Search results for: voluntarism

Only Family And Guests Accompanied The Ashes Of Castro To Santa Ifigenia Cemetery / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 4 December 2016 – After nine days of intense media frenzy, the final goodbye to Fidel Castro has taken place far from the national television cameras. The remains of the former president were placed in a mausoleum in Santa Ifigenia cemetery, in the early hours of Sunday in a private and simple ceremony, … Continue reading “Only Family And Guests Accompanied The Ashes Of Castro To Santa Ifigenia Cemetery / 14ymedio”

No Statues Or Monuments Will Raised In Fidel Castro’s Memory / 14ymedio

14ymedio, Havana, 3 December 2016 – A somewhat hoarse and visibly tired Raul Castro gave the main speech at the final massive act of homage to Fidel Castro in the Antonio Maceo Plaza in Santiago de Cuba. The general president focused his speech on the voluntarism espoused by his brother and highlighted the phrase “Sí … Continue reading “No Statues Or Monuments Will Raised In Fidel Castro’s Memory / 14ymedio”

The Political Testament Of Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 29 November 2016 – Under the shadow of national mourning after the death of Fidel Castro, Cubans have been called to sign, as an oath, some words spoken by the former president in May of 2000, in which he left for posterity his concept of Revolution. “Revolution is a sense of … Continue reading “The Political Testament Of Fidel Castro / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

The Future, Bring it On! / Fernando Dámaso

Fernando Damaso, 5 November 2016 — A feature of the Cuban authorities, since taking power in January 1959, has been wasting time planning for the distant future rather than focusing on solving the present and the near future. Perhaps it is because, from the outset, they decided to rule forever. These plans, at first, focused on specific … Continue reading “The Future, Bring it On! / Fernando Dámaso”

The ‘Communist’ Meeting In Peru Harks Back to the Olden Days / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 30 August 2016 — Last weekend Latin America’s communist and leftist parties held a meeting in Peru. Its objective: To structure the “struggle against neoliberalism” in the region. Is this the purpose sought by socialism? The first socialists (nothing to do with the statist, authoritarian, police and totalitarian versions) always understood … Continue reading “The ‘Communist’ Meeting In Peru Harks Back to the Olden Days / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

The Cuban Economy Goes Into A Tailspin / Dimas Castellano

Dimas Castellanos, 1 August 2016 —  On 29 December, 2015 the Cuban president announced before the National Assembly of the People’s Power that “despite the impact of the international economic crisis, exacerbated in our case by the effects of the US blockade, maintained unchanged, and the external financial constraints, which have worsened during the second half of … Continue reading “The Cuban Economy Goes Into A Tailspin / Dimas Castellano”

A Laboratory Man: The Official Party ‘Cadre’ in Cuba / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar

14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 9 May 2016 – Marxist thinkers from the last century appeared to be convinced that the communist ethic could only work after the elimination of the different social classes or, and it’s the same thing, when the communist society triumphed in the economic plane. “How can stealing be ethically condemned when … Continue reading “A Laboratory Man: The Official Party ‘Cadre’ in Cuba / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”

Turning the Page / Fernando Dámaso

Fernando Damaso, 4 April 2016 — Given President Barack Obama’s intelligent proposal to leave the past behind, turn the page, and together build a better present, some Cuban fossils have cried to the heavens, or to hell, go figure. After the Revolutionary War, Cubans and Spaniards, who had fought a bloody war, with real fighting … Continue reading “Turning the Page / Fernando Dámaso”

Crisis in Agriculture: Land for Those Who Work It / Dimas Castellanos

By Dimas Castellano, 9 February 2016 Property and crisis Once the Cuban Government arrived in power, imbued by an exacerbated voluntarism, it ignored the laws that govern the economy and subordinated them to ideology. From this moment on, the loss of the autonomy that is required by economic processes was converted into a factor of … Continue reading “Crisis in Agriculture: Land for Those Who Work It / Dimas Castellanos”

Elections In Venezuela And Cuban Experiences / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 11 December 2015 — The victory of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) in Venezuela brings an endless list of implications for Cuba, depending on how events develop there. We will have to wait some time to make a comprehensive assessment of the phenomenon. According to Maduro’s speech, the blame for his crushing defeat in … Continue reading “Elections In Venezuela And Cuban Experiences / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

Cuba: Waiting and Hoping for the Cruise Ships / Ivan Garcia

Iván García, 9 November 2015 — One warm evening in September, a scrapping brigade arrived from Habaguanex* and, in a little more than two hours, dismantled the aluminum tubes and awnings of three open-air bars on the Avenida del Puerto, where Havanans and tourists drank beer or ate fried chicken among the ambling musicians and prostitutes … Continue reading “Cuba: Waiting and Hoping for the Cruise Ships / Ivan Garcia”

It’s Not the “Blockade”: It’s Fear 14ymedio, Pedro Campos

14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Havana, 30 September 2015 – The Cuban leaders insist that the “blockade” is the main obstacle to economic development in Cuba. This was confirmed by general-president Raul Castro at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. Up until today, after the fall of the socialist bloc and the USSR, the United States … Continue reading “It’s Not the “Blockade”: It’s Fear 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”

Sketch For A Debate On Inequality / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula

Regina Coyula, Havana, 5 September 2015 — The distinguished researcher Pedro Monreal in his interesting work Social Inequality In Cuba, Triumphal March? which I recommend reading, notes that there is no scientific evidence to support that economic decentralization brings inequality. The inequalities are not the result of economic adjustments implemented in recent years. They are older; only now they are more, … Continue reading “Sketch For A Debate On Inequality / 14ymedio, Regina Coyula”

Where is Cuba Headed? / Ivan Garcia

Ivan Garcia, 9 August, 2015 — Although the official narrative is still full of tiresome rhetoric about a prosperous and sustainable socialism and General Raul Castro often repeats the slogan “Cuba is a revolution of the humble for the humble,” real life is following another path. While kingpins and warlords in epaulets do linguistic somersaults … Continue reading “Where is Cuba Headed? / Ivan Garcia”

Our wall has not fallen … but it is not eternal / Yoani Sanchez

14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 9 November 2014 – My life up to then had always been lived between walls. The wall of the Malecon that separated me from a world of which I’d only heard the horror. The wall of the school where I studied when Germany was reunified. The long wall behind which the illegal … Continue reading “Our wall has not fallen … but it is not eternal / Yoani Sanchez”