English Translations of Cubans Writing From the Island
14ymedio, Havana, 24 May 2022 — The provincial government of Havana took a further step in rationing, by decreeing new limitations for the sale of products through state businesses that sell in national currency, to take effect on Friday, May 20. A month after it was announced that people could only shop in the establishments … Continue reading “In Havana, Purchases in Pesos in State Stores are Further Restricted”
14ymedio, Havana, 25 May 2022 — The price of hard currency in Cuba is plummeting on the informal market. Not only has the freely convertible currency (MLC) fallen, but also the dollar and even the euro. “Last week the MLC rate was 125 pesos, but I could only sell at 10 to 110 pesos to … Continue reading “The Price of Hard Currency Drops on the Black Market in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 18 May 2022 — Ending the limits on remittances sent from the U.S. to Cuba — one of the measures announced by Washington on Monday, in addition to resuming flights — seems to be one that could have the greatest impact on the Island. It is for the benefit of Cuban families, which … Continue reading “Competing with the ‘Mules’: The Cuban Government’s Complicated Goal for Remittances”
14ymedio/EFE, Havana, 15 May 2022 — The Cuban government announced this Saturday that it will establish a special exchange rate for some state and private producers of high-demand goods. Without further details, the Minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, explained that these sectors, “in a selective and gradual manner,” will be able to obtain foreign currency … Continue reading “There Will be a Privileged Exchange Rate for Producers of High-Demand Goods in Cuba”
14ymedio, Madrid, 10 May 2022 — Pork production in Cuba fell by 53.5% in 2021 compared to the previous year, to just 132.9 tons. The collapse is not a surprise, but the publication this Monday of the food production data for the previous year has left a trail of bad news for the Government, since … Continue reading “Cuban Pork Production Fell by More than 50 Percent in 2021, Confirming the Failure of the 63 Measures”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Havana, 6 May 2022 — Before the pandemic, Marbelis Vázquez and Daniel Joel Cárdenas managed La Guarapera Velázquez, a private business with which they dreamed of making the money necessary to emigrate. But instead of starting a new life in another country, the husband is now in prison for the July 11th (11J) … Continue reading “‘My Children Believe That Their Father is in a School Not in Prison’ for Cuba’s July 11th (11J) Protests”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2022 — The ’Informative System’ announcer Amanda Toirac joins the ranks of official journalists who are leaving Cuba. The young woman published on social networks that she left the Island after discovering that she felt “complicit and dishonest.” The young Radio Rebelde announcer pointed out that she was told to “repress” … Continue reading “Cuba: A Radio Rebelde Announcer Denounces ‘The Monster They Have Turned My Country Into’”
14ymedio, Havana, 28 April 2022 — “If you want Fidel to live, well let Fidel live, that is your problem. I do not want to be a communist!” The phrase was spoken very loudly early on Thursday morning on San Rafael boulevard in Havana. Some stood and watched, others filmed with their cell phones. The … Continue reading “Standing on a Wall in Central Havana, an Activist Asks for Freedom for Cubans”
14ymedio, Reinaldo Escobar, Havana, 25 April 2022 — In a recent interview, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who holds the position of President of the Republic without the consent of the voters, stated that “in Cuba no person has been prosecuted for speaking against the Revolution.” He said more, but I will limit this comment to that phrase. Although … Continue reading “Cuba: Speaking Against the Revolution”
14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 26 April 2022 — The “restless boys” of the Cuban political police no longer know what to ‘invent’ to boycott our journalistic work. Today it occurred to them (they have also done it before) to circulate my husband’s and my mobile phone numbers on several digital classified sites along … Continue reading “Cuban State Security Believes the Press is Muzzled with Crude Fumbles”
14ymedio, Madrid, 21 April 2022 — The state production of cow’s milk has collapsed between 1989, when it exceeded 900,000 tons, and 2020, the year in which it barely reached the tiny amount of 43,500 tons, 95.27% less in the last 21 years. Faced with this, private production has made a considerable leap, growing by 105.9%. However, … Continue reading “Milk Production in Cuba Collapsed Almost 60 Percent in the Last 21 Years”
14ymedio, Madrid, 15 April 2022 — Due to the lack of fuel, almost all of the disposable diapers produced in Cuba are distributed in Havana with a small percentage distributed in neighboring provinces. The data is revealed by the director of retail sales of the government corporation Cimex in a Cubadebate article dedicated to the scarcity of this basic … Continue reading “Cuba’s Cimex Corporation Blames the Vietnamese Manufacturer for the Diaper Shortage”
14ymedio, Havana, 15 April 2022 — The medical check-up for immigrant visa applicants who in May will begin to be be processed at the United States Embassy in Cuba will be carried out in a single health institution in the country, the diplomatic headquarters confirmed to 14ymedio this Friday. The Manuel Fajardo hospital, located at 720 … Continue reading “Medical Check-ups for US Immigrant Visas Will Happen Only in a Cuban Hospital”
Ivan Garcia, Havana, 4 April 2022 — After shaving his incipient beard, Sergio, 36, a software programmer, gets his smartphone and goes online. Using the WhatsApp tool Infotienda, he tracks down which market in Havana is stocking cheese, toilet paper, and milk powder. His 10-year-old daughter and two of her friends play The Sims on … Continue reading “Shipments to Cuba to be Paid for in Miami”
14ymedio, Madrid, 13 April 2022 — Stores in Cuba that take payment in the national currency — Cuban pesos — will be able to set the prices of the products they sell according to a resolution of March 30 published in the Official Gazette this Tuesday. Chain store bosses will now have the power to decide the … Continue reading “Raul Castro’s Ex-Son-in-Law Will Supervise the New Pricing Policy in Cuban Pesos”
