Entrepreneurial youths invent Isladentro, the Cuban Yelp
The new app serves as a guide to businesses and points of interest for
"disconnected" Cubans.
BY NORA GÁMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com
The talents of two young Cuban entrepreneurs came together to create
Isladentro, a cell phone app that mimics Yelp but can be used without an
Internet connection.
Indhira Sotillo, 32, one of the app's founders with Roberto Carlos
Vidal, told el Nuevo Herald during a visit to Miami their goal was "to
invent something that would give us information about where we could go,
places in Cuba we could visit — something like Google Maps and Yelp but
something that could be used without an (internet) connection."
Although the Cuban government has increased access to the internet
through public Wi-Fi points, Cubans still have one of the lowest access
rates in Latin America and slowest internet speeds — problems that led
to the creation of a number of apps that can be used without connections
to the Web.
Isladentro, a play on the Spanish words for "Inside the Island," seeks
to be the largest possible directory of the growing number of private
businesses and other places such as hospitals, banks and museums on the
island, Sotillo said. The business model is based not on the insertion
of advertisements but on monthly payments for listing businesses like
private restaurants, beauty salons and cell phone repair shops.
The operation has 21young employees who work on updating the software
and content and signing up new clients. "The information is gathered by
going from business to business, and we have a service that helps to
design the profile of businesses on the app," she said.
Sotillo added that some state-owned enterprises are paying to be
included on the app, although the majority of her clients are private
businesses. The company currently has more than 600 clients, at a price
of $5 per month. Sotillo, who graduated from accounting and finance,
acknowledged that it's sometimes difficult to sign up owners who
complain the price is too high.
Sotillo said that although it's impossible to know how many people have
downloaded the app — Cuba had more than 3 million cells registered at
the end of 2015 — it's easy to see its potential for expanding the
exposure of the island's small private businesses.
The app is free to the users, who can download it from another cell
phone or in specialized shops through the paquete — a massive collection
of independent news, entertainment, music and other materials sold
widely across the island.
The company has overcome several difficulties. Since the app includes
the database, Sotillo said, "at first it was very large. We have updated
the software and reduced the size" it required from the cell's internal
memory.
It also faces competition from similar apps such as ConoceCuba — Know Cuba.
Isladentro is now trying to expand to all of the island's provinces and
keep up with any changes. Its launch of a digital page for people who
want to visit Cuba, for example, was the result of a survey showing that
70 percent of visitors to the company's web and Facebook pages were
abroad, she added.
With the government's opening more Wi-Fi access points across the
island, the company is also working to make its app accessible from its
web page.
There are not many women among the young Cuban entrepreneurs in the
technology area, and Sotillo was one of the representatives of the
sector invited to a meeting with President Barack Obama when he visited
the island in March.
"To be at that level, with a president, made me very nervous. The nerves
get to you," she recalled with a laugh. More seriously, he said it's too
early to see the results of Obama's decision in 2014 to warm up
relations with Cuba.
"Time passes slowly for those kinds of things," she said.
Source: Entrepreneurial youths invent Isladentro, the Cuban Yelp | In
Cuba Today - http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article81072552.html
Wednesday, June 1, 2016
Cuba’s Communist Party lays out a vague future for private enterprise
Cuba's Communist Party lays out a vague future for private enterprise
Reports of greater opportunities for small and medium enterprises are
based on vaguely worded documents that project government plans until
2030, which were discussed during the Communist Party's recent VII Congress.
BY NORA GÁMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com
Reports that Cuba plans to legalize small and medium enterprises
delighted those who favor the expansion of the island's private sector,
but a closer look shows the change is mentioned in vaguely worded
documents that project government plans until 2030.
The legalization of the so-called PYMES (Spanish acronym for small and
medium enterprises) is part of a Cuban Communist Party document noting a
project to "conceptualize" the "theoretical basis ... for the economic
and social model that we aspire to as part of the process of
actualizing" the island's system.
The project was made public as part of another document on a "Projected
National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030 … whose
fulfillment will contribute to reaching that model, in the long run."
Those expecting quick approval of the PYMES — Cuba now technically
recognizes only cooperatives and private business activity by people,
such as plumbers and carpenters but not plumbing or carpentry companies
— should prepare for the slow pace of government reforms.
The two documents, discussed during the Communist Party's recent VII
Congress, reveal as much about the goals the government has been unable
to meet in more than 50 years as the ideology and economic policies that
blocked the road to those goals.
