Gene Sharp, Promoter of Non-Violence Against Dictatorships, Dies at 90

14ymedio, Havana, 31 January 2018 — Gene Sharp, the intellectual whose work focusing on pacifism and nonviolence inspired activists around the world in their struggle against oppression, has died “peacefully” at his home in Boston at the age of 90, according to an announcement on Monday through his official Twitter account. The retired university professor, … Continue reading “Gene Sharp, Promoter of Non-Violence Against Dictatorships, Dies at 90”

Cuban Government Happy Talk About the Economy is Not Convincing

14ymedio, Mario J. Pentón, Miami, 23 December 2017 — Several Cuban economists consulted by 14ymedio consider the growth of 1.6% in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) announced on Thursday by Cuban Economy Minister Ricardo Cabrisas before the National Assembly, meeting in Havana, unlikely. Cabrisas offered a series of growth figures including numbers for construction (+ 2.8%), tourism (+ … Continue reading “Cuban Government Happy Talk About the Economy is Not Convincing”

Cuban Government Focused Repression Against Independent Candidates

14ymedio, Havana, 4 December 2017 — In November, the Cuban authorities carried out 302 temporary arbitrary detentions, a figure that according to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) is the second lowest since the beginning of 2017. The organization attributes this decrease to the fact that, during the past municipal elections, the … Continue reading “Cuban Government Focused Repression Against Independent Candidates”

Economic Crime, the Pitfall in the Path

14ymedio, Generation Y, Yoani Sanchez, 22 May 2017 — The saleswoman described her merchandise in a murmur: loggerhead turtle steaks, beef and shrimp. The man salivated, but replied that he could not buy any of those products, the most persecuted in the informal market. Every opponent knows that the authorities would want to try him for an … Continue reading “Economic Crime, the Pitfall in the Path”

Karina Gálvez: “I Knew a Lot of People Were Watching Over Me” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 18 January 2017 — When she got home, she kissed her mother and took a long, intense shower, like the one she dreamed during the six days she was detained. Karina Galvez let the water run to take away her weariness and the hopelessness that the imprisonment had caused her. Outside her home, … Continue reading “Karina Gálvez: “I Knew a Lot of People Were Watching Over Me” / 14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez”

Cuban Economist and Activist Karina Galvez Arrested And Taken To State Security Headquarters / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 11 January 2017 — The economist Karina Galvez, a member of the editorial board of the magazine Convivencia (Coexistence) has been arrested and taken to the headquarters of State Security on the Pinar del Rio highway. Her home is sealed and family and friends are not allowed access. On Wednesday morning the police searched Galvez’s house. Several … Continue reading “Cuban Economist and Activist Karina Galvez Arrested And Taken To State Security Headquarters / 14ymedio”

57 Years Later: Towards a New Contract for Cuba (Pt. 2) / 14ymedio, Manuel Cuesta Morua

14ymedio, Manuel Cuesta Morua, Havana, 8 May 2016 — The only certainty in Cuba in political terms is that the government accumulates a lot of power but lacks leadership. The kind of leadership required when a country faces an economic challenge, or a cultural, sociological, information, knowledge and generational one, plus the obvious dangers of any new … Continue reading “57 Years Later: Towards a New Contract for Cuba (Pt. 2) / 14ymedio, Manuel Cuesta Morua”

Nightmare in Mexico / 14ymedio, Carlos Malamud

14ymedio, Carlos Malamud, October 20, 2014 — The regrettable events of Iguala and the disappearance (probably slaughter and disposal) of 43 student teachers (school teachers) again have Mexico facing its greatest scourge of the 21st Century: violence. The triumph of PRI in the elections of 2012, Enrique Pena Nieto’s ascent to power and his reformist … Continue reading “Nightmare in Mexico / 14ymedio, Carlos Malamud”

University (for the Tenacious) / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 28 August 2014 — Henry Constantin is a native of Camagüey province, born in Las Tunas on Valentine’s Day, 30 years ago. He has been expelled from university three times for his ideas, but still believes he will obtain his journalism degree. This slender, plain-spoken young man has founded two independent publications … Continue reading “University (for the Tenacious) / 14ymedio, Henry Constantin, Reinaldo Escobar”

“I am optimistic I will see prosperity in Cuba” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Havana, 8 August 2014, Reinaldo Escobar – Pinar del Río born and bread, and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Convivencia (Coexistence), Karina Gálvez has made some important decisions in her life. She wants to continue to live in Cuba, to help change the country from civil society and some to … Continue reading ““I am optimistic I will see prosperity in Cuba” / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

Constantin Answers in Diario de Cuba / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo

Human Damage in an  Environment of Punishment Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo Talking with Henry Constantin, expelled for life from the country’s universities. The worst of a prolonged war, is not the hunger of the siege, nor the exhaustion, nor the despair, nor the dead left in the dust of no man’s land. The atrocious, the … Continue reading “Constantin Answers in Diario de Cuba / Orlando Luis Pardo Lazo”

Demagoguery in Education Too / Miguel Iturria Savón

School Principal: So your daughter has come to start her schooling. And which do you prefer, the sea or the mountain? Mother: The sea or the mountain? Principal: Yes, the seas of mediocrity or the mountains of incongruities. The school year is starting with the Cuban education system transforming itself to try to adapt its … Continue reading “Demagoguery in Education Too / Miguel Iturria Savón”