Jose Marti in Key West, Batista at the Miami Beach Rotary Club, Fidel holding forth at the Flagler Theater, JFK at the Orange Bowl greeting the troops he abandoned at the Bay of Pigs – all this, plus cityscapes and a photographic chronicle of el exilio from the first Calle Ocho bodegas to sights and personalities we recognize today.
In Historic Photos of Cuban Miami, author Jennifer Ortiz scoured photo archives to create a well selected, well captioned sweep of a city with longer links to
Two favorites: a poignant shot of a meeting of the Bayamo city government in exile (slogan: “Nada tengo mientras no tengo patria”) and a circa-1965 backyard scene where an Anglo cop is talking to a Cuban family, apparently about that pig hanging by its nose from that tree near the picnic table over there…
Find it here.
This Sancti Spiritus tire repairman does good work, aided by supplies he picked up while visiting family in 
compressor cannibalized from a 60-year-old Westinghouse commercial refrigerator. Like every other ponchero I have seen, he has rigged up an old clothes iron to seal patches on tubes.
He pays 60 pesos a month in taxes and charged me two convertible pesos to fix my car tire.
He’s friendly, but don’t ask for favors. His signs read, “No credit. Your problem is not mine.” And: “I don’t give or lend. Don’t waste your time.”
A reader asks if it’s true that the Cuban government has “in the past has gone over the heads of the local church officials and negotiated directly with the
Yes, the Cuban government has at times sidelined the Cuban Catholic Church in its direct contacts with the
But I don’t think that is true regarding seminaries. My understanding is that while Pope John Paul II raised the issue of a new seminary in a very public way during his visit to
The inaccuracy in the article, I’m quite sure, is my fault and not that of reporter Juan Tamayo.
An interesting and positive aspect of the recent talks between the Church and the government is that they did not center on internal Church issues but rather on prisoners and human rights, and that the Cuban government is recognizing the Church as a valid interlocutor in such talks.
To “better ensure that the
It’s part of a commitment to “expanding citizens' engagement between our countries,” it will be coordinated by an Under Secretary of State, and will help us “tap in to the challenge of our people, their creative and innovation, and their ability to forge lasting relationships that build trust and understanding.”
This is the passage from the May 20 address by Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela to the Cuban American National Foundation that dealt with Cuba:
“This brings me once again to
“During the first 16 months of the Obama administration, we have begun to make progress on the vision that the President has outlined. First, we have taken measures to increase contact between separated families and to promote the free flow of information to, from, and within
“We have also increased artistic and cultural exchanges between our countries, consistent with our long-standing support for freedom of expression. The ‘Peace Without Borders’ concert in Havana and performances in the United States by noted Cuban artists such as Carlos Varela demonstrate in concrete terms our desire to promote greater communication between the people of the United States and Cuba. In 2009, there was an 80 percent increase in travel licenses issued to
“We remain deeply concerned by the poor human rights situation in
“Again, we are committed to continuously evaluating and refining our policies in ways that will empower the Cuban people and advance our national interests. This does not, however, mean that we will shy away from condemning the Cuban government’s repressive ways—far from it. Just last March, President Obama stated, ‘Cuban authorities continue to respond to the aspirations of the Cuban people with a clenched fist.’ That response is discouraging, but will not deter us from pursing the policy approach the President has laid out and which we have been working hard to advance since
Reuters reported Saturday and AP yesterday that the Cuban government has told Church officials that political prisoners will be transferred this week to jails closer to their homes (to families’ frustration, they are often jailed very far from their homes) and some will be moved to hospitals for medical care.
It’s not clear when or how this will take place, or if the transfer to hospitals will amount to a de facto suspension of the sentences for those prisoners, as has happened to others released for medical reasons.
Also: Cuban Colada translates excerpts of Cardinal Ortega’s press conference last week and links to the transcript (pdf) of it.
“Cardinal Ortega describes dialogue between Raul and ecclesiastical authorities as positive” – headline of a May 21 Granma article that gives a brief account of a press conference by Cardinal Ortega, then runs the text of a Church press release on the upcoming visit of the Vatican Secretary of State, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
The release concludes by saying that Mamberti’s visit “is not related to the efforts that the Church in
Cardinal Ortega spoke with reporters in
Press accounts from MSNBC, the Herald, and Notimex. Others rounded up at Penultimos Dias.
Video above from Cuban television, h/t Diario de Cuba.
The Washington Post has a long story on USAID contractor Alan Gross, who has been detained in
Against a backdrop of farm output that is lower than last year’s, and with newly distributed farmlands not yet being used to their potential,
ANAP’s members are individual farmers and members of two kinds of cooperatives; according to the economy minister, they have 41 percent of
The recommendations are in an ANAP document summarizing the conference’s treatment of issues affecting farm production. In addition to calling for “resolving the problem of credits” for new landholders, it calls for several changes in the distribution system that have the common thread of asking the government to get out of the way.