The texts, which are expected to be ratified by the legislative National
Assembly after they are discussed by party cadre and members of mass
organizations, reflect the general goals of increasing the country's
Gross Domestic Product, productivity, spending on infrastructure,
internet connectivity and technological development, as well as its
economic integration with the rest of the world.
Among the strategic sectors singled out for development in the 2030 Plan
are construction, electricity, telecommunications, internet
connectivity, transportation and warehousing for commercial activities,
hydraulic installations and networks; tourism and related activities
such as marinas, golf and real estate; professional services, especially
medical personnel; non-sugar agriculture and the food industry;
production of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; the sugar industry and
light industry for the domestic market.
The plan also includes sections on the need to give value to salaries,
maintain the levels of social assistance, avoid "shock therapies" and
improve the quality of life of Cubans as well as the quality of services
such as health and education.
The documents make no mention at all of the massive emigration of
Cubans, especially the young, which has increased considerably in recent
years and together with the low birth rate is leading to an increasingly
aged population.
There is only one reference to ways of stimulating the birth rate and
one broad acknowledgment of the importance of "economic and social
stability, without insecurities or uncertainties about the future of
people or families, an essential achievement that must be consolidated."
The texts also note that "in the future society to which we aspire" the
socialist economy and central planning will occupy "a primordial place."
That means the "existence of non-state forms (of economic activity) will
depend on the goals of socialist development."
The government will not allow "the concentration of property and wealth
by natural persons or non-state enterprises," the documents added.
The economic model described by the Cuban leadership recognizes market
forces but puts them under direct government controls and makes them
part of a centrally planned economy, which until now has produced few
positive results.
Within this tiny space, direct foreign investment will be allowed and
the government will "recognize private property that fulfills a public
function in specific activities and whose owners are people or companies
— Cuban as well as foreign," according to the documents.
The texts added that the government will decide what activities will be
allowed and their size, and that investments by companies totally owned
by foreigners — rather than co-investments with government entities —
will be authorized "on a case-by-case" basis.
Cubans will be able to establish "small businesses carried on basically
by the worker and his family," the documents added, as well as "private
companies of medium, small and micro sizes, according to the volume of
the activity and the number of workers, (to be) legally recognized as
companies."
The text also noted that the private businesspeople will be "a
complementary element" in the future economy, needed to create jobs and
increase productivity but under intense government controls and precise
limitations.
As the government announced years ago, the 2030 plan calls for
eliminating Cuba's dual-currency system. But the plan explains that
price controls will be retained by "regulating the currency in
circulation, exchange rates, measures to regulate monopolistic and
speculative activities, government's purchases and sales at adequate
rices and fixing prices or their limits."
On national defense and security, the Communist Party documents state
that the island will retain "essential objectives" designed to guarantee
the preservation of the Cuban political system. It also states that "the
revolution will never let down its guard" and adds that "history shows
all too eloquently that those who forget this principle do not survive
their mistake."
The texts also recognize "the right to a job, health, education,
security, information, recreation, culture, sports and the welfare
system" and "work toward a decent home."
It makes no mention of fundamental civil liberties but does include "the
right to defend the independence and the socialist homeland."
Source: Cuba's Communist Party lays out a vague future for private
enterprise | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80972972.html
Reports of greater opportunities for small and medium enterprises are
based on vaguely worded documents that project government plans until
2030, which were discussed during the Communist Party's recent VII Congress.
BY NORA GÁMEZ TORRES
ngameztorres@elnuevoherald.com
Reports that Cuba plans to legalize small and medium enterprises
delighted those who favor the expansion of the island's private sector,
but a closer look shows the change is mentioned in vaguely worded
documents that project government plans until 2030.
The legalization of the so-called PYMES (Spanish acronym for small and
medium enterprises) is part of a Cuban Communist Party document noting a
project to "conceptualize" the "theoretical basis ... for the economic
and social model that we aspire to as part of the process of
actualizing" the island's system.
The project was made public as part of another document on a "Projected
National Economic and Social Development Plan until 2030 … whose
fulfillment will contribute to reaching that model, in the long run."
Those expecting quick approval of the PYMES — Cuba now technically
recognizes only cooperatives and private business activity by people,
such as plumbers and carpenters but not plumbing or carpentry companies
— should prepare for the slow pace of government reforms.
The two documents, discussed during the Communist Party's recent VII
Congress, reveal as much about the goals the government has been unable
to meet in more than 50 years as the ideology and economic policies that
blocked the road to those goals.
