Mercedes García – Translating Cuba

With Programmed ‘Alumbrones’ (Moments of Light) in Cuba, and Lines for Gas, Sancti Spíritus Returns to ‘Normalcy’

Most of the Cubans who crowd in front of the points of sale are elderly / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 24 October 2024 — Nothing in the streets of Sancti Spíritus suggests that, as the state press states, life has returned to normal. The reconnection of the National Electric System (SEN) did not take the city out of the blackouts but merely returned it to the system of “rationed” cuts that it has been suffering for months. With the beginning of the school year scheduled for this coming Monday and the few services that have reopened, the streets remain almost empty. Only one place gives signs of life: the gas lines where Cubans gather daily to try to buy “a little something.”

“For days there has been the same crowd of people at the points of sale. The tickets for the application to buy are still suspended, and that forces people to go every day to check that they are on the list and look at what number they can get for a turn in line,” says Luis, a resident who, in recent days, has had to get up at the crack of dawn on several occasions to try to buy propane. “Yesterday I even fell asleep in line; that’s how tired I was.”

“The SEN was fixed, but here they continue to turn off the electricity in blocks as before. Therefore, those who do not have propane risk being left without cooking or heating water,” he explains. The places where charcoal is sold are also scarce, “although a bag has gone up to 2,000 pesos.”

The only option to eat when you don’t have electricity or propane, says Luis, are the places that sell broth. “Yesterday I went to the agricultural square and came across some broth being made on top of stones with a lot of sticks serving as firewood. One little glass was 32 pesos.”

In the Plaza de los Agros, broth was sold at 32 pesos / 14ymedio

Luis, therefore, has become one more of the hundreds of Cubans, mostly elderly, who crowd in front of points of sale for propane to try to get their name on the list of buyers. Carrying cylinders in wheelbarrows, on bicycles or in tow, Cubans settle on sidewalks or on the tanks themselves to wait long hours. The pose and age change, but the expression of helplessness on their faces is the same.

“I now managed to sign up, but I have about 1,000 people in front of me, and when the list reaches 1,500 it restarts. The lucky ones were the first to be able to add their names on Wednesday, because in the morning 100 cylinders came in, 15 of them authorized for state entities and five for the physically disabled. The remaining 80 were for the population,” Luis said, aware that the amount is insufficient.

“According to my calculations, from how the line has progressed so far, I should get the propane in about 20 days. I’m praying that it doesn’t end and they don’t stop bringing it,” says Luis, who knows that “the regime is limping along on its last legs.”

Just a few weeks ago, in early October, the Government managed to pay for the liquefied gas that is now being distributed on the Island. Before its arrival, the shortage kept many Cubans awake, and after the ship was able to dock, the distribution became “complex” due to bad weather caused by a cold front that arrived from the western provinces. “Cured of fright,” Luis knows that those situations, far from being exceptional, are quite frequent on the Island.

The provincial bus terminal this Wednesday afternoon was completely dark / 14ymedio

Like Sancti Spíritus, in other provinces there have also been long lines to buy the product. This is the case of Holguín, reported by this newspaper, where residents went to the points of sale in search of a means to cook during Hurricane Oscar’s passage. Many did not get to buy then, and the lines are still as long as at the beginning.

In the middle of the week, and with the alleged return to normalcy that the regime announced in its official media, no students or passers-by circulate in Sancti Spíritus. Only some employees that the Government described as “essential” continue to go to work.

The provincial bus terminal on Wednesday afternoon was completely dark with no service, and with the lack of fuel, hardly any vehicles circulated on the main roads. In his round-trip walks to the point of sale, Luis has found himself in a desolate city, “as if the hurricane had passed through here and not through the east.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

Translator’s note: ‘Alumbrón‘ is a coined Cuban word referring to the time when the light (electricity) is ON, that is the opposite of ‘apagones’ – blackouts. It comes from the verb ‘alumbrar’ which means to be bright or give off light.

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“At Least Until Wednesday, There Will Be No Electricty in Sancti Spíritus”

In Holguín, hospitals are in the dark, and anguish is growing before the arrival of Hurricane Oscar
There are mile-long lines to buy propane to cook food before it rots in the refrigerators

The situation has escaped the hands of the authorities / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García/Miguel García, Sancti Spíritus/Holguín, 20 October 2024 — When Olimpia saw last Friday that her entire neighborhood in Sancti Spíritus was in a blackout, she thought that the episode was just one more of the many they have been having for weeks, when the daily deficit of the Electric Union did not fall below 1,000 megawatts. It was not until a neighbor uttered the words “total disconnection” that her concern skyrocketed. In the last two days, her block only recovered service once, this Sunday morning, only to lose it again soon after.

“The whole night all of Sancti Spíritus was in the dark,” explains the woman, who has seen the city transform into a ghost town in a few hours. “People only go out to buy food, but there is not even that. Many have lost all the food they had because without a refrigerator it begins to rot. The bread that is mainly supplied by private bakeries also suddenly disappeared,” she says.

Olimpia explains that the bread from the bodega (ration store) continues to arrive, but – she highlights – those places have not been spared from the consequences of the general blackout. “Since there is no current, they are selling all the rationed chicken that came in for the ration quota until it runs out in all the bodegas. It’s one small piece of chicken thigh, but people buy it even if they have to cook it right away so it doesn’t spoil.”

Olimpia, like other Cubans, saw her parents and grandparents “resolve” with what they could to overcome any situation. The inventiveness she received by inheritance, however, did not prepare her for a situation like the present one, she says. “People are going crazy watching what they eat, how they cook. Gas lines have become impossible. They suspended the tickets in the on-line application because, since there is no connection, there is no way to know if it was your turn. Only the physical line works. I signed up and have a number close to 700,” she says. continue reading

The bodegas have started selling the rationed chicken to prevent it from spoiling / 14ymedio

The alternatives in these days of uncertainty, she says, are few: “In several places they sold some broth for eight pesos.” In practice, Cubans have had to manage as they can. “This morning I was able to charge my generator and am using it only for the fridge, so that my meat doesn’t spoil. Otherwise, I stay in the dark,” she states.

Olimpia has been able to communicate very little with her family, which she finds – as she explains – as uninformed as she is. “The radio works occasionally. This morning I was able to listen to it for three or four hours, but the news gave little information, and the only useful thing they said is that in this area, at least until Wednesday, there will be no electricty.” The internet connection, she continues, has also been “terrible” these days. “The cell phone continues to show 3G or 4G, but in reality you can’t send messages or make calls. The information that people have is what they hear from the neighbor, who in turn heard it from someone else.”

The movement of the authorities also does not give any indication that there will be changes soon. “There is an orientation for workplaces that they cannot turn on the generators, and those who turn them on out of necessity cannot turn on air conditioners or computers. Only the essentials. The transport is not working either. There is only one bus going around in the mornings, but there are almost no people on the streets.”

