English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 7 November 2023 — The image of the rice growers of Villa Clara voting unanimously to give up the quota that corresponds to each of their families for the basic basket is not exactly that of happiness, but no one will be able to take away from them the praise they have earned … Continue reading “With Sad Faces, the Rice Growers of Villa Clara Give Up Their Share of the Basic Basket”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 2 September 2023 — Communists don’t want a private sector in Cuba like the one that exists in the rest of the world. On numerous occasions, the Castro revolution has been interpreted as a process that extends the poverty of the population by depriving it of one of the main … Continue reading “The Castro Regime’s Fear of Private Land Ownership in Cuba”
Ivan García, 26 May 2023 — The National Highway running through Matanzas province divides Los Arabos municipality in two directions. On the left, a town of just over 23 thousand inhabitants, cracked streets, and wagons pulled by horses that in their tiresome trot leave their poop on the main road. On the right, a handful … Continue reading “Cooking Gas Is Also Lacking In Cuba”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 21 May 2023 — Fidel Castro activated a plan, not deviating one millimeter from its content, for seizing power in Cuba following the fall of the Batista regime. And in that plan, one of the first actions — when the execution machinery was in full swing at La Cabaña fortress … Continue reading “Cuba’s 64 Years of Agrarian Reform: Nothing to Celebrate”
14ymedio, Havana, April 15, 2023 — Miguel Díaz-Canel found this Friday a new scapegoat this Friday to justify the fuel crisis in Cuba. “What happened to gasoline?” was the question that was asked in a confessional tone during a meeting with leaders of the Communist Party in Villa Clara. “The countries that have certain commitments … Continue reading “‘What Has Happened to Gasoline in Cuba?’ Asks President Diaz-Canel Without Offering a Solution”
14ymedio, Xavier Carbonell, Salamanca, 14 March 2023–Universidad de la Habana, March 13, 1963. Fidel Castro leaned on the podium, at the top of the stairs facing thousands of students. Dressed in a suit, grimacing, are: President Dorticós; the adventurous geographer Antonio Núñez Jiménez; youth director José Rebellón; and the parents of Camilo Cienfuegos, who had … Continue reading “‘Cubadebate’ Exhumes Fidel Castro’s Speech That Gave Way to the UMAP Camps, and Removes it Hours Later”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 March 2023 — Cuba is scheduled to receive a new donation of rice in May. The five thousand tons being provided by Vietnam is intended to help relieve a shortage affecting almost half the island. Do Viet Duc, general director of State Reserves of Vietnam, said that it will consist of white … Continue reading “Vietnam to Donate Thousands of Tons More Rice to Cuba to Deal with an Unprecedented Shortage”
EFE (via) 14ymedio, Laura Becquer, Havana, 26 February 2023 — Cuba faces a crossroads in the midst of one of its biggest economic crises in history: how to recover when its society ages rapidly and does not have enough young people able to produce. The Island now has the oldest population in Latin America and … Continue reading “Cuba’s Demographic Crossroads: No Young People of Working Age in Sight”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 12 December 2022 — Analysts of the Cuban economy attribute to Cuban President Díaz-Canel the concept of “creative resistance” that the communist president uses every time he refers to the possibility of overcoming economic problems. In essence, Díaz-Canel understands creative resistance as “a capacity of the people not only to … Continue reading “Creative Resistance and the Cuban Economy”
Dimas Castellano, 21 May 2021 — Not because it was expected does it cease to be a surprise. The collapse of sugar production in the recently concluded harvest, in addition to being the biggest disaster suffered by that industry in the history of Cuba, constitutes definitive proof of the incapacity of the totalitarian model implemented … Continue reading “The 20th of May, its Place in Cuba / Dimas Castellano”
14ymedio, Havana, 18 November 2022 — Although the Cuban Government has emphasized this year the need to raise foreign capital for sectors in extreme emergency, such as food, agriculture and transport, the bulk of its offers return to the usual: tourism. Of the 708 businesses that are part of the new portfolio of opportunities, there … Continue reading “The Cuban Government Seeks More Than 3 Billion Dollars in Investments for Tourism / 14yMedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 12 October 2022 — The theft of cattle in Sancti Spíritus has multiplied 25 times this year compared to last year. The figures are official, made public during a meeting of the vice president of Cuba, Salvador Valdés Mesa, with the agricultural producers of that province. According to an article published in the … Continue reading “Cow Theft Goes From 48 to 1,200 Heads in a year in Sancti Spiritus, Despite High Penalties”
14ymedio, Frank Calzón, 5 October 2022 — The New York Times has published an ad asking President Joe Biden to respond affirmatively to the Cuban government’s call for the lifting of economic sanctions for six months “so that Cuba can reconstruct after the hurricane.” The text contains a catalogue of fallacies and half-truths. It’s not true, … Continue reading “The New York Times Publishes a Deceitful Ad in Favor of the Cuban Regime”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 11 February 2022 — Like a trickle of indefinite but constant frequency, we see citizens who decide to free themselves and stop supporting the dictatorship in Cuba. The regime’s spokesmen call them deserters, whether they are doctors, athletes, artists or communicators. For those who have taken that step before – a … Continue reading “By When Does a Person Have to Leave or Desert for it to ‘Count’?”
14ymedio, Mercedes García, Sancti Spíritus, 3 February 2022 — A teddy bear with a smiley face peeks out of a dollar store shelf in Havana. Inside the container rests honey that began its journey in the Cuban fields. The product that the authorities proudly displays hardly appears in the markets that take payment in pesos. … Continue reading “Cuban Honey, Sweet for Export and Bitter for Nationals”
