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Odds and ends
- Cuba has a new education minister, and Fidel Castro took the occasion to kick the old one as he was on his way out the door: he was “spent,” was taking one trip abroad per month, had lost “revolutionary consciousness,” and no one had confidence in him anymore. In this “special and important case,” Fidel writes, “I was fully consulted and informed.”
- From Fortune magazine, a brief look at U.S. companies’ property claims in Cuba. The author of the Creighton University study of the subject (discussed here and here) tells the reporter that U.S. companies don’t want to be paid for their claims in money; rather, they want their “assets back or replacement assets or development rights.” In other words they are looking for a way to do business there, and their claims should count for something if and when they do. Of course, they can’t cut a deal of that type until the embargo ends. But the idea that for some corporate claimants, claims could be settled as part of deals that move the Cuban economy forward, as opposed to simply adding to Cuba’s financial burdens, is positive.
- Has anyone seen, anywhere on the Internet, the “Agenda para la Transicion” document announced last week, where dissidents agreed on more than 30 items regarding Cuba’s future?
- Speaking of dissidents, another article from Luis Cino at Cubanet (h/t Penultimos Dias) where he discusses the challenges facing Cuba’s opposition. To paraphrase: 1) repression; 2) irrelevance.
- The Economist, taken by the rumors that Cuba will legalize car sales, looks at the state of the market now.
4 comments:
While there has been a lot of talk on the seized assets of U.S. companies, I am more interested in business assets seized from the Cuban people. Often times, it seems as though very little mention is made of this - something I find rather offensive.
Pundits, etc, focus on assets seized from foreign owners but, what about those taken from the Cuban people themselves?
-Anatasio
I think if you look around you'll find plenty of discussion of Cuban citizens' claims against their own government. That's one of the big issues in Helms-Burton, and it is discussed very fully in the Creighton University study.
I'm pointing more to media coverage. I find the MSM has a tendency to focus only on U.S. claims, while forgetting that most of the property - business and otherwise - that was seized - was Cuban property.
Cheers,
Anatasio
Phil - I have been looking high and low for "Agenda para la transicion" since it was announced and zip. If I find it I will let you know. It's depressing to say this but it speaks volumes about the ability of the dissidents of the regime to publicize their work.
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