English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 22 December 2018 — On January 1, 1959, Fulgencio Batista fled Cuba and the Cuban Revolution began. It has been six decades since that ominous date. A group of us boys got together. I was 15 years old and I was a skinny, hopeful and politically illiterate kid. I felt very happy. I do not know … Continue reading “Sixty Years After the Drunkenness”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 3 December 2018 — The image of the 21st century is that of fleeing multitudes. Who can forget the photo of Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old boy drowned in the Mediterranean when his Syrian-Kurdish family tried to flee from the hell organized by the Russians to support the despot Assad? He looked like he was … Continue reading “The Exodus is the Consequence of Despair”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 24 November 2018 — Guy Sorman is a notable French thinker. He recently published an article in ABC de Madrid entitled “The future recedes in Latin America.” It is a brilliant and desperate text. Well meaning, but desperate. He goes on to say that in Latin America we have tried everything, and everything, … Continue reading “Latin American Despair”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 4 November 2018 — It is about an implacable “electoral ploy.” That is what is behind this infernal screaming. It is absurd (and dangerous) to militarize the border with thousands of soldiers. It is also criminal to foment fear of foreigners, as Trump does, because it is politically profitable. John Kasich, Republican Governor of Ohio, … Continue reading “Trump, Bolton and the Four Stooges”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 14 October 2018 – Jair Messias Bolsonaro could be the President of Brazil on October 28th. The Brazilians see themselves in the mirror of their Venezuelan neighbors and they are terrified. The most trustworthy polls give him a 75% chance of winning the elections … as long as he does … Continue reading “Bolsonaro and Cuba”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 23 Septmber 2018 — In Mauricio Macri’s Argentina the Peronists do not give a damn that Cristina Kirchner and her husband were two world-class thieves. “Whoremonger or thief, we want Perón” is still the slogan of the tribe. Maybe we are not Republicans. Or sufficiently Republican. To be so, it is essential to voluntarily place … Continue reading “Latin America and the New Populist Cycle”
14ymedio, Mario J. Penton, Miami, 19 September 2018 — The political system in Cuba, an inheritance from the former Soviet Union, is deeply monstrous and inhuman. Caribbean totalitarianism has turned every Cuban into an executioner and at the same time into a victim and the only way to escape from the vicious circle of lies and … Continue reading “Father Jose Conrado Rodriguez Denounces Cuba’s “Totalitarian” System”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami | 17 September 2018 — A humble Honduran lady came to Miami to visit her family. All had fled their country in order to save their lives. One of her sons, a hardworking and decent young man, was assassinated with 38 stab wounds. In Honduras, her daughter was a good teacher and … Continue reading “The Greatness and Decadence of the United States”
14ymedio, Álvaro Vargas Llosa, Santiago de Chile, August 20, 2018 — It is not easy to assimilate that what just happened to Mauricio Rojas occurred in Chile at the height of 2018, after less than a fifth of the 21st century. Almost one century after the trials in Moscow, the Chilean intellectual has been submitted to an … Continue reading “The Lynching of Mauricio Rojas*”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 2 September 2018 – I’m told that Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan dictator, ordered a discreet survey to find out what percentage of the country supports his continuing to lead the government. Daniel was enraged when he learned the results: only 9% support him. He is two points below Nicolás Maduro. Those who consider … Continue reading “Stupid Governments”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 19 August 2018 — The Venezuelan Supreme Court in exile condemned Nicolás Maduro to 18 years in prison. Great. He would have to serve his sentence in Ramo Verde.** Excellent. That’s where he detained Leopoldo López and other political enemies. In addition, he must pay a fine of 25 million … Continue reading “The Time Has Come To Defend Freedom”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 1 July 2018 — This article could not be published in Mexico right now. The elections are on Sunday July first and as of Thursday the ban has been declared. The purpose is to avoid influencing the voters who, supposedly, meditate on whom they will elect as president. In fact, the great national … Continue reading “Mexico Moves to the Left Against the Imaginary Pendulum”
EFE, via 14ymedio, Miami, 2 May 2018 — The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) is commemorating World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday in a forum in Miami, and with a message of concern over the growing restrictions on journalists’ work and the persistence of “authoritarianism” in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua. IAPA’s president, the Peruvian Gustavo … Continue reading “Press Association Expresses Concern Over Restrictions on the Press in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, Miami, 22 April 2018 –Finally, Díaz-Canel became the president of Cuba’s State Council. In Cuba there is not a President of the Republic. Formally, Cuba has a parliamentary system. In fact, it is a one-party dictatorship, hitherto led with an iron hand by the Castros. Diaz-Canel does not have a lever … Continue reading “The Impossible Task of Miguel Díaz-Canel”
14ymedio, Carlos Alberto Montaner, 1 April 2018 — Raúl Castro leaves the presidency of the State Council to Miguel Díaz-Canel on Thursday April 19. Officially, Cuba has a government appointed by the Parliament. Actually, the government is a family dictatorship, but the president is legally elected by a small leadership group (the State Council), seemingly segregated … Continue reading “After the Castros, What Will Happen in Cuba?”
