English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
Vicente Botín, Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE), The Hilton Miami Downtown Hotel, 29 July 2016. Once upon a time… A female cat fell in love with a handsome young man and prayed to the goddess Aphrodite to turn her into a woman. The goddess, pitying the cat’s yearning, … Continue reading “Cuba: Tallies and Tales of the Reforms / Vicente Botín”
14ymedio, Havana, 16 June 2016 – Rice is again a symbol of friendship between Cuba and Vietnam. The signing, this Thursday, of the record of delivery and receipt of 5,000 tons of rice donated by the Vietnamese Communist party – the State – is added to the joint agricultural programs carried out by both countries … Continue reading “5,000 Tons Of Vietnamese Rice Arrive In Cuba / 14ymedio”
Fernando Damaso, 10 June 2016 — Reading the few independent media which, against all odds, are published in Cuba, I learn about things that happen and that aren’t published in the official media, as well as what high taxes we Cubans pay compared to our Latin American neighbors, despite the fact that the nominal wages of … Continue reading “Some Interesting Information / Fernando Dámaso”
14ymedio/Agencies, Havana, 13 May 2016 — The suspension of the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, is bad news for Cuba, which, despite detente with Washington, is feeling the effects of the recession affecting its allies in South America and Africa. Brazil will review its short-term policy toward the island, as revealed on Friday to Reuters, by a … Continue reading “Rousseff’s Ouster Will Have a Negative Impact On The Cuban Economy / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, Pedro Campos, 6 April 2016 — Politicians, analysts and academics, both socialists and liberals, have addressed the importance of the political and economic democratization of Cuban society as a basis for the desired lift-off towards the development and modernization of the nation. For a sector of the democratic left and more than a … Continue reading “Without Democratization There is No Guarantee of Cuba’s Independence / 14ymedio, Pedro Campos”
14ymedio, Madrid, 30 March 2016 – The expectations that the upcoming Communist Party Congress will put forward a reform in the Foreign Investment Law that permits greater guarantees is growing among Spanish businesspeople. 14ymedio has confirmed this with Spanish diplomatic sources, who say that the central demand is an elimination of the State monopoly over … Continue reading “Cuba’s State Monopoly on Hiring Slows Spanish Investment / 14ymedio”
EFE/14ymedio, 4 March 2016 — Cuba’s opening to foreign capital does not mean the “accelerated privatization” of its economy, so the island insists on attracting investment projects that “match” the “public policy” of the country, according to an article Friday in the official newspaper Granma. Deborah Rivas, Director General of Foreign Investment of the Ministry of … Continue reading “Cuba Says Opening To Foreign Capital Does Not Imply A Privatization Of Economy / EFE, 14ymedio”
“Do not put me in the dark to die like a tractor” (popular parody of a line from José Martí) 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 25 February 2016 – Two pieces of news have raised hopes among Cuban farmers. One is that the United States company Cleber LLC will install a tractor factory in the Mariel … Continue reading “Tractors In Cuba, From Ghosts To Orishas / 14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 February 2016 – The Cleber Tractor Company has become the first U.S. company to receive authorization from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury to operate in Cuba, as reported Monday Associated Press (AP). Last November, the Alabama-based company won a license of the … Continue reading “Cleber Tractors is First US Company Authorized in Cuba / 14ymedio”
14ymedio, Havana, 3 February 2016 — The Brazilian Odebrecht Group will expand its presence in Cuba with two contracts in the sugar industry and in civil aviation, according a report from the Prensa Latina agency. On January 13, the company also received authorization to operate in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM) over the next 15 … Continue reading “Brazilian Odebrecht Group Expands Its Presence In Cuba / 14ymedio”
Ivan Garcia, 21 June 2015 — When Berta Soler, leader of one of three splinter groups of the Ladies in White, convened a referendum on her continued command of the organization following a scandal in Fall 2014 regarding alleged verbal abuse of a member, it marked a milestone in dissident circles – more so for … Continue reading “Transparency, Honesty and Free Information: Exotic Ideals in Cuba / Ivan Garcia”
Now that the slogan is economic profitability, what will happen to all the mediocre but loyal intellectuals? Cubanet.org, Ernesto Perez Chang, Havana, 20 July 2015 – In that “without haste but without pause”* race to impose a new economic model that might alleviate the ravages of Fidel Castro’s despotism, in Cuba some are wondering if … Continue reading “Official Writers: The Good Life is Over / Cubanet, Ernesto Perez Chang”
(Published on BBC Mundo 17 December) It didn’t fail to surprise me although I wasn’t taken unawares. I’d said among friends, who called me crazy, that Gross and the three wouldn’t be exchanged, that without Human Rights there would be no relations. I respected the point, but I recalled the politics are cooked up with … Continue reading “Releases / Regina Coyula”
The 32nd Havana International Fair (FIHAV) 2014 closed its doors after a generous awarding of prizes this past Friday, Nov. 7. It’s said that Brazil was the exhibitor that saw the most growth in traffic from prior years, and Spain — with 132 participating companies — was the most-represented. This statistic took into account Cuba’s … Continue reading “Cuba 2014 / Rafael Leon Rodriguez”
I haven’t heard that in the last half century someone has managed to bring posters with “politically incorrect” messages to the May Day parade. I don’t doubt it’s been tried; I even believe that with a good dose of ingenuity some brave soul raised a banner with second or third readings. But for this celebration, … Continue reading “The Invisible Posters / Reinaldo Escobar”
