The Battle for Tres Leches / Rebeca Monzo
Posted on July 3, 2013
Among the reasons for the government's move to increase the number of
licenses for self-employment is the need to provide employment
opportunities in the private sector for the large number of workers who
have lost their jobs due to the massive reduction in national labor
force. As a result paladares, or private restaurants, have sprung up and
with them a new trend heretofore unknown in our country's food scene:
the dulce de tres leches.*
For many years the lack of information and reference sources in almost
all sectors of the economy and society led Cubans into a type of
"creative hibernation." Often someone would copy something, the idea for
which had come "from outside." If it turned out well, everyone would
then want to copy it too.
Gastronomy has not been completely immune from this phenomenon. These
days every paladar has a dessert menu featuring "French pastry." This in
a country which for many years had seen this specialty slowly "dying
out" due to the rise of private businesses and low productivity of state
enterprises. Milk, butter, cheese, even sugar – essential ingredients
for this type of cooking – have been rationed little by little almost to
the point of extinction.
There are very few paladares – we could say almost none – that offer
homemade baked goods. They seem to have been forgotten amid the guava,
grapefruit and orange shells poached in syrup, the jams, custards,
puddings… in other words the whole long list of sweet delicacies.
Certainly, fruits and other ingredients for baking have also gone
through long periods when they were in short supply, so these could well
have served as alternatives.
One day a restaurant owner decided to offer a tall glass (the kind used
for sundaes) filled with a small portion of sponge cake, a bit of
condensed milk and a lot of meringue, and called it tres leches. Soon
there were imitators. Some used sponge cake, also covered with meringue,
but with the milk component barely noticeable. In more "creative"
versions almonds and chocolate were added. Ultimately, everyone came up
with his own version, but none came close to the original dessert from
Nicaragua, which has become famous throughout all of Latin America.
This type of confection is expensive, sometimes costing more than an
order of cannelloni or lasagna. For this reason it is, of course, not in
great demand. I cannot understand why at this point restaurant owners
have not been able to find solutions more in line with the range of
possibilities and their customers' budgets. This is the main weakness of
almost all these successful businesses.
That is why I have allowed myself to make this brief analysis. For the
benefit of those interested, I am also providing the original recipe for
this contentious confection as well as the costs to produce it in this
country.
Ingredients for one cake: 6 eggs, 2 cups sugar, 2 cups all-purpose
flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 cup whole milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Instructions: Reserve two tablespoons of sugar and set aside. Beat the
egg yolks until light and lemon colored. Gradually add the remaining
sugar and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Add flour and baking
powder and beat until incorporated. Gradually add milk, and beat until
incorporated. In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until frothy. Add
reserved sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Gently fold
egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Turn batter into a prepared cake
pan and bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Assembly: To finish the tres leches, mix one and a half cans of the
condensed milk with an equal amount of evaporated milk. Add one
container of cream. Poke holes in the top of the cake with a skewer and
pour the mixture on top. To make the meringue topping, beat six egg
whites to form stiff peaks. In a saucepan add two cups of sugar and one
cup of water. Bring to boil and heat to the soft-ball stage. Gradually
pour the hot syrup into the egg whites, beating constantly. Beat the
meringue until cool. Spread meringue over the cake. Cut and serve.
Prices for the main ingredients in Cuba, where the average monthly
salary is 20.00 CUC,** are as follows:
A can of condensed milk, 1.20 CUC
A can of evaporated milk, 1.30 CUC
A small container of cream, 1.50 CUC
1 kilo of flour, 1.20 CUC
Eggs, 1.50 Cuban pesos (the so-called national currency) apiece.
Note: 1 CUC = US$0.85
*Translator's note: Literally, a three-milk cake, so-called because it
is made with three different milk products: whole milk or cream,
evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk.
**Cuba has two currencies in circulation: the Cuba peso, or moneda
nacional, in which salaries are paid, and the CUC, a convertible
currency pegged to the U.S. dollar. Increasingly, essential consumer
goods can often only be purchased at government-run hard currency stores
with CUCs. Most Cubans with access to hard currency obtain it through
cash remittances from relatives overseas.
30 June 2013
Source: "The Battle for Tres Leches / Rebeca Monzo | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-battle-for-tres-leches-rebeca-monzo/
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Not everyone so easily gives up being King in order to become a Beggar
Not everyone so easily gives up being King in order to become a Beggar /
Angel Santiesteban
Posted on July 3, 2013
My beloved son*, my so loved Chinito:
I almost cannot write to you because I lack breath. Now I have a little
of the strength that I will use in order to send to you some letters
that you will know go quite moist and full of love. I am fine, working
as always in the same place that you know, with the same people. I am
still proud of you, since not everyone gives up so easily being King in
order to become a Beggar. In my selfishness as a mother, I prefer the
former, but I have to accept your decision, which could not be any
different, since your integrity, honesty and values do not permit you to
be another, because you were raised under the precepts of José Martí.
I support you in everything while I live, and if I do not come to the
end with you, I already leave you entrusted with Ana. But I am going to
be optimistic, I am going to think that soon you will be proven innocent
of this that they blame you for in order to cover the truth, to try to
seal your mouth, which they have not been able to, because your friends
do not permit it, nor your family, nor intellectuals with a sense of
shame, nor all those who feel the need for justice; your echo transcends
limits, I do not know how they can be so crude, because the more they
want to drown your voice, the further it goes.
It is not so easy to hide a truth as big as that which you so bravely
scream to the universe. They do not realize that your letters are
everywhere, the more they box you in, the more they hide you, the
stronger your letters and truth emerge. That even when nothing of yours
is received, your screams are stronger, your voice is heard more clearly
and the world is more interested. In these moments you have more
followers than when you were on the La Lima prison farm, because when
everyone knew that you were well, although innocent, they were not so
worried about you. But now they are lions roaring for your life, for
your liberty. So my beloved son. They are more damaged than you are.
Do not worry, suffering is inevitable and necessary in order to become a
better person, to understand your fellows, and later you will know how,
as you have done until now with your books, to transmit the feelings of
our oppressed people.
I love you a lot, as always or more. I am almost with you there, in that
cell or barracks, you must hear when I breathe and my heart flutters.
And I am your angel, because those books that you do not know how they
arrived, they were mine, I've always like to read. Now I prefer to read
yours.
A very big hug, as on that night, at the edge of the sea, when we said
goodbye without knowing if some day we would see each other again, I
still feel it, our ties have not weakened, and we are still together, as
together as on that dark night on which you let me go, with pain, to
liberty.
I love you a lot.
A thousand kisses,
Your Mary
*Editor's note: This letter was written by Maria to her son Ángel
Santiesteban-Prats. We publish it on the blog by express permission of
Ángel.
Translated by mlk
11 June 2013
Source: "Not everyone so easily gives up being King in order to become a
Beggar / Angel Santiesteban | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/not-everyone-so-easily-gives-up-being-king-in-order-to-become-a-beggar-angel-santiesteban/
Angel Santiesteban
Posted on July 3, 2013
My beloved son*, my so loved Chinito:
I almost cannot write to you because I lack breath. Now I have a little
of the strength that I will use in order to send to you some letters
that you will know go quite moist and full of love. I am fine, working
as always in the same place that you know, with the same people. I am
still proud of you, since not everyone gives up so easily being King in
order to become a Beggar. In my selfishness as a mother, I prefer the
former, but I have to accept your decision, which could not be any
different, since your integrity, honesty and values do not permit you to
be another, because you were raised under the precepts of José Martí.
I support you in everything while I live, and if I do not come to the
end with you, I already leave you entrusted with Ana. But I am going to
be optimistic, I am going to think that soon you will be proven innocent
of this that they blame you for in order to cover the truth, to try to
seal your mouth, which they have not been able to, because your friends
do not permit it, nor your family, nor intellectuals with a sense of
shame, nor all those who feel the need for justice; your echo transcends
limits, I do not know how they can be so crude, because the more they
want to drown your voice, the further it goes.
It is not so easy to hide a truth as big as that which you so bravely
scream to the universe. They do not realize that your letters are
everywhere, the more they box you in, the more they hide you, the
stronger your letters and truth emerge. That even when nothing of yours
is received, your screams are stronger, your voice is heard more clearly
and the world is more interested. In these moments you have more
followers than when you were on the La Lima prison farm, because when
everyone knew that you were well, although innocent, they were not so
worried about you. But now they are lions roaring for your life, for
your liberty. So my beloved son. They are more damaged than you are.
Do not worry, suffering is inevitable and necessary in order to become a
better person, to understand your fellows, and later you will know how,
as you have done until now with your books, to transmit the feelings of
our oppressed people.
I love you a lot, as always or more. I am almost with you there, in that
cell or barracks, you must hear when I breathe and my heart flutters.
And I am your angel, because those books that you do not know how they
arrived, they were mine, I've always like to read. Now I prefer to read
yours.
A very big hug, as on that night, at the edge of the sea, when we said
goodbye without knowing if some day we would see each other again, I
still feel it, our ties have not weakened, and we are still together, as
together as on that dark night on which you let me go, with pain, to
liberty.
I love you a lot.
A thousand kisses,
Your Mary
*Editor's note: This letter was written by Maria to her son Ángel
Santiesteban-Prats. We publish it on the blog by express permission of
Ángel.
Translated by mlk
11 June 2013
Source: "Not everyone so easily gives up being King in order to become a
Beggar / Angel Santiesteban | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/not-everyone-so-easily-gives-up-being-king-in-order-to-become-a-beggar-angel-santiesteban/
U.S. gift to Cuban exiles abused
U.S. gift to Cuban exiles abused
BY DANIEL SHOER ROTH
DSHOER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
A walk on the beach to count my blessings led me to understand with
greater clarity the polarized debate on the Cuban Adjustment Act.
In this city of Botox, implants, and steroids, where people seem to
avoid eye contact with a stranger, the walk got me into an authentic,
profound dialogue with a newly arrived Cuban who needed barely an hour
to share plenty of anecdotes that illustrate a new chapter in the Cuban
exile community.
The hardships on the island had led him to spend $12,000 to escape
clandestinely through Mexico, cross the U.S. border guided by "coyotes,"
and stay here by invoking the "wet foot, dry foot" policy.
He then took shelter under the federal law that allows him to adjust his
migration status to permanent resident after one year and one day. The
government provides him with food stamps and other federal benefits. He
is looking for work to begin to save money to travel to Cuba once he
obtains his residency. He longs for his beloved wife and baby. He feels
he cannot live without them.
His testimony caused me pain. I tried to offer words of encouragement.
When we parted I found one more reason to thank my own blessings.
Stories like his surface everywhere in South Florida. There are Cubans
who go back on vacation. Others take advantage of the trips to travel as
"mules," carrying an inventory of electronic gadgets and other gifts
that in Cuba are basic necessities.
Any solidarity gesture is laudable. It is a noble thing that immigrants
living in prosperous countries help the loved ones they left behind.
Poverty pushes them to seek a full life — and share it.
Yet it is also undeniable that there are people abusing the U.S.
government's generosity. The Medicare scammers return to Cuba with
impunity. And now, Havana's new immigration policy that eases travel
restrictions (though a visa is still required to enter the United
States) and extends up to two years the time Cuban citizens can live
abroad without losing their residence, makes it easier for Cubans to
obtain permanent residency in the United States and then return to Cuba
quickly enough to retain their Cuban residence.
This way they can travel from one country to the other of their own
will, injecting funds to the impoverished Cuban economy.
Last week, at a question-and-answer session with the American Society of
News Editors, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, reemphasized the need to
examine and amend the Cuban Adjustment Act to stop those abuses and
irregularities, a position supported by a segment of exiles in Miami
with conservative values.
"I don't criticize anyone who wants to go visit their mom or dad or
their dying brother or sister in Cuba," he said. "But I am telling you
it gets very difficult to justify someone's status as an exile and
refugee when a year and a half after they get here they are flying back
to that country over and over again."
His speech, in tune with the ideology of Cuban-American U.S. Reps.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, has prompted explosive
criticism among some Cuban exiles who denounce the proposal as
insensitive and lacking empathy with those who have family or friends in
Cuba.
"We would be stabbing ourselves," said Héctor Caraballo, president of
the Cuban American Committee of the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade
County. "It would be a serious mistake to try to change or adjust the
Cuban Adjustment Act because, in the long term, it would lead to its
elimination."
Caraballo says that the Cuban residents in the United States who return
to Cuba to visit family or friends help bring about an internal
transformation, strengthening Cuba's civil society and leading to a
greater opening. Community leaders who share his liberal ideology defend
Cubans who travel to the island arguing that they entered the United
States through a family-reunification visa — not as political refugees.
The root of the problem is that the Cuban Adjustment Act was written in
1966 to address the political conditions in Cuba at that moment. Yet the
majority of Cubans who seek shelter under the act today emigrated for
economic reasons, as do non-Cuban immigrants who do not receive any of
those benefits. All of that fosters inequality and criticism from U.S.
immigration-rights advocates.
There is no doubt that Cubans continue being victims of the most corrupt
and ruthless dictatorship in the hemisphere. But such human tragedy does
not justify abusing the magnanimous immigration system of this country,
a beacon of light that brightens a tempestuous sea, allowing us
immigrants to anchor in the open arms of its piers.
Source: "Daniel Shoer Roth: U.S. gift to Cuban exiles abused - Daniel
Shoer Roth - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/03/3484200/daniel-shoer-roth-us-gift-to-cuban.html
BY DANIEL SHOER ROTH
DSHOER@MIAMIHERALD.COM
A walk on the beach to count my blessings led me to understand with
greater clarity the polarized debate on the Cuban Adjustment Act.
In this city of Botox, implants, and steroids, where people seem to
avoid eye contact with a stranger, the walk got me into an authentic,
profound dialogue with a newly arrived Cuban who needed barely an hour
to share plenty of anecdotes that illustrate a new chapter in the Cuban
exile community.
The hardships on the island had led him to spend $12,000 to escape
clandestinely through Mexico, cross the U.S. border guided by "coyotes,"
and stay here by invoking the "wet foot, dry foot" policy.
He then took shelter under the federal law that allows him to adjust his
migration status to permanent resident after one year and one day. The
government provides him with food stamps and other federal benefits. He
is looking for work to begin to save money to travel to Cuba once he
obtains his residency. He longs for his beloved wife and baby. He feels
he cannot live without them.
His testimony caused me pain. I tried to offer words of encouragement.
When we parted I found one more reason to thank my own blessings.
Stories like his surface everywhere in South Florida. There are Cubans
who go back on vacation. Others take advantage of the trips to travel as
"mules," carrying an inventory of electronic gadgets and other gifts
that in Cuba are basic necessities.
Any solidarity gesture is laudable. It is a noble thing that immigrants
living in prosperous countries help the loved ones they left behind.
Poverty pushes them to seek a full life — and share it.
Yet it is also undeniable that there are people abusing the U.S.
government's generosity. The Medicare scammers return to Cuba with
impunity. And now, Havana's new immigration policy that eases travel
restrictions (though a visa is still required to enter the United
States) and extends up to two years the time Cuban citizens can live
abroad without losing their residence, makes it easier for Cubans to
obtain permanent residency in the United States and then return to Cuba
quickly enough to retain their Cuban residence.
This way they can travel from one country to the other of their own
will, injecting funds to the impoverished Cuban economy.
Last week, at a question-and-answer session with the American Society of
News Editors, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Miami, reemphasized the need to
examine and amend the Cuban Adjustment Act to stop those abuses and
irregularities, a position supported by a segment of exiles in Miami
with conservative values.