The texts, which are expected to be ratified by the legislative National
Assembly after they are discussed by party cadre and members of mass
organizations, reflect the general goals of increasing the country's
Gross Domestic Product, productivity, spending on infrastructure,
internet connectivity and technological development, as well as its
economic integration with the rest of the world.
Among the strategic sectors singled out for development in the 2030 Plan
are construction, electricity, telecommunications, internet
connectivity, transportation and warehousing for commercial activities,
hydraulic installations and networks; tourism and related activities
such as marinas, golf and real estate; professional services, especially
medical personnel; non-sugar agriculture and the food industry;
production of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology; the sugar industry and
light industry for the domestic market.
The plan also includes sections on the need to give value to salaries,
maintain the levels of social assistance, avoid "shock therapies" and
improve the quality of life of Cubans as well as the quality of services
such as health and education.
The documents make no mention at all of the massive emigration of
Cubans, especially the young, which has increased considerably in recent
years and together with the low birth rate is leading to an increasingly
aged population.
There is only one reference to ways of stimulating the birth rate and
one broad acknowledgment of the importance of "economic and social
stability, without insecurities or uncertainties about the future of
people or families, an essential achievement that must be consolidated."
The texts also note that "in the future society to which we aspire" the
socialist economy and central planning will occupy "a primordial place."
That means the "existence of non-state forms (of economic activity) will
depend on the goals of socialist development."
The government will not allow "the concentration of property and wealth
by natural persons or non-state enterprises," the documents added.
The economic model described by the Cuban leadership recognizes market
forces but puts them under direct government controls and makes them
part of a centrally planned economy, which until now has produced few
positive results.
Within this tiny space, direct foreign investment will be allowed and
the government will "recognize private property that fulfills a public
function in specific activities and whose owners are people or companies
— Cuban as well as foreign," according to the documents.
The texts added that the government will decide what activities will be
allowed and their size, and that investments by companies totally owned
by foreigners — rather than co-investments with government entities —
will be authorized "on a case-by-case" basis.
Cubans will be able to establish "small businesses carried on basically
by the worker and his family," the documents added, as well as "private
companies of medium, small and micro sizes, according to the volume of
the activity and the number of workers, (to be) legally recognized as
companies."
The text also noted that the private businesspeople will be "a
complementary element" in the future economy, needed to create jobs and
increase productivity but under intense government controls and precise
limitations.
As the government announced years ago, the 2030 plan calls for
eliminating Cuba's dual-currency system. But the plan explains that
price controls will be retained by "regulating the currency in
circulation, exchange rates, measures to regulate monopolistic and
speculative activities, government's purchases and sales at adequate
rices and fixing prices or their limits."
On national defense and security, the Communist Party documents state
that the island will retain "essential objectives" designed to guarantee
the preservation of the Cuban political system. It also states that "the
revolution will never let down its guard" and adds that "history shows
all too eloquently that those who forget this principle do not survive
their mistake."
The texts also recognize "the right to a job, health, education,
security, information, recreation, culture, sports and the welfare
system" and "work toward a decent home."
It makes no mention of fundamental civil liberties but does include "the
right to defend the independence and the socialist homeland."
Source: Cuba's Communist Party lays out a vague future for private
enterprise | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80972972.html
El Paso social services respond to Cuban migrant surge
El Paso social services respond to Cuban migrant surge
El Paso has eclipsed San Diego as the third most popular entry point for
Cuban migrants, following Laredo and Miami
BY BORDERZINE SPECIAL REPORTS
borderzine.com
EL PASO, TX
Cuban refugees continue to seek asylum in the U.S., traveling from
Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, with many staying in the Texas border city
longer than expected, straining local organizations that traditionally
provide services such as food, shelter and legal advice to immigrants.
Elizabeth O'Hara, communications director of Catholic Diocese of El
Paso, said about 300 Cuban migrants have been arriving each day since
May 9 for a total of about 3,000 in the last few weeks.
"Some of them will stay 24-36 hours, but now we're seeing some of them
staying longer," O'Hara said, adding that the first wave of refugees
seemed to be better off financially. "Most of the first ones to arrive
had money left so they could bounce out of El Paso faster."
That seems to be the case as well at the Ysleta Lutheran Mission, which
is housing up to 80 refugees at a time. Karla Gonzalez, Ysleta's chief
operating officer, said most immigrants will just pass through El Paso
on the way to family or friends in other parts of the country. For some
though, coming up with enough money for a bus ticket is daunting.
