English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, April 19th, 2020 — Cubans fear that added to the Covid-19 crisis on the Island will be electrical black-outs due to exhaustion of fuel supply, a concern that has increased this week when the authorities made an appeal to save energy on account of the increased consumption due to confinement and the elevated … Continue reading “Cubans Dread the Return of Lengthy Blackouts”
14ymedio, Pedro Acosta, Havana, 16 April 2020 — For lack of other meats, pork has taken center place in the diet of Cubans who can classify as “emerging middle class” or who are on the way to taking their place on that social perch. Fresh fish, sea food and beef are the privilege of that … Continue reading “The Uncertain Path of Pork”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 20 March 2020 –Although no one from the official media has explained the reasons why General Raúl Castro fails to fulfill his obligation to place himself at the forefront of the situation generated by the presence of the coronavirus on the Island, only two possible responses can be ventured: he cannot … Continue reading “The Unexplained Absence of Raul Castro”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 13 March 2020 — A Cuban resident in Santa Clara, Villa Clara province, is the fourth confirmed case of coronavirus in Cuba. The patient’s wife, a Bolivian citizen based in Milan, traveled to the Island from the Lombardy region, in Italy, according to a statement from the Ministry of Public Health read this Thursday on … Continue reading “Fourth Confirmed Coronavirus Case in Cuba, Where Shortage of Soap is an Aggravating Factor”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, November 24, 2019 — One of the products most sought-after by the throngs of people inundating the Cuatro Caminos Market has been the tomato, an essential ingredient in many recipes. With supplies scarce and prices for the product high, prepackaged tomato concentrate is the only option for customers who want to … Continue reading “Tomato Production in Cuba Tanks and Prices Soar”
14ymedio, Havana, 10 November 2019 — A little more than a year has been enough for the authorities to have back down on several measures adopted at the end of 2018 that restricted the work of private carriers in the Cuban capital, a sector that responded to these limitations with complaints and several strikes. After … Continue reading “Cuban Government Gives Way and Modifies License for Private Carriers”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, November 5th, 2019 — Bank accounts freezing has been implemented in Cuba and not many knew about it. Marta Karla just learned it the hard way when she tried to withdraw $500 US she deposited in her account six months ago, which she was required to do to qualify for a … Continue reading “Cubans Unable to Withdraw Money from Accounts with Foreign Currency”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 October 2019 — In the absence of official information from the Cuban side about the lightning visit to Mexico made last Thursday by President Miguel Díaz-Canel, the newspaper La Jornada revealed that the goal was to get oil “at affordable prices,” according to the Mexico’s Foreign Ministry Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, … Continue reading “Oil "At Affordable Prices" Leads Cuban President Diaz-Canel to Mexico”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Generation Y, Havana, 12 October 2019 — The staging was studied carefully. This October 10 in Havana, every detail of the extraordinary session of the National Assembly obeyed a script rigorously written and, probably, many times rehearsed. In political dramaturgy, the election of a president of the Republic was the climax to … Continue reading “Elections in Cuba: The Curtain Falls”
14ymedio, Marcelo Hernandez, Havana, 7 October 2019 — The owner of a spacious restaurant in Vedado walks around the premises carrying a fan to place it near a table where some customers are sweating buckets. “I am very sorry but they have put me a fixed quota of electricity and I can barely turn on … Continue reading “Blackouts for Cuba’s Private Restaurants But Not for State Hotels”
14ymedio, Luz Escobar, Havana, 27 September 2019 — ‘The spinning top’ happens once a day, crammed with sick people or those who believe they are. “It is a bus that travels among polyclinics looking for feverish cases, patients with dengue symptoms, and they take them all to a hospital. It can be the Fajardo or … Continue reading “The Other Face of the ‘Energy Measures’ in Cuba”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 September 2019 — On Friday, Cuban president Diaz-Canel, published a column in the official newspaper Granma where he describes the Cubans who criticize his management as like the “Biblical Cain,” while defending the use of the term “coyuntural” — temporary situation* — to name the return of he economic crisis in the country. In the best … Continue reading “Diaz-Canel Calls Opponents "Cain" and Defends the “Temporary Situation””
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 25 September 2019 — We have always been promised a Holy Grail. At the end of the 60s, the heart of all Cuba beat to the rhythm of the so-called Ten Million Ton Harvest, while in the years of the economic crisis known as the Special Period, hope focused on the Food … Continue reading “A Country Waiting For A Ship”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 23 September 2019 — As of the beginning of next year, Cuba will have spent more time under the rules of the Special Period in Times of Peace than it did trying to comply with the fundamental laws of the so-called Real Socialism. To date, there has been no reversal of … Continue reading “Normality”
14ymedio, Havana, 19 September 2019 — The Roundtable TV show once again featured a new parade of ministers summoned to appease the Cuban people, who are greatly affected by the energy situation despite the arrival of a Venezuelan oil tanker on September 14. In this edition, the participants on the show were: Betsy Díaz Velázquez, Minister … Continue reading “On the Roundtable TV Program the Ministers Have Solutions for All of Cuba’s Problems”