the negotiations to release hostages.

It was in 1994 when Clinton asked him to participate in the release of two American pilots whose helicopter was shot down in North Korean airspace, since Richardson was casually visiting the country.

In 1997, Clinton appointed him United States ambassador to the UN (1997-1998), and a year later, he was elected Secretary of Energy until the end of the Democratic president’s second term. He was the Hispanic politician who reached the highest position in those years.

Among the last tasks he performed, Richardson acted as a mediator in several prisoner exchanges between the United States and Russia, including basketball player Brittney Griner and American student Trevor Reed

At that time he also participated in several foreign policy missions, including a negotiation in Baghdad with Saddam Hussein to ensure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis.

After the end of the Clinton Administration, in 2002, Richardson became the only Hispanic governor of the United States at that time and the fifth in the history of New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of the country’s Latino population.

He was governor for two terms, and in 2008 he sought the Democratic candidacy for the Presidency but abandoned his campaign after the Iowa and New Hampshire primaries.

Among the last tasks he performed, Richardson acted as a mediator in several prisoner exchanges between the United States and Russia, including basketball player Brittney Griner and American student Trevor Reed, at the end of last year.

Married to his childhood friend Barbara Flavin, with whom he had a daughter, he is also the author of three books, including How to Sweet-Talk a Shark: Strategies and Stories from a Master Negotiator, and his participation as a commentator on different television channels such as CNN or Fox News was frequent.

In addition to the Richardson Center for Global Commitment, Richardson created the New Mexico Wildlife Preservation Foundation with actor Robert Redford, to protect wild horses.

Translated by Regina Anavy
________________________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Cuba’s Political Prisoners and the People of Ukraine, Winners of the Pedro Luis Boitel 2023 Freedom Prize

A person looks at banners with photos of Cuban prisoners during a press conference in Miami, Florida, on May 16, 2023. (EFE/EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Miami, 29 August 2023 — The Assembly of the Cuban Resistance (ARC), which includes opposition organizations from inside and outside Cuba, announced this Tuesday that the Pedro Luis Boitel 2023 Freedom Prize was awarded to the 137 Cuban political prisoners and the Ukrainian people for defending their sovereignty against “Russian aggression.”

Established in 2001, the Boitel Prize is awarded every year by an international panel to an outstanding figure in the fight for freedom in Cuba or in the world.

The announcement of the winners was made in Kiev as part of the visit of a delegation from the Assembly of the Cuban Resistance and the Hemispheric Front for Freedom to express their solidarity with the cause of Ukrainian freedom and their rejection of “the participation of the Castroite Black Berets in the Russian aggression” against that country.

The award honors the memory of Pedro Luis Boitel, who fought against the military dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista and then against the regime of Fidel Castro and died in 1972 after a 53-day hunger strike in a Cuban jail.

According to a statement from ARC, Alexander Merezhko, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Ukrainian Parliament, and MP Maryan Zablotsky participated in the announcement of the Boitel Prize winners. continue reading

“We support political prisoners in Cuba, especially women political prisoners, and we are happy that this year the Boitel award goes to women political prisoners in Cuba. We admire your courage and demand your release,” said Merezhko.

Zablotsky said that Ukrainians know well that communism, “an ideology that should not have existed,” “only leads to repression” and regretted that it persists in Cuba and other countries.

“You should know that we share your pain and your values. And I am sure that freedom always wins over darkness,” added the deputy, according to an ARC statement.

Salvadoran congressman Ricardo Godoy and Orlando Gutiérrez Boronat, ARC coordinator, also addressed the announcement.

Gutiérrez recalled that in Kiev’s Maidan square “the recovery of sovereignty by the people of Ukraine began in the critical year of 2014,” with popular demonstrations and the action of the Armed Forces that prevented Russia from dominating Ukraine again and consolidated the democracy of the country.

“Maidan is a cry for freedom and a symbol of freedom for the entire world and it should also be for Cuba. It is in this alliance between the people and the patriotic Armed Forces that the hope for the liberation of Cuba lies,” he stressed.