"I don't criticize anyone who wants to go visit their mom or dad or
their dying brother or sister in Cuba," he said. "But I am telling you
it gets very difficult to justify someone's status as an exile and
refugee when a year and a half after they get here they are flying back
to that country over and over again."
His speech, in tune with the ideology of Cuban-American U.S. Reps.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Mario Diaz-Balart, has prompted explosive
criticism among some Cuban exiles who denounce the proposal as
insensitive and lacking empathy with those who have family or friends in
Cuba.
"We would be stabbing ourselves," said Héctor Caraballo, president of
the Cuban American Committee of the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade
County. "It would be a serious mistake to try to change or adjust the
Cuban Adjustment Act because, in the long term, it would lead to its
elimination."
Caraballo says that the Cuban residents in the United States who return
to Cuba to visit family or friends help bring about an internal
transformation, strengthening Cuba's civil society and leading to a
greater opening. Community leaders who share his liberal ideology defend
Cubans who travel to the island arguing that they entered the United
States through a family-reunification visa — not as political refugees.
The root of the problem is that the Cuban Adjustment Act was written in
1966 to address the political conditions in Cuba at that moment. Yet the
majority of Cubans who seek shelter under the act today emigrated for
economic reasons, as do non-Cuban immigrants who do not receive any of
those benefits. All of that fosters inequality and criticism from U.S.
immigration-rights advocates.
There is no doubt that Cubans continue being victims of the most corrupt
and ruthless dictatorship in the hemisphere. But such human tragedy does
not justify abusing the magnanimous immigration system of this country,
a beacon of light that brightens a tempestuous sea, allowing us
immigrants to anchor in the open arms of its piers.
Source: "Daniel Shoer Roth: U.S. gift to Cuban exiles abused - Daniel
Shoer Roth - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/03/3484200/daniel-shoer-roth-us-gift-to-cuban.html
Fariñas - Cuba will change only when power is in the hands of the people
Fariñas: Cuba will change only when power is in the hands of the people
Human rights − 03-07-2013 - 16:01
Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas has finally been able to pick up his
2010 Sakharov Prize in person in the European Parliament in Strasbourg
after waiting for almost three years to be allowed to travel to Europe.
"You are not alone in this long journey to freedom and democracy,"
Parliament vice-president Gianni Pittella, an Italian Social Democrat,
told Fariñas during the award ceremony. We asked Mr Fariñas about his
struggle, the prize and the current situation in Cuba.
How has the prize helped your fight for freedom of thought?
Personally, I can say that violent acts against me by members of the
state security forces or paramilitary groups have diminished, but at the
same time, many people are still being imprisoned. The importance of the
prize resides in that every time a Cuban citizen receives an award for
the defence of human rights, the Cuban regime is set in a delicate
situation vis-à-vis the rest of the world and democratic institutions.
Is your visit to Strasbourg a sign of things improving in Cuba?
Not at all: dissidents that have left our country are well known and,
for this reason, we are shielded by international public opinion. The
same does not apply to those who are less well known.
At this moment, there are 101 political prisoners in Cuba when in 2010
there were only 38. Indeed, the Cuban regime carries on with violent
acts against dissidents and the legal framework remains intact.
What would it take to see real improvement in relation to human rights
in Cuba?
Only when the Cuban regime recognises that the power has to be in the
hands of the people and political dissent will not be a crime, we will
be able to say that something has changed in Cuba.
Source: "Fariñas: Cuba will change only when power is in the hands of
the people" -
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20130701STO14749/html/Fari%C3%B1as-Cuba-will-change-only-when-power-is-in-the-hands-of-the-people
Human rights − 03-07-2013 - 16:01
Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas has finally been able to pick up his
2010 Sakharov Prize in person in the European Parliament in Strasbourg
after waiting for almost three years to be allowed to travel to Europe.
"You are not alone in this long journey to freedom and democracy,"
Parliament vice-president Gianni Pittella, an Italian Social Democrat,
told Fariñas during the award ceremony. We asked Mr Fariñas about his
struggle, the prize and the current situation in Cuba.
How has the prize helped your fight for freedom of thought?
Personally, I can say that violent acts against me by members of the
state security forces or paramilitary groups have diminished, but at the
same time, many people are still being imprisoned. The importance of the
prize resides in that every time a Cuban citizen receives an award for
the defence of human rights, the Cuban regime is set in a delicate
situation vis-à-vis the rest of the world and democratic institutions.
Is your visit to Strasbourg a sign of things improving in Cuba?
Not at all: dissidents that have left our country are well known and,
for this reason, we are shielded by international public opinion. The
same does not apply to those who are less well known.
At this moment, there are 101 political prisoners in Cuba when in 2010
there were only 38. Indeed, the Cuban regime carries on with violent
acts against dissidents and the legal framework remains intact.
What would it take to see real improvement in relation to human rights
in Cuba?
Only when the Cuban regime recognises that the power has to be in the
hands of the people and political dissent will not be a crime, we will
be able to say that something has changed in Cuba.
Source: "Fariñas: Cuba will change only when power is in the hands of
the people" -
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/content/20130701STO14749/html/Fari%C3%B1as-Cuba-will-change-only-when-power-is-in-the-hands-of-the-people
Cuba plans to launch new flight route to American city
Cuba plans to launch new flight route to American city
Xinhua | 2013-7-4 8:54:49
By Agencies
A new air route to connect Cienfuegos, a southern Cuban city, with Miami
in the US state of Florida, via Grand Cayman will be launched later this
year, a local official said Wednesday.
The move is intended to promote tourism, said Boris Suarez, the director
of the Jaime Gonzalez International Airport in Cienfuegos, the Cuban
city about 250 kilometers from Havana, the Cuban national capital.
The airport in Cienfuegos has been receiving five direct flights a week
from Miami, home to a large Cuban expatriate population, according to
Suarez. The airport also provides temporary air flight services to the
Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal from December to March, a high
tourism season.
He said the existing flight route linking Havana with the Grand Cayman
and Miami has been very popular among Cubans traveling to the southern
US state.
There are about two million Cuban immigrants residing in the United States.
Tourism has been a prime source of Cuba's foreign currency. It generated
2.6 billion US dollars in revenue with 2.838 million visitors last year.
The country is hoping to received 3 million tourists this year.
Source: "Cuba plans to launch new flight route to American city - WORLD
- Globaltimes.cn" - http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/793742.shtml
Xinhua | 2013-7-4 8:54:49
By Agencies
A new air route to connect Cienfuegos, a southern Cuban city, with Miami
in the US state of Florida, via Grand Cayman will be launched later this
year, a local official said Wednesday.
The move is intended to promote tourism, said Boris Suarez, the director
of the Jaime Gonzalez International Airport in Cienfuegos, the Cuban
city about 250 kilometers from Havana, the Cuban national capital.
The airport in Cienfuegos has been receiving five direct flights a week
from Miami, home to a large Cuban expatriate population, according to
Suarez. The airport also provides temporary air flight services to the
Canadian cities of Toronto and Montreal from December to March, a high
tourism season.
He said the existing flight route linking Havana with the Grand Cayman
and Miami has been very popular among Cubans traveling to the southern
US state.
There are about two million Cuban immigrants residing in the United States.
Tourism has been a prime source of Cuba's foreign currency. It generated
2.6 billion US dollars in revenue with 2.838 million visitors last year.
The country is hoping to received 3 million tourists this year.
Source: "Cuba plans to launch new flight route to American city - WORLD
- Globaltimes.cn" - http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/793742.shtml
SA acts on Cuba students
SA acts on Cuba students
Poppy Louw | 04 juli, 2013 00:21
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says plans for sending to Cuba an
attaché who will liaise between South African medical students there and
his department are being finalised.
Speaking at the graduation of 62 medical students at the University of
Pretoria yesterday, Motsoaledi said the attaché would help "ease the
pressure on the embassy on that side".
Twenty-six of 187 students quit their studies in Cuba after the
government refused to increase their stipend from about R2000 to R7000.
The programme has trained 366 doctors since 1995, most of whom are
deployed to rural hospitals.
Tumiso Seoke, 31, the first in his family to graduate, said the living
conditions in Cuba did not bother him: "Maybe it is because I grew up in
poverty that I was able to cope."
Source: "SA acts on Cuba students - Times LIVE" -
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/07/04/sa-acts-on-cuba-students
Poppy Louw | 04 juli, 2013 00:21
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says plans for sending to Cuba an
attaché who will liaise between South African medical students there and
his department are being finalised.
Speaking at the graduation of 62 medical students at the University of
Pretoria yesterday, Motsoaledi said the attaché would help "ease the
pressure on the embassy on that side".
Twenty-six of 187 students quit their studies in Cuba after the
government refused to increase their stipend from about R2000 to R7000.
The programme has trained 366 doctors since 1995, most of whom are
deployed to rural hospitals.
Tumiso Seoke, 31, the first in his family to graduate, said the living
conditions in Cuba did not bother him: "Maybe it is because I grew up in
poverty that I was able to cope."
Source: "SA acts on Cuba students - Times LIVE" -
http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/07/04/sa-acts-on-cuba-students
South Africa and Cuba - A Similar Struggle, A Drastically Different Response
South Africa and Cuba: A Similar Struggle, A Drastically Different Response
By Rudy MayorPublished July 03, 2013Fox News Latino
The sudden decline in health of former South African president and
anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has prompted many around the world
to reminisce on his legacy and the historical significance of his
movement. While serving harsh prison sentences, often in solitary
confinement, Mandela took part in hunger strikes and used every
opportunity to draw global attention and solidarity for the
anti-apartheid cause.
While speaking to a crowd of South African University students last
week, President Barack Obama also recalled Mandela's struggle and his
personal frustration with how little the United States was doing to help
those freedom fighters an ocean away.
Against all odds, Mandela's efforts worked. The international community
imposed sweeping economic sanctions on South Africa, isolating the
country and making it increasingly difficult for the government to fund
its oppressive tactics. The United Nations condemned the government's
policies and urged member states to sever all political and economic
ties to the country. The Catholic Church voiced strong opposition to
apartheid, culminating in an impassioned speech at the International
Court of Justice and a symbolic pilgrimage to bordering African states
by Pope John Paul II.
Mandela's efforts to build international solidarity against his
oppressors have been emulated by others similarly oppressed. In our own
hemisphere, Cuban political prisoners engage in hunger strikes, take
beatings, and struggle to survive in the country's dilapidated prisons.
Yet, many of the same countries that once took a stand against Mandela's
oppressors are unwilling to take a similar stand against Castro.
Cuba's oppressors, they think, ought to be "confronted" by cutting deals
with their state-run agencies to build new tourist destinations and
allowing more of their citizens to visit the island. Meanwhile, Cuban
prisoners who look up to Mandela rot in prisons as the international
community does more to fund their government's repression rather than
bankrupt it.
Even some interest groups in the U.S. have made strong but unsuccessful
efforts to unilaterally lift sanctions and thus pretend like there is
nothing wrong in Cuba. They claim sanctions hurt Cubans more than help them.
But this is not true. Economic sanctions won't hurt Cubans more than
unceasing communist repression will, just like sanctions did not hurt
blacks more than apartheid did. Unfortunately, Cuba has always had its
sympathizers and subsidizers. To countries that have always had normal
relations with Cuba, an unprovoked change of course might seem too
sudden or too abrupt of a change in policy.
However unlikely it is that these countries will impose sanctions on
Cuba overnight, the U.S. must be open to the idea of pushing
internationally backed sanctions when the time is right. In today's
world, timing is everything. This is especially so because the national,
and even international, conversation is driven by impulsive social media.
International support for the Cuban people will have to come at some
point and the most effective day will probably be when it appears that
Cuba has reached an important fork in the road between new freedom or
more of the same repression.
Until then, we must live with the fact that Cubans continue to look up
to Mandela and continue to sacrifice everything with little
international support. They continue seeking the help of those who once
helped South Africa to rid itself of its own heavy chains, but these
countries continue to turn a deaf ear.
No one will know exactly why the world was able to unite behind Mandela
but continued to do so little for dissident leaders like Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet or Berta Soler. However, the U.S. should not let the fact that
few countries have stood resiliently against Castro persuade them to
change course now.
Just as we look back and reminisce at the strength of Mandela and the
support we gave his movement, the U.S. will be able to look back at how
they always supported the Cuban people over its oppressors – and that
too is worth reminiscing about.
Rudy Mayor, a human rights activist, is a co-director of the U.S.-Cuba
Democracy PAC's Young Leaders Group.
Source: "South Africa and Cuba: A Similar Struggle, A Drastically
Different Response | Fox News Latino" -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/opinion/2013/07/03/parallels-south-africa-and-cuba-similar-struggle-drastically-different-response/
By Rudy MayorPublished July 03, 2013Fox News Latino
The sudden decline in health of former South African president and
anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela has prompted many around the world
to reminisce on his legacy and the historical significance of his
movement. While serving harsh prison sentences, often in solitary
confinement, Mandela took part in hunger strikes and used every
opportunity to draw global attention and solidarity for the
anti-apartheid cause.
While speaking to a crowd of South African University students last
week, President Barack Obama also recalled Mandela's struggle and his
personal frustration with how little the United States was doing to help
those freedom fighters an ocean away.
Against all odds, Mandela's efforts worked. The international community
imposed sweeping economic sanctions on South Africa, isolating the
country and making it increasingly difficult for the government to fund
its oppressive tactics. The United Nations condemned the government's
policies and urged member states to sever all political and economic
ties to the country. The Catholic Church voiced strong opposition to
apartheid, culminating in an impassioned speech at the International
Court of Justice and a symbolic pilgrimage to bordering African states
by Pope John Paul II.
Mandela's efforts to build international solidarity against his
oppressors have been emulated by others similarly oppressed. In our own
hemisphere, Cuban political prisoners engage in hunger strikes, take
beatings, and struggle to survive in the country's dilapidated prisons.
Yet, many of the same countries that once took a stand against Mandela's
oppressors are unwilling to take a similar stand against Castro.
Cuba's oppressors, they think, ought to be "confronted" by cutting deals
with their state-run agencies to build new tourist destinations and
allowing more of their citizens to visit the island. Meanwhile, Cuban
prisoners who look up to Mandela rot in prisons as the international
community does more to fund their government's repression rather than
bankrupt it.
Even some interest groups in the U.S. have made strong but unsuccessful
efforts to unilaterally lift sanctions and thus pretend like there is
nothing wrong in Cuba. They claim sanctions hurt Cubans more than help them.
But this is not true. Economic sanctions won't hurt Cubans more than
unceasing communist repression will, just like sanctions did not hurt
blacks more than apartheid did. Unfortunately, Cuba has always had its
sympathizers and subsidizers. To countries that have always had normal
relations with Cuba, an unprovoked change of course might seem too
sudden or too abrupt of a change in policy.
However unlikely it is that these countries will impose sanctions on
Cuba overnight, the U.S. must be open to the idea of pushing
internationally backed sanctions when the time is right. In today's
world, timing is everything. This is especially so because the national,
and even international, conversation is driven by impulsive social media.
International support for the Cuban people will have to come at some
point and the most effective day will probably be when it appears that
Cuba has reached an important fork in the road between new freedom or
more of the same repression.
Until then, we must live with the fact that Cubans continue to look up
to Mandela and continue to sacrifice everything with little
international support. They continue seeking the help of those who once
helped South Africa to rid itself of its own heavy chains, but these
countries continue to turn a deaf ear.
