Search results for: fuel shortage

Is Disorganization Institutionalized in Our Society, or Is Our Society Institutionalized Disorganization? / Cuban Law Association, Rodrigo Chavez Rodriguez

Rodrigo Chávez Rodríguez, Esq. For Cubans today it no longer seems strange, much less unusual. A lack of punctuality affects any number of activities, whether they be in the workplace, the classroom or at celebrations. There is always some excuse. The bus did not come; they turned off the lights when I was having visitors; the … Continue reading “Is Disorganization Institutionalized in Our Society, or Is Our Society Institutionalized Disorganization? / Cuban Law Association, Rodrigo Chavez Rodriguez”

New Tariffs in the Regime’s Hunt for Hard Currency / Iván García

When a government’s finances are in the red, everything’s a big rush. So they usually rush to grab the scissors. And butcher public expenditures. Or raise taxes. Which is what the government of General Raúl Castro is doing. With the difference that the Cuban citizens have miserable salaries, and so they resort to charging fees … Continue reading “New Tariffs in the Regime’s Hunt for Hard Currency / Iván García”

Should the U.S. raise a fist or offer a hand to Cuba? / Yoani Sánchez

Havana, Cuba (CNN) — In the ’90s a certain joke became very popular in the streets and homes of Cuba. It began with Pepito — the mischievous boy of our national humor — and told how his teacher, brandishing a photo of the U.S. president, launches into a harsh diatribe against him. “The man you … Continue reading “Should the U.S. raise a fist or offer a hand to Cuba? / Yoani Sánchez”

They say, and the lies aren’t mine / Rodrigo Chavez Rodriguez, Cuban Law Association

Rodrigo Chavez Rodriguez, Attorney Ask an ordinary citizen for their rights, it would be like asking how far Mars is from Earth, it would be impossible to get a precise answer, clear and consistent, but if you asked for a list of what is prohibited, they could spend a long time reciting a list. It … Continue reading “They say, and the lies aren’t mine / Rodrigo Chavez Rodriguez, Cuban Law Association”

The Persistence of Fear / Ernesto Morales Licea

An anecdote not often shared relates that, at the end of a meeting between Fidel Castro and Cuban artists in 1969, where he pronounced his polysemic “Words to the Intellectuals,” a discordant — and unexpected — voice spoke up. It was Virgilio Piñera, perhaps the most immortal and lacerated playwright our Island has given birth … Continue reading “The Persistence of Fear / Ernesto Morales Licea”

Few Expectations / Fernando Dámaso

I remember the Isle of Pines, for years now renamed the Isle of Youth, as an exotic place that lived up to its name, in addition to cattle, citrus, huge melons, Japanese and American families and thousands of parrots. Also there was the Las Casas river, the ferry dock, Nueva Gerona and its free zone, … Continue reading “Few Expectations / Fernando Dámaso”