English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio (with contributions from other news outlets), 28 March 2018 — The leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam (PCV) urged Cuba to follow the path of reform in order to develop its economy and “maintain socialism.” On a visit to the island, Nguyen Phu Trong explained during a lecture in the main auditorium of … Continue reading “Vietnamese Leader Calls on Cuba to Develop Its Market Economy”
14ymedio, Yoani Sanchez, Havana, 6 April 2018 — In 2010, then Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva provoked a bitter controversy when he compared Cuban dissidents to common criminals. Those words, said a week after the death of the opponent Orlando Zapata Tamayo, take on a new meaning today, a few hours before the Brazilian … Continue reading “Which One Is The Criminal?”
EFE via 14ymedio, Havana, 27 March 2018 — A Vietnamese company will start producing disposable diapers and sanitary pads starting in the first half of 2019 in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM), the largest project on the island dedicated to attracting foreign investors. The Director General of the Thai Binh Investment Trading Corporation, Vi … Continue reading “Vietnamese Company Will Produce Sanitary Pads and Diapers in Cuba Starting in 2019”
EFE via 14ymedio, 31 January 2018 — The first 20 tobacco drying chambers that will use renewable energy in Cuba are being built in the area of Vueltabajo, Pinar del Río, where 65% of the leaf produced on the island is harvested. With Spanish technology, the curing facilities will work with biomass instead of diesel, which … Continue reading “Cuba Will Use Renewable Energy in Pioneering Tobacco Drying Chambers”
14ymedio, Zunilda Mata, Havana, 3 November 2017 – Italian diapers and Caterpillar tractors have been the stars of the 2017 Havana International Fair (Fihav), which brings together more than 3,000 entrepreneurs from 63 countries, including the United States, this Friday. Both products will have a presence on the island if conditions agreed with the manufacturers … Continue reading “Diapers and Tractors Connect With Real Needs at the Havana Fair”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 4 August 2017 – “It doesn’t matter when, all we get are feathers,” complains the father of a family, disgusted on finding no kind of meat other than chicken in the Hard Currency Collection Stores (TRD), the state chain that sells only in Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC). Since the beginning of … Continue reading “Cuba Has No Plan B To Make Up For The Loss Of Venezuela”
14ymedio, Maité Rico, Madrid, 1 June 12017 — Carmelo Mesa-Lago (born Havana, 1934) has spent a good part of his life trying to open a breach of good sense in the wall of absurdities with which that the Castro regime has ended up plunging into bankruptcy a country that was, in the 1950s, the third … Continue reading “Carmelo Mesa-Lago: “The Cuban Government Panicked After Obama’s Visit””
Dimas Castellanos, 17 January 2017 — By 2007, after forty-eight years of revolutionary rule, inefficiency and a lack of productivity had turned state-run farmland into fields infested with marabú weed. Meanwhile, food prices were increasing on the world market. In light of this situation, General Raúl Castro proposed “changing everything that needs to be changed.” … Continue reading “Why Foreign Investments Don’t Work in Today’s Cuba / Dimas Castellano”
14ymedio, Pedro Campos, Miami, 28 January 2017 — Guided by the current political-military leadership, the Cuban economy could be heading “without pause, but without haste*” towards virtual annexation to the United States. There would be no Platt Amendment, nor Marines landing on any Cuban beach, no any formal agreement or formal treaty that would make Cuba an … Continue reading “Is Cuba Heading Towards Virtual Annexation to the US? / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”
Diario de Cuba, Dimas Castellano, 15 December 2016 — Fidel Castro spent decades leaving his personal imprint on Cuba. Wielding absolute power and imbued with a high degree of of messianism, populism and voluntarism, he determined the fates of several generations. He undertook important social projects but hampered the economy and rolled back civil liberties. The … Continue reading “The Challenge of a Government without Fidel / Dimas Castellano”
14ymedio, Havana, Miriam Celaya, 18 December 2016 — I’m clueless as to what they are called in other cultures, but for Cubans here and abroad, the word “sapo,” which literally means “toad,” is a term applied to the typical individual who always shows up in a situation where there is fun, optimism or joy, for … Continue reading “Cuban Christmas: Between Killjoys And Mourning / 14ymedio, Miriam Celaya”
ABC International, Miriam Leiva, 26 November 2016 — Fidel Castro left Cuba in disastrous economic conditions after exerting absolute power for more than 47 years. His brother received a country “on the precipice” on 31 July 2006. Raul Castro has had to eliminate the “genial” initiatives of the comandante en jefe, without repudiating them, presenting … Continue reading “The Socioeconomic Legacy Of Fidel Castro / Miriam Leiva”
14ymedio, Mario Penton, Miami, 9 November 2016 – The control exercised by the Cuban military over a sector as critical as tourism was common knowledge. However, the recent International Fair of Havana (FIHAV 2016) uncovered that the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) is not satisfied with a piece of the cake, they want the whole thing. … Continue reading “In Cuban Piñata, Military Picks Up Five-Star Hotels / 14ymedio, Mario Penton”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 7 November 2016 – The appearance of unusual proposals such as ostrich farming, the production of quail eggs, or the tanning of exotic hides, along with the timid introduction of a banking sector, are some of the most significant novelties in the Portfolio of Opportunities for Foreign Investment launched during the … Continue reading “The Portfolio Of The Arrogant Beggar / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 3 November 2016 — Oggún is one of the orisha warriors of the Yoruba pantheon, but a tractor that bears his name is losing the battle for the Cuban market. The Cleber firm has failed to establish itself in Cuba, although a year ago it was heralded as the vanguard of US … Continue reading “A Lot of Noise and Few Investments / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