No one will know exactly why the world was able to unite behind Mandela
but continued to do so little for dissident leaders like Dr. Oscar Elias
Biscet or Berta Soler. However, the U.S. should not let the fact that
few countries have stood resiliently against Castro persuade them to
change course now.
Just as we look back and reminisce at the strength of Mandela and the
support we gave his movement, the U.S. will be able to look back at how
they always supported the Cuban people over its oppressors – and that
too is worth reminiscing about.
Rudy Mayor, a human rights activist, is a co-director of the U.S.-Cuba
Democracy PAC's Young Leaders Group.
Source: "South Africa and Cuba: A Similar Struggle, A Drastically
Different Response | Fox News Latino" -
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/opinion/2013/07/03/parallels-south-africa-and-cuba-similar-struggle-drastically-different-response/
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
The Cuban Communist Party and the Workers Central Union
The Cuban Communist Party and the Workers Central Union / Dimas Castellanos
Posted on July 2, 2013
The XCIII Plenary of the National Council of the Workers Central Union
of Cuba (CTC) that recently met under the chairmanship of the Second
Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), agreed to postpone the
celebration of its XX Congress, create an Organizing Committee and
appoint Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento to its leadership.
The postponement of the XX Congress was made so that the newly created
Organizing Committee would have more time to organize the event, which
has a pending discussion on the Draft of the Labor Code Bill and on the
Congress Rules document.
Considering that another Plenary of the National Council of the CTC in
which the progress of the organization efforts for the Congress were
discussed took place just a month ago, the following questions arise:
Why wasn't the date for the Congress proposed at the time? Why was
Carmen Rosa López ratified at the front of the CTC until the celebration
of the XX Congress? And why wasn't the Organizing Committee created
during the time of the convening or last month at the Plenary?
The answers seem to be related to the difficulties encountered in the
preparatory meetings. If so, doubts point to a poor preparation and to
the inability of the Second Secretary of the CTC to reach the goals set
by the Communist Party (PCC). This assumption is based on the fact that
Carmen Rosa López had been appointed as the head of the PCC until the
celebration of the event and had been elected Member of the State
Council, which indicated that she was going to be "the chosen one" as
Secretary General in the XX Congress. However, surprisingly, she had
just been replaced by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, who was the
Secretary General of the PCC in the Province of Artemisa two weeks ago.
The discussion topics, according to the preparatory meetings of the XX
Congress, will be related to the economy and represent an unavoidable
duty for the CTC and its unions to achieve the conscious mobilization
and participation of all workers in the fulfillment of the economic and
social policies that were passed in the VI Congress.
Nonetheless, in the preparatory meetings the inadequacies that conspire
against what the PCC expects from the union movement were highlighted.
By that I mean keeping the CTC as the only labor union under the control
of the PCC to ensure support for the implementation of the recent reform
Guidelines; for such purpose it would be necessary to enroll all workers
under the same union, the CTC, particularly those self-employed from the
private sector, who would tend to grow and provide the strength without
which reaching the expected results would be impossible.
Some of the criteria expressed during the process shed light on what
happened. Salvador Valdés Mesa explained in Matanzas, on March 8th, that
even when retirees, state and non-state affiliates, represent three
sources of affiliation with different interests, it is the self-employed
who are demanding special attention because of the novelty they
represent to the union movement. Then later that month, in the report to
the XCII Plenary, Valdés emphasized in the shortcomings faced in the
functioning of the organization, in the affiliation of workers and he
made a call to combat crime, illegalities and to perfect the workers'
guard service.
Meanwhile in an interview published in Granma on April 27th, Carmen Rosa
López said, "We still frequently find in the collective convening of
workers that they have not been affiliated because of the shortcomings
of our work," and she also said that in all of the questionnaires and
assessments completed this year the statements from the assembly members
make reference to wages; which shows that the goals set took a different
path from that of the workers' concerns.
The recurring concerns expressed by the workers show their
non-recognition of the unions as representatives of their interests,
especially after the statement made by the Workers Central Union (CTC)
in September of 2010 in favor of the layoffs, a measure that directly
affected workers and their families. The statement said: Our State
cannot nor should it continue to sponsor companies, institutions of
production and services that are budgeted with inflated payrolls and
result in losses that drag down the economy, which is counterproductive,
generates bad habits, and distorts the codes of conduct of workers.
To summarize, the main goal of the Congress is to emphasize the
performance that is expected from workers by the PCC in the
implementation of the Guidelines for reform, not to address their
particular problems, such as the insufficient wages and pensions in
relation to the cost of living, among others, which has led Cubans to
survive on the fringes of the law turning their backs on the so-called
ideology while creating a negative attitude that hinders the realization
of any social project.
We have to remember that unions in Cuba emerged to defend the interests
of workers when paid work began replacing slave labor; that the labor
movement became widespread with the General Law of Associations of 1888
and then with freedoms and rights recognized in the Constitution of
1901; that it showed its strength with the founding of the National
Confederation of Workers of Cuba in 1925 and with a general strike in
1933 that toppled Gerardo Machado's regime; that it achieved the passing
of a number of labor laws, including the most important in Cuban labor
legislation — Decree 798 of 1938 — which was subsequently endorsed in
the Constitution of the Republic; that this development led to the birth
of the CTC in 1939; and that joint committees were created to set a
minimum wage standard, the terms to the right of collective bargaining
and other measures in line with the established by the International
Labor Organization.
Therefore, unions became an important sector of Cuba's civil society to
the point that in 1945 the CTC became the second largest trade union in
the region with half a million members.
The takeaway is that workers' participation in programs from the State
or a political party, if it takes place, must be based on the interests,
needs and decisions of workers themselves, a vital premise to the
defense of their own interests.
Therefore, the postponement of the date of the Congress, from November
of this year to the first trimester of 2014, has its roots in the
conversion of the CTC into an auxiliary organization to the goals of the
PCC, resulting in the loss of its independence and leading to the
distortion of its original purpose. It is a situation beyond the
capabilities of Salvador Valdés Mesa, Carmen Rosa Lópeza, Ulises
Guilarte de Nacimiento or any other individual appointed to the
leadership of Cuban labor unionism.
The only way out, which depends on a political will so far nonexistent,
is not in changing political figures or in modifying documents pending
for discussion, it is in the freedom of association. This way the PCC
could keep the CTC as an auxiliary organization and allow those workers
who do not want to be CTC members to form other labor unions and freely
join them. This would also be a response to the remarks and
recommendations that were given to Cuba in a recent evaluation by the
Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
Published in Diario de Cuba
Translated by Chabeli
3 June 2013
Source: "The Cuban Communist Party and the Workers Central Union / Dimas
Castellanos | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-cuban-communist-party-and-the-workers-central-union-dimas-castellanos/
Posted on July 2, 2013
The XCIII Plenary of the National Council of the Workers Central Union
of Cuba (CTC) that recently met under the chairmanship of the Second
Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), agreed to postpone the
celebration of its XX Congress, create an Organizing Committee and
appoint Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento to its leadership.
The postponement of the XX Congress was made so that the newly created
Organizing Committee would have more time to organize the event, which
has a pending discussion on the Draft of the Labor Code Bill and on the
Congress Rules document.
Considering that another Plenary of the National Council of the CTC in
which the progress of the organization efforts for the Congress were
discussed took place just a month ago, the following questions arise:
Why wasn't the date for the Congress proposed at the time? Why was
Carmen Rosa López ratified at the front of the CTC until the celebration
of the XX Congress? And why wasn't the Organizing Committee created
during the time of the convening or last month at the Plenary?
The answers seem to be related to the difficulties encountered in the
preparatory meetings. If so, doubts point to a poor preparation and to
the inability of the Second Secretary of the CTC to reach the goals set
by the Communist Party (PCC). This assumption is based on the fact that
Carmen Rosa López had been appointed as the head of the PCC until the
celebration of the event and had been elected Member of the State
Council, which indicated that she was going to be "the chosen one" as
Secretary General in the XX Congress. However, surprisingly, she had
just been replaced by Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, who was the
Secretary General of the PCC in the Province of Artemisa two weeks ago.
The discussion topics, according to the preparatory meetings of the XX
Congress, will be related to the economy and represent an unavoidable
duty for the CTC and its unions to achieve the conscious mobilization
and participation of all workers in the fulfillment of the economic and
social policies that were passed in the VI Congress.
Nonetheless, in the preparatory meetings the inadequacies that conspire
against what the PCC expects from the union movement were highlighted.
By that I mean keeping the CTC as the only labor union under the control
of the PCC to ensure support for the implementation of the recent reform
Guidelines; for such purpose it would be necessary to enroll all workers
under the same union, the CTC, particularly those self-employed from the
private sector, who would tend to grow and provide the strength without
which reaching the expected results would be impossible.
Some of the criteria expressed during the process shed light on what
happened. Salvador Valdés Mesa explained in Matanzas, on March 8th, that
even when retirees, state and non-state affiliates, represent three
sources of affiliation with different interests, it is the self-employed
who are demanding special attention because of the novelty they
represent to the union movement. Then later that month, in the report to
the XCII Plenary, Valdés emphasized in the shortcomings faced in the
functioning of the organization, in the affiliation of workers and he
made a call to combat crime, illegalities and to perfect the workers'
guard service.
Meanwhile in an interview published in Granma on April 27th, Carmen Rosa
López said, "We still frequently find in the collective convening of
workers that they have not been affiliated because of the shortcomings
of our work," and she also said that in all of the questionnaires and
assessments completed this year the statements from the assembly members
make reference to wages; which shows that the goals set took a different
path from that of the workers' concerns.
The recurring concerns expressed by the workers show their
non-recognition of the unions as representatives of their interests,
especially after the statement made by the Workers Central Union (CTC)
in September of 2010 in favor of the layoffs, a measure that directly
affected workers and their families. The statement said: Our State
cannot nor should it continue to sponsor companies, institutions of
production and services that are budgeted with inflated payrolls and
result in losses that drag down the economy, which is counterproductive,
generates bad habits, and distorts the codes of conduct of workers.
To summarize, the main goal of the Congress is to emphasize the
performance that is expected from workers by the PCC in the
implementation of the Guidelines for reform, not to address their
particular problems, such as the insufficient wages and pensions in
relation to the cost of living, among others, which has led Cubans to
survive on the fringes of the law turning their backs on the so-called
ideology while creating a negative attitude that hinders the realization
of any social project.
We have to remember that unions in Cuba emerged to defend the interests
of workers when paid work began replacing slave labor; that the labor
movement became widespread with the General Law of Associations of 1888
and then with freedoms and rights recognized in the Constitution of
1901; that it showed its strength with the founding of the National
Confederation of Workers of Cuba in 1925 and with a general strike in
1933 that toppled Gerardo Machado's regime; that it achieved the passing
of a number of labor laws, including the most important in Cuban labor
legislation — Decree 798 of 1938 — which was subsequently endorsed in
the Constitution of the Republic; that this development led to the birth
of the CTC in 1939; and that joint committees were created to set a
minimum wage standard, the terms to the right of collective bargaining
and other measures in line with the established by the International
Labor Organization.
Therefore, unions became an important sector of Cuba's civil society to
the point that in 1945 the CTC became the second largest trade union in
the region with half a million members.
The takeaway is that workers' participation in programs from the State
or a political party, if it takes place, must be based on the interests,
needs and decisions of workers themselves, a vital premise to the
defense of their own interests.
Therefore, the postponement of the date of the Congress, from November
of this year to the first trimester of 2014, has its roots in the
conversion of the CTC into an auxiliary organization to the goals of the
PCC, resulting in the loss of its independence and leading to the
distortion of its original purpose. It is a situation beyond the
capabilities of Salvador Valdés Mesa, Carmen Rosa Lópeza, Ulises
Guilarte de Nacimiento or any other individual appointed to the
leadership of Cuban labor unionism.
The only way out, which depends on a political will so far nonexistent,
is not in changing political figures or in modifying documents pending
for discussion, it is in the freedom of association. This way the PCC
could keep the CTC as an auxiliary organization and allow those workers
who do not want to be CTC members to form other labor unions and freely
join them. This would also be a response to the remarks and
recommendations that were given to Cuba in a recent evaluation by the
Human Rights Council of the United Nations.
Published in Diario de Cuba
Translated by Chabeli
3 June 2013
Source: "The Cuban Communist Party and the Workers Central Union / Dimas
Castellanos | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-cuban-communist-party-and-the-workers-central-union-dimas-castellanos/
Cuba removes Ricardo Alarcon from top Communist body
3 July 2013 Last updated at 06:18 GMT Share this pageEmailPrint
Cuba removes Ricardo Alarcon from top Communist body
Cuban leader Raul Castro has removed several senior Communists from the
party's powerful Central Committee.
They include former parliament speaker and foreign minister Ricardo
Alarcon, a close ally of ex-leader Fidel Castro.
Mr Castro said those leaving had not made any mistakes or committed any
crimes. He said the changes marked a normal course of events.
Mr Alarcon, 76, one of Cuba's most visible politicians, had been a
member of the committee since 1992.
He stepped down as speaker in February.
Among the four others removed were Jose Miguel Miyar Barruecos, 81, who
was secretary of the Council of State for three decades, and Misael
Enamorado, 60, the party chief in Santiago de Cuba.
Mr Castro played down the significance of the move in comments broadcast
on state television.
"There's a door you come in through; there's a door you go out, without
it meaning anything negative," he said.
Raul Castro became Cuba's leader when his elder brother stepped down in
2008. In February he was elected to a second five-year term, which he
said would be his last.
Source: "BBC News - Cuba removes Ricardo Alarcon from top Communist
body" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23157254
Cuba removes Ricardo Alarcon from top Communist body
Cuban leader Raul Castro has removed several senior Communists from the
party's powerful Central Committee.
They include former parliament speaker and foreign minister Ricardo
Alarcon, a close ally of ex-leader Fidel Castro.
Mr Castro said those leaving had not made any mistakes or committed any
crimes. He said the changes marked a normal course of events.
Mr Alarcon, 76, one of Cuba's most visible politicians, had been a
member of the committee since 1992.
He stepped down as speaker in February.
Among the four others removed were Jose Miguel Miyar Barruecos, 81, who
was secretary of the Council of State for three decades, and Misael
Enamorado, 60, the party chief in Santiago de Cuba.
Mr Castro played down the significance of the move in comments broadcast
on state television.
"There's a door you come in through; there's a door you go out, without
it meaning anything negative," he said.
Raul Castro became Cuba's leader when his elder brother stepped down in
2008. In February he was elected to a second five-year term, which he
said would be his last.
Source: "BBC News - Cuba removes Ricardo Alarcon from top Communist
body" - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-23157254
Cuba dissident Farinas finally picks up 2010 Sakharov prize
Cuba dissident Farinas finally picks up 2010 Sakharov prize
Saying "Cuba will be free", dissident Guillermo Farinas on Wednesday
finally picked up the European Union's prestigious Sakharov human rights
prize -- three years after winning the award.
"This fist held high means there will one day be democracy in Cuba,"
Farinas told the packed European Parliament to a standing ovation as he
dedicated the prize to his mother, who also attended the ceremony.
Farinas, who has staged 23 hunger strikes to help secure the release of
scores of political prisoners, was able to travel to the French city of
Strasbourg to pick up the award thanks to Cuba's abolition of exit
permit requirements in January.
In 2010, an empty chair draped in a Cuban flag had symbolised Havana's
refusal to allow him to pick up the prize, whose past winners include
South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and former UN
chief Kofi Annan.