"We have people here for four days now just waiting for $60. Without
that, they can't leave," Gonzalez says.
More than 1,300 Cuban migrants arrived in the U.S. via El Paso in the
first quarter of this year according to Roger Maier of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP). That's up nearly tenfold from the same period
last year. El Paso has also eclipsed San Diego as the third most popular
entry point for Cuban refugees, following Laredo and Miami.
Although most refugees cited economic hardship and a lack of freedom in
Cuba as the reason for coming to El Paso, there is speculation that the
1966 Cuban Adjustment Act may be suspended or terminated now that
relations between Cuba and the United States are improving, even though
the CBP said the Obama administration said it has no plans to change the
current immigration policy toward Cuba. The Cuban Adjustment Act gives
Cuban refugees preferential status that includes a Green card one year
plus one day after they arrive in the United States.
The CBP has borrowed staff from other locations to help process this
spike in Cuban refugees crossing the border at El Paso, but local
churches and service organizations have been relying on the community to
meet the increased demands for basic services.
One El Paso resident, Brenda Saenz, is hosting Jeorgina Fernandez and
and her baby, Pedro, in her home. She met them at the Houchen Center and
invited them to stay with her as long as they need.
"I'm not charging any rent. I am not charging anything," Saenz said.
"They are a blessing in my home, and I want to make them part of my family."
O'Hara said the El Paso community had only two days notice before the
first plane of migrants arrived from Panama and that the community
pulled together to make sure no one would be turned away.
"El Pasoans are a very generous and giving community. Many can relate to
the refugees," O'Hara said.
She added that shelters still need monetary donations and pantry items
like rice, beans, pasta and bread and personal hygiene items, but no
more clothing. "The shelters simply don't have the room," O'Hara said.
Migrants strategize next steps
Cuban migrants are a diverse population; they are arriving in families,
groups and alone, but all say they want to work.
"I'm planning on staying in El Paso. We cannot work until we have the
work permit," Arieskis Reyes Perez said in Spanish outside the Diocesan
Migrant and Refugee Services in El Paso. "Once we have the permit, we
can start working."
Perez, who arrived in Juarez on May 17, said he is eager to see if he
can make a life in El Paso.
"I have only been here six days but until now what I've seen is good
treatment. People from here are humanitarian," Perez said.
Like Perez and many other Cuban refugees, Catalina Santana said she
endured a long and difficult journey through Panama and Colombia. At one
point, she doubted whether she would make it to the U.S.
"I'm telling you it was a very traumatic and long trip," Santana said in
Spanish. "We came here from Guyana. We gathered in rafts, and I don't
know how to swim."
Santana said she left Cuba on March 22 and traveled exactly two months
before arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. She is now staying at the
Ysleta Lutheran Mission, which is temporarily offering her food and shelter.
According to documentation provided by the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, a Cuban citizen who arrives at a port of entry is asked to
provide proof of their Cuban citizenship such as a Cuban passport or
birth certificate. Once citizenship is established, CBP officers ask if
they are a member of the Cuban regime or work for the Cuban government,
and several other questions.
Those who have no disqualifying factors, are processed for parole. CBP
officers issue the refugees an I-94 parole document with the migrant's
temporary alien number, which is valid for two years.
One year following their admission to the U.S., the Cuban national may
apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an adjustment of
status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act (CRAA), which then allows
them to submit an application for permanent U.S. residency, according to
the CBP statement.
The process takes an hour, according to a statement provided by CBP, but
several refugees interviewed after crossing the Sante Fe International
Bridge said the process can take up to 8-10 hours because of the number
of refugees who need to be processed.
Waiting patiently outside the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services,
Reyes Perez said he hoped he would have his work permit in a matter of
days so that he could begin his life in the United States.
Source: El Paso social services respond to Cuban migrant surge | In Cuba
Today - http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80936587.html
El Paso has eclipsed San Diego as the third most popular entry point for
Cuban migrants, following Laredo and Miami
BY BORDERZINE SPECIAL REPORTS
borderzine.com
EL PASO, TX
Cuban refugees continue to seek asylum in the U.S., traveling from
Juarez, Mexico to El Paso, with many staying in the Texas border city
longer than expected, straining local organizations that traditionally
provide services such as food, shelter and legal advice to immigrants.
Elizabeth O'Hara, communications director of Catholic Diocese of El
Paso, said about 300 Cuban migrants have been arriving each day since
May 9 for a total of about 3,000 in the last few weeks.
