English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Madrid, 12 May 2023 — In 2022, wages in Cuba rose an average of 9.4% compared to the previous year, while the cost of living increased by 39% according to the official data and around 140% if we look at the informal market. The result is a brutal deterioration of the purchasing power of … Continue reading “Official Data Confirm the Brutal Deterioration of the Standard of Living of Cubans”
EFE (via 14ymedio), 21 April 2023 — Cuba and Vietnam signed four economic cooperation agreements this Thursday during a business forum in Havana with the presence of the president of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Vuong Dinh Hue. The agreements cover the sectors of civil aviation, electric power, oil, as well as construction, marketing and production … Continue reading “Cuba and Vietnam Sign Four Cooperation Agreements in Economic Sectors”
14ymedio, Havana, 1 February 2023 — The deterioration of the facilities of the José Suárez Blanco Microbiology Laboratory, in Artemisa, Cuba, and the shortage of medical materials make it difficult to diagnose infectious diseases in the province. A publication of the official newspaper El Artemiseño presents a string of misfortunes since the creation of the center, which has … Continue reading “Cuba’s Artemisa Bacteriological Laboratory ‘Does Not Comply With Any Biosafety Standard’”
14ymedio, Havana, 27 December 2022 — Vietnam’s investment in Cuba’s tourism businesses, announced several times in recent years, will become a reality in 2023, according to the official media. An article published by the Cuban News Agency on Tuesday, indicated that “Vietnamese companies will assume the construction of a hotel and the repair of two … Continue reading “Vietnam’s Ghost Investments in Cuba’s Hotel Sector”
14ymedio, Havana, December 15, 2022 — The indifference of some National Assembly delegates made it impossible to know if they approved, were abstaining or simply were not interested in the proposed expropriation law. When called upon by Esteban Lazo to to cast their votes for the legislation, some members kept their hands under the table while … Continue reading “Cuban Parliament Shows Little Enthusiasm for Expropriation Law”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 December 2022 — The process of recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO) for Abdala, the Cuban vaccine against COVID-19, remains halted after the documentation was delivered to the health authorities in April. Eight months later, Eduardo Martínez Díaz, president of the BioCubaFarma business group, assures the State newspaper Granma that the … Continue reading “Delay in the Validation of Cuban Vaccines by the WHO is ‘The Fault of the Banks’”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 December 2022 — The fire in the Francisco Vega Sánchez rail maintenance workshops in Luyanó, Havana, on Thursday night was put out by the fire service. Pictures on social media showed huge clouds of smoke and flames coming from the building, as well as electric sparks caused by the fire reaching the … Continue reading “Fire in the Railway Workshops in Luyano, in the Cuban Capital”
14ymedio, Juan Diego Rodríguez, Havana, 15 December 2022 — Throwing a bucket of water off the balcony, burning a doll or painting the house are some of the traditions that Cubans turn to every December so that, when January arrives, the problems of the previous year don’t pass to the new one. It is a … Continue reading “A Foreign Currency Store for Mexican Paint Supplies, ‘Proudly Cuban,’ Opens in Havana”
14ymedio, Havana, 13 December 2022 — As if the current legislation, including the list of 124 prohibited activities, were not limiting enough for the creation of private companies in Cuba, the Government seems to be determined to stop this process, even going against its own laws. This is, among other things, what Oniel Díaz Castellanos, founder … Continue reading “‘Either the Private Sector is Accepted or Not,’ a Businessman Warns the Cuban Government”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 November 2022 — On Thursday, the directors of the meat company Richmeat de Cuba, S.A., which operates with Mexican capital, laid the cornerstone of its new factory in the Mariel Special Development Zone, with an opening expected in 2027. This is an extension of its facilities, which have been using Cuban labor … Continue reading “The Mexican Richmeat Company Will Have Another Factory in Cuba, Without Explaining Where the Meat Will Come From”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 November 2022 — For a second time in a week, the Cuban Government felt the need to affirm that it will fulfill its international commitments and will settle “the delays that exist in the transfers with the exterior.” That is, “from the possibilities of the country,” said the Prime Minister Manuel Marrero, … Continue reading “Cuba’s Prime Minister Criticizes ‘Obsolete Mentalities Against Foreign Capital’”
Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 22 April 2022 — Not even they can clarify it. In the morning, the Cuban communist leaders get tangled up in furious attacks on the United States over the blockade/embargo, blaming it for all the island’s economic problems, and, in the afternoon, they issue clear instructions to the official press to … Continue reading “Cuba and Vietnam: Where’s the U.S. Blockade?”
14ymedio, Madrid, 7 October 2022 – The first edition of the International Transport and Logistics Fair held in Cuba closed this Thursday with great joy but without much concreteness. The minister of the sector, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila, said that almost 40 contracts and more than 100 business agreements and “intentions” for land, sea and air … Continue reading “A Chinese Company Will Resume the Russian Project to Improve the Railroad in Cuba”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 24 September 2022 — As I adjust my helmet, he tells me that he is 29 years old and has an ulcer. I get on the back of the motorcycle and we head down Calle Reina heading to Carlos III. The Belascoaín traffic light forces us to a stop, … Continue reading “Cuba: The Sand Generation”
14ymedio, Elías Amor Bravo, Economist, 4 September 2022 — Cuban communists have failed dramatically with foreign investment. They were wrong to believe that an interventionist law and not guaranteeing property rights were going to serve to promote investment. They were wrong about the Mariel Special Development Zone, which has not been special, nor anything close. … Continue reading “Spinning with the Failure of Foreign Investment in Cuba”
