English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 11 October 2019 — “We knew this was going to happen and it happened,” says Juan Moreno, leader of Candidates for Change, speaking about the election on Thursday for the upper echelons of Cuban power. If the results have met the expectations almost millimetrically, nor has the reaction of the opposition been new. The … Continue reading “For the Cuban Opposition the Elections Were a Pantomime”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, April 21, 2018 — Government opponents and human rights activists were not pleased with Miguel Díaz-Canel’s first speech as Cuba’s new president. Iliana Hernández, director of the independent program Lente Cuban (Cuban Lens) questions whether the Cuban people will accept Díaz-Canel as leader given that he was hand-picked by his predecessor. “On … Continue reading “Opponents Believe Older Generation’s Legacy Is Incompatible with Reform”
14ymedio – Authorities prevented two farmers from the municipality of San Juan y Martínez, in Pinar del Río province, from traveling to Miami on Friday. The two were scheduled to participate in a conference sponsored by the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC) scheduled for this weekend. The Directorate of Immigration and Alien Affairs claimed that … Continue reading “Barred from Leaving Cuba to Attend an Event Not Approved by the Government”
14ymedio, Havana, 31 January 2018 — Gene Sharp, the intellectual whose work focusing on pacifism and nonviolence inspired activists around the world in their struggle against oppression, has died “peacefully” at his home in Boston at the age of 90, according to an announcement on Monday through his official Twitter account. The retired university professor, … Continue reading “Gene Sharp, Promoter of Non-Violence Against Dictatorships, Dies at 90”
14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, Miami, 23 December 2017 — Several Cuban economists consulted by 14ymedio consider the growth of 1.6% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) announced on Thursday by Cuban Economy Minister Ricardo Cabrisas before the National Assembly, meeting in Havana, unlikely. Cabrisas offered a series of growth figures including numbers for construction (+ 2.8%), tourism (+ … Continue reading “Cuban Government Happy Talk About the Economy is Not Convincing”
14ymedio, Havana, 30 December 2017 — For a whole decade the economist Karina Gálvez Chiu (b. 1966, Pinar del Río) has contributed to the development of the Convivencia (Coexistence) Project in a constant and effective manner. Editor, lecturer and a keen analyst of the Cuban reality, this woman from Pinar del Río born in the complicated … Continue reading “Cuban Faces 2017: Karina Gálvez, Economist”
14ymedio, Ricardo Fernández, Camagüey, 8 December 2017 — The first online financial transactions have been delayed for two decades in Cuba. The new service, called Kiosco, allows the payment of electricity and telephone bills, in addition to the repayment of bank loans, but is not exempt from technological setbacks and has not yet managed to gain the … Continue reading “Online Payments Come to Cuba Two Decades Late”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 November 2017 — The Provincial Court of Pinar del Río ratified the sentence of three years of deprivation of liberty against Karina Galvez issued last September. The economist was informed on Wednesday of the sentence on appeal and must spend the time of imprisonment under “limitation of freedom” at the home of her … Continue reading “Cuban Court Ratifies Three-Year Sentence Against Karina Gálvez”
14ymedio, Havana, 23 October 2017 — The authorities prevented Yoandy Izquierdo Toledo, a member of the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC), from boarding a plane to Spain on Saturday to attend a conference at the European University of Valencia, as confirmed by the activist himself to 14ymedio. Izquierdo, who was also going to participate in a youth … Continue reading “Yoandy Izquierdo, Banned From Leaving Cuba, Unable to Travel to Spain”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 15 October 2017 — It was April 2007 and a time of dark days. The most stagnant part of the Catholic Church intervened in the magazine Vitral (Stained Glass Window), shifting it away from its marked social mission. In the face of the hijacking, the editors jumped ship and months later … Continue reading “Cuba’s ‘Convivencia’ Project Celebrates Its First Decade”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 September 2017 — Economist Karina Gálvez was sentenced Thursday by the Municipal Court of the city of Pinar del Rio to three years of deprivation of liberty and the confiscation of her home for the crime of tax evasion, a member of the Center for Coexistence Studies CEC) confirmed 14ymedio. A court decision … Continue reading “Cuban Economist Karina Gálvez Sentenced To Three Years In Prison”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 31 August 2017 — The red and white uniform has been washed and ironed for two days; next to it, a blue neckerchief. Eddy Alberto is eight years old and is starting the second grade at the Héroes de Yaguajay elementary school in the province of Sancti Spiritus. When he grows up, he wants … Continue reading “Under Raúl Castro, Cuban Education Has Lost Teachers And Budget”
14ymedio, Havana, 5 August 2017 — Economist Karina Gálvez received the prosecution’s petition on Saturday for the alleged crime of “tax evasion.” According to this petition, the member of the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC) could be sentenced to three years of house arrest and confiscation of her home, she informed 14ymedio. “A messenger from the Tribunal, … Continue reading “Prosecutors Demand Three Years in Prison for Karina Gálvez and the Confiscation of Her Home”
14ymedio, Havana, 14 May 2017 – This Sunday Cuban State Security prevented Yoandy Izquierdo, a member of the Center for Coexistence Studies (CEC), from boarding a flight to Sweden to participate in the Stockholm Internet Forum (SIF). The car in which the activist was traveling to José Martí International Airport was intercepted by the police, according to … Continue reading “State Security Prevents Yoandy Izquierdo From Boarding A Flight For Sweden”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 18 January 2017 — When she got home, she kissed her mother and took a long, intense shower, like the one she dreamed during the six days she was detained. Karina Galvez let the water run to take away her weariness and the hopelessness that the imprisonment had caused her. Outside her home, … Continue reading “Karina Gálvez: “I Knew a Lot of People Were Watching Over Me” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”
