14ymedio Havana, 6 January 2017 — The residents of the neighborhood of Nuevo Vedado have waited for almost four decades to recover a stretch of Calle Marino, closed during all that time by mandate of the Ministry of Transportation. The block was turned over to the exclusive use as parking access for the Ministry’s officials in the ‘80s, and since then has been blocked off the passage of vehicles.
The return of this street has been one of the most repeated demands in the “Accountability Meetings” with the area’s deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power, events where citizens can speak directly to their elected officials and “hold them accountable.” For many years, however, the Ministry has turned a deaf ear to the demands. At the beginning of 2017 the stretch was opened to traffic, to the surprise of those who had given up for lost this small piece of the city.
As a general rule, official media only refer to urban irregularities committed by citizens, but rarely shed light on the violations committed by the state sector. No national or local newspaper has reported the closure of a stretch of Calle Marino … nor will they now announce its opening. But all the residents of the neighborhood already know and are happy.