About 30 percent of these producers’ output goes to farmers markets, where prices move according to supply and demand. The rest is contracted by the state, and ANAP is calling for several changes: expanding direct sales to consumer outlets, as is already occurring in the case of milk; allowing cooperatives to contract directly with state enterprises; and allowing cooperatives to sell directly to hotels and restaurants in the tourism sector.
All these measures would reduce if not end the role of the acopio, the agriculture ministry’s enterprises that collect, transport, and distribute food. Which may be why things are moving slowly.
Sales to the tourism sector is a non-issue as far as the Cuban public is concerned, but it’s a good indicator of the dead weight of bureaucracy and regulation on Cuban agriculture. Amazingly,
The fact that ideas such as these appear in an ANAP document are no guarantee that they will be adopted. But I would bet that things will continue moving in the direction of decentralized sales and distribution. ANAP is a “mass organization,” part of the Revolution; these ideas are coming from inside the tent.
Sources cited above: Cuban Colada summarizing the official statistics showing drops in selected areas of production, and the economy minister’s speech indicating that of the 920,000 hectares of farmland recently distributed, half remain unused or under-used.
Also, coverage from IPS, the Herald, AP, and Juventud Rebelde.
Typically, we Americans figured that
“No one really imagined that Cuba would be on the receiving end,” the Environmental Defense Fund’s Dan Whittle told the Herald, now that the Gulf oil spill – an American screw-up – has entered the Loop Current, putting Florida and Cuba at risk.
The network of scientists from the
And according to the Herald, the State Department says that “low, technical level” contacts have taken place between
Update: From ABC News, regarding talks with
According to Gordon Duguid, a spokesman for the department, the talks are ongoing and said there is no word yet as to their outcome.
“It is incumbent upon us to inform all of our neighbors, not just the islands, but those countries that could be affected by disasters that happen within our territorial waters,” Duguid said.
“We have had working level discussions with the Cuban government to keep them informed of developments,” a State Department official said later, speaking on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss ongoing diplomatic engagements.
“We provided background related to the cause of the spill, stressed that stopping the oil leak is our top priority, and explained the projected movement of the spill as it was known at the time of the communication. We also communicated
Reuters reports a new deal for the drivers of 16-seat Chinese buses operated by the state enterprise Cubataxi.
First, no more salary. Second, the driver gets the bus and fuel, charges the established fares, brings back 824 pesos at the end of the shift, and keeps the rest.
As in the case of other pilot projects, this one has not been announced.
What to do about employment in Cuba, a issue that is of greater-than-usual interest since Raul Castro noted in a speech last month that the state’s inflated payrolls may include up to one million excess workers?
Some ideas are appearing in the letters to the editor of Granma, and today three letters advance the idea of converting small state enterprises into cooperatives or some similar scheme.
None mention the initial changes already made in this direction in barber shops and beauty shops, a development that to my knowledge has not been noted in Cuban media.
A letter from one J. Martinez Montes, titled “Regarding the workforce restructuring that the country will have to implement,” says this:
“Whether private, cooperative, mixed association, or however we want to label the way of setting up non-strategic economic activities…food service, sweets shops and bakeries, small stores, workshops, repair shops, etc., could very well become new sources of employment and opportunities for the creativity of Cubans…There are very good examples of these practices; take China, Vietnam, and other countries where the state sets taxes and provides raw materials…”
Then a letter signed by J. L. Marichal Castillo, headlined “The issue is not to privatize, but to socialize,” emphasizes the need for rules and enforcement:
“In many opinions the term ‘privatize’ is used, as if there didn’t exist formulas to socialize production and services such as cooperatives, production or service associations, etc. The name can vary, what is important is the content…The food service sector is often discussed, but these changes should include all possible sectors and for those that remain state entities, changes will have to be introduced too… The state should continue to own installations, buildings, etc. It should charge fair prices for everything, require social security and tax payments, and without doubt, have the legal capacity to intervene and even dissolve any type of organization when its auditors or other police organs (and that is not constant harassment) detect infracions incompatible with socialist legality.”
J. Miguel Valdes, a student at the CUJAE engineering and technology university, agrees. He gently urges Randy Alonso of the Mesa Redonda television program to turn his analytical powers toward measures that Cubans themselves can take to fix the economy:
“In my opinion I believe that changes are urgently needed in the economic thinking of our country. I am not an economist but I believe that to permit, for example, the existence of private property in non-strategic means of production, such as food service – and always in a controlled way with taxes, fair licenses, assurance of the delivery of raw materials, etc. – far from overturning advances already achieved or creating a national bourgeoisie, would combat the diversion of resources that causes so much harm to the nation and would improve substantially the quality of services that is now terrible in almost all public establishments… I am of the belief that such important programs as the Mesa Redonda should analyze more frequently and more rigorously the domestic economic problems and inform the public in a concrete way of the measures taken to solve them. Although it is beyond doubt how much the economic blockade and all the aggressive policy associated with it harms us, I think that much more can be done to improve the economic situation of the country.”
The Cuban economy has many advantages, foremost among them the capabilities of its people. There are many formulas that could be employed to lift the economy, generating new jobs and income without changing the socialist character of the Cuban system.