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

In Addition to Deepening Energy Cooperation With Cuba, Russia Will Sell It Meat and Dairy Products

Vicente de la O Levy, Minister of Energy and Mines of Cuba. (September 5)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio/EFE, Moscow, 30 August 2023 — Russia and Cuba will deepen bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of energy, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported today after a meeting held between the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergey Riabkov, and the Minister of Energy and Mines of the Island, Vicente de la O Levy.

According to the statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, “during the meeting, which took place in an atmosphere of friendship and mutual understanding inherent in the Russian-Cuban dialogue, the strengthening of bilateral cooperation was addressed, particularly in the field of energy, in the spirit of establishing a strategic alliance.”

Moscow once again recognized Havana by confirming the “consistent position regarding the need for the immediate cessation of the commercial, economic and financial blockade of Cuba by the United States.”

The rest of the Russian industries that were already operating in the country were granted extensions for their operations

Last Tuesday, the Sputnik newscast agency announced the certification of nine Russian livestock companies, for a total of 23, that will be able to operate in Cuba. After inspection by the National Agricultural Health Center of the Island, three pork companies, two dairy and another four of meat products —  pork, poultry and beef — will be able to market their continue reading

products in the Cuban market. The rest of the Russian industries that were already operating in the country were granted extensions for their operations.

The traditional relations between Russia and Cuba received a new impetus last May, after both countries endorsed the desire to strengthen the Russian financial and business presence on the Island with exemption from tariffs, land concessions and ties between their banking systems.

One of the most controversial measures was the delivery in usufruct, for 30 years, of land to Russian businessmen who wish to exploit it. The president of the Cuba-Russia Business Council, Boris Titov, then explained that among the concessions were “both the long-term lease of land and the tax-free import of agricultural machinery, the granting of the right to transfer profits in foreign currency and much more.

A high percentage of state land, for example 90%, should be sold to the national private sector

The Cuban economist Pedro Monreal then published on his X account (formerly known as Twitter) a critique of the strategic meaning of the package of measures for the national economy. “If it is about promoting entrepreneurs, then the game should be leveled for nationals,” he said, explaining that national production and support for Cuban entrepreneurs should be favored over foreign investors.

“A high percentage of state land, for example 90%, should be sold to the national private sector — independent owners and companies. In this way, “the private sector would have the possibility of negotiating directly with foreign entrepreneurs about the management of those lands,” rather than the State.

Despite the close political ties, in 2022 the bilateral trade exchange between Moscow and Havana was only 451 million dollars, a figure that the Russians want to improve.

Translated by Regina Anavy

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

Less Than 40 Percent of Havana’s Garbage Collection Teams Are Operational

Photos of the Lawton neighborhood in Havana, a few meters from the 30 de Noviembre polyclinic. (Cortesía)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 23 August 2023 — Less than 40% of Havana’s garbage collection equipment is currently operational, the official Cuban newspaper Granma reported Wednesday, an issue that has been the subject of criticism in recent months.

The governor of Havana, Yanet Hernández Pérez, offered this and other data in a meeting with representatives of the Government, in which she explained that only 39% of the 440 community service teams “keep working,” and that their “technical availability” is reduced to 40% due to the lack of “tires, rims and batteries” for the garbage collection vehicles.

She also indicated that 11 of the 29 garbage trucks of the Provincial Community Services Company are currently paralyzed.

Cuban Prime Minister, Manuel Marrero, who chaired this meeting, urged the audience to “not leave Havana alone,” recalling its “complexity and magnitude” as the capital, and he asked “all municipalities” to “look for alternative solutions,” because in his opinion there is a lack of organizations, companies and economic actors to support these services.

According to Granma, Marrero insisted on “extreme organizational measures” for the collection of solid waste, because “in a city like Havana there has to be planning.”

The capital, with about two million inhabitants, generates around 23,814 cubic meters of waste daily, according to official data, of which more than two-thirds correspond to the activity of “home services and waste.” continue reading

The accumulation of garbage in the streets and the irregularity of the collection services have been reported on multiple occasions in recent months, mainly on social networks and in the independent media.

The frequency of collection has also been reduced, and sometimes, given the accumulated volume, it is carried out with excavators or cargo vehicles that allow waste to be dumped.

Cuba has been suffering a serious crisis for more than two years due to errors in national economic policy, which the State insists on attributing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. “blockade.”

Independent experts also point to bureaucratic problems, management failures, neglect and lack of human capital due to the heavy emigration experienced by the country.

Translated by Regina Anavy 

_________________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.

The Expansion of the BRICS: The Dawn of a New World Order?

Poster of the BRICS summit in South Africa. (EFE)

14ymedio biggerEFE (via 14ymedio), Johannesburg, 26 August 2023 — BRICS, the group of emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), enjoyed the spotlight this week when announcing in Johannesburg the accession to the bloc of six countries, including Argentina, and left an unknown in the air: will that expansion mark the beginning of a new world order?

In the midst of enormous anticipation, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, broke the news last Thursday to hundreds of journalists who crowded into a room at the Sandton Convention Center, in Johannesburg’s financial district, where the last day of the group’s XV Summit of Heads of State and Government took place.

The leaders of the bloc had approved access to the club of Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, which will become “full members” beginning on January 1, 2024, the president revealed.

Without clarifying the accession criteria, Ramaphosa specified that there is “a consensus on the first phase of this expansion process, and other phases will follow.”

Some forty countries had expressed the desire to join the bloc, according to South Africa, which this year holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, with formal requests received from 23 nations, including Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Honduras and Venezuela. continue reading

Brazil, Russia, India and China created the BRICS in 2006, an informal club that was joined by South Africa (the S of the acronym) in 2010.

These countries represent more than 42% of the world’s population and 30% of the planet’s territory, as well as 23% of gross domestic product (GDP) and 18% of world trade.

Since then, the group, a champion of the Global South and  scourge of the western global hegemony, had not opened its doors to anyone due to disagreements among its members.

China, the second global economy, bet very strongly on expanding the BRICS – which are eager for more weight in international institutions, dominated by the United States and Europe – because Beijing is looking for more geopolitical muscle against Washington, the world’s first economy.

The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, could not contain his euphoria and called the expansion “historic,” and his colleagues in the bloc joined in, although with more temperate assessments.

The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who bid for the entry of neighboring Argentina, welcomed the new members and said that “the BRICS will continue to be the engine of a more just world order.”

But, EFE asked, what does the expansion mean for that world order? “This is a historic moment (…) that can completely change the relationship of what we saw so far; that is, a unipolar world is passing very quickly to a multipolar world,” replied the famous Uruguayan journalist Jorge Gestoso, who has interviewed numerous international leaders in his long career.

Gestoso believes that the planet is heading towards a new international order but warns that the “unipolar world” is not going “to stand idly by (…), and we might see bumps in the road ahead.”

An expert in international policy, Sanusha Naidu, of the Institute for Global Dialogue of South Africa, was more cautious in statements to EFE.  She does not necessarily see a new world order but does admit that the expansion of the BRICS alters “the dynamics of that world order by breaking down barriers.”

Although there is no doubt that the enlargement offers the bloc greater economic and political influence, it could also provoke new tensions between the members and the West, given the inclusion, for example, of Iran, a staunch enemy of the United States.

It should be remembered in this regard that Russia and Iran share a common cause in their fight against sanctions and the diplomatic isolation against them led by Washington, and that they deepened their economic ties after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

The entry of Argentina, in addition, could generate problems in the group “because there is still the possibility of a change of government” in the country, Brazilian analyst Gustavo de Carvalho, of the South African Institute of International Affairs, told EFE.

The presidential candidate of the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio [Together for Change], Patricia Bullrich, expressed on Thursday her “opposition position” to the entry of Argentina.

“Argentina, under our government, will not be in the BRICS,” Bullrich warned in a speech, referring to the general elections on October 22.

On the economic and commercial terrain, Gestoso pointed out that the expansion, which includes three major oil producers (Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates), could lead to a “tectonic movement” in the development of “a new financial architecture that can change the rules of the world’s game.”

In fact, this is where the BRICS have achieved their greatest success so far: the establishment of the New Development Bank, an organization inspired by the World Bank to finance infrastructure projects.

While the West digests the expansion of the BRICS, UN Secretary General António Guterres recalled on Thursday at the bloc summit that “today’s global governance structures reflect yesterday’s world,” and, therefore, “they must be reformed to reflect the  current power and economic realities.”

Translated by Regina Anavy
_______________________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORKThe 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.