"Some of them will stay 24-36 hours, but now we're seeing some of them
staying longer," O'Hara said, adding that the first wave of refugees
seemed to be better off financially. "Most of the first ones to arrive
had money left so they could bounce out of El Paso faster."
That seems to be the case as well at the Ysleta Lutheran Mission, which
is housing up to 80 refugees at a time. Karla Gonzalez, Ysleta's chief
operating officer, said most immigrants will just pass through El Paso
on the way to family or friends in other parts of the country. For some
though, coming up with enough money for a bus ticket is daunting.
"We have people here for four days now just waiting for $60. Without
that, they can't leave," Gonzalez says.
More than 1,300 Cuban migrants arrived in the U.S. via El Paso in the
first quarter of this year according to Roger Maier of U.S. Customs and
Border Protection (CBP). That's up nearly tenfold from the same period
last year. El Paso has also eclipsed San Diego as the third most popular
entry point for Cuban refugees, following Laredo and Miami.
Although most refugees cited economic hardship and a lack of freedom in
Cuba as the reason for coming to El Paso, there is speculation that the
1966 Cuban Adjustment Act may be suspended or terminated now that
relations between Cuba and the United States are improving, even though
the CBP said the Obama administration said it has no plans to change the
current immigration policy toward Cuba. The Cuban Adjustment Act gives
Cuban refugees preferential status that includes a Green card one year
plus one day after they arrive in the United States.
The CBP has borrowed staff from other locations to help process this
spike in Cuban refugees crossing the border at El Paso, but local
churches and service organizations have been relying on the community to
meet the increased demands for basic services.
One El Paso resident, Brenda Saenz, is hosting Jeorgina Fernandez and
and her baby, Pedro, in her home. She met them at the Houchen Center and
invited them to stay with her as long as they need.
"I'm not charging any rent. I am not charging anything," Saenz said.
"They are a blessing in my home, and I want to make them part of my family."
O'Hara said the El Paso community had only two days notice before the
first plane of migrants arrived from Panama and that the community
pulled together to make sure no one would be turned away.
"El Pasoans are a very generous and giving community. Many can relate to
the refugees," O'Hara said.
She added that shelters still need monetary donations and pantry items
like rice, beans, pasta and bread and personal hygiene items, but no
more clothing. "The shelters simply don't have the room," O'Hara said.
Migrants strategize next steps
Cuban migrants are a diverse population; they are arriving in families,
groups and alone, but all say they want to work.
"I'm planning on staying in El Paso. We cannot work until we have the
work permit," Arieskis Reyes Perez said in Spanish outside the Diocesan
Migrant and Refugee Services in El Paso. "Once we have the permit, we
can start working."
Perez, who arrived in Juarez on May 17, said he is eager to see if he
can make a life in El Paso.
"I have only been here six days but until now what I've seen is good
treatment. People from here are humanitarian," Perez said.
Like Perez and many other Cuban refugees, Catalina Santana said she
endured a long and difficult journey through Panama and Colombia. At one
point, she doubted whether she would make it to the U.S.
"I'm telling you it was a very traumatic and long trip," Santana said in
Spanish. "We came here from Guyana. We gathered in rafts, and I don't
know how to swim."
Santana said she left Cuba on March 22 and traveled exactly two months
before arriving at the U.S./Mexico border. She is now staying at the
Ysleta Lutheran Mission, which is temporarily offering her food and shelter.
According to documentation provided by the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, a Cuban citizen who arrives at a port of entry is asked to
provide proof of their Cuban citizenship such as a Cuban passport or
birth certificate. Once citizenship is established, CBP officers ask if
they are a member of the Cuban regime or work for the Cuban government,
and several other questions.
Those who have no disqualifying factors, are processed for parole. CBP
officers issue the refugees an I-94 parole document with the migrant's
temporary alien number, which is valid for two years.
One year following their admission to the U.S., the Cuban national may
apply to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for an adjustment of
status under the Cuban Refugee Adjustment Act (CRAA), which then allows
them to submit an application for permanent U.S. residency, according to
the CBP statement.
The process takes an hour, according to a statement provided by CBP, but
several refugees interviewed after crossing the Sante Fe International
Bridge said the process can take up to 8-10 hours because of the number
of refugees who need to be processed.
Waiting patiently outside the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services,
Reyes Perez said he hoped he would have his work permit in a matter of
days so that he could begin his life in the United States.