Farinas is the third Cuban to be awarded the 50,000-euro ($64,000)
prize, named after late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.
In April, Cuba's "Ladies in White", who also fought for the release of
jailed Cuban dissidents, travelled to Strasbourg to accept the award
they had won eight years earlier.
In 2002 the honour went to Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, who last year
died in a car crash. The United States has called for a probe into the
accident.
Farinas, 51, won the award after a 135-day hunger strike in 2010 to
press for the release of political prisoners.
A journalist who has also campaigned for a free press and against
Internet censorship, he carried out his hunger strikes over 15 years in
an ongoing, bold confrontation with the only one-party Communist
government in the Americas.
He told European lawmakers that his mother, Alicia Hernandez, had begged
him to go into exile the first time he came out of prison, but that "I
answered this would not serve as a lesson for Cuban patriots."
Source: "Cuba dissident Farinas finally picks up 2010 Sakharov prize <
French news | Expatica France" -
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/cuba-dissident-farinas-finally-picks-up-2010-sakharov-prize_268892.html
Saying "Cuba will be free", dissident Guillermo Farinas on Wednesday
finally picked up the European Union's prestigious Sakharov human rights
prize -- three years after winning the award.
"This fist held high means there will one day be democracy in Cuba,"
Farinas told the packed European Parliament to a standing ovation as he
dedicated the prize to his mother, who also attended the ceremony.
Farinas, who has staged 23 hunger strikes to help secure the release of
scores of political prisoners, was able to travel to the French city of
Strasbourg to pick up the award thanks to Cuba's abolition of exit
permit requirements in January.
In 2010, an empty chair draped in a Cuban flag had symbolised Havana's
refusal to allow him to pick up the prize, whose past winners include
South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi and former UN
chief Kofi Annan.
Farinas is the third Cuban to be awarded the 50,000-euro ($64,000)
prize, named after late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov.
In April, Cuba's "Ladies in White", who also fought for the release of
jailed Cuban dissidents, travelled to Strasbourg to accept the award
they had won eight years earlier.
In 2002 the honour went to Cuban dissident Oswaldo Paya, who last year
died in a car crash. The United States has called for a probe into the
accident.
Farinas, 51, won the award after a 135-day hunger strike in 2010 to
press for the release of political prisoners.
A journalist who has also campaigned for a free press and against
Internet censorship, he carried out his hunger strikes over 15 years in
an ongoing, bold confrontation with the only one-party Communist
government in the Americas.
He told European lawmakers that his mother, Alicia Hernandez, had begged
him to go into exile the first time he came out of prison, but that "I
answered this would not serve as a lesson for Cuban patriots."
Source: "Cuba dissident Farinas finally picks up 2010 Sakharov prize <
French news | Expatica France" -
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/cuba-dissident-farinas-finally-picks-up-2010-sakharov-prize_268892.html
Fewer Eggs in Cuba’s Ration Book
Fewer Eggs in Cuba's Ration Book
July 2, 2013
HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban government's decision to halve the number of
eggs to be delivered monthly to the population, through the ration book,
took effect on Monday.
According to a press release over the weekend from the Ministry of
Internal Trade, the five eggs a month each citizen receives at the
subsidized price of 0.15 cents Cuban pesos (CUP), will remain, but the
other five, sold at 0.90 cents, will be deleted.
The new price for eggs beyond the five from the ration book is 1.10
pesos, as was being charged in agricultural markets administered by the
army.
This new policy adds another cut to the already low volume of basic
products that Cubans receive supplies through the dwindling ration book.
In 2012 the production of eggs, one of the most demanded products in the
island, was four per cent below the previous year.
The price increase deals a blow especially to those Cubans who work for
the government and pensioners who do not have relatives abroad sending
them remittances. One Convertible Peso or CUC = 0.87 USD and 1 USD =
20 CUP (regular pesos).
Source: "Fewer Eggs in Cuba's Ration Book - Havana Times.org" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95726
July 2, 2013
HAVANA TIMES — The Cuban government's decision to halve the number of
eggs to be delivered monthly to the population, through the ration book,
took effect on Monday.
According to a press release over the weekend from the Ministry of
Internal Trade, the five eggs a month each citizen receives at the
subsidized price of 0.15 cents Cuban pesos (CUP), will remain, but the
other five, sold at 0.90 cents, will be deleted.
The new price for eggs beyond the five from the ration book is 1.10
pesos, as was being charged in agricultural markets administered by the
army.
This new policy adds another cut to the already low volume of basic
products that Cubans receive supplies through the dwindling ration book.
In 2012 the production of eggs, one of the most demanded products in the
island, was four per cent below the previous year.
The price increase deals a blow especially to those Cubans who work for
the government and pensioners who do not have relatives abroad sending
them remittances. One Convertible Peso or CUC = 0.87 USD and 1 USD =
20 CUP (regular pesos).
Source: "Fewer Eggs in Cuba's Ration Book - Havana Times.org" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95726
SNOWDEN'S CHOICE: CUBA OR ZIMBABWE?
SNOWDEN'S CHOICE: CUBA OR ZIMBABWE?
Sources say doors closed by China, Russia, Iran, others
STEWART STOGEL About | Email | Archive
NEW YORK – Admitted NSA documents leaker Edward Snowden is believed to
have fewer than six countries still considering his campaign for asylum,
among them Cuba and Zimbabwe.
With Russia and China all but closing their doors, WND has learned that
Snowden apparently is now concentrating his efforts on Cuba, Venezuela
and Zimbabwe.
The Venezuela effort appears to have stumbled when newly elected
president Nicolas Maduro, who was visiting Moscow on unrelated issues,
and was transiting through the same airport where Snowden is believed to
be hiding, left without him.
WND has learned that the Obama administration was prepared to exert
financial pressure on CITGO, a U.S. energy refiner and marketer owned by
Venezuela, if Caracas gave Snowden sanctuary.
Diplomatic sources at the United Nations in New York believe the options
open for Snowden are rapidly dwindling.
The most likely "safe havens" at this point would appear to Cuba and
Zimbabwe, sources said.
Cuba's U.N. mission has refused official comment, but the Castro
government has a long record of accepting U.S. fugitives.
One of the most prominent was U.S. financier Robert Vesco.
In 1982, Vesco fled the U.S. amid highly publicized charges of tax
evasion and commodities trading fraud.
Vesco was reported to have bribed Cuban President Fidel Castro for
sanctuary. Eventually, apparently when his cash dried up, Vesco was
arrested and tried on local smuggling charges.
In the early 1990s the American fugitive was sentenced to 13 years in a
Cuban prison. Vesco remained in Havana until his death in November 2007.
The Zimbabwe alternative also appears to remain, sources said.
Zimbabwe's U.N. mission had no official comment, but diplomats say there
have been approaches made to the government by "friends of Snowden."
President Robert Mugabe, a long-time critic of Washington, has seen his
government reel under economic sanctions imposed by the European Union
and the United States for countless accusations of human rights abuses.
Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe has seen uncontrollable
inflation decimate its currency and its economy. Widespread starvation
is commonplace, say U.N. officials.
But Mugabe, fighting international pressure to step aside after more
than 32 years in power, in essence has defied the international
community and declared himself a de-facto "president for life."
If Mugabe decides to help Snowden, diplomats say, there is little more
to be done in the way of punishment than what already has been done.
The only nation with more sanctions imposed is North Korea, which has
shown little interest is assisting Snowden,.
Diplomats at the U.N. believe that Beijing pressured Pyongyang to steer
clear of the Snowden controversy.
Iran, which at one time was also a possible option, is now believed to
have closed its doors with the surprise presidential election victory of
Hassan Rouhani,, a political moderate who is expected to engage in
efforts "improve" relations with Washington.
U.S. officials still want Snowden returned to the U.S. to face charges.
Source: "Snowden's choice: Cuba or Zimbabwe?" -
http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/snowdens-choice-cuba-or-zimbabwe/
Sources say doors closed by China, Russia, Iran, others
STEWART STOGEL About | Email | Archive
NEW YORK – Admitted NSA documents leaker Edward Snowden is believed to
have fewer than six countries still considering his campaign for asylum,
among them Cuba and Zimbabwe.
With Russia and China all but closing their doors, WND has learned that
Snowden apparently is now concentrating his efforts on Cuba, Venezuela
and Zimbabwe.
The Venezuela effort appears to have stumbled when newly elected
president Nicolas Maduro, who was visiting Moscow on unrelated issues,
and was transiting through the same airport where Snowden is believed to
be hiding, left without him.
WND has learned that the Obama administration was prepared to exert
financial pressure on CITGO, a U.S. energy refiner and marketer owned by
Venezuela, if Caracas gave Snowden sanctuary.
Diplomatic sources at the United Nations in New York believe the options
open for Snowden are rapidly dwindling.
The most likely "safe havens" at this point would appear to Cuba and
Zimbabwe, sources said.
Cuba's U.N. mission has refused official comment, but the Castro
government has a long record of accepting U.S. fugitives.
One of the most prominent was U.S. financier Robert Vesco.
In 1982, Vesco fled the U.S. amid highly publicized charges of tax
evasion and commodities trading fraud.
Vesco was reported to have bribed Cuban President Fidel Castro for
sanctuary. Eventually, apparently when his cash dried up, Vesco was
arrested and tried on local smuggling charges.
In the early 1990s the American fugitive was sentenced to 13 years in a
Cuban prison. Vesco remained in Havana until his death in November 2007.
The Zimbabwe alternative also appears to remain, sources said.
Zimbabwe's U.N. mission had no official comment, but diplomats say there
have been approaches made to the government by "friends of Snowden."
President Robert Mugabe, a long-time critic of Washington, has seen his
government reel under economic sanctions imposed by the European Union
and the United States for countless accusations of human rights abuses.
Once the breadbasket of Africa, Zimbabwe has seen uncontrollable
inflation decimate its currency and its economy. Widespread starvation
is commonplace, say U.N. officials.
But Mugabe, fighting international pressure to step aside after more
than 32 years in power, in essence has defied the international
community and declared himself a de-facto "president for life."
If Mugabe decides to help Snowden, diplomats say, there is little more
to be done in the way of punishment than what already has been done.
The only nation with more sanctions imposed is North Korea, which has
shown little interest is assisting Snowden,.
Diplomats at the U.N. believe that Beijing pressured Pyongyang to steer
clear of the Snowden controversy.
Iran, which at one time was also a possible option, is now believed to
have closed its doors with the surprise presidential election victory of
Hassan Rouhani,, a political moderate who is expected to engage in
efforts "improve" relations with Washington.
U.S. officials still want Snowden returned to the U.S. to face charges.
Source: "Snowden's choice: Cuba or Zimbabwe?" -
http://www.wnd.com/2013/07/snowdens-choice-cuba-or-zimbabwe/
Cuba announces shakeup of party leadership
Posted on Tuesday, 07.02.13
Cuba announces shakeup of party leadership
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAVANA -- Cuba's president has announced the removal of former
Parliament chief Ricardo Alarcon and several other leaders from the
Communist Party's powerful Central Committee.
In comments broadcast on state-television Tuesday, Raul Castro made
clear that those leaving the 118-strong committee had not made any
mistakes or committed any crimes. He said they were moving on in the
normal course of events.
"This door leads out, without it constituting any demerit," Castro said.
He spoke at a previously unannounced meeting of the Central Committee.
Alarcon, 76, was one of Cuba's most visible politicians and the point
person for relations with the United States. He stepped down as
parliament chief in February.
Among the others removed were Jose Miguel Miyar Barruecos, 81, who was
secretary of the Council of State for three decades, and Misael
Enamorado, 60, the party chief in Santiago de Cuba.
Source: "HAVANA: Cuba announces shakeup of party leadership - Americas
Wires - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/02/3482356/cuba-announces-shakeup-of-party.html
Cuba announces shakeup of party leadership
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAVANA -- Cuba's president has announced the removal of former
Parliament chief Ricardo Alarcon and several other leaders from the
Communist Party's powerful Central Committee.
In comments broadcast on state-television Tuesday, Raul Castro made
clear that those leaving the 118-strong committee had not made any
mistakes or committed any crimes. He said they were moving on in the
normal course of events.
"This door leads out, without it constituting any demerit," Castro said.
He spoke at a previously unannounced meeting of the Central Committee.
Alarcon, 76, was one of Cuba's most visible politicians and the point
person for relations with the United States. He stepped down as
parliament chief in February.
Among the others removed were Jose Miguel Miyar Barruecos, 81, who was
secretary of the Council of State for three decades, and Misael
Enamorado, 60, the party chief in Santiago de Cuba.
Source: "HAVANA: Cuba announces shakeup of party leadership - Americas
Wires - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/02/3482356/cuba-announces-shakeup-of-party.html
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Prison Diary XXXIII - The Barber and His Eternal Condemnation
Prison Diary XXXIII: The Barber and His Eternal Condemnation
Posted on July 2, 2013
A few days ago, from the urinal, I heard a conversation between two
inmates in the laundry, which made me turn around and look them in the face.
It was the barber, who was commenting to his listener on Martí's letters
to his mothers, and hers to her son. He quoted them from memory, and I
enjoyed the emotional scene. Of course, I ended up being part of the
conversation.
When I left, I told them that dialog seemed surreal to me, given the
circumstances we found ourselves in, and even more, while they washed
their clothes. Before we parted I expressed the need to write at some
point about this experience he'd lived, and we shook hands.
That encounter made me remember that I always witnessed the barber
talking about the books he read, calling my attention to the contrast
between his intellectual analysis and his tattoos and gold teeth.
Since then, we began to greet each other as the beginning of a
friendship that he was assessing against the surveillance they had on
me, and that motivated transfers to other barracks and even provinces of
inmates who maintained a closer relationship with me. I didn't want to
compromise his transfer to the camp where he would finish the five years
that remained after having served the first eight.
Yesterday, after a dramatic performance by the guards, the barber was
surprised with more than 300 pills. They say he ratted out a prisoner
who was indebted to him. They also say that his quantity of medications
in their original packages could only get into the prison through a
soldier. Others argue that they are medications of the inmates who have
psycho-pharmacological prescriptions, and that for nearly a month they
hadn't been given, which had caused the nervous alterations they
suffered, played out in brawls, physical aggression, altercations with
the guards, fire-setting attempts which sometimes succeeded, and even
epileptic attacks. Medications that have been sent by the families to
make sure they get them.
It's noteworthy that for every indiscipline committed by such patients,
they are taken to the courts held weekly where, according to the
seriousness, they add other penalties and suspension of benefits for
good behavior.
For most of these patients they substitute oral treatment for
intravenous or muscular injections, as a result of which these areas are
considerably damaged.
The truth is that the barber finds himself in the dungeon to the
surprise of many, including me. I imagine him desperate almost insane,
on learning that he has to begin from zero the conviction he had, not to
mention the new charge of drug trafficking.
Now he has to serve nearly twenty years in prison, he'll be an old man
when he gets out, in about 2033 with luck, if he doesn't commit another
felony.
Such are the days in prison, among addicts and assassins.
Gods have mercy on them, their families, and those who cross their path.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats, Prison 1580, June 2013
1 July 2013
Source: "Prison Diary XXXIII: The Barber and His Eternal Condemnation |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-diary-xxxiii-the-barber-and-his-eternal-condemnation/
Posted on July 2, 2013
A few days ago, from the urinal, I heard a conversation between two
inmates in the laundry, which made me turn around and look them in the face.
