English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 1 January 2024 — There was no reason to think it would be better, after all 2023 had been preceded by disaster. The economic crisis had already given clear signs of having become chronic in Cuba, the mass exodus marked the bleeding of families escaping to anywhere, the official discourse maintained its commitment … Continue reading “The Great Depression 2023 Threatens to be Repeated in 2024 in Cuba”
EFE (via 14ymedio), Havana, 2 January 2024 — One of Cuba’s biggest economic reform measures in decades will take effect in 2024, raising prices for energy, water, natural gas and petroleum and ending the universal food subsidy. While stressing that its plan will not affect the poorest segments of the population, the government has highlighted … Continue reading “Cubans to Pay More for Gasoline in 2024 While Tourists Will Pay in Dollars”
The Cuban State pays 15,000 pesos for an animal, processes it and sells it for 60,000 pesos, denounce the producers. IPS* (via 14ymedio), Havana, 18 September 2024 — Producers in Cuba’s agricultural sector consider that when it comes to producing and marketing food products such as milk and meat, Resolution 275/2024 of the Ministry of … Continue reading “‘Whoever Sets Prices in Cuba Has Never Gotten Up at Two in the Morning to Milk a Cow’”
The Hanke index, which measures prices based on the dollar, places the increase at 42% 14ymedio, Madrid, 16 September 2024 — Price controls on private sales in Cuba, in force since mid-July, may be behind the containment of the consumer price index this August. Official data show that last month, general inflation barely rose by … Continue reading “Despite the Capped Prices, Year-on-Year Inflation in Cuba Exceeds 30 Percent”
The gigantic China Import warehouse opens in Havana, for minimum purchases of 50 dollars and in national currency 14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez/Olea Gallardo, Havana, 22 August 2024 — The new China Import store that opened just over a month ago at Manglar and Oquendo, very close to the Cuatro Caminos market in Havana, does not … Continue reading “The ‘Chinese Costco’ Arrives in Cuba and Everything Has Ridiculous Prices”
Customers say that the State took over the business after the independent media reported on the place 14ymedio, Havana, August 24, 2024 — The saga of the China Import store continues this Saturday with dozens of Havanans who, given its closure “until further notice,” continue to come to the surroundings to ask what will become … Continue reading “The Closure of Cuba’s ‘Chinese Costco’ for an Audit Strains the Spirits of Havanans”
14ymedio, Natalia López Moya, 19 August 2024 — A candle with the number seven is all that Jean Carlos’ family has for the cake they need to celebrate his birthday this Tuesday. The shortage of eggs has caused a crisis in the private sweet shops that prepare the traditional cakes, made with brown sugar and … Continue reading “The Mystery of the Dominican Eggs at Half Price: They Arrived in Cuba and Disappeared”
In the state cafeteria “everything is bought and sold, even what one cannot imagine” 14ymedio, Julio Cesar Contreras, Cienfuegos, 20 August 2024 — At the cafe tables in the Tomás Terry Theater in Cienfuegos, all kinds of deals and business agreements take place, and the authorities turn a blind eye. From foreign currency and illicit … Continue reading “In the Café of the Terry Theater in Cienfuegos, Business Is Done Behind the Bar”
Manuel Marrero’s announcements have generated both pessimism and uncertainty, the last thing the private business sector wants 14ymedio, Madrid, 29 July 2024 — Fear has quickly spread among the island’s small business owners who, just a few months ago, were looking forward to a modest thaw in relations between Cuba and the United States. Prime … Continue reading “Cuba’s Private Sector Fears the Government Will Not Let Them Have U.S. Bank Accounts”
The Cuban State spent almost 39% more than it did in 2023, according to official figures EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 15 August 2024 — Inflation remains unstoppable in Cuba and grew at an annual rate of 30.48% in July, according to data provided this Thursday by the National Office of Statistics and Information (Onei). The variation of … Continue reading “In July, Prices Continued To Rise at an Annual Rate Just Over 30 Percent in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, August 10, 2024 — Gasolineras Bienestar, a subsidiary of the state-owned Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), sold 21,800 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd) to Cuba in the first quarter of this year. The amount represents an increase of 30% with respect to the 16,800 bpd that the Government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador … Continue reading “Mexico Increased Its Oil Shipments to Cuba in Anticipation of the Venezuelan Crisis”
14ymedio, Havana, 9 August 2024 — At least three counterfeit drugs circulate in Cuba without health control, the Island’s authorities have warned. The 20-milligram Domperidone tablets and two other anti-arthritis products – which caused alarm in 2018 and 2023 in Colombia – are on the blacklist of the Center for the State Control of Medicines, … Continue reading “Cuban Public Health Denounces the Sale of Counterfeit Drugs on the Black Market”
14ymedio, Ángel Salinas, Mexico City, August 5, 2024 — The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed last Saturday that “soon” migrants will be able to schedule appointments through the CBP One application from the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, in Mexico, to obtain one of the 1,450 appointments available daily, according to the … Continue reading “Cuban Migrants Will Be Able To Get Their US ‘CBP One’ Appointment in Two More Mexican States”
Cuba Siglo XXI publishes a report signed by economist Emilio Morales 14ymedio, Madrid, July 25, 2024 — In three key points – the collapse of medical service exports, the fall in remittances and the debacle of tourism – economist Emilio Morales deciphers the collapse of the “Cuban system.” In the most recent report of the … Continue reading “With the Loss of 50 Percent of Its Income From Foreign Currency, the ‘Cuban System’ Has Collapsed”
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 … Continue reading “The Creole Lime, Another Item Missing From Cuban Tables”
