English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Our apologies: This video is not subtitled. A quick guide to understanding the process that begins with the opening of the National Assembly of People’s Power this Wednesday. What is the body of Power whose leaders are going to change? The Council of State, which exercises legislative power during periods when the National Assembly of … Continue reading “Important Questions About the “Transfer of Power” in Cuba”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, 1 April 2018 — Raúl Castro leaves the presidency of the State Council to Miguel Díaz-Canel on Thursday April 19. Officially, Cuba has a government appointed by the Parliament. Actually, the government is a family dictatorship, but the president is legally elected by a small leadership group (the State Council), seemingly segregated … Continue reading “After the Castros, What Will Happen in Cuba?”
Juan Juan Almeida, 20 March 2018 — The historical leadership of the island’s regime proceeds, forced and with urgency, towards a transfer of power that does not arrive by conviction but by biological exhaustion. Therefore, for the men and women on whose shoulders the support of the structure of the Government and the State weighs, much more … Continue reading “Lazara Lopez Acea, A Cuban Leader Sure to Be in the New Group in Power / Juan Juan Almeida”
EFE via 14ymedio, 20 March 2018 — The 605 deputies elected in the general elections held this month in Cuba have begun the process of consultations for the naming of the candidates for the State Council, the highest government body of the country, which will be headed by the president that replaces Raúl Castro. The … Continue reading “Deputies Begin Consultation to Form Cuba’s Council of State”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 19 March 2018 — On Monday, the National Electoral Commission (CEN) updated the general election data from March 11. In this new information the participation figure rises from 82.9% to 85.65%, although that number is still more than five points below that registered in the 2013 elections (90.88%). This increase in the participation data … Continue reading “Cuban Electoral Commission Raises Participation Figure By More than Two and a Half Points”
Juan Juan Almeida, 23 March 2018 — For some reason that I can not recall, the name of Diaz-Canel impressed itself on me some time ago, when one afternoon, between 1992 and 1994, I arrived at the house of the chief guard of my father (Juan Almeida Bosque) and he told me that, during a meeting … Continue reading “Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Powerful and Without Power / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 1 February 2018 – In the case of Cuba, the figures hide more than they say. The data published by the official press on the composition of the next Parliament hide the fact that the nucleus of the National Assembly of People’s Power will remain unchanged after April 19, with the investiture … Continue reading “Cuba’s Next Government Will Be More Of The Same”
EFE/14ymedio, Havana, 14 January 2018 – On Saturday, Raúl Castro ended a week in which he participated in several funeral ceremonies in eastern Cuba. With his presence at the mausoleum of the ‘Frank País’ Second Eastern Front, the site of the niche where he himself will be interred, the ruler added a new act to his … Continue reading “Raúl Castro Concludes A Week Of Funeral Rites”
Ivan Garcia, 9 January 2017 — Jumping from a conversation about football one about Cuban domestic politics is not exactly an exercise in rational balance. That is why Eduardo, a veterinarian in a cooperative outside Havana, responded with a prolonged silence when the street debate took an unexpected turn. The group was chatting in a corner in … Continue reading “Raul Castro Postpones His Retirement / Iván García”
Juan Juan Almeida — The world has taken many turns since February 24, 2013, General Raul Castro himself officially announced that he would retire at the end of his second term in 2018. But a few days ago I read an article in the press where an experienced analyst suggest, as his own opinion, the possibility … Continue reading “Raul Castro Will Do Everything Possible To Preserve His Immunity / Juan Juan Almeida”
Juan Juan Almeida, 5 January 2018 — The Cuban government plans to implement as soon as possible a group of measures aimed at reducing the number of health workers who work as non-physicians and desert from missions abroad. According to information obtained by Martí Noticias, the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) issued a … Continue reading “Cuba Will Reduce Health Workers Abroad to Avoid Desertions / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Havana, 21 December 2017 — In a last minute turn of events, the Cuban Parliament extended Raul Castro’s current mandate for two months, a decision that extends his presidency beyond February 2018, when he was expected to leave power. The “serious effects of Hurricane Irma across the entire national territory,” has been used to … Continue reading “Raul Castro Extends His Presidency Beyond February 2018”
14ymedio, Caridad Cruz, Cienfuegos/Miami, 28 September 2017 — A strong smell of urine permeates the Russian-style apartment while Margot cooks a couple of pork steaks. “They are boar [the male pig], that’s why the smell,” she explains. Getting food in Cienfuegos, a city that was only affected by the edges of Hurricane Irma, has become an odyssey, … Continue reading “Cienfuegos Left Without Food After Hurricane Irma”
Juan Juan Almeida, 30 August 2017 — He was born on April 20, 1960. Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, a former university professor and first vice-president of the Council of State and Council of Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, is an “architect” of limited inventiveness and little ingenuity, a simple leader fashioned by political necessity. … Continue reading “Miguel Diaz-Canel, Vice-President on Paper / Juan Juan Almeida”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 August 2017 — In a period of 48 hours the survey released by 14ymedio on Wednesday, 23 August, received 1,503 valid responses. The poll asked which official figure is most likely to be Cuba’s President of the Council of State on 24 February 2018. According to our readers, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the country’s current vice-president, led the … Continue reading “Cuba’s Next President? Díaz-Canel and Castro Espín Lead in 14ymedio’s Survey”