It was the barber, who was commenting to his listener on Martí's letters
to his mothers, and hers to her son. He quoted them from memory, and I
enjoyed the emotional scene. Of course, I ended up being part of the
conversation.
When I left, I told them that dialog seemed surreal to me, given the
circumstances we found ourselves in, and even more, while they washed
their clothes. Before we parted I expressed the need to write at some
point about this experience he'd lived, and we shook hands.
That encounter made me remember that I always witnessed the barber
talking about the books he read, calling my attention to the contrast
between his intellectual analysis and his tattoos and gold teeth.
Since then, we began to greet each other as the beginning of a
friendship that he was assessing against the surveillance they had on
me, and that motivated transfers to other barracks and even provinces of
inmates who maintained a closer relationship with me. I didn't want to
compromise his transfer to the camp where he would finish the five years
that remained after having served the first eight.
Yesterday, after a dramatic performance by the guards, the barber was
surprised with more than 300 pills. They say he ratted out a prisoner
who was indebted to him. They also say that his quantity of medications
in their original packages could only get into the prison through a
soldier. Others argue that they are medications of the inmates who have
psycho-pharmacological prescriptions, and that for nearly a month they
hadn't been given, which had caused the nervous alterations they
suffered, played out in brawls, physical aggression, altercations with
the guards, fire-setting attempts which sometimes succeeded, and even
epileptic attacks. Medications that have been sent by the families to
make sure they get them.
It's noteworthy that for every indiscipline committed by such patients,
they are taken to the courts held weekly where, according to the
seriousness, they add other penalties and suspension of benefits for
good behavior.
For most of these patients they substitute oral treatment for
intravenous or muscular injections, as a result of which these areas are
considerably damaged.
The truth is that the barber finds himself in the dungeon to the
surprise of many, including me. I imagine him desperate almost insane,
on learning that he has to begin from zero the conviction he had, not to
mention the new charge of drug trafficking.
Now he has to serve nearly twenty years in prison, he'll be an old man
when he gets out, in about 2033 with luck, if he doesn't commit another
felony.
Such are the days in prison, among addicts and assassins.
Gods have mercy on them, their families, and those who cross their path.
Ángel Santiesteban-Prats, Prison 1580, June 2013
1 July 2013
Source: "Prison Diary XXXIII: The Barber and His Eternal Condemnation |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-diary-xxxiii-the-barber-and-his-eternal-condemnation/
Angel Santiesteban Today Finishes Four Months in Jail
Angel Santiesteban Today Finishes Four Months in Jail / Angel Santiesteban
Posted on July 1, 2013
Today, June 28, 2013, Angel Santiesteban-Prats finishes four months
incarcerated in the Castro concentration camp 1580, El Pitirre, San
Miguel Del Padron, Havana. There have been 121 days plus nights in which
they have not even managed to diminish his optimism.
The same four months in which the dictatorship of the younger of the
Castros has continued tarnishing with more blood his own criminal
record, for which sooner or later, he must account to Justice. And they
will come to that examination, from the most servile henchmen to the
highest responsible for the systemic violation of all human, civil and
political rights, that keep as prisoners all the inhabitants of the
Island, in their streets as if there were free, in their concentration
camps, doubly vulnerable.
In these four months, the jail system was "visited" by a court of
eunuchs costumed as journalists, who went out to tell the world how
beautiful, dignified, clean and happy those same prisons are that serve
as a bonfire of liberty, of dignity, of humanity.
The Island of Happiness that the Castro brothers kidnapped and to which
they subjected as if they were dealing with their own fief, is in
reality The Jail Island. Never in the history of humanity was a so
limited geography known to have such a concentration of jails. Is it
possible that so few question why Cuba has 545 prisons in a geographical
area that barely reaches 110,860 square kilometers? As point of
reference, Spain has 504,645 square kilometers and 113 penitentiaries.
After that tour by "militant" journalism that the jails managed April
10, the penitentiary system was put to examination by the Counsel of
Human Rights on May 1, and in spite of having received 292
recommendations, the ambassador of the regime before the United Nations
in Geneva, Ana Rodriguez Camejo, had the impertinence to say that she
will accept "a broad group of recommendations" and implement them,
"according to our possibilities and the evolution of circumstances" and
that there is a "minority group (of recommendations) unacceptable to
Cuba," for being "slanted and politicized" and whose central objective
is to "discredit" the system. Of course that refers to the topic of
political prisoners, whose existence is demonstrated by this affirmation
itself, and with the objective facts about them that the human rights
organizations collected which reveal the size.
Currently in Cuba there are 93 political prisoners in jail, plus the 16
that find themselves released on parole. That figure indicates that
their numbers have doubled in the last year. The number of arbitrary
detentions has also grown in a grotesque manner — reaching an increase
of 50%, no more nor less, since the year before.
These are objective and empirically demonstrated acts, with photographs
and videos that fortunately — thanks to new technologies — leave Cuba to
show the world and reaffirm what we all know: that Cuba is drowning
under a cruel dictatorship that already passed its half century of
existence, but — and even more important – so many political prisoners
are jailed and so many arbitrary detentions are carried out because the
people's discontent with tyranny and the miserable life to which they
are condemned is greater. The increase in repression and abuses is
directly proportional to Cuba's craving for justice, liberty and
dignity. It is happening as it did with the Church in the Middle Ages
with witches: the more they burn, the more appear. The path of Cubans to
freedom is one with no turning back, and the arrival of freedom is every
day closer.
Angel is one of some many political prisoners in Cuba; but he is also
the only writer incarcerated for political reasons in all the American
continent, which is a great shame for the Castro regime.
Angel decided to commit himself to his fatherland and to defend the
highest values of the human condition, governed by the principles of
José Martí. He decided to do it knowing that he not only would lose his
"privileges" as an intellectual of officaldom, but also he knew that he
would possibly lose his liberty, as has occurred.
Today he lives incarcerated with a dignity that few can carry out and
that greatly infuriates his jailers.
Again we hold Raul Castro Ruz responsible for the integrity of Angel and
of all his companions who also suffer harassment and punishment for
being nearby and being in solidarity with him. The eyes of the world are
on Angel and on those who harass, intimidate, threaten or mistreat him.
The times have changed, and they can no longer keep the truth from being
known. And here we are — his friends and relatives — always ready to
denounce to all the highest and the most minimal abuse.
We also reiterate to Raul Castro that Angel not only should not be a
prisoner but also he is in a maximum security prison to which he was
taken in a violent and illegal manner. We demand that he be returned to
La Lima until they recover common sense and understand that they should
give him a trial with all the due process that he never had. They must
understand that all the evidence in the rigged trial and the complete
file are at the mercy of the world, which places the Castro judicial
system at the lowest level before the concert of civilized nations.
And we demand freedom for all the political prisoners. We hold Raul
Castro responsible for the lives and integrity of them all and remind
him that a woman gave life to him, too, that wherever she may be, she
contemplates with shame and disgust what he is doing to the brave Lady
in White Sonia Garro.
The friends and relatives of Angel Santiesteban-Prats
Translated by mlk
28 June 2013
Source: "Angel Santiesteban Today Finishes Four Months in Jail / Angel
Santiesteban | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/angel-santiesteban-today-finishes-four-months-in-jail-angel-santiesteban/
Posted on July 1, 2013
Today, June 28, 2013, Angel Santiesteban-Prats finishes four months
incarcerated in the Castro concentration camp 1580, El Pitirre, San
Miguel Del Padron, Havana. There have been 121 days plus nights in which
they have not even managed to diminish his optimism.
The same four months in which the dictatorship of the younger of the
Castros has continued tarnishing with more blood his own criminal
record, for which sooner or later, he must account to Justice. And they
will come to that examination, from the most servile henchmen to the
highest responsible for the systemic violation of all human, civil and
political rights, that keep as prisoners all the inhabitants of the
Island, in their streets as if there were free, in their concentration
camps, doubly vulnerable.
In these four months, the jail system was "visited" by a court of
eunuchs costumed as journalists, who went out to tell the world how
beautiful, dignified, clean and happy those same prisons are that serve
as a bonfire of liberty, of dignity, of humanity.
The Island of Happiness that the Castro brothers kidnapped and to which
they subjected as if they were dealing with their own fief, is in
reality The Jail Island. Never in the history of humanity was a so
limited geography known to have such a concentration of jails. Is it
possible that so few question why Cuba has 545 prisons in a geographical
area that barely reaches 110,860 square kilometers? As point of
reference, Spain has 504,645 square kilometers and 113 penitentiaries.
After that tour by "militant" journalism that the jails managed April
10, the penitentiary system was put to examination by the Counsel of
Human Rights on May 1, and in spite of having received 292
recommendations, the ambassador of the regime before the United Nations
in Geneva, Ana Rodriguez Camejo, had the impertinence to say that she
will accept "a broad group of recommendations" and implement them,
"according to our possibilities and the evolution of circumstances" and
that there is a "minority group (of recommendations) unacceptable to
Cuba," for being "slanted and politicized" and whose central objective
is to "discredit" the system. Of course that refers to the topic of
political prisoners, whose existence is demonstrated by this affirmation
itself, and with the objective facts about them that the human rights
organizations collected which reveal the size.
Currently in Cuba there are 93 political prisoners in jail, plus the 16
that find themselves released on parole. That figure indicates that
their numbers have doubled in the last year. The number of arbitrary
detentions has also grown in a grotesque manner — reaching an increase
of 50%, no more nor less, since the year before.
These are objective and empirically demonstrated acts, with photographs
and videos that fortunately — thanks to new technologies — leave Cuba to
show the world and reaffirm what we all know: that Cuba is drowning
under a cruel dictatorship that already passed its half century of
existence, but — and even more important – so many political prisoners
are jailed and so many arbitrary detentions are carried out because the
people's discontent with tyranny and the miserable life to which they
are condemned is greater. The increase in repression and abuses is
directly proportional to Cuba's craving for justice, liberty and
dignity. It is happening as it did with the Church in the Middle Ages
with witches: the more they burn, the more appear. The path of Cubans to
freedom is one with no turning back, and the arrival of freedom is every
day closer.
Angel is one of some many political prisoners in Cuba; but he is also
the only writer incarcerated for political reasons in all the American
continent, which is a great shame for the Castro regime.
Angel decided to commit himself to his fatherland and to defend the
highest values of the human condition, governed by the principles of
José Martí. He decided to do it knowing that he not only would lose his
"privileges" as an intellectual of officaldom, but also he knew that he
would possibly lose his liberty, as has occurred.
Today he lives incarcerated with a dignity that few can carry out and
that greatly infuriates his jailers.
Again we hold Raul Castro Ruz responsible for the integrity of Angel and
of all his companions who also suffer harassment and punishment for
being nearby and being in solidarity with him. The eyes of the world are
on Angel and on those who harass, intimidate, threaten or mistreat him.
The times have changed, and they can no longer keep the truth from being
known. And here we are — his friends and relatives — always ready to
denounce to all the highest and the most minimal abuse.
We also reiterate to Raul Castro that Angel not only should not be a
prisoner but also he is in a maximum security prison to which he was
taken in a violent and illegal manner. We demand that he be returned to
La Lima until they recover common sense and understand that they should
give him a trial with all the due process that he never had. They must
understand that all the evidence in the rigged trial and the complete
file are at the mercy of the world, which places the Castro judicial
system at the lowest level before the concert of civilized nations.
And we demand freedom for all the political prisoners. We hold Raul
Castro responsible for the lives and integrity of them all and remind
him that a woman gave life to him, too, that wherever she may be, she
contemplates with shame and disgust what he is doing to the brave Lady
in White Sonia Garro.
The friends and relatives of Angel Santiesteban-Prats
Translated by mlk
28 June 2013
Source: "Angel Santiesteban Today Finishes Four Months in Jail / Angel
Santiesteban | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/angel-santiesteban-today-finishes-four-months-in-jail-angel-santiesteban/
The Long-Awaited Glass of Milk
The Long-Awaited Glass of Milk / Alberto Mendez Castello
Posted on July 1, 2013
"On the evening of Friday, June 7, the historic leader of the Cuban
Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz received comrade Diosdado Cabello Rondon,
President of the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela" Juventud Rebelde reported a few days ago.
"The president of the Venezuelan Parliament,along with Fidel, made a
brief tour of numerous crops capable of generating high numbers of
proteins for the production of milk and meat," added the official newspaper.
But if the meat and milk products are scarce in Venezuela lately, in
Cuba this is a chronic disease that has now lasted for more than half a
century.
In Cuba milk is rationed for the sick and children up to seven years old.
In hard currency, one kilogram of powdered milk costs a little more than
five convertible pesos (CUC) and one kilogram of beef more than nine.
To bring a kilo of milk powder and one kilogram of beef to the table, a
Cuban family needs to spend 350 Cuban pesos, more than three-quarters of
the average monthly wage in the country.
"We have to erase from our minds the idea of seven years, we spent 50
years saying up to seven years. We should be producing milk so that
anyone who wants to can drink a glass of milk and there is land to
produce it here," Raul Castro said in Camagüey on Thursday, July 26, 2007.
But on the sixth anniversary of those word, spoken and applauded, we
still do not see the long awaited glass of milk for Cubans.
"The first secretary of the Provincial Party Committee (PCC) in Las
Tunas, Ariel Santana Santiesteban, toured the municipality of Puerto
Padre, where food production is not adequate," the State channel, Canal
Azul, reported on June 9.
According to the Puerto Padre station, due to insufficient feed, cows
here averaged only 1.6 quarts of milk per head. This is the production
of a good dairy goat.
Dr. Castro Ruz has done experiments in livestock since the early sixties
of last century, when he divided and subdivided hundreds of thousands of
hectares of grazing land in the country to introduce the grazing system
of French academic Andrew Voisin.
To assess the implementation of their rational grazing system, the then
Prime Minister invited the French academic to the Island, where the
University of Havana awarded him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
On the afternoon of December 21, 1964, Dr. Voisin died of a heart attack
at the residence of Protocol No. 1, in the Cubanacan neighborhood, where
he lived.
"In 45 days I built full grazing systems, with everything, with quality
materials, but they are completely destroyed," an accomplished master
builder who has been in charge of the construction of hotels, hospitals
and factories to throughout Cuba told this correspondent.
"Look at this, look at the crime!" said an old cowboy showing this
correspondent a number of dairies equipped, in his time, with modern
equipment, now completely abandoned.
"The inefficient food production in Cuba, a country with a tropical
climate, equipped with water, pastures, farming methods and knowledge to
produce and conserve fodder, is due to political rather than technical
misconceptions political. If the day of the politicians is put aside to
let the producers get to where they are capable of going, you will see
instead of a lack of food, a surplus," said an experimental agronomist
to this correspondent, stating: "For this it is necessary that they stop
experimenting with what we know how to do."
As it seems unlikely that the Cuban communists, in charge of doing
everything in this country, will allow ranchers and farmers to develop
the wisdom that comes from their ancestors, they will continue to
experiment with how to produce milk to distance the glass from Cuban
tables. That, perhaps, is the experience that the speaker of the
Venezuelan parliament brought to his country.
Translated from Diario de Cuba
30 Jun 2013
Source: "The Long-Awaited Glass of Milk / Alberto Mendez Castello |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-long-awaited-glass-of-milk-alberto-mendez-castello/
Posted on July 1, 2013
"On the evening of Friday, June 7, the historic leader of the Cuban
Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz received comrade Diosdado Cabello Rondon,
President of the National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela" Juventud Rebelde reported a few days ago.
"The president of the Venezuelan Parliament,along with Fidel, made a
brief tour of numerous crops capable of generating high numbers of
proteins for the production of milk and meat," added the official newspaper.
But if the meat and milk products are scarce in Venezuela lately, in
Cuba this is a chronic disease that has now lasted for more than half a
century.
In Cuba milk is rationed for the sick and children up to seven years old.
In hard currency, one kilogram of powdered milk costs a little more than
five convertible pesos (CUC) and one kilogram of beef more than nine.
To bring a kilo of milk powder and one kilogram of beef to the table, a
Cuban family needs to spend 350 Cuban pesos, more than three-quarters of
the average monthly wage in the country.
"We have to erase from our minds the idea of seven years, we spent 50
years saying up to seven years. We should be producing milk so that
anyone who wants to can drink a glass of milk and there is land to
produce it here," Raul Castro said in Camagüey on Thursday, July 26, 2007.
But on the sixth anniversary of those word, spoken and applauded, we
still do not see the long awaited glass of milk for Cubans.
"The first secretary of the Provincial Party Committee (PCC) in Las
Tunas, Ariel Santana Santiesteban, toured the municipality of Puerto
Padre, where food production is not adequate," the State channel, Canal
Azul, reported on June 9.
According to the Puerto Padre station, due to insufficient feed, cows
here averaged only 1.6 quarts of milk per head. This is the production
of a good dairy goat.
Dr. Castro Ruz has done experiments in livestock since the early sixties
of last century, when he divided and subdivided hundreds of thousands of
hectares of grazing land in the country to introduce the grazing system
of French academic Andrew Voisin.
To assess the implementation of their rational grazing system, the then
Prime Minister invited the French academic to the Island, where the
University of Havana awarded him the title of Doctor Honoris Causa.
On the afternoon of December 21, 1964, Dr. Voisin died of a heart attack
at the residence of Protocol No. 1, in the Cubanacan neighborhood, where
he lived.
"In 45 days I built full grazing systems, with everything, with quality
materials, but they are completely destroyed," an accomplished master
builder who has been in charge of the construction of hotels, hospitals
and factories to throughout Cuba told this correspondent.
"Look at this, look at the crime!" said an old cowboy showing this
correspondent a number of dairies equipped, in his time, with modern
equipment, now completely abandoned.
"The inefficient food production in Cuba, a country with a tropical
climate, equipped with water, pastures, farming methods and knowledge to
produce and conserve fodder, is due to political rather than technical
misconceptions political. If the day of the politicians is put aside to
let the producers get to where they are capable of going, you will see
instead of a lack of food, a surplus," said an experimental agronomist
to this correspondent, stating: "For this it is necessary that they stop
experimenting with what we know how to do."
As it seems unlikely that the Cuban communists, in charge of doing
everything in this country, will allow ranchers and farmers to develop
the wisdom that comes from their ancestors, they will continue to
experiment with how to produce milk to distance the glass from Cuban
tables. That, perhaps, is the experience that the speaker of the
Venezuelan parliament brought to his country.
Translated from Diario de Cuba
30 Jun 2013
Source: "The Long-Awaited Glass of Milk / Alberto Mendez Castello |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/the-long-awaited-glass-of-milk-alberto-mendez-castello/
Prison Open and Minds Still Closed
Prison Open and Minds Still Closed / Rosa Maria Rodriguez
Posted on July 1, 2013
The new immigration law that went into effect on January 14 of this
year, returned the right to travel to most Cubans, although it's a right
euphemistically recovered, because only a privileged minority can manage
a trip abroad.
Now many are asking themselves if the more than five decade closure and
violation of this inalienable right had any justification in national
security and politics, or if it was a simple whim because since January
we can see that opponents of the regime have left and entered our
country freely and what happened? What star fell? Not even one of those
on the epaulettes of those who oppress us. For so many years they have
hijacked, among others, our right to travel, and now there are more than
a few who question whether so many restrictions and abuses happened just
to reaffirm dictatorial power, domination and submission.
Two constants dominate the social dialogue on this topic: one, is that
no one receives wages commensurate with the current cost of living in
Cuba that will allow them to self-finance an excursion to any
coordinates beyond our borders — it's expensive enough to do it within
our national territory — and the other, is the dependence on funding the
cost of the trip from the outside. There are many who compare this
situation with the historic event of the abolition of slavery and the
attitudes of those first freedmen, who didn't know what to do with their
new condition, and how to pay for their expenses on becoming a salaried
employee.
They strangled Cuban society so much for so many years, that I don't
doubt they would also review, rectify and allow the ex-prisoners "on
parole" who were sanctioned to exaggerated penalties in 2003, who also
can travel abroad, since they only owed the State, not society, the
specific cruelty of a group of dictators who like overseers in colonial
times, still persist in putting Cubans in the stocks of lack of
liberties and trampling on their rights.
27 June 2013
Source: "Prison Open and Minds Still Closed / Rosa Maria Rodriguez |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-open-and-minds-still-closed-rosa-maria-rodriguez/
Posted on July 1, 2013
The new immigration law that went into effect on January 14 of this
year, returned the right to travel to most Cubans, although it's a right
euphemistically recovered, because only a privileged minority can manage
a trip abroad.
Now many are asking themselves if the more than five decade closure and
violation of this inalienable right had any justification in national
security and politics, or if it was a simple whim because since January
we can see that opponents of the regime have left and entered our
country freely and what happened? What star fell? Not even one of those
on the epaulettes of those who oppress us. For so many years they have
hijacked, among others, our right to travel, and now there are more than
a few who question whether so many restrictions and abuses happened just
to reaffirm dictatorial power, domination and submission.
Two constants dominate the social dialogue on this topic: one, is that
no one receives wages commensurate with the current cost of living in
Cuba that will allow them to self-finance an excursion to any
coordinates beyond our borders — it's expensive enough to do it within
our national territory — and the other, is the dependence on funding the
cost of the trip from the outside. There are many who compare this
situation with the historic event of the abolition of slavery and the
attitudes of those first freedmen, who didn't know what to do with their
new condition, and how to pay for their expenses on becoming a salaried
employee.
They strangled Cuban society so much for so many years, that I don't
doubt they would also review, rectify and allow the ex-prisoners "on
parole" who were sanctioned to exaggerated penalties in 2003, who also
can travel abroad, since they only owed the State, not society, the
specific cruelty of a group of dictators who like overseers in colonial
times, still persist in putting Cubans in the stocks of lack of
liberties and trampling on their rights.
27 June 2013
Source: "Prison Open and Minds Still Closed / Rosa Maria Rodriguez |
Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/prison-open-and-minds-still-closed-rosa-maria-rodriguez/
Tearing Down Schools, Putting Up Hotels
Cuba: Tearing Down Schools, Putting Up Hotels
July 1, 2013
Rogelio Manuel Díaz Moreno
HAVANA TIMES — The first time I ever set foot in the Manzana de Gomez
walkway in Havana's old town, it wasn't to buy anything at one of its
ground-floor shops. I couldn't have done that even if I'd wanted to at
the time, the height of Cuba's interminable "Special Period" (economic
crisis of the 90s). If memory serves me right, even holding hard
currency was still illegal in the country.
The first time I ever set foot in the Manzana de Gomez, it was to take
part in a school competition (probably having to do with Physics), of
the kind organized by the educational system around the country.
For many years, the building housed a number of schools, theatres,
editorial offices and other cultural establishments, such as the Latin
American Culture Institute, chaired by renowned intellectual Fernando Ortiz.
The building was constructed over a broad span of time, between 1890 and
1918, and was primarily financed by the wealthy Gomez-Mena family. Since
its completion, it has been one of Havana's emblematic public sites. The
passage of time and lack of maintenance have resulted in serious
structural damage.
Thanks to a dispatch published by Prensa Latina, I have just found out
that the building is going to be turned into a 500-bedroom hotel. I
suspect they're going to conserve the building's façade, out of respect
for the city's architectural heritage, history and all that, which
historian and entrepreneur Eusebio Leal Spengler knows how to manage so
well. It's rather painful to think that, to do this, they will have to
relocate the schools there.
To tell the truth, the building has been in such a deplorable state for
so long that the schools may have been closed, and the students
relocated to other institutions in the area some time ago. Ultimately,
this was also the fate of the Faculty of Physics at the University of
Havana, and of thousands of other buildings – schools, residences,
medical centers and factories that deteriorated to the point of becoming
uninhabitable, deadly traps where no few souls perished.
The resources needed to repair them never did turn up, while no shortage
of these was squandered in other places of dubious social usefulness.
Now, if it's a hotel we're talking about, then there's plenty of money
to spend. Every good capitalist knows that, in order to make money, you
need to invest money. Perhaps the University of Havana steps will one
day lead to the entrance of another pretty hotel, which will prove more
profitable than a place where Maxwell's equations are taught. Perhaps
the Pedro Borras Hospital will someday be made into a golf resort, who
knows.
I doubt anyone consulted with the community, with the parents, teachers
or workers of the Manzana de Gomez, before deciding the building's new
destiny. In any event, if someone has any information in this
connection, do share it. Though no one will be left without an
education, the boys and girls of these schools, who are to continue
their Math, Spanish and History studies elsewhere, will walk away with a
slightly bitter lesson: that a place of learning is ultimately expendable.
Source: "Cuba: Hotels are more profitable than schools" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95650
July 1, 2013
Rogelio Manuel Díaz Moreno
HAVANA TIMES — The first time I ever set foot in the Manzana de Gomez
walkway in Havana's old town, it wasn't to buy anything at one of its
ground-floor shops. I couldn't have done that even if I'd wanted to at
the time, the height of Cuba's interminable "Special Period" (economic
crisis of the 90s). If memory serves me right, even holding hard
currency was still illegal in the country.
The first time I ever set foot in the Manzana de Gomez, it was to take
part in a school competition (probably having to do with Physics), of
the kind organized by the educational system around the country.
For many years, the building housed a number of schools, theatres,
editorial offices and other cultural establishments, such as the Latin
American Culture Institute, chaired by renowned intellectual Fernando Ortiz.
The building was constructed over a broad span of time, between 1890 and
1918, and was primarily financed by the wealthy Gomez-Mena family. Since
its completion, it has been one of Havana's emblematic public sites. The
passage of time and lack of maintenance have resulted in serious
structural damage.
Thanks to a dispatch published by Prensa Latina, I have just found out
that the building is going to be turned into a 500-bedroom hotel. I
suspect they're going to conserve the building's façade, out of respect
for the city's architectural heritage, history and all that, which
historian and entrepreneur Eusebio Leal Spengler knows how to manage so
well. It's rather painful to think that, to do this, they will have to
relocate the schools there.
To tell the truth, the building has been in such a deplorable state for
so long that the schools may have been closed, and the students
relocated to other institutions in the area some time ago. Ultimately,
this was also the fate of the Faculty of Physics at the University of
Havana, and of thousands of other buildings – schools, residences,
medical centers and factories that deteriorated to the point of becoming
uninhabitable, deadly traps where no few souls perished.
The resources needed to repair them never did turn up, while no shortage
of these was squandered in other places of dubious social usefulness.
Now, if it's a hotel we're talking about, then there's plenty of money
to spend. Every good capitalist knows that, in order to make money, you
need to invest money. Perhaps the University of Havana steps will one
day lead to the entrance of another pretty hotel, which will prove more
profitable than a place where Maxwell's equations are taught. Perhaps
the Pedro Borras Hospital will someday be made into a golf resort, who
knows.
I doubt anyone consulted with the community, with the parents, teachers
or workers of the Manzana de Gomez, before deciding the building's new
destiny. In any event, if someone has any information in this
connection, do share it. Though no one will be left without an
education, the boys and girls of these schools, who are to continue
their Math, Spanish and History studies elsewhere, will walk away with a
slightly bitter lesson: that a place of learning is ultimately expendable.
Source: "Cuba: Hotels are more profitable than schools" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95650
Cuba sees bicycles as partial answer to transport woes
Cuba sees bicycles as partial answer to transport woes
Cuba,Business/Economy, Tue, 02 Jul 2013IANS
Havana, July 2 (IANS/EFE) The Cuban government plans to reintroduce
bicycles as a way to alleviate public transport problems, Vice President
Marino Murillo said in comments cited Monday in the official media.
Murillo, the head of the committee to implement the economic reforms put
in place by the government of President Raul Castro, said during last
Friday's Cabinet meeting that one way to promote cycling would be to
provide bicycle replacement parts at a discount.
Bicycles began appearing en masse on Cuban streets in the 1990s, and
particularly in Havana it became an alternative way to deal with the
acute transportation crisis caused by the drastic reduction in energy
supplies from the old Soviet Union.
In 1991, 30,000 people were using bicycles in the Cuban capital, but by
1999 more than 700,000 Havana residents were moving around the city on
bikes.
Murillo discussed reintroducing bicycles when he presented a plan to
restructure public transport in Havana, a situation he said had been
"unstable, insufficient and of low quality" for years.
In his analysis of the sector, he acknowledged the existence of
fare-dodging by passengers and "stealing the (fares) collected with
impunity" by some transit employees.
The vice president said that the basic bus and railroad transport
services will be maintained under the current state-run system.
He also announced measures to improve transportation, including
introducing a new system for paying workers and officials, adding that a
system of incentives including bonuses, tax exemptions and even
subsidies will be designed to avoid increases in transit fares.
--IANS/EFE
Source: "Cuba sees bicycles as partial answer to transport woes" -
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/07/02/134--Cuba-sees-bicycles-as-partial-answer-to-transport-woes-.html
Cuba,Business/Economy, Tue, 02 Jul 2013IANS
Havana, July 2 (IANS/EFE) The Cuban government plans to reintroduce
bicycles as a way to alleviate public transport problems, Vice President
Marino Murillo said in comments cited Monday in the official media.
Murillo, the head of the committee to implement the economic reforms put
in place by the government of President Raul Castro, said during last
Friday's Cabinet meeting that one way to promote cycling would be to
provide bicycle replacement parts at a discount.
Bicycles began appearing en masse on Cuban streets in the 1990s, and
particularly in Havana it became an alternative way to deal with the
acute transportation crisis caused by the drastic reduction in energy
supplies from the old Soviet Union.
In 1991, 30,000 people were using bicycles in the Cuban capital, but by
1999 more than 700,000 Havana residents were moving around the city on
bikes.
Murillo discussed reintroducing bicycles when he presented a plan to
restructure public transport in Havana, a situation he said had been
"unstable, insufficient and of low quality" for years.
In his analysis of the sector, he acknowledged the existence of
fare-dodging by passengers and "stealing the (fares) collected with
impunity" by some transit employees.
The vice president said that the basic bus and railroad transport
services will be maintained under the current state-run system.
He also announced measures to improve transportation, including
introducing a new system for paying workers and officials, adding that a
system of incentives including bonuses, tax exemptions and even
subsidies will be designed to avoid increases in transit fares.
--IANS/EFE
Source: "Cuba sees bicycles as partial answer to transport woes" -
http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2013/07/02/134--Cuba-sees-bicycles-as-partial-answer-to-transport-woes-.html
Cuban LGBT dissidents visiting Miami - Don’t believe Mariela Castro about gay rights on the island
Cuban LGBT dissidents visiting Miami: Don't believe Mariela Castro about
gay rights on the island
BY STEVE ROTHAUS, srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
Eight weeks after Cuban leader Raúl Castro's daughter, Mariela, received
a gay equality award in Philadelphia, two of the island's best-known
LGBT dissidents are in Miami warning American activists not to believe
what she says.
"I want to say to the LGBT community of the United States, don't let
Mariela fool you," said Cuban activist Wendy Iriepa, a transgender woman
who used to work with Castro at CENESEX, the Cuban National Center for
Sex Education. "Don't let the American community be used, as she is
using you right now with the LGBT community in Cuba."
Iriepa and husband Ignacio Estrada Cepero, a gay man, will participate
Tuesday night in a Spanish-language discussion about gay rights in Cuba
at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus.
With permission of the Cuban government, the Havana couple arrived in
Miami June 26 and will spend three months in the United States
interacting with South Florida activists. "We are living a dream,
confronting the Cuban society, to suddenly come to the United States and
see everything that has been negated and denied and prohibited by the
Cuban government," Estrada said.
An advocate for gay marriage and transgender equality, sexologist
Mariela Castro has been a highly visible gay-rights figure in Cuba,
where until several years ago LGBT people were treated as outcasts and
often sent to hard-labor camps.
Some Cuban Americans protested in May when Castro was honored at the gay
Equality Forum in Philadelphia, and the year before when she spoke to
LGBT activists in San Francisco and at the New York Public Library.
"Everything is fake, it's false," Iriepa said of Castro's portrayal of
modern-day Cuba. "The gays still feel repression. When the police come,
they say you have to leave here. Mariela sells to the world the same
image the Cuban government does. Everything from the outside looks
beautiful, but when you go inside, everything is not."
Iriepa said that for years she sought sex reassignment surgery, but
didn't get it until she pledged loyalty to the Castro regime.
"In 1997, the director of CENESEX gave me a letter," she told the Miami
Herald on Monday. "The letter said in order to have the operation, you
have to maintain a socially correct and revolutionary — support the
government."
Ten years later, the Cuban government paid for Iriepa's surgery, part of
a pilot program added to the island's universal healthcare system. "I
don't recognize that the Cuban government paid for my operation," she
said. "I had been waiting for that for years. They finally did it."
In 2011, Iriepa and Estrada celebrated a highly publicized wedding. "We
are the first gay couple," she said.
Despite speaking out against the Cuban government during their U.S.
visit, Iriepa and her husband plan to return next fall to the island.
"We are people who have a life project," Estrada said. "We have a group
of people who identify with us. We are the most visible face of the
Cuban LGBT community."
IF YOU GO
What: Conversation in Spanish with Cuban LGBT activists Wendy Iriepa and
Ignacio Estrada Cepero
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, Room 7128, 500 NE Second Ave.
Cost: Free
Source: "Cuban LGBT dissidents visiting Miami: Don't believe Mariela
Castro about gay rights on the island | Steve Rothaus' Gay South
Florida" -
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2013/07/cuban-lgbt-dissidents-visiting-miami-dont-believe-mariela-castro-about-gay-rights-on-the-island.html
gay rights on the island
BY STEVE ROTHAUS, srothaus@MiamiHerald.com
Eight weeks after Cuban leader Raúl Castro's daughter, Mariela, received
a gay equality award in Philadelphia, two of the island's best-known
LGBT dissidents are in Miami warning American activists not to believe
what she says.
"I want to say to the LGBT community of the United States, don't let
Mariela fool you," said Cuban activist Wendy Iriepa, a transgender woman
who used to work with Castro at CENESEX, the Cuban National Center for
Sex Education. "Don't let the American community be used, as she is
using you right now with the LGBT community in Cuba."
Iriepa and husband Ignacio Estrada Cepero, a gay man, will participate
Tuesday night in a Spanish-language discussion about gay rights in Cuba
at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus.
With permission of the Cuban government, the Havana couple arrived in
Miami June 26 and will spend three months in the United States
interacting with South Florida activists. "We are living a dream,
confronting the Cuban society, to suddenly come to the United States and
see everything that has been negated and denied and prohibited by the
Cuban government," Estrada said.
An advocate for gay marriage and transgender equality, sexologist
Mariela Castro has been a highly visible gay-rights figure in Cuba,
where until several years ago LGBT people were treated as outcasts and
often sent to hard-labor camps.
Some Cuban Americans protested in May when Castro was honored at the gay
Equality Forum in Philadelphia, and the year before when she spoke to
LGBT activists in San Francisco and at the New York Public Library.
"Everything is fake, it's false," Iriepa said of Castro's portrayal of
modern-day Cuba. "The gays still feel repression. When the police come,
they say you have to leave here. Mariela sells to the world the same
image the Cuban government does. Everything from the outside looks
beautiful, but when you go inside, everything is not."
Iriepa said that for years she sought sex reassignment surgery, but
didn't get it until she pledged loyalty to the Castro regime.
"In 1997, the director of CENESEX gave me a letter," she told the Miami
Herald on Monday. "The letter said in order to have the operation, you
have to maintain a socially correct and revolutionary — support the
government."
Ten years later, the Cuban government paid for Iriepa's surgery, part of
a pilot program added to the island's universal healthcare system. "I
don't recognize that the Cuban government paid for my operation," she
said. "I had been waiting for that for years. They finally did it."
In 2011, Iriepa and Estrada celebrated a highly publicized wedding. "We
are the first gay couple," she said.
Despite speaking out against the Cuban government during their U.S.
visit, Iriepa and her husband plan to return next fall to the island.
"We are people who have a life project," Estrada said. "We have a group
of people who identify with us. We are the most visible face of the
Cuban LGBT community."
IF YOU GO
What: Conversation in Spanish with Cuban LGBT activists Wendy Iriepa and
Ignacio Estrada Cepero
When: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, Room 7128, 500 NE Second Ave.
Cost: Free
Source: "Cuban LGBT dissidents visiting Miami: Don't believe Mariela
Castro about gay rights on the island | Steve Rothaus' Gay South
Florida" -
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/gaysouthflorida/2013/07/cuban-lgbt-dissidents-visiting-miami-dont-believe-mariela-castro-about-gay-rights-on-the-island.html
The first MLB game since 1961 aired in Cuba — but it was two months old
The first MLB game since 1961 aired in Cuba — but it was two months old
By Mike Oz | Big League Stew
(AP)
Cuba, the baseball-loving country that gave us Yasiel Puig, hadn't shown
an MLB game on its state TV channel since 1961. That changed Sunday.
You might think the people of Cuba got a chance to see Puig, or fellow
defected MLB stars such as Yoenis Cespedes or Aroldis Chapman. In fact,
it was none of those three. It wasn't even a team with a Cuban player.
It was the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. In a game they
played May 2.
According to an Associated Press report, Cubans were excited to see
American baseball on TV, until they realized what it was.
''It's interesting to see how they play, but I can't say it thrilled me
all that much because I don't know any of the players,'' said Diego
Sierra, 67. ''I would really like to see the Cubans, see how they are
developing in that league, really see how well they are doing" ...
''I watched this game for about 45 minutes and didn't think much of
it,'' said Margarita Roman, a 46-year-old devotee of Havana's powerhouse
team, Industriales. ''Besides, there weren't any Cubans. That's what
interests us.''
''But things are changing so I hope the next step is to show a game with
our compatriots, and if it can be live, all the better,'' she added.
(Getty Images)
The game was boiled down to about an hour and a half, with no
commercials and Cuban announcers dubbed over the Americans. The AP said
it wasn't clear whether MLB actually granted permission to show the
game, or if Cuba TV just showed it without approval, as it does with
other American TV.
Cuban baseball fans want to see the Cuban players because it's otherwise
hard to follow their careers in a Communist country with
state-controlled media, which doesn't report on defectors such as Puig
and Cespedes. That could be a reason why two teams with no Cuban players
were shown. Glorifying the defectors might be a no-no.
We'll find out if in another two months Cuba shows a Los Angeles Dodgers
game edited so Puig strikes out every time he's up.
Source: "The first MLB game since 1961 aired in Cuba — but it was two
months old | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports" -
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/first-mlb-game-since-1961-aired-cuba-two-203407161.html;_ylt=A2KJ2PbQqNJRkyIAb3TQtDMD
By Mike Oz | Big League Stew
(AP)
Cuba, the baseball-loving country that gave us Yasiel Puig, hadn't shown
an MLB game on its state TV channel since 1961. That changed Sunday.
You might think the people of Cuba got a chance to see Puig, or fellow
defected MLB stars such as Yoenis Cespedes or Aroldis Chapman. In fact,
it was none of those three. It wasn't even a team with a Cuban player.
It was the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals. In a game they
played May 2.
According to an Associated Press report, Cubans were excited to see
American baseball on TV, until they realized what it was.
''It's interesting to see how they play, but I can't say it thrilled me
all that much because I don't know any of the players,'' said Diego
Sierra, 67. ''I would really like to see the Cubans, see how they are
developing in that league, really see how well they are doing" ...
''I watched this game for about 45 minutes and didn't think much of
it,'' said Margarita Roman, a 46-year-old devotee of Havana's powerhouse
team, Industriales. ''Besides, there weren't any Cubans. That's what
interests us.''
''But things are changing so I hope the next step is to show a game with
our compatriots, and if it can be live, all the better,'' she added.
(Getty Images)
The game was boiled down to about an hour and a half, with no
commercials and Cuban announcers dubbed over the Americans. The AP said
it wasn't clear whether MLB actually granted permission to show the
game, or if Cuba TV just showed it without approval, as it does with
other American TV.
Cuban baseball fans want to see the Cuban players because it's otherwise
hard to follow their careers in a Communist country with
state-controlled media, which doesn't report on defectors such as Puig
and Cespedes. That could be a reason why two teams with no Cuban players
were shown. Glorifying the defectors might be a no-no.
We'll find out if in another two months Cuba shows a Los Angeles Dodgers
game edited so Puig strikes out every time he's up.
Source: "The first MLB game since 1961 aired in Cuba — but it was two
months old | Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports" -
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/first-mlb-game-since-1961-aired-cuba-two-203407161.html;_ylt=A2KJ2PbQqNJRkyIAb3TQtDMD
Report says Cuban economic growth hasn’t quickened despite reforms
Posted on Monday, 07.01.13
Report says Cuban economic growth hasn't quickened despite reforms
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuba said Monday its economy will grow by no more than 3 percent this
year, about the same as in 2012 but far short of the 3.6 percent goal
and another indication that ruler Raúl Castro's reforms are generating
little new economic activity.
Castro, nevertheless, seemed pleased with the reports on his reforms
submitted Friday to a meeting of the Council of Ministers and detailed
in a story Monday in Granma, the official newspaper of the ruling
Communist Party.
"We continue advancing and the results can be seen. We are moving at a
faster pace than can be imagined by those who criticize our supposed
slow pace and ignore the difficulties that we face," he was quoted as
saying at the meeting.
Since succeeding older brother Fidel in 2008, Castro has allowed more
private enterprise and cut state payrolls and subsidies. But many
economists have dismissed his reforms as too slow and too weak to rescue
Cuba's Soviet-styled economy.
Minister of the Economy and planning Adel Yzquierdo told the Cabinet
meeting that he expects Gross Domestic Product will grow by between 2.5
and 3 percent, far short of the 3.6 percent goal. The country's GDP grew
by 3 percent last year.
GDP growth for the first half of this year was estimated at 2.3 percent,
compared to 2.1 percent for the same period last year, he added. Cuba
uses a unique way of counting GDP that exaggerates the number when
compared to other countries.
Yzquierdo blamed the shortcomings on a broad range of factors that went
from last year's Hurricane Sandy — it caused an estimated $2 billion in
damages — to what Granma called "the deficiencies that are part and
parcel of the Cuban economy."
Granma and Yzquierdo ticked off a list of reasons for the economic
stagnation, from delays in projects to broken contracts and "the low
productivity and shortage of the labor force" as well as the economic
situation in Latin America and the rest of the world.
Spending on social services remained stable for the first semester of
this year, Yzquierdo declared, and many parts of the economy grew at a
2.9 percent clip or better. But the sugar harvest fell 192,000 tons
short of goal and bean production fell 6,000 tons short.
Government spending on construction and other capital projects was 16.6
percent higher than in the first semester last year but 9 percent short
of goal because of delays and others issues, the minister said.
Exports grew by 5 percent, Granma reported, and lower prices on imported
food meant savings of $168 million. But shortcomings in Cuban farming
forced the government to import an unplanned $46 million worth of food.
Cuba must import more than 70 percent of the food items it consumes, at
a cost of more than $1.5 billion a year.
Underlining Cuba's economic stagnation, Vice President Marino Murillo,
in charge of implementing the Castro reforms, told the Cabinet that the
government will "promote" the use of bicycles to cover gaps in public
transportation, according to Granma.
"We will evaluate the sale at cost of parts for their maintenance,"
Murillo was quoted as saying in the lengthy Granma report summing up the
Cabinet meeting.
The government sold Cubans more than 1 million bicycles, most of them
made in China, after the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s and
halted it massive cash and oil subsidies to the communist-ruled island.
But by 1996 about one-third of Havana residents had stopped using their
bikes because of the lack of spare parts, the bad state of Cuba's
streets and lack of night lights, according to a report in 2011 by the
Agence France Press news agency.
The AFP report noted that Havana authorities had already decided to cut
the price of spare parts by 30 percent, guarantee the work of 105 repair
shops and 110 air pumping stations and try to create about 100 miles of
bike lanes.
Murillo also listed a series of problems with the public transportation
system — bus passengers not paying their fares and bus company employees
stealing the money, and a black market for fuel and spare parts mostly
stolen from state enterprises.
The government plans to use plastic cards to control fuel purchases by
public transport employees — the principal source of black market fuel —
crack down on the theft and offer higher salaries to sector workers, he
said, without raising prices.
Source: "Report says Cuban economic growth hasn't quickened despite
reforms - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/01/3480625/report-says-cuban-economy-is.html
Report says Cuban economic growth hasn't quickened despite reforms
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
JTAMAYO@ELNUEVOHERALD.COM
Cuba said Monday its economy will grow by no more than 3 percent this
year, about the same as in 2012 but far short of the 3.6 percent goal
and another indication that ruler Raúl Castro's reforms are generating
little new economic activity.
Castro, nevertheless, seemed pleased with the reports on his reforms
submitted Friday to a meeting of the Council of Ministers and detailed
in a story Monday in Granma, the official newspaper of the ruling
Communist Party.
"We continue advancing and the results can be seen. We are moving at a
faster pace than can be imagined by those who criticize our supposed
slow pace and ignore the difficulties that we face," he was quoted as
saying at the meeting.
Since succeeding older brother Fidel in 2008, Castro has allowed more
private enterprise and cut state payrolls and subsidies. But many
economists have dismissed his reforms as too slow and too weak to rescue
Cuba's Soviet-styled economy.
Minister of the Economy and planning Adel Yzquierdo told the Cabinet
meeting that he expects Gross Domestic Product will grow by between 2.5
and 3 percent, far short of the 3.6 percent goal. The country's GDP grew
by 3 percent last year.
GDP growth for the first half of this year was estimated at 2.3 percent,
compared to 2.1 percent for the same period last year, he added. Cuba
uses a unique way of counting GDP that exaggerates the number when
compared to other countries.
Yzquierdo blamed the shortcomings on a broad range of factors that went
from last year's Hurricane Sandy — it caused an estimated $2 billion in
damages — to what Granma called "the deficiencies that are part and
parcel of the Cuban economy."
Granma and Yzquierdo ticked off a list of reasons for the economic
stagnation, from delays in projects to broken contracts and "the low
productivity and shortage of the labor force" as well as the economic
situation in Latin America and the rest of the world.
Spending on social services remained stable for the first semester of
this year, Yzquierdo declared, and many parts of the economy grew at a
2.9 percent clip or better. But the sugar harvest fell 192,000 tons
short of goal and bean production fell 6,000 tons short.
Government spending on construction and other capital projects was 16.6
percent higher than in the first semester last year but 9 percent short
of goal because of delays and others issues, the minister said.
Exports grew by 5 percent, Granma reported, and lower prices on imported
food meant savings of $168 million. But shortcomings in Cuban farming
forced the government to import an unplanned $46 million worth of food.
Cuba must import more than 70 percent of the food items it consumes, at
a cost of more than $1.5 billion a year.
Underlining Cuba's economic stagnation, Vice President Marino Murillo,
in charge of implementing the Castro reforms, told the Cabinet that the
government will "promote" the use of bicycles to cover gaps in public
transportation, according to Granma.
"We will evaluate the sale at cost of parts for their maintenance,"
Murillo was quoted as saying in the lengthy Granma report summing up the
Cabinet meeting.
The government sold Cubans more than 1 million bicycles, most of them
made in China, after the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990s and
halted it massive cash and oil subsidies to the communist-ruled island.
But by 1996 about one-third of Havana residents had stopped using their
bikes because of the lack of spare parts, the bad state of Cuba's
streets and lack of night lights, according to a report in 2011 by the
Agence France Press news agency.
The AFP report noted that Havana authorities had already decided to cut
the price of spare parts by 30 percent, guarantee the work of 105 repair
shops and 110 air pumping stations and try to create about 100 miles of
bike lanes.
Murillo also listed a series of problems with the public transportation
system — bus passengers not paying their fares and bus company employees
stealing the money, and a black market for fuel and spare parts mostly
stolen from state enterprises.
The government plans to use plastic cards to control fuel purchases by
public transport employees — the principal source of black market fuel —
crack down on the theft and offer higher salaries to sector workers, he
said, without raising prices.
Source: "Report says Cuban economic growth hasn't quickened despite
reforms - Cuba - MiamiHerald.com" -
http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/01/3480625/report-says-cuban-economy-is.html
Monday, July 1, 2013
Everyone’s Task
Everyone's Task / Fernando Damaso
Posted on June 30, 2013
If we observe the behaviour of the Cuban economy in 2012 and the first
half of 2013, what becomes clear is that, in spite of the "updating" and
new "guidelines" (which amount to nothing more than a simple wish-list),
there are no significant achievements to indicate that at least we are
on the right path.
Neither agriculture (a real disaster), nor industry, nor construction,
nor transport have shown improvement. On the contrary, they remain
laggards, failing to make a collective contribution to the country or to
improve the lives of its citizens.
The only successes to be reported are in what is referred to as
international collaboration (the hiring out of professionals at
low-cost) and tourism. Reaching a level of two million visitors a year
(a ridiculous figure for any country in the region) has been billed as
"a great achievement" in spite of all the many projects and all the
foreign capital invested in this sector.
What is really going on? The effectiveness of the few measures taken so
far has been limited by absurd restrictions and excessively slow
implementation (so in that sense nothing is new). They hinder
development and, worse yet, do not completely free up productive forces
or allow for economic expansion in all areas.
Politics continues to be focused on the economy. Out of fear of having
to pay the costs for decades of mistakes and volunteerism (which by
necessity will have to be paid), the economy is being sacrificed. Bets
are being placed on an uncertain, miraculous future, the discovery of
oil, a change in U.S. policy, a Latin American economic union, and even
effects from widening the Panama Canal and the possibilities presented
by the port of Mariel. The hope is that one of these developments will
get our chestnuts out of the fire.
Cuba's economic problems, as well as its political and social problems,
have been multiplied many times over. They must be resolved by all
Cubans — those here and those overseas — with our resources, efforts and
intelligence. As long as this participation is premised on accepting
absurd and archaic political restrictions, and as long as a small group
of "chosen ones" retain control of the thunder key — the only ones
capable of doing anything in spite of their multiple failures – very
little will be accomplished.
28 June 2013
Source: "Everyone's Task / Fernando Damaso | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/everyones-task-fernando-damaso/
Posted on June 30, 2013
If we observe the behaviour of the Cuban economy in 2012 and the first
half of 2013, what becomes clear is that, in spite of the "updating" and
new "guidelines" (which amount to nothing more than a simple wish-list),
there are no significant achievements to indicate that at least we are
on the right path.
Neither agriculture (a real disaster), nor industry, nor construction,
nor transport have shown improvement. On the contrary, they remain
laggards, failing to make a collective contribution to the country or to
improve the lives of its citizens.
The only successes to be reported are in what is referred to as
international collaboration (the hiring out of professionals at
low-cost) and tourism. Reaching a level of two million visitors a year
(a ridiculous figure for any country in the region) has been billed as
"a great achievement" in spite of all the many projects and all the
foreign capital invested in this sector.
What is really going on? The effectiveness of the few measures taken so
far has been limited by absurd restrictions and excessively slow
implementation (so in that sense nothing is new). They hinder
development and, worse yet, do not completely free up productive forces
or allow for economic expansion in all areas.
Politics continues to be focused on the economy. Out of fear of having
to pay the costs for decades of mistakes and volunteerism (which by
necessity will have to be paid), the economy is being sacrificed. Bets
are being placed on an uncertain, miraculous future, the discovery of
oil, a change in U.S. policy, a Latin American economic union, and even
effects from widening the Panama Canal and the possibilities presented
by the port of Mariel. The hope is that one of these developments will
get our chestnuts out of the fire.
Cuba's economic problems, as well as its political and social problems,
have been multiplied many times over. They must be resolved by all
Cubans — those here and those overseas — with our resources, efforts and
intelligence. As long as this participation is premised on accepting
absurd and archaic political restrictions, and as long as a small group
of "chosen ones" retain control of the thunder key — the only ones
capable of doing anything in spite of their multiple failures – very
little will be accomplished.
28 June 2013
Source: "Everyone's Task / Fernando Damaso | Translating Cuba" -
http://translatingcuba.com/everyones-task-fernando-damaso/
Pitcher Abandons Team Cuba in Paris
Pitcher Abandons Team Cuba in Paris
June 30, 2013
by Ray Otero*
HAVANA TIMES — History repeats itself again. A Cuban team taking part in
a tournament being held in the Netherlands must do so without one of its
pitchers. It happened in 2009 and 2011 with lefties Aroldis Chapman and
Gerardo Concepcion, both now involved in US Major League Baseball. The
latest desertion is Odrisamer Despaigne.
Despaigne, 26, a starter with Havana's Industriales in the Cuban league
and a member of Team Cuba's squad at international tournaments, left the
Cuban team at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, on the stopover in
route to Rotterdam, Holland for a tournament that began on Sunday.
Despaigne, who is the son of former Cuban pitcher, Juan Rafael
Despaigne, presumably seeks reunion with his father who now lives in
Spain, while his real intentions are suspected to be attempting to play
professional baseball in the USA.
Odrisamer participated in 8 Cuban baseball seasons with Industriales. In
the recently concluded season he had a 10-5 record and a 3.27 ERA while
striking out 98 in 143 innings pitched. Despite his good year his team
did not make it to the playoffs.
—–
(*) Follow the stories of Ray Otero and Peter C. Bjarkman at
Baseballdecuba.com.
Source: "Cuban baseball loses Odrisamer Despaigne" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95620
June 30, 2013
by Ray Otero*
HAVANA TIMES — History repeats itself again. A Cuban team taking part in
a tournament being held in the Netherlands must do so without one of its
pitchers. It happened in 2009 and 2011 with lefties Aroldis Chapman and
Gerardo Concepcion, both now involved in US Major League Baseball. The
latest desertion is Odrisamer Despaigne.
Despaigne, 26, a starter with Havana's Industriales in the Cuban league
and a member of Team Cuba's squad at international tournaments, left the
Cuban team at the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, on the stopover in
route to Rotterdam, Holland for a tournament that began on Sunday.
Despaigne, who is the son of former Cuban pitcher, Juan Rafael
Despaigne, presumably seeks reunion with his father who now lives in
Spain, while his real intentions are suspected to be attempting to play
professional baseball in the USA.
Odrisamer participated in 8 Cuban baseball seasons with Industriales. In
the recently concluded season he had a 10-5 record and a 3.27 ERA while
striking out 98 in 143 innings pitched. Despite his good year his team
did not make it to the playoffs.
—–
(*) Follow the stories of Ray Otero and Peter C. Bjarkman at
Baseballdecuba.com.
Source: "Cuban baseball loses Odrisamer Despaigne" -
http://www.havanatimes.org/?p=95620
Cuba's non-farm co-ops debut this week amid move toward markets
Cuba's non-farm co-ops debut this week amid move toward markets
By Marc Frank
HAVANA | Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:23pm EDT
(Reuters) - One hundred state-run produce markets and 26 other
establishments were scheduled to become private cooperatives on Monday
as Communist-run Cuba continues to shed secondary economic activity in
favor of individual initiative and markets.
The cooperatives will be the first outside of agriculture since all
businesses were nationalized in 1968.
The government says many more establishments will follow, beginning in
2014, as an alternative to small and medium-sized state businesses in
retail and food services, transportation, light manufacturing and
construction, among other sectors.
The produce markets were supplied exclusively by the state, which also
set prices and wages.
As cooperatives they will now purchase produce from any source and set
their own prices, with the exception of a few state supplied staples,
for example rice, chick peas and potatoes in Havana.
At one of the dozens of Havana markets set to become cooperatives this
week, the mood was festive on Saturday as workers painted the dark and
dingy premises, fixed broken bins and in general spruced up the place on
their last day as state employees.
"We were given the choice of working as a cooperative member or being
laid off," Antonio Rivera, a worker turned member, said.
"I think we will be better off so I joined," he said.
On Sunday the 100 markets took inventory and made other preparations,
before their adventure into the country's growing "non-state" sector began.
President Raul Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel in 2008, has
already taken steps to deregulate small private businesses in the retail
sector, lease small state shops and taxis to individual employees and
fallow state lands to would-be small farmers in search of improved
production and efficiency.
According to the government, more than 430,000 people now work in the
non-state sector which consists of private entrepreneurs, their
employees and individuals who own or lease taxis and the like.
The figure does not include some 2,000 agricultural cooperatives and
400,000 small farmers.
MARKET ECONOMICS HAILED
The new cooperative markets average 15 or fewer members and will lease
their premises from the state.
They will function independently of state entities and businesses, set
prices in cases where they are not fixed by the state, operate on a
democratic basis, divide profit as they see fit and receive better tax
treatment than individually owned businesses, according to a decree law
published in December.
The law allows for an unlimited number of members and use of contracted
employees on a three-month basis.
The newly elected administrator of one market said that for weeks they
had been making contact with farm cooperatives in preparation for
Monday, and could also buy from individual farmers and state farms and
wholesale markets.
"I'm sure the public will benefit. The produce will be of better
quality, there will be better service and people will go where the
prices are the lowest," he said, asking his name not be used because he
feared he would get into trouble for talking to a foreign journalist.
"There will be more competition and the winners will be those who do the
best job," he said, adding, "everything will depend on us and we will
have to look for merchandise wherever because if we don't we will not
make anything."
Consumers appeared to support the measure, though some fretted over a
possible increase in prices.
"They should have done this long ago," Soledad Martinez said as she
shopped at the market on Saturday.
"Now there will be a greater variety and we will be treated better. I
just hope prices decrease a bit and do not go up," she said.
Cuban authorities began discussing three years ago how to transform
bankrupt small and medium-sized state businesses - plagued by pilfering,
embezzlement and general inefficiency - into cooperatives.
The Communist Party adopted a sweeping five-year plan to "update" the
economy in 2011, which included moving more than 20 percent of the state
labor force of 5 million people into a new "non-state" sector of private
and cooperative businesses.`
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
Source: "Cuba's non-farm co-ops debut this week amid move toward markets
| Reuters" -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/30/us-cuba-reform-cooperatives-idUSBRE95T0C120130630
By Marc Frank
HAVANA | Sun Jun 30, 2013 1:23pm EDT
(Reuters) - One hundred state-run produce markets and 26 other
establishments were scheduled to become private cooperatives on Monday
as Communist-run Cuba continues to shed secondary economic activity in
favor of individual initiative and markets.
The cooperatives will be the first outside of agriculture since all
businesses were nationalized in 1968.
The government says many more establishments will follow, beginning in
2014, as an alternative to small and medium-sized state businesses in
retail and food services, transportation, light manufacturing and
construction, among other sectors.
The produce markets were supplied exclusively by the state, which also
set prices and wages.
As cooperatives they will now purchase produce from any source and set
their own prices, with the exception of a few state supplied staples,
for example rice, chick peas and potatoes in Havana.
At one of the dozens of Havana markets set to become cooperatives this
week, the mood was festive on Saturday as workers painted the dark and
dingy premises, fixed broken bins and in general spruced up the place on
their last day as state employees.
"We were given the choice of working as a cooperative member or being
laid off," Antonio Rivera, a worker turned member, said.
"I think we will be better off so I joined," he said.
On Sunday the 100 markets took inventory and made other preparations,
before their adventure into the country's growing "non-state" sector began.
President Raul Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel in 2008, has
already taken steps to deregulate small private businesses in the retail
sector, lease small state shops and taxis to individual employees and
fallow state lands to would-be small farmers in search of improved
production and efficiency.
According to the government, more than 430,000 people now work in the
non-state sector which consists of private entrepreneurs, their
employees and individuals who own or lease taxis and the like.
The figure does not include some 2,000 agricultural cooperatives and
400,000 small farmers.
MARKET ECONOMICS HAILED
The new cooperative markets average 15 or fewer members and will lease
their premises from the state.
They will function independently of state entities and businesses, set
prices in cases where they are not fixed by the state, operate on a
democratic basis, divide profit as they see fit and receive better tax
treatment than individually owned businesses, according to a decree law
published in December.
The law allows for an unlimited number of members and use of contracted
employees on a three-month basis.
The newly elected administrator of one market said that for weeks they
had been making contact with farm cooperatives in preparation for
Monday, and could also buy from individual farmers and state farms and
wholesale markets.
"I'm sure the public will benefit. The produce will be of better
quality, there will be better service and people will go where the
prices are the lowest," he said, asking his name not be used because he
feared he would get into trouble for talking to a foreign journalist.
"There will be more competition and the winners will be those who do the
best job," he said, adding, "everything will depend on us and we will
have to look for merchandise wherever because if we don't we will not
make anything."
Consumers appeared to support the measure, though some fretted over a
possible increase in prices.
"They should have done this long ago," Soledad Martinez said as she
shopped at the market on Saturday.
"Now there will be a greater variety and we will be treated better. I
just hope prices decrease a bit and do not go up," she said.
Cuban authorities began discussing three years ago how to transform
bankrupt small and medium-sized state businesses - plagued by pilfering,
embezzlement and general inefficiency - into cooperatives.
The Communist Party adopted a sweeping five-year plan to "update" the
economy in 2011, which included moving more than 20 percent of the state
labor force of 5 million people into a new "non-state" sector of private
and cooperative businesses.`
(Editing by Eric Walsh)
Source: "Cuba's non-farm co-ops debut this week amid move toward markets
| Reuters" -
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/30/us-cuba-reform-cooperatives-idUSBRE95T0C120130630
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