Source: El Paso social services respond to Cuban migrant surge | In Cuba
Today - http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80936587.html
Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in cremations
Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in cremations
Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the main reasons many Cubans are now opting to cremate their
loved ones.
MARIO J. PENTÓN
mpenton@elnuevoherald.com
Ernesto doesn't like cemeteries, but on that day last year he arrived
early at Havana's famed Colon Cemetery to clean out his father's grave
and prepare it for the remains of his mother, who had just died.
He was shocked to find just an empty casket where his father's remains
had been placed five years before.
The gravestone had been shattered to pieces when an tomb raider broke
into the grave. The valuable Carrara marble, imported by his bourgeois
ancestors early in the 20th Century could not protect the family's remains.
Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the reasons many Cubans in Havana province are increasingly
opting to cremate their loved ones.
Official records show that 6,131 of the 23,641 deaths reported in Havana
in 2015 led to cremations, compared to just 90 in 2006, the year in
which the first of three crematoriums went into operation at the
Cementerio Nuevo de Guanabacoa.
"We had to cremate my mother after seeing that mess," said Ernesto. "We
planned to cremate her and leave the ashes in the family pantheon, but
then a friend of a niece who knows about religious rituals warned us
that the process of stealing remains starts as soon as you give notice
that you're bringing them in, even ashes, and that's why we finally
decided to throw the ashes into the sea."
The theft of human bones for religious rituals has become a way to make
ends meet for employees at cemeteries, not just in Havana, but across
the island.
"People who work in government stores steal, like those who work in a
warehouse. Those of us who work in cemeteries have to eat, too," said a
state-employed gravedigger whose monthly salary totals about 350 pesos,
or $14.
Among the illegal cemetery schemes are the resale of tombs owned by
families that have left the country and the sale of tomb ornaments,
especially the coveted Carrera marble that has not been imported for
decades. Fences, crystal ornaments and even flower vases at grave sites
also often disappear.
The use of human remains in the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte is widely
known in Cuba. A priest in the religion, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the bones "are essential. Without human remains there is
no spiritual work.
"For the work, we generally use the head, the arms and the legs," the
priest explained. "You can have a full skeleton, but those three
elements are the ones used most often. The head to think, the hands to
work and the feet to move."
Experts say that although there are no precise statistics, the last 20
years has seen an increase in religious rituals, especially those linked
to Afro-Cuban beliefs, apparently fueled by the deterioration of living
conditions on the island.
"Right now a lot of women are coming to us to 'tie up' their husbands or
resolve a health issue," the priest said, explaining that 'tie up' means
keeping husbands from straying. "But we're also seeing a substantial
increase in the number of people who come to us because they want to
leave the country."
He explained that for people who want to leave the island, bones from
the hands and legs are used: "I can't say how they are used because
that's a secret, but for example if the person is going to be walking
across borders he will need bones from the feet," he added.
The priest said the Palo Monte religion is misunderstood.
"Most people believe we work with evil, and that's not so. You can
choose to work with evil or good," he said, adding that the use of human
bones in rituals "is not exclusive to us."
The price of the raw materials for the religious rituals also has been
increasing over the past decade.
"The price of the bones can vary. For example, a cranium can cost $80 to
$103. The rest of the bones cost less, but we have to keep in mind that
whoever does the work also has to eat," said the priest.
Se Vende, a popular Cuban movie from 2012 focuses on the issue of
stealing human bones from the dead: "If we have to sacrifice the dead to
feed the living, we'll do it," said one of the characters in the movie.
Ernesto, who asked that his last name not be used for fear of
retribution, never learned what happened to his father. A gravedigger
tried hard to persuade him that bones disappear with the passage of
time. Inquiries to Colon officials and even attempts to bribe them for
information on the whereabouts of the remains also were unsuccessful.
The basic price of $21.50 for cremations may seem inexpensive when
compared to other countries, but it must be accompanied with a hefty
bribe to speed up the process in a country where the average monthly
income is about $20.
"We had to pay $23 to put mother at the top of the incineration list.
When we went back for the ashes, we found them on a shelf, in a very
rustic vase that had no identification," said Ernesto.
When he asked the funeral service officials how they could be sure those
were his mother's ashes, Ernesto said the official responded: "It's the
only one we have, so there can't be any confusion."
Source: Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in
cremations | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80905522.html
Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the main reasons many Cubans are now opting to cremate their
loved ones.
