English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 9 August 2022 — Nearly 200 people took to the streets on Tuesday morning in Alcides Pino, one of the 21 popular councils of city of Holguín, to protest the prolonged blackouts that the city is suffering. “Turn on the electricity dickhead,” was the majority cry of the people, between the sounds of people … Continue reading “In Cuba, Protests Against Blackouts, and for Freedom, Spread to Holguin”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2022 — “The fire has taken on a greater magnitude; four tanks are already compromised,” Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Avalos of the Cuban Fire Department said at a press conference on Monday afternoon. The military said that they’re working to prevent the spread of fire to other areas of the Matanzas Supertanker … Continue reading “Cuban Government Confirms the Third Fuel Tank Collapsed in Matanzas”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 17 June 2022 — The social pressure cooker is about to explode. This kind of thing has not been seen in Cuba since the time of the maleconazo. Unexpectedly, Díaz Canel appeared along with other senior officials of the regime and directors of the sector, simultaneously on Cubavisión, Cubavisión Internacional … Continue reading “The Blackout is the Essence of the Cuban Communist Revolution”
14ymedio, Havana, 6 April 2022 — Reuters reports that, in the first four months of 2022, Cuba imported 22,000 barrels of crude oil and gasoline from Venezuela, far less than it previously had, and is struggling to make up the difference. Gas stations seem to be operating normally for now but the country still needs … Continue reading “Less Petroleum from Venezuela but Cuban Gas Stations Are Still Operating”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 April 2022 — Cuba’s Electric Union (UNE) has announced breakdowns in the electrical service due to the “unforeseen exit” of several generation units in the Felton thermoelectric plants in Holguín, and the Diez de Octubre plant in Nuevitas, Camagüey. In addition, it is working “to guarantee the stability of this service in … Continue reading “Cuba’s Electric Union Announces Blackouts and Projects ‘Stable’ Service in the Summer’”
14ymedio, Havana/Madrid, 23 March 2022 — Despite the fact that the Havana authorities prohibited the sale of fuel in containers on Wednesday, some Cupet service stations ignore it and, without making much effort to go unnoticed, offer the service to customers. According to this newspaper, the employees arrange the hose so that it seems that … Continue reading “Despite the Prohibition, Havana Service Stations Dispense Fuel in Containers”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 24 March 2022 — In Cuba, the telecommunications services of the state monopoly Etecsa stopped working this Thursday morning for about an hour, a problem that the company attributes to an energy failure and that increases uncertainty about the capacity of the Island’s National Electric System. “Etecsa informs that due … Continue reading “An ‘Energy Failure’ Cuts Off the Internet in Cuba for Almost an Hour”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 September 2021 — It’s the story that never ends,” says Leonardo, one of many people affected by the island’s ongoing power outages, in response to the explanation offered by Unión Eléctrica (UNE), the state power company. On Sunday morning UNE director Lazaro Guerra claimed power had been completely restored but warned that … Continue reading “Ongoing Blackouts, the Story that Never Ends in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2021 — “I haven’t been able to sleep all night, moving the fan so my child can rest,” Heidy Vázquez, from the Aguada de Pasajeros municipality in Cienfuegos, comments to this newspaper, speaking about a blackout that lasted six hours due to technical failures they are affecting the whole country. In the midst … Continue reading “Cuba’s Electric Union Announces Countrywide Blackouts”
Fernando Damaso, 15 August 2018 — The supposed historic right of the current Cuban Communist Party is fairly questionable. In the first place, it is not the continuation of the Cuban Revolutionary Party (PRC), founded by José Martí to organize and carry out war against Spain for Cuba’s independence, which, according to its statutes, ceased … Continue reading “A Supposed Historic Right / Fernando Dámaso”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 4 February 2017 — Colombia’s sugar mill whistle sounded again at the end of January, like a giant awakened from a seven-year-long lethargy. The residents in the area breathed a sign of relief: the driving force behind the local economy seems to be the sugar mill, but technical and organizational problems … Continue reading “Colombia Sugar Mill, A Giant That Is Slow To Wake Up / 14ymedio, Luz Escobar”
The year 2012 has arrived, and presents Cubans with more dilemmas about the future than the intricacies of the Mayan predictions. Our people greet the new year in a kind of stupor from which they want to wake up, but can’t, living a dizzying unreality in which there are no clear boundaries between the certain … Continue reading “Long Live the Revolution! / Jeovany J. Vega”