But the system must first permit itself to accept that some new forms of property and organization – such as cooperatives, already employed in the farm sector – are fully compatible with socialism when employed in cities.
The presentation of these ideas in the Organo Oficial del Partido Comunista de Cuba doesn’t indicate that the system has made that leap, but it indicates a clear decision that it’s time to talk about it. Which can’t be a bad thing.
For another look at employment issues, see this article from El Pais.
“…the willingness to meet and to engage in dialogue, for understanding and consensus, is the best service we can offer in the interest of the general well-being of the nation. Achieving this well-being, it must be said, today involves: achieving a definitive agreement for the treatment of the Damas de Blanco, resolving the sensitive problem of those imprisoned for political reasons, finding the best way so that each Cuban may express his opinions and always seek consensus among all, reformulating the cultura antropológica of the Cuban person, recasting economic structures, and achieving the best relations with all the world, also with the United States.”
– from an editorial (pdf) on the Catholic church’s mediation role in Espacio Laical, the
Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, the
The “social week” taking place June 16-20 is the tenth conference of this type. It will begin with a talk on “The State and Laity” by Archbishop Mamberti in the ceremonial lecture hall of the
Meanwhile, the Damas de Blanco are expressing hope for prisoner releases during the Archbishop’s visit (see AFP story here).
In advance of the annual conference of
The conference begins tomorrow.
The ANAP president, Orlando Lugo, says that among the proposals, there will be some “to eliminate obstacles in the comercialización” of farm products, using a word that Cubans use to refer to sales, transportation, and distribution. He also says some changes will take time – naturally – because they “require changes in the structure and size of the enterprise system, creating new entities and dissolving others.”
This is clear as mud; hopefully Granma will cover the actual proposals at equal length.
For now, I’ll speculate a little. I wonder if by the “enterprise system” he is referring to the acopio, the bureaucratic behemoth that collects, transports, and distributes produce to consumers through the monthly ration system and to institutions such as hospitals and schools. The writing has been on the wall for acopio or some time. First, through the idea broached by Raul Castro and others of ending universal monthly food rations. Second, through new direct distribution schemes that bypass acopio altogether. And third, through stories that have shown that the government could not handle distribution of increased farm production, and produce rotted awaiting pick-up.
We’ll see what is actually proposed at a conference that, according to the Granma stories, promises to address all the concerns raised at the local level by individual farmers, and to present success stories and best practices that can be applied across
Granma’s editors give themselves a little pat on the back for their letters section, which is a year old today. It does make for interesting reading. It includes a section featuring responses from government agencies.
For example, this letter complains that an empty agriculture ministry bus headed eastbound from Pinar del
The section also includes a note giving citizens an e-mail address and phone numbers where they can direct complaints about agriculture, and the note indicates that the minister has ordered his people to respond.
Reuters reports that Repsol is having a rig built in safety-conscious communist China for use when it returns to drilling in
While the popular rumor of Chinese companies drilling in those waters may not pan out, with Chinese flags atop rigs a stone’s throw from Florida, it looks like the next rig that operates there will be of Chinese manufacture. Why source the job to
So if the thing ever goes operational and there’s a problem with the rig, or a spill, the scenario will not only be that American officials will be trying to make contact with Cuban officials for the first time, but the operator may also be trying to FedEx the needed parts from, say, Shanghai.
Great!
In January I noted a report that
Today a reader passed me an article from the energy specialist Argus Media that reports that the negotiations with the Spanish company are still not yet concluded. Excerpt:
The negotiations are intended to “create a state of equilibrium to benefit both parties,” the [Cupet] official said, and were needed because the original agreement “had run its course.”
The article, dated today, is not available on-line.
No wonder
A new minister has been named, notwithstanding the rumor that the ministry would be dissolved and replaced by a state enterprise that would, among other things, bring foreign investors in as partners to modernize plant and boose production.
Manuel Marrero, Cuba’s Minister of Tourism, says that the government has approved and will soon release a new “real estate development policy associated with tourism, fundamentally golf courses, marinas and other complementary tourist investments linked to tourism.” Here’s coverage from BBC, AP, and AFP Spanish.
For years there has been talk of golf course developments with real estate mixed in, and I have noted the rumors here many times, mainly as they appear in the British press. This is the first time I have seen a Cuban official address the subject.
If it pans out, it will be a concrete move to attract more foreign investment and to allow
We’ll watch the Gaceta Oficial to see what the minister has in mind.
Where would we be if the disaster unfolding in the The issue would be an urgent one for the
Since the
As it turns out, the ecological and economic disaster that has started south of
[Graphics from
Senator John Kerry’s staff at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has issued a report on Radio/TV Marti, saying “immediate action” is needed to “ensure the survivability” of the stations. I’m not holding my breath on either front – the “immediate action” or the implied threat to cut off funding if changes are not made. The recommendations at the end include nothing that would stop the abject waste of money on TV Marti. Zzzzzzzzzz. This “Metrorail Marti” idea is starting to grow on me.