MARIO J. PENTÓN
mpenton@elnuevoherald.com
Ernesto doesn't like cemeteries, but on that day last year he arrived
early at Havana's famed Colon Cemetery to clean out his father's grave
and prepare it for the remains of his mother, who had just died.
He was shocked to find just an empty casket where his father's remains
had been placed five years before.
The gravestone had been shattered to pieces when an tomb raider broke
into the grave. The valuable Carrara marble, imported by his bourgeois
ancestors early in the 20th Century could not protect the family's remains.
Fear of tomb desecrations — generally for use in religious rituals — is
one of the reasons many Cubans in Havana province are increasingly
opting to cremate their loved ones.
Official records show that 6,131 of the 23,641 deaths reported in Havana
in 2015 led to cremations, compared to just 90 in 2006, the year in
which the first of three crematoriums went into operation at the
Cementerio Nuevo de Guanabacoa.
"We had to cremate my mother after seeing that mess," said Ernesto. "We
planned to cremate her and leave the ashes in the family pantheon, but
then a friend of a niece who knows about religious rituals warned us
that the process of stealing remains starts as soon as you give notice
that you're bringing them in, even ashes, and that's why we finally
decided to throw the ashes into the sea."
The theft of human bones for religious rituals has become a way to make
ends meet for employees at cemeteries, not just in Havana, but across
the island.
"People who work in government stores steal, like those who work in a
warehouse. Those of us who work in cemeteries have to eat, too," said a
state-employed gravedigger whose monthly salary totals about 350 pesos,
or $14.
Among the illegal cemetery schemes are the resale of tombs owned by
families that have left the country and the sale of tomb ornaments,
especially the coveted Carrera marble that has not been imported for
decades. Fences, crystal ornaments and even flower vases at grave sites
also often disappear.
The use of human remains in the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte is widely
known in Cuba. A priest in the religion, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said the bones "are essential. Without human remains there is
no spiritual work.
"For the work, we generally use the head, the arms and the legs," the
priest explained. "You can have a full skeleton, but those three
elements are the ones used most often. The head to think, the hands to
work and the feet to move."
Experts say that although there are no precise statistics, the last 20
years has seen an increase in religious rituals, especially those linked
to Afro-Cuban beliefs, apparently fueled by the deterioration of living
conditions on the island.
"Right now a lot of women are coming to us to 'tie up' their husbands or
resolve a health issue," the priest said, explaining that 'tie up' means
keeping husbands from straying. "But we're also seeing a substantial
increase in the number of people who come to us because they want to
leave the country."
He explained that for people who want to leave the island, bones from
the hands and legs are used: "I can't say how they are used because
that's a secret, but for example if the person is going to be walking
across borders he will need bones from the feet," he added.
The priest said the Palo Monte religion is misunderstood.
"Most people believe we work with evil, and that's not so. You can
choose to work with evil or good," he said, adding that the use of human
bones in rituals "is not exclusive to us."
The price of the raw materials for the religious rituals also has been
increasing over the past decade.
"The price of the bones can vary. For example, a cranium can cost $80 to
$103. The rest of the bones cost less, but we have to keep in mind that
whoever does the work also has to eat," said the priest.
Se Vende, a popular Cuban movie from 2012 focuses on the issue of
stealing human bones from the dead: "If we have to sacrifice the dead to
feed the living, we'll do it," said one of the characters in the movie.
Ernesto, who asked that his last name not be used for fear of
retribution, never learned what happened to his father. A gravedigger
tried hard to persuade him that bones disappear with the passage of
time. Inquiries to Colon officials and even attempts to bribe them for
information on the whereabouts of the remains also were unsuccessful.
The basic price of $21.50 for cremations may seem inexpensive when
compared to other countries, but it must be accompanied with a hefty
bribe to speed up the process in a country where the average monthly
income is about $20.
"We had to pay $23 to put mother at the top of the incineration list.
When we went back for the ashes, we found them on a shelf, in a very
rustic vase that had no identification," said Ernesto.
When he asked the funeral service officials how they could be sure those
were his mother's ashes, Ernesto said the official responded: "It's the
only one we have, so there can't be any confusion."
Source: Theft of human bones from Cuban gravesites spurs increase in
cremations | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80905522.html
Congress considers bills to restrict welfare for Cuban immigrants
Congress considers bills to restrict welfare for Cuban immigrants
The proposed legislation would make most Cuban immigrants ineligible for
refugee money, medical benefits and other assistance.
BY MEGAN O'MATZ
Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.
