English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, September 11, 2019 — Dozens of activists arrested this weekend during the framework of Federica Mogerini’s visit to Cuba continue to be detained in bad conditions, their families report. This Monday night, Katerine Mojena, wife of the Carlos Amel Oliva, the youth director of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu) , reported that … Continue reading “Mogherini’s Visit Coincides With Dozens of Arrests”
Jeovany Jimenez Vega, 11 July 2019 — In the last few days we have seen the crystallisation of the Cuban government’s posture on the use of social media and websites in our country. The authorities in Havana have decided that from now on they will regulate even more closely the activity in these sites by … Continue reading “Social Media Censorship In Cuba: Another Turn Of The Screw / Jeovany Jimenez Vega”
14ymedio, Carlos A. Montaner, Miami, July 14, 2019 — Mexico is trembling. It occurs every once in a while. AMLO is the acronym for Andrés Manuel López Obrador, its president. The word that best describes all that is happening there is “uncertainty.” No one knows what could happen. When societies are in this situation, generally … Continue reading “AMLO and Uncertainty”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón/ Yoani Sánchez, Miami/Havana, 5 July 2019 — The control that the Government has had over the media for years has a mirror for the virtual world. So far, online publications have been able to escape the legal censorship that weighs on analogue media, but the days are numbered for that status. … Continue reading “Government Strengthens Its Control Over Content on the Web”
Iván García, 27 February 2019 — Ten minutes before 7:00 am on Sunday, February 24, the president of Electoral College Number 3 of District 68 hurried his meager breakfast of bread with mortadella and a cup of a beverage that was brewed from a mixture of coffee and ground peas. He already had the ballots in … Continue reading “In Cuba Fear Won / Ivan Garcia”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, February 26, 2019 — The preliminary results from the referendum on the new Constitution confirm what was expected: that the new Constitution was going to be approved by the majority and that the process was going to make clear the increase in citizen dissent by putting a number to that group … Continue reading “2.5 Million Cuban Voters Distance Themselves From the Constitution”
14ymedio, Havana, February 25, 2019 — After election day Cuba returned to its routine this Monday and the majority of the population shows no signs of interest in the “preliminary” results of the referendum on the Constitution that will be announced starting at 3:00pm by the National Electoral Commission (CEN). The improvements in transportation that … Continue reading “Observers Criticize Delay in Announcement of Referendum Results”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 23 February 2019 — CubaData has surveyed Cuban society. It has asked people about the new Constitution that will be voted on in the referendum on February 24. According to the sample, 42.4% will say Yes, 41.6% will opt for the No and 16% will not vote. It is a … Continue reading “Surveys in Cuba: What Do Cubans Think?”
14ymedio, Havana, January 8, 2019 — Mobilization for the “No” vote in the referendum called for February 24 to approve the constitutional reform continues gaining momentum in the ranks of the opposition. This Monday, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (Unpacu), José Daniel Ferrer, insisted that a “No” vote “is the option championed … Continue reading “The "No" Campaign Gains Momentum Among the Opposition”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 22 November 2018 — A head with horns dominates the room. It’s nearly noon and not a single paella has emerged from the kitchen of Toros y Tapas, a paladar (private restaurant) in Havana’s Miramar neighborhood. In the restaurant, a favorite among diplomats, there was a certain expectation, this Wednesday, a … Continue reading ““The ‘Yumas’ will be something else, but the ‘Pepes’ are family””
14ymedio, Havana, 3 September 2018 — The two main human rights organizations in Cuba published Monday their reports about repression during August. The Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN), with headquarters in Cuba, puts the number of arbitrary political arrests at 219 in August. For the CCDHRN the most serious event last … Continue reading “Repression Does Not Rest in Summer”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 27 September 2017 – Three families are now bathing in Bernardina’s shower. “Everyone brings their own soap but the water is for everyone,” says the 86-year-old woman at her house on Calle Campanario in Havana. After Hurricane Irma the retiree opened her doors to her most affected neighbors, a gesture that is repeated … Continue reading “From Cuban To Cuban, National Solidarity After Hurricane Irma”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 2 August 2017 — The Cuban Patriotic Union (UNPACU) is celebrating its six years in the midst of the complicated situation faced by the island’s opposition, assaulted by repression and limited by laws that penalize any form of organized dissidence. Under the leadership of José Daniel Ferrer, UNPACU was born in … Continue reading “Opposition Organization UNPACU Turns Six In Very Difficult Circumstances”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 19 June 2017 – Over the weekend the official media have repeated ad nauseam the declaration of the government in response to Donald Trump’s speech about his policy toward Cuba. The declaration’s rhetoric recalls the years before the diplomatic thaw, when political propaganda revolved around confrontation with our neighbor to the … Continue reading “Consensus and Dissent in the Face of Trump’s Cuba Policy”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 12 April 2107 — Confined for more than 80 days in a punishment cell, without a single contact with the outside, the activist Lisandra Rivera Rodríguez of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU) received her first family visit this Tuesday, in the Mar Verde Women’s Prison in Santiago de Cuba. Lisandra Rivera, … Continue reading “Lysandra Does Not Want To Be Reeducated”