One thing, however, has caught Olympia’s attention these last few days: “The military is running around like crazy ants.” “There are policemen and agents everywhere, especially those in green uniforms that say Operational Guard. I don’t know what they are doing, but they are mobilized,” explains the woman, who saw an army vehicle pick up two neighbors from her block. “The wife of one of them told me that she has not yet heard from him,” she adds.

In Holguín, Manuel has seen the same symptoms of the crisis. Refrigerators full of spoiled meals, the stench of garbage accumulated for days, the scarcity of water that begins to hit families and, to top it off, the arrival of Hurricane Oscar this Sunday that keeps the people distressed by the scarce resources they have and the little information they receive.

Many people have spent up to 12 hours in line to buy something / 14ymedio

“I had to go out to a field on the outskirts of the city to be able to contact my family. I got as close as I could to an antenna, and although the connection was bad, I was able to call. However, all the numbers I dialed were off or out of the coverage area,” Manuel explains .

The situation in the provincial capital, he summarizes, is “as everywhere”: dark. “I talked to my 70-year-old grandmother, who lives in the San Rafael neighborhood, and she told me that she had to cook with wood,” says Manuel, who explains that in recent hours the residents in the city have bought out the propane tanks to stock up before the effects of Oscar are felt in the province. “The lines are miles-long, with hundreds of customers waiting to buy. There are people who got in line at two or three in the morning, and after 12 hours they are still there,” he says.

A visit with his sick mother in the Lucía Iñiguez Surgical Clinical Hospital allowed him to see a side of the crisis that he would never have imagined. “Everywhere they say that electricity has been prioritized to hospitals, but when I entered all the doctors were giving consultations in the dark,” he recalls.

The tension, he explains, could be felt in the corridors, where even the doctors and nurses openly expressed their discontent. “I passed by a consultation and listened to a doctor, very frustrated because there is no staff even to perform operations. At the moment they are only attending to emergencies, but the situation worsens as the cases accumulate,” says Manuel, who heard the health worker complain about the lack of resources. “He said that he recently had to give a patient a list of everything he had to get to have an operation, from syringes and catheters to antibiotics and topical anesthesia,” he adds.

I also heard two nurses complain that Public Health does not give them time off because many people have left. There is a lack of staff in the internal pharmacy, in the operating rooms, in the specialist consultations,” he lists, saying that, at first glance, you can see that “the hospital is almost empty.”

The situation has escaped the hands of the authorities, who do not even efficiently reach the population to explain the collapse of the SEN or the arrival of Hurricane Oscar. And the confluence of the two worries Cubans. “Since they reported this disaster at the national level, people are very upset,” reflects Olimpia, who soon abandons the theme and returns to reality: “What are we going to do? Where are we going to go?”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Cubans Take Out Their Charcoal Stoves, Relics of the Special Period

Power cuts and fuel shortages make life more miserable for families every day

Demand for the stoves has skyrocketed, even on online sales sites / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez/Mercedes García, Sancti Spiritus, 6 Ocotber 2024 — It is nighttime and – it is almost a truism when it comes to Cuba – there is a blackout. If a family wants to eat early, it is best to get going before the sun goes down. Those lucky enough to have an open patio will have less work to do and the stench of smoke and soot will not permeate the walls of the house. Those who are not lucky enough will have to set up the stove, with all the fanfare that it brings, on the counter. And resign themselves.

The design may vary – as the “veterans” of the Special Period know well, they were cautious and never got rid of them – but the principle is the same: a metal plate on the bottom or slab to contain the embers; an iron support; the stove itself, with its grate so that the fire can breathe; and the coal, true black gold now that there is no fuel.

It takes a lot of patience and practice not to burn yourself. A minimum of alcohol or gasoline is needed to light the embers, and if there are no matches, the procedure is even more cumbersome. At home, children stare at the flames in a daze. The flames crackle in the darkness under the cauldron. For adults, overwhelmed by the heat twice over – the tropical heat and that of the stove – it is a sad reminder that, in Cuba, even misery is recycled.

It takes a lot of patience and training to not burn yourself

Cooking with charcoal is one of the most degrading methods for Cuban families, not only because of the dirt and cumbersome process, but because it involves new expenses and more lines. The demand for stoves has skyrocketed, even on online sales sites. Not all homes have kept the iron utensils and there are young couples who are “initiating” themselves in the use of charcoal.

Pedro, a 32-year-old father in Sancti Spíritus, is desperately looking for a sack. When he went by bicycle to the place where he knew they were selling it, he found the gate closed and a sign: “There is a dog. And it bites.” He went closer, however, and saw another, smaller sign: “Tomorrow continue reading

afternoon.”

“I knocked on the door anyway to see if they would help me,” Pedro told 14ymedio. One of the employees opened the door. “We are closed,” he said, “and there is a line. When the coal arrives, people go nuts.” If he manages to catch it, it will cost him between 1,000 and 1,200 pesos a sack.

The charcoal they sell is of the third kind. On the international market, Cuba has made a good profit from its first-class marabou charcoal: it is used abroad for barbecues in the summer. Pedro has seen them on the internet: oval-shaped or rectangular smokers, in which juicy steaks and hamburgers are placed, meats that will never make it to his family’s cooker.

The design of each burner may vary, but the principle is the same. / 14ymedio

“Everyone here has rediscovered coal since the gas ran out,” he laments, bicycle in hand and heading to another post.

Pedro, at least, now has his stove. If he had to get a new one, it could cost up to 5,000 pesos. That was the price Ana, a housewife from Camagüey, paid for hers. Four twisted rebars serve as legs for the stand.

Towards the middle of the structure, a metal square collects the ashes and pieces that fall from the grill. He got a deep-bottomed burner, he says: “It can fit more coal.” Although that also has its drawbacks. It may increase the “power” of the cooking, but it will consume more wood.

Ana expects her grill, which is made of iron, to last longer than the modest aluminum burners that many Cubans are buying. They look shiny, but the strength and durability of the metal is not the same as older ones, she says. New ones without a stand cost around 1,800 pesos. They are not very deep either.

When it’s time to eat, Cuba is once again filled with small clouds of smoke in the courtyards. It is a time machine heading to the Special Period. The storage rooms, where for decades Cubans accumulated hundreds of bits of junk that they considered useless, are gradually emptied. The streetlights, the oil lamps, the little dynamo radios and the wood stoves return. And with them, sadness.

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The Farmers of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, Refuse To Sell Milk to the State After Four Months Without Being Paid

The reason for this strike is the lack of cash in the banks

The widespread opinion among provincial farmers is that the problem of non-payments will get worse / Escambray

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 5 October 2024 — Although the udders of the cows continue to give milk in Sancti Spíritus, the farmers of the province refuse to continue selling their production to the State. The reason for this is the lack of cash in the banks, which prevents them from receiving payment for the product. Without paper money, the farmers refuse to fulfill their commitments to the official companies.

“They are making fun of us apparently. On the one hand they tell us that we must comply with the rule of delivery, that this is a strategic sector for the country, and on the other they don’t give us our money,” a member of a dairy cooperative with more than a dozen farms located on the outskirts of the capital tells 14ymedio. “You can’t do that,” says the farmer, who prefers anonymity, with annoyance.

Each producer has a mandatory amount of milk that they must sell to the State company Combinado Lácteo Río Zaza, according to the number of animals they have and the average yield they have shown in recent years. Each liter of milk within that rule is paid at 75 pesos, and for each one that exceeds the assigned amount, the farmer will receive 38 pesos.

At the time of paying its debts, the Combinado deposits in the bank, either physically or electronically, the amount allocated to each cooperative. That money must be withdrawn from the bank branch by the administration of the cooperative, which will be responsible for distributing the income among its members according to what is contributed by each one. But “the umbrella gets jammed when it comes to releasing the money,” complains the farmer from Sancti Spíritus. continue reading

Being outside the official umbrella is also very complicated. Throughout the province there are 32 agricultural cooperatives that encompass most of the producers of meats, vegetables, fruits and milk. In the case of the cow owners, the pressures to join the cooperative system, the constant controls of the inspectors and the recent census of their animals make it almost impossible for them to exist outside the mechanism of State deliveries.

For the owners of cows, it is almost impossible to exist outside the mechanism of milk deliveries to the State

Last July, the Governor of the province, Alexis Llorente, said on the local radio that the “contracting of milk” with the farmers had been completed and exceeded 6 million liters. The official pointed out the indisciplines of the producers as one of the problems they had to overcome to comply with the annual plans but did not allude at any time to the situation of payments to farmers who were already in crisis at that time.

“The bank has been empty for months. It doesn’t have cash to give to the cooperative, and people don’t want electronic money because you have to pay for everything here with a wad of bills in your hand,” adds the farmer. “From the pound of rice that I have to buy to feed my family, to the salary of my employees, the money has to be tangible, not numbers on a mobile screen.”

After four months of delays and in view of the fact that the banking situation does not seem to be resolved in the short term, producers such as Mario, his name changed for this report, resident in the municipality of Jatibonico, has also joined the work halt. “I’ve been selling milk on my own for a couple of weeks; anyway, I don’t do business to sell it to the State because the payment is bad. That same liter of milk that I deliver after fulfilling my commitment, which they only pay me at 38 pesos, I sell on the street at 120,” he says.

It doesn’t seem that the banking situation will be resolved in the short term

The People’s Power delegate of the area “called a meeting to scold the farmers,” says the man. “He told us that we could not continue selling milk on the outside, but it fell on deaf ears because we live from what we manage to sell, and if the State does not pay us what are we going to do? Starve to death?”

Most of the milk that the State buys is distributed through the rationed market, for children under 7 years of age and people with specific medical diets who have the product allocated to them. The rest is sent to nursing homes and children’s daycare centers, where the food supply has suffered multiple oscillations in recent years.

Now, the most widespread opinion among provincial producers is that the problem of non-payments will get worse. “There is often no money even to pay doctors and teachers, who have to go to the bank several times to see if they can get their salary. Imagine what’s going to be left for us. Everyone wants to drink a glass of milk but that takes effort and expense; you don’t get milk from a cow by whispering in her ear and telling her that she has to fulfill the plan.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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’Bancarización’ — Banking Reform — and Lack of Resources Complicate Payments to State Musicians in Cuba

Every month, the members of the economic department of Sancti Spíritus face “old-fashioned” payments, with pencil and paper

The group Parranda Típica Espirituana is one of those affected by the non-payments / Escambray

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 18 September 2024 — A dilapidated “Frankenstein-style” computer, obsolete programs and a terrible internet connection are just the tip of the iceberg of the problems suffered by the Music and Entertainment Marketing Company in Sancti Spíritus. The bancarización [banking reform] link in the province has been broken on the weakest side: the wages of workers, who rarely receive what the State owes them on time.

The problem is not only the technological obsolescence of the company, but also its “historic debts” – 658,000 pesos of overdue wages – an even more complex panorama since mandatory electronic payments were decreed last year. Despite the fact that the musicians had to have bank cards processed by the entity, it has not even met that basic requirement. For those who do have them, payment rarely arrives on time. The summary of one of the employees is pithy: “We are always uncertain of when we will get paid.”

According to the Sancti Spíritus newspaper, Escambray, the company hit rock bottom in 2022 and since then has not raised its head, “despite showing signs of economic recovery,” which the newspaper does not define. Today, however, it can barely support its administrative expenses and pay what the contracts stipulate. continue reading

Everything has been “stumbles and falls” in the Marketing Company’s attempts to execute the State’s guidelines

These factors meant that, rather than arriving late to bancarización, it never had a chance of taking the leap requested by the Central Bank of Cuba. Since then, everything has been “stumbles and falls” in its attempts to execute the State’s directions. To give an idea, the newspaper mentions the case of Antonio Sosa, a skilled musician from Sancti Spíritus, who has not been paid for three months because the company has not sent him a bank card.

Sosa doesn’t have too many illusions about the plastic: even when it reaches his hands, he’ll have to figure out “how to get the money.” The lines to extract cash from ATMs and the numerous difficulties for its availability in the banks do not augur well for the artist.

The Marketing Company has been “very late” when it comes to applying bancarización, says Escambray. It should have prepared for the delivery of bank cards six months ago. It did not do it, it says, because of its characteristic lack of “demand.”

Interviewed by the newspaper, the leaders of the entity defend themselves. They assure that 90% of musicians have cards, despite the fact that some made mistakes entering their data into the system. To that must be added the “Frankenstein” device, an old computer with unknown parts that is not up to par – they allege – or having the national software to process wages.

Every month, the members of the economic department face “old-fashioned” payments, with pencil and paper, which delays all the procedures. The new computer will not arrive soon, because they have to “develop an investment plan that gradually meets those and other needs.” It is the problem of belonging to the State’s “business system,” concludes the economist Caridad Ruiz. “We have to finance ourselves, and today we do not have the financial coverage to assume that expense,” she regrets.

“There’s no excuse for doing the payroll by hand. Here people work under the gun”

Others, such as the deputy director of the Marketing Company, do not agree with this system and ask for more resources. “There’s no excuse for doing the payrolls by hand. Here people work under the gun. Under these conditions it’s impossible to achieve anything else. Musicians and workers demand their right to be paid on time,” he says.

Gone are the days when subsidized musicians – paid a fixed salary as a gesture of “State protection” – received their salary in the first four days of the month. Guillermo González, director of the Parranda Típica Espirituana, complains of having lost count of “the last time he was paid on time.” First, the money arrived between the 10th and the 15th. Now it’s “when they pay it.”

His group hears one justification after another from the managers, such as the lack of staff in the economic departments of artistic companies. But there are never solutions.

Among the half dozen managers interviewed by Escambray, not a single one could promise an improvement. The problem – described in detail – has no end in sight, and the bosses only know how to repeat as a litany what their superiors in Havana tell them: “We have to continue working.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Surveillance, Reluctance and the Omnipresent Garbage Overshadow the Celebration of July 26 in Cuba

“They put a policeman every ten meters around the block where the Party’s hotel is located”

Overflowing garbage on the corner of Consulate and Trocadero, next to what was once José Lezama Lima’s home, in Central Havana / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García/Juan Diego Rodríguez, Sancti Spíritus, 26 July 2024 — This Friday there is no rebellion but much reluctance and indifference to the most important anniversary of the regime. Cubans will not feel like celebrating, but the Police and Security remain as active as ever and have demonstrated it, not only in Sancti Spíritus – the site of the regime’s celebration – but also in other cities of the Island. July 26 has become National Surveillance Day.

Pablo lives a few blocks from the place where Miguel Díaz-Canel and the other hierarchs of the regime are staying, who held a kind of vigil this Thursday for the anniversary. Pablo witnessed a “strong operation” that began in the afternoon. “They put a policeman every ten meters around the block where the Party’s hotel is located,” he tells 14ymedio.

The secured area occupied 500 meters, estimates Pablo, who also saw agents in the vicinity. “We feel very well cared for in the neighborhood,” he says, sarcastically, referring to how the neighbors had to ask for permission to enter and leave the perimeter. “They asked us where we were going and other details,” he explains. continue reading

“They,” says Pablo, alluding to the main leaders of the country, “arrived around 5:00 pm.” The meals were not made there. They had lunch at the Cayería Norte, according to one of his neighbors, a hotel worker who saw how the traffic in the area was interrupted for the entourage to pass.

Raúl Castro and Ramiro Valdés Mesa participated in the event, and the official press reported that 5,000 people had been summoned

“The Party’s hotel is not a big deal,” Pablo clarifies, “but they always stay there by protocol. The building was fixed and painted recently. New lamps and fence, repairs in the pool, and more comfort inside.”

At the event, for which the official press reported that 5,000 people and 140 foreign “friends of Cuba” were summoned, there were Raúl Castro and Ramiro Valdés Mesa, two of the few survivors of the group that, led by Fidel Castro, failed to take the second most important military barracks in the country. Castro transformed that defeat into a propaganda machine that, 71 years later, is still active although agonizing.

Like last year, the leaders again waited for dawn in between long speeches and the play of lights projected onto the plaza. It was Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdés Mesa who was in charge of the celebration, which focused on Raúl Castro and the U.S. embargo. Less proactive than his government colleagues, Valdés Mesa said that Cubans will have to work “without waiting for miracles.”

This Friday, in the Cuban streets, no one expected a party or, even less, a miracle. On Obispo boulevard in Havana, only three people celebrated July 26. With the appearance of state workers or agents dressed in plainclothes, they walked the street again and again wearing red sweaters. On the back, a sentence on the fabric: “Nothing is impossible for those who fight. Fidel.”

In Havana there was little festive spirit, but there was a lot of garbage that no one will take care of “in greeting” to the anniversary. One of the most formidable trash dumps in Havana is on Trocadero Street, next to the battered house – today a museum – of the Cuban writer José Lezama Lima. Enthusiastic about the Castro Revolution in his first months, Lezama wrote a small text about July 26 in which he affirms that the date “brings happiness” to Cubans. This Friday, however, it has only brought garbage. And continuity.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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The Creole Lime, Another Item Missing From Cuban Tables

Like any scarce and desired product, in Cuba the lime has gone to the foreign currency stores or to nourish exports / Facebook

14ymedio, Mercedes García/Natalia López Moya, Sancti Spíritus/Havana, July 7, 2024 — No, lime is not the basis of everything but it is an essential ingredient in many recipes of Cuban cuisine and cocktails. The Creole mojo that is put on the cassava, the marinade that is plastered on the pork before cooking and the mojito that is inseparable from bars and celebrations need that acidic flavor that stings your eyes and awakens the soul.

However, Persian lime, or lemon as it is also called, has become in the last decade an elusive guest at the tables and bars on this Island. Counting on it to prepare a dish could end in defiance and frustration. To alleviate its absence, all kinds of subterfuges have emerged, from replacing it with vinegar in some preparations to making use of that artificial imposture that comes in a bottle and is called “lemon juice.”

In the last 12 months, in the Plaza Boulevard market in the city of Sancti Spíritus, the most appreciated citrus has made it clear that no one can take it for granted. From November 2023 until last April, it was absent from shelves, and in the last year, according to the weekly compilation done by this newspaper, its price went from 100 pesos per pound to the current 250 pesos. continue reading

When it was most needed, the lime was not there. It was not on Plaza Boulevard when customers arrived searching like crazy for something to marinate the pork for the Christmas holidays, or to throw over a salad on the night of December 31. Nor did it appear for the lemonade on Three Kings Day.

On February 14, couples had to settle for other less traditional cocktails or drink a mojito with “plastic lemon,” as they call those extracts supposedly made from citrus but that look more like a product synthesized in the laboratory than something taken from a fruit that was once hanging from a bush.

The luckiest made do on those dates with some hard lime rind, dark green and with very little juice that would serve more to break a window than to season a dish. That rickety and dry version has generated several culinary methods to try to get some liquid out of them. From immersing them in hot water before cutting and squeezing them, to placing them on the floor and, squeezed tightly under the foot, rolling them on the surface so that their interior softens and produces something.

However, almost always those methods are so disappointing that you end up throwing the lime in the trash between swear words and curses, most of them dedicated to those who manage the Cuban fields, to the terrible policies implemented in agriculture and to an official “wise man” who, without blushing, considered the lime as “the basis of everything.”

From those heights of the Government, they blame the frequent disappearances of the lime and also the plummeting supply of oranges, grapes and mandarins on the negative impacts of pests, hurricanes and the U.S. ‘blockade’*. Of those citrus productions, which exceeded one million tons three decades ago, currently only the memory remains. If in 1990 the land destined for its cultivation reached 145,000 hectares, by 2020 it was barely 11,907.

Like any scarce and desired product, in Cuba the lime has gone to the foreign exchange trade or to nourish exports rather than humiliate itself by ending up on local tables. In the digital portals that sell to emigrants to supply their families on the Island, the product can be found more frequently and stably, but yes, at a price of around five dollars a pound.

Also, the very vain limes travel rather than remaining in the homeland. In September 2020, the official press announced that a farmer from Mayabeque had become the first private producer in Cuba who managed to export limes to Spain through the company Frutas Selectas.