A bill to restrict welfare for Cuban immigrants would save the U.S.
government $2.45 billion over the next decade, congressional analysts
estimate.
The proposed legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo and
Sen. Marco Rubio, both Florida Republicans, would make most Cuban
immigrants ineligible for refugee money, medical benefits and other
assistance unless they prove they are political refugees persecuted by
the Castro government.
The Congressional Budget Office, which provides nonpartisan budget and
economic data for policymakers, studied the proposal and calculated the
potential savings.
The bill is expected to cut spending by $50 million in the first year,
and $2.4 billion more through 2026, Curbelo's office said.
"With all the talk about paying for Zika virus funding, maybe this is
one of the ways we can pay for some of that. But let's get it done,"
Rubio, who is shepherding an identical bill in the Senate, told his
colleagues last week.
The legislative proposal followed a Sun Sentinel investigation showing
Cubans taking advantage of U.S. welfare then returning to the
Communist-led island to visit multiple times or even to live – while
still collecting U.S. aid.
"What we've seen people (do to) abuse the system over and over again is
they figure out a relative in the U.S. that goes to the bank every
month, takes a cut and sends the rest to them," Rubio said on the Senate
floor.
"That's your money that's being sent. The American people are generous
people, but right now those who abuse the system are taking American
taxpayers for fools and we need to stop this."
Large numbers of Cubans are fleeing to the U.S. since the Obama
administration renewed diplomatic relations in late 2014. Those who
reach land can stay, even if they arrive illegally.
Most say they are coming to find better work opportunities in the U.S.,
and because they fear the U.S. will eventually end their special status
and unique advantages as newcomers.
After a year and a day they can become permanent U.S. legal residents.
Many then go back and forth between the U.S. and Cuba to visit and bring
money or goods to family and friends.
These return trips have raised questions about why Cubans are treated as
political refugees - entitled to generous U.S. aid - when they quickly
return to the island that oppressed them.
Immigrants from most other nations are barred from collecting aid in the
U.S. for their first five years. Those here illegally are not eligible
at all.
Curbelo, the son of Cuban exiles, titled his bill the "Cuban Immigrant
Work Opportunity Act," saying: "Cubans coming to the United States will
have the same opportunity as immigrants from other nations, like
Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Central America – from any country–to work
and earn an honest living while contributing to our great nation."
The legislation would not apply to those already living in the United
States.
Despite the enormous potential savings cited by the Congressional Budget
Office, the figure is low when compared with the full cost of aid to
Cubans calculated by the Sun Sentinel.
In its investigation, the newspaper estimated that welfare to Cuban
immigrants–federal refugee assistance, food stamps and aid to seniors
and the disabled–cost more than $680 million a year.
About 42 percent of that is Supplemental Security Income - cash for
impoverished seniors. The Sun Sentinel found large numbers of elderly
Cubans immigrating here and immediately getting such aid even though
they never held jobs here.
Source: Congress considers bills to restrict welfare for Cuban
immigrants | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80851537.html
The proposed legislation would make most Cuban immigrants ineligible for
refugee money, medical benefits and other assistance.
BY MEGAN O'MATZ
Sun Sentinel
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.
A bill to restrict welfare for Cuban immigrants would save the U.S.
government $2.45 billion over the next decade, congressional analysts
estimate.
The proposed legislation, introduced by U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo and
Sen. Marco Rubio, both Florida Republicans, would make most Cuban
immigrants ineligible for refugee money, medical benefits and other
assistance unless they prove they are political refugees persecuted by
the Castro government.
The Congressional Budget Office, which provides nonpartisan budget and
economic data for policymakers, studied the proposal and calculated the
potential savings.
The bill is expected to cut spending by $50 million in the first year,
and $2.4 billion more through 2026, Curbelo's office said.
"With all the talk about paying for Zika virus funding, maybe this is
one of the ways we can pay for some of that. But let's get it done,"
Rubio, who is shepherding an identical bill in the Senate, told his
colleagues last week.
The legislative proposal followed a Sun Sentinel investigation showing
Cubans taking advantage of U.S. welfare then returning to the
Communist-led island to visit multiple times or even to live – while
still collecting U.S. aid.
"What we've seen people (do to) abuse the system over and over again is
they figure out a relative in the U.S. that goes to the bank every
month, takes a cut and sends the rest to them," Rubio said on the Senate
floor.
"That's your money that's being sent. The American people are generous
people, but right now those who abuse the system are taking American
taxpