Odds and ends
- The President of Brazil, visiting Rome and meeting the Pope, called again on the United States to end its Cuba embargo. He spoke to President-elect Obama last Tuesday, according to EFE, but it’s not clear whether he discussed Cuba with him directly on the phone.
- CubaNews has an article (here, pdf) in its November issue on Cuba’s announcement that doubled its previous estimate of offshore oil reserves, and it includes an oil industry perspective that is skeptical of the new estimate. My thanks to CubaNews for permission to reproduce the article.
- Cuba named Rodrigo Malmierca, former vice minister for foreign investment, as the new foreign investment minister. He is Cuba’s UN ambassador and son of the late Isidoro Malmierca, Cuba’s foreign minister from 1976 to 1992. The Council of State’s brief notice is here; information on the new minister is here.
- Did you know that there is a Cuban government in exile, established under the 1940 constitution? With a full cabinet, viceministers, secret service, and a representative in the Dominican Republic? I didn’t either, but Rui Ferreira gets the press releases and he posted this government’s latest statement. The message: an Obama Administration is within its rights to negotiate with Cuba’s current government, but this group reserves the right not to recognize any agreement that may result.
Lula calls for an end to the embargo - that's fine but, how is it possible that he has never called for an end to the dictatorship? Seems as though Lula is barking up the wrong tree.
ReplyDeleteHow is a self-appointed government in exile any better than the current situation? What a joke. It looks like these people are trying to build up some legitimacy with the hopes of inserting themselves into control of Cuba if the opportunity should arise. I'm sure Cubans on the island would be just trilled to have these people show up and start running things for themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe self appointed gov. in exile are idiots.. i hope the cuban people have strong will against right wing luancy..
ReplyDeletethey need a center left candidate down there... thats the problem of cuba right now- status quo = extreme left, miami mafia= extreme right.
ouch, they need someone in between, someone who doesn 't worship blindly the "mircale of free markets" and "god" and likes platitudes of "liberty" , while align with bigots and nationalists, and someone who doesn't blindly beleive that 'gov. can save and protect' everything too.. .
The part about the government in exile having a secret service was just too much.
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