Meanwhile, some online shops, which sell in foreign currency, began to offer limes from Panama, Mexico and the United States in the catalog of goods that Cuban exiles use to buy for their parents, grandparents or children who have stayed on the Island. As if national consumers could no longer aspire to the citrus that sprouts from their land and should be content with foreigners buying it for them.

As good news, in the forums where opinions are exchanged about these virtual stores, a criterion is repeated again and again: “Those Mexican limes are good, they have juice and you don’t have to hit them or put them in hot water.” The cassava mojo is guaranteed in this way for certain Cuban tables, but the limes can no longer be called “creole.”

*Translator’s note: There is, in fact, no US ‘blockade’ on Cuba, but this continues to be the term the Cuban government prefers to apply to the ongoing US embargo. During the Cuban Missile Crisis the US ordered a Naval blockade (which it called a ‘quarantine’) on Cuba in 1962, between 22 October and 20 November of that year. The blockade was lifted when Russia agreed to remove its nuclear missiles from the Island. The embargo had been imposed earlier in February of the same year, and although modified from time to time, it is still in force.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Sancti Spíritus Authorities Ramp Up the Pressure To Fill the Seats for the July 26 Ceremonies

Plaza de la Revolución Mayor General Serafín Sánchez Valdivia de Sancti Spíritus, this Wednesday / Escambray

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, July 24, 2024 — “Not a hand raised,” is how the attendees at a meeting of an entity linked to the Ministry of Agriculture in the city of Sancti Spíritus reacted on Monday when its directors inquired about the willingness to participate in the official event on July 26. The justifications for evading the commitment ranged from the obligation to care for children and the elderly to anxiety over the Oropouche virus.

“We were summoned to the auditorium to organize everything this Friday,” an employee who prefers to remain anonymous tells 14ymedio. “They told us that our company had been assigned ten chairs for the event, and they read us some organizational details, such as that you have to be in the Plaza [Mayor General Serafín Sánchez Valdivia] at one in the morning, and you can’t carry anything in your hands – no bags, no backpacks or water bottles.”

After reading the requirements, the managers of the company inquired about the willingness of the workers to attend, but the first response was “silence, not a sound; people were just looking at the floor.” The Ministry worker explains that the leaders of the Communist Party and the Union then began to summon the employees one by one, but they all had a justification for not participating.

“There are people who have small children and can’t leave them alone, and I also have co-workers who care for elderly parents and, although they have family who can help, can’t come that early in the morning,” he tells this newspaper. “Others said they had just gotten over Covid or Oropouche and can’t be outside at dawn.” continue reading

“Others said they had just gotten over Covid or Oropouche and can’t be outside at dawn”

The practice of going to the celebration very early, when the sun is just coming up, is the official act of remembrance for the assault on the Moncada barracks, on 26 July 1953. This was encouraged by Raúl Castro after assuming power in August 2006, when the convalescence of his brother, Fidel Castro, was announced. The rigors of the summer heat and the advanced age of many of the officials participating in the commemoration influenced that decision.

Over the years, the time to arrive has also been advanced due to the security protocols that surround an event attended by the highest leaders of the Communist Party, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament. After the massive popular protests of 11 July 2021, those controls became stricter, and the presence of metal detectors at access points has also been added.

The concept of the event has also changed significantly over time. The massive standing rallies have given way to a smaller number of seated audiences. State entities, educational centers and the military sector receive quotas to join the commemoration, with the prior commitment of each participant, and transport is included if they live far away and are on the list when they arrive.

“There will be a reserve group on the library staircase in case some of those who said they were coming don’t show up,” says a cooperative member from the Taguasco area who is among those summoned in that municipality. “There is a lot of discomfort around here, and people have not shown too much enthusiasm about signing up to go,” he admits.

“There is talk of about farm-by-farm inspections to find out what has happened with the crops.”

The annoyance of the Taguasco farmers, as in the rest of the province, comes from the behavior of the state-owned Acopio, which in recent weeks has lowered the purchase price for several agricultural products. Among the most affected are corn, pumpkin and sweet potato, whose deliveries to the State have also fallen significantly. “There is talk of farm-by-farm inspections to find out what has happened to the crops,” he says.

However, farmers are among those who will attend the commemoration, and “beginning at midnight they must meet at a certain point to get a ride.” A transport organized by the cooperative will allow them to go to Sancti Spíritus and “visit the family after it’s all over.” With the critical situation that transport is experiencing due to the lack of fuel, any ride “is welcome,” but he does not have many expectations.

The farmer doesn’t expect the speakers to say anything important about the economy. For decades, the July 26 celebration was the stage chosen by Fidel Castro to communicate the measures with the greatest impact on Cuban society, such as the dollarization of the economy in 1993. In the midst of the current crisis and the mass exodus, however, no surprises are expected next Friday in Sancti Spíritus.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Miraculous Fishing in the Zaza Reservoir Thanks to the Drought or How To Turn a Setback Into Victory

The fishermen caught 500 more tons of fish than in 2023, when the situation in Zaza was stable / Cubadebate]]

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 12 July 2024 –After weeks of “miraculous fishing” in the exhausted Zaza reservoir, the Sancti Spíritus Fishing Company obtained 1,980 tons of fish, which represents an overcompliance of 113% in its semi-annual plan and 28% of what was collected throughout Cuba.

With a very bad memory, the official press celebrates the result – “in greeting to July 26,” (the province is the site of the upcoming anniversary celebrations) – and omits the alarming situation of the reservoir, weighed down by the drought. Only now, months after Escambray announced the frenetic “aquatic harvest” that was carried out in Zaza so as not to “miss” the very low level of the largest reservoir on the Island – at 13% of its capacity in May – the authorities admit that they were pursuing a fishing record within the framework of the official celebrations for the largest anniversary of the regime.

The protagonists of these six months have been the brigades – fleets – Sierra, Pantera, Pitirre, Liudmila and Tuinucú, whose employees did not have to be told to continue taking fish even if the plan was already fulfilled. It was a “state commission,” Escambray explained this week, stirred by the promise that they were also “fishing for more salary.” A ton was paid at 4,000 pesos. continue reading

The local newspaper then recognized its concern for Zaza, where fish “can be caught by hand”

The local newspaper then recognized its concern for Zaza, where fish “can be caught by hand,” an opportunity that the hungry fishermen in the area did not miss, with constant embellishments like the report this Thursday by Cubadebate. The overflowing boats; the crowded nets; entire fleets in the navigable part of the reservoir; the workers of the state Acuiza exhibiting large tilapia; and the scenes of “abundance” after a “tense battle” against the dam fill the idyllic report, which does not say a word about the drought.

They took out 500 tons more than in 2023 – according to Cubadebate – when the situation of Zaza was stable and the species that populate it could be fished without danger of extinguishing the prey ecosystem, composed of carp, brill, tilapia and catfish.

The authorities admit that there was an “intense drought” and that the spring rains have been “elusive,” which keeps water levels in Zaza “low.” That reference, however, is interpreted as good news because it “catalyzes the catch.” “Contributing food” is the currency, for which they were given a small “improvement in working conditions”: the company gave them 20 more boats; two have motors.

“Contributing food” is the currency, for which they were given a small “improvement in working conditions”

They fished so hard that Cubadebate has the luxury of joking about the “strengths and skills” that the muscular fishermen developed in pulling out their nets, full of “good specimens.” Crammed with the “precious cargo,” the flotillas returned to the shore with great difficulty. The boss of the Tuinucú brigade – who is the best – revealed his secret: to exceed the daily plan – from 5 to 6 tons – even if it is in small quantities. This is how the “prominent campaign” was achieved, which hasn’t stopped.

Last May, Cubadebate gave details about the panorama of Zaza, which, with its capacity to house 1.02 billion cubic meters of water, is the largest reservoir in the country. There were only 132,600 cubic meters at that time. The fishermen then anticipated that a large number of fish would die, so they had received the approval of Acopio – whose trucks opened their doors on the shore so that there were no tricks when delivering to the State what the State asks for – for an “accelerated fishing.”

The opinion of one of the fishermen, Armando García, was that Zaza was “agonizing,” and that you could only work in “small streams and puddles.” The media also recognized that the fish were not sufficiently developed to face, without risk to their population, such a campaign.

Nor was the Zaza very clean: the dirt and excess vegetation impeded the navigation of the fishermen and allowed the fish to hide. Created in 1975, 264,000 people live in the vicinity of the dam – many of them also carry out an illegal and small-scale fishery in its waters.

For five years the dam has not opened its spillway because it hasn’t been filled, and cows now graze in many of the nooks and crannies left by the drought. This was confirmed by 14ymedio, who visited the dam in June and saw that many farmers have plucked up their courage: if you can’t fish, at least the thin cattle can take advantage of the green weeds that grow where there once was water.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Layers of Paint and Hype in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba to Celebrate July 26th

The residents, meanwhile, only hope that the city buildings will benefit from the paraphernalia of the event.

Newly painted pharmacy in Sancti Spíritus due to the events of July 26 / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes Garcia, Sancti Spíritus, 4 July 2024 — Even in the midst of the most painful crisis that the Revolution has faced, the Cuban regime insists on remembering its “rebellious lineage” every year by granting one province primacy in the events for July 26. Since last June 14, Sancti Spíritus has held the headquarters, an “acknowledgement” that Cubans see more as an opportunity to renovate the city than to honor the assailants of the Moncada barracks.

The authorities “put their foot down” – as Ramiro Valdés recommended in the province days ago – and, since the announcement that the central event of the anniversary will take place in Sancti Spiritus, the problems seem to have disappeared. 100% of its taxpayers paid their taxes in 2023, infant mortality in the first half of this year is – suspiciously – the second lowest in the country, and Construction, one of the worst sectors on the Island, advances thanks to mini-industries.

That is, at least, the Sancti Spíritus that the official press is selling, decked out to receive senior government officials and, with luck, Raúl Castro himself.

The entrance road to the province was also paved / Escambray

From the interior of its streets, however, a different reality is felt. The 10 kilometers of asphalt that were dedicated to repairing the province’s roads are all focused on a single section: the road that connects the municipality of Cabaiguán and the capital city, and that also connects with the National Highway. That is, a brand-new tar carpet through which the ministers and officials will enter the city for the event.

The same has happened with the facades of state restaurants, such as Dinos Pizza, to which they added umbrellas and seats in the doorway, but inside, the bottles on display are empty and the prices do not drop below 200 pesos.

They added chairs and umbrellas to Dinos Pizza, but the rest remains the same / 14ymedio

Other “beneficiaries” of state paraphernalia have been pharmacies and bodegas (the ration stores). Those closest to the center and, of course, to the routes that the officials will take, boast blue, pink and red colors on their facades that still smell of fresh paint. The leaks from the interior and the shortage of products, however, have not changed. “Paint, a lot of paint. But no supplies,” a resident of Garaita, one of the “retouched” establishments, complained to 14ymedio.

Many state establishments, some of them on the boulevard, remain closed to preserve the touches until the 26th, when their doors will open with offers of food and entertainment that the people of Sancti Spiritus have not had at their disposal for a long time, and which is doubtful will be kept after the festivities.

Some grocery stores have their facades painted again, but they are still without food / 14ymedio

The local press has also not been shy about granting a certain “joy” to the “people of Sancti Spiritus,” alleging that the Central Committee of the Party has granted a great “honor” to the province for “the work that its cadres, management structures, workers and people in general, as an expression of the popular will to move the country forward in the midst of a particularly complex economic situation.”

Many leisure and gastronomy venues remain closed / 14ymedio

To commemorate the distinction, on the same day of the announcement, local leaders celebrated the event with the people of Sancti Spiritus, who “spontaneously” carried drums and Cuban flags.

For the Sancti Spíritus residents, however, being the venue for the July 26 events is only equivalent to avoiding blackouts for a few days or finally seeing public transportation working. For the rest, the arrangements seem few and superficial compared to those obtained by other provinces in previous years.

Translated by Norma Whiting

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Cuba’s Zaza Reservoir Is Exhausted: Where There Used To Be Fish There Now Are Grazing Cattle

The drought threatens to make the largest reservoir in Cuba disappear for good

The volume of the reservoir is below 13% of its capacity / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 14 June 2024 — If anyone in Cuba is enthusiastic about the current hurricane season, which is predicted to be active, it is the authorities of Hydraulic Resources in Sancti Spíritus. It has been five years since the Zaza dam opened its gates – that is, since it has been completely filled – and the lack of forceful downpours in recent months has made the drought critical. Where before fishermen slipped in to get some tilapia, now there are cows. “All the land you see should be covered with water at least up to the height of the bridge,” says a resident of the area, who arrived on the La Sierpe road to check the state of the reservoir. “This is in very bad condition, and the water has receded so much that the farmers now use the reservoir for their animals,” he says, counting 70 or 80 cows.

“In the end, the drought has had its profitable side, and the cattle feed on that green grass because they are close to the reservoir. The bad thing is that many people have become accustomed to the fact that no water passes through here, or downstream,” reflects the neighbor, although he acknowledges that “what’s worse is that it doesn’t rain.”

“All the land you see should be covered with water at least up to the height of the bridge

The authorities, even at the national level, have a similar concern. It’s been five years since the dam released water, and many residents have established fields and other structures in what used to be the bed of the Zaza River. Although now the largest reservoir on the island holds just 13% of the 1,020 million cubic meters of water it can store, that could change this summer, and the lives of many residents would be in danger. continue reading

On June 8, Inés María Chapman, Deputy Prime Minister of Cuba, took a tour of the dam. The intention of the entourage, also composed of the national president of Hydraulic Resources, Antonio Rodríguez Rodríguez, was to alert the provincial authorities because, if there are heavy rains, “there are no conditions as at other times to provide solutions to those problems,” Chapman said.

The official arrived in Zaza two days after an article in the local newspaper, Escambray, announced the desperate measures that were taken so that the reservoir did not become totally empty. It has not been in such a hopeless situation since the 1980s, when it dropped to 100 million cubic meters.

The water has receded so much that several farmers let their cattle graze on the land / Escambray

According to Escambray, on that day the volume was 121 million thanks to the rains that occurred in part of Sancti Spíritus. Until that moment, the official press admitted, the water was maintained with transfers from the Tuinucú, Dinorah and Felicidad reservoirs. In May alone, the rainfall was below the historic record low of 98 millimeters (mm), and about 54 mm was reported, just over half. The drought affecting Zaza, which also nourishes other territories such as Ciego de Ávila, has considerably affected other economic lines, beyond the water supply to the population. According to the newspaper, with the decrease in volume, the water was limited to the agro-industrial grain company Sur del Jíbaro in La Sierpe, a rice-producing area that has since seen its production decline.

At the beginning of May, when the press first warned of the complex situation in Zaza, the issue revolved around the fishermen who work in the reservoir, who had to start a frenetic catch before the fish died from the drought.

Zaza is “dying,” said Armando García, a fisherman interviewed by Cubadebate at the time. “You don’t have to throw bread in the water; you can catch fish with your bare hands.”

The authorities have placed their hope on the rains predicted for this month, and that a passing hurricane will bring enough water for the dam to reach a volume that allows it to be used all year round. Last season Zaza was only filled at 40%, and the consequences have been widely seen this 2024.

At the moment, the dam gates have dry walls, the puddles of stagnant water have begun to turn green, and in what used to be the bottom of the reservoir the cattle have created paths in the grass.

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Blackouts Are Suspended in Sancti Spíritus After a Protest on the Camino de La Habana

50 people were arrested on Wednesday, by Thursday night the power outages returned

The city of Sancti Spíritus during a summer power outage in which the only lighting was on public roads. / Facebook

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 31 May 2024 — Blackouts returned to the city of Sancti Spíritus this Thursday night. During the day, residents could not believe what they were experiencing: a day without power outages. But their joy did not last long.

“We went out into the street to bang on pots and pans because we had been without electricity for hours and hours,” a resident of the Camino de La Habana neighborhood, located in the southern part of the city of Sancti Spíritus and with a population of around 2,000, tells 14ymedio. “That was tremendous because people went out into the streets, they didn’t stay inside their houses. Even the old people came out with their pot and spoon.”

“The police arrived a while later and took some of the arrested people away. They grabbed the younger men and put them in the truck,” explains the source, who prefers anonymity. “There are still about 50 arrested, and the families are going crazy asking if they are going to be released or if they are going to be put on trial. The entire neighborhood is very upset with this, because the only thing we did was protest with the pots and pans.” continue reading

The resident assures that, for fear of greater reprisals, the participants in the protest concentrated on the pot-banging and shouting “Electricity!” and “Food!”, the words that have become a constant in protests of this type that have occurred in Cuba in recent years and that reflect popular dissatisfaction with blackouts, shortages and inflation.

“It was very exciting, because they were taking away the arrested people but those of us who were left continued banging on our pots. We were not afraid because they couldn’t arrest us all”

“It was very exciting, because they were taking the arrested people but those of us who were left continued continued banging on our pots. We were not afraid because they couldn’t arrest us all. My neighbors realized that they couldn’t fit the entire neighborhood into that Police truck,” recalls the man from Sancti Spiritus. “They took them to the Vivac [detention center for awaiting processing] in Sancti Spíritus,” he says.

The protest resulted in the city of Sancti Spíritus waking up the next morning with a strong police operation. “I left my house on my way to work and I started seeing police on the corners, patrols everywhere, and it was a neighbor who told me that there had been a protest and that the city was occupied,” a woman from Sancti Spiritus tells this newspaper. She works in a state company linked to the Ministry of Agriculture.

“When I arrived at work, my boss, who lives on Camino de La Habana, gave me more details. He says that it was impressive, that the police patrolled the neighborhood and people did not get out of the middle of the street, they were proving their strength with their pots,” explains the woman. “He says that he did not leave his house for fear of losing his job, but that he banged his pot in the yard.”

“In the office we had a blackout all morning but, surprise, this Thursday throughout the day they did not turn off our power in that area or in any of the city of Sancti Spíritus,” she explains. “People couldn’t believe it, I didn’t even get to enjoy the lack of blackouts, because I had the feeling in my stomach that at any moment they would knock out the power. I was stunned, I couldn’t figure out anything, I couldn’t function with electricity all the time, because I’m used to the fact that there almost always isn’t any.

“I was stunned, I couldn’t figure out anything, I couldn’t work with electricity all the time, because I’m used to the fact that there is almost always no electricity.

Several residents in the city also detail that they saw new police patrols in circulation that they had not previously seen on the city streets. Internet access was also reduced to a minimum to prevent the details of the protests on Camino de La Habana from becoming known through social networks. So far, no video of the demonstration has been released.

“The next day after the protest, a car from the Electric Company arrived to change a transformer, photos were taken and everything,” adds the neighborhood resident. “A clown, because everyone knows that the problem of blackouts has nothing to do with an electric pole or a transformer, but rather that they are taking away our electricity because there is no generation.”

On the Facebook page of the Sancti Spíritus Electrical Company, two images of a worker standing on a ladder and an old Soviet-made truck in the foreground, are enough for the state energy monopoly to use the hashtag #SanctiSpíritusEnMarcha, an irony If we are talking about a district where the most recent march was a popular protest, silenced and repressed.

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Painting Facades and Construction for the 510th Anniversary of Sancti Spíritus, Cuba

Residents regret that what the official press calls “social impact works” is not the reality

“Everything has been done to sell an image of Sancti Spíritus as perfect, but in reality the cultural life of the city is very bad” / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, June 4, 2024 — The residents of Sancti Spíritus don’t cease to be amazed. Anyone would think, reading the provincial press, that the 510th anniversary of the founding of the city – with the name of Villa del Espíritu Santo – has brought complete renovation to its Historic Center. According to an article published this Monday in Escambray, they have concluded, on the occasion of the anniversary, “works of social impact, along with actions of conservation and maintenance of more than a hundred buildings,” as well as “filling potholes and beautifying the main arteries.”

Alicia, 40, destroys this idyllic version: “Everything has been based on painting and repairing facades. There is no cultural resuscitation, no new recreational offers, none of that has happened. Everything has been done to sell an image of the city as perfect, but in reality the cultural life of the city is very, very bad.”

According to the official newspaper, “some facades and the eaves of heritage buildings were retouched with paint; the church of Maceo took on new colors, and in a second stage, three of the city’s fountains will benefit.”

“The change of the eaves is because they were falling,” says Alicia / 14ymedio

The same text says that the works include “the opening of new premises, changes for central establishments and the remodeling of properties in poor condition. The work will begin this Monday and will include the two convention centers of Independencia Street and Etecsa, the El Neri bakery-sweet shop, the remodeling of the Julio Antonio Mella primary school and the Combinado Deportivo, the Casa Museo Serafín Sánchez and the florist adjacent to the funeral home, among others.” The only leisure continue reading

establishments there, Alicia complains, “are new private bars that cost an arm and a leg, where a simple beer can cost up to 800 pesos after midnight.”

La Plaza Market, in Sancti Spíritus, with the roof visibly damaged / 14ymedio

She dismantles the regime’s hullabaloo bit by bit: “The change of the eaves is because they were falling; what they are remodeling on Independencia Street is a meeting room that has always been a meeting room. I don’t know what that Etecsa convention center is, I never heard of it, but it’s not going to provide any benefit to anyone either.” As for El Neri, she says, “the roof fell and that’s why they have to fix it. They are not making it new nor have they changed its corporate purpose. They put a roof on it again and slapped a little paint on, but it’s still the same bakery that sells bread from the ration store.”

The authorities announced that there will be works ready for “a second stage” / 14ymedio

In the same way, they “put paint” on the Julio Antonio Mella school. “Combinado Deportivo?” she asks. “What is that?” About the Casa Museo Serafín Sánchez, she says: “I think that in my 40 years I have entered only once and it is always the same. There are always the same bugs dissected and tied with a wire.” Regarding the florist, “the same: they changed the granite counter, which was ugly, for a new one that is still ugly but it’s new. They also put paint on everything and changed the ceiling above, where they have a loft, but it’s still the same florist shop.”

Translated by Regina Anavy

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Blackouts Are Suspended in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, After a Protest on the Camino de La Habana

50 people were arrested on Wednesday, by Thursday night the power outages returned

“We went out into the street to bang on pots and pans because we had been without electricity for hours and hours,” a resident of the Camino de La Habana neighborhood, located in the southern part of the city of Sancti Spíritus and with a population of around 2,000, tells 14ymedio. “That was tremendous because people went out into the streets, they didn’t stay inside their houses. Even the old people came out with their pot and spoon.”

“It was very exciting, because they were taking away the arrested people but those of us who were left continued banging on our pots. We were not afraid because they couldn’t arrest us all”

“It was very exciting, because they were taking the arrested people but those of us who were left continued continued banging on our pots. We were not afraid because they couldn’t arrest us all. My neighbors realized that they couldn’t fit the entire neighborhood into that Police truck,” recalls the man from Sancti Spiritus. “They took them to the Vivac [detention center awaiting processing] in Sancti Spíritus,” he says.

“I was stunned, I couldn’t figure out anything, I couldn’t work with electricity all the time, because I’m used to the fact that there is almost always no electricity

____________

Rice Production in Sierpe, Cuba Falls 62 Percent after Vietnamese Advisors Leave

Farmers are having trouble “keeping the harvest going,” say managers / Escambray

14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 28 March 2024 — Since technical advisors from Vietnam left in frustration in 2022, the rice farmers of Sierpe, a town in Sancti Spíritus province, are increasingly feeling pressure from the state to increase production. They are not happy about having to turn over the bulk of their crops to ACOPIO, the state agricultural procurement and distribution agency, or about the low prices the state pays them. “We feel coerced. We have no way out because they only allow us to keep a small portion of what we harvest for our own consumption and we have to hand over the rest,” says Mariano, one of the producers.

To prevent farmers from selling the rice at provincial markets or “on the side,” local officials have strengthened security measures and are insisting farmers turn over the rice that was grown under Vienamese management.

“We all feel uncomfortable with the pressure, which ultimately isn’t helping because we’re still only paid a pittance”

“We all feel uncomfortable with the pressure, which ultimately isn’t helping because we’re still only paid a pittance. But what can we do? Most of us have spent our whole lives farming rice and our livelihoods depend on it,” Mariano complains.

In an interview published on Thursday in Escambray, Héctor Yoel Feitó, director of the Sur del Jíbaro cooperative in Sierpe, reports that rice cultivation is, so far, on track. He hopes to have a yield as high as 4.8 tons per hectare, a figure similar to what farmers were able to achieve with Vietnamese guidance. However, the article also indicates that the yield in 2023 amounted to only 1.8 tons per hectare. continue reading

“The cooperative has planted 458 hectares of grain. Lot #7, one of the most advanced, has 227 hectares planted with the Selection variety, which is doing great at the moment. The dozen workers on this tract are committed to achieving the highest quality possible,” says Feitó.

Feitó also pointed out that farmers, whose responsibility it is to produce the higher yields, are looking for immediate alternatives in an effort to put more rice on the province’s tables. He acknowledged that there have been production problems in “keeping the harvest afloat” but blamed the U.S. embargo for difficulties in obtaining herbicides and fertilizers.

In mid-2022, Vietnamese rice experts, who had been been providing advice and technical assistance to producers in Sierpe, ended their cooperation agreement with the island. They arrived in Cuba twenty years earlier, bringing with them equipment and machinery, but were never able to achieve the expected results.

Despite backing out of its collaboration agreement with Cuba a year earlier, Vietnam made three donations of rice to Cuba in 2023

They also had to deal with fuel shortages, ACOPIO’s inefficiency and governmental bureaucracy, all of which prompted their decision to return to Vietnam before the agreement ended.

Despite backing out of its collaboration agreement with Cuba a year earlier, Vietnam donated 5,000 tons of rice to Cuba in May 2023, followed by another 2,000 tons in September. A third donation was announced last August but the exact date of delivery was not indicated.

Last November the local newspaper in Artemisa indicated that there was only enough rice to meet the ration quotas for the municipalities of Candelaria and San Cristóbal, a situation that has been repeating itself in neighborhood ration distribution sites across the island. Unable to provide the 18,000 tons of rice per year that Artemisa’s consumers need, officials called upon producers to redouble “self-management” efforts. So far, however, it has not worked.

Every month Cubans face the challenge of finding rice, a product essential to their diet but which commands exhorbitant prices both on the open market and at state-run stores. According to a price list compiled by 14ymedio, a pound of rice at the market on Plaza Boulevard in Sancti Spíritus cost 240 pesos* as of March 22.

*Translator’s note: These numbers are a constantly moving target, but as of December 2023, the minimum pension in Cuba was reported as 1,528 pesos per month and the minimum wage was 2,100. Based on the official exchange rate today, these numbers are $64 and $88 US. Thus, roughly, the minimum monthly wage is not enough to buy ten pounds of rice, while the minimum pension is not enough to buy 7 pounds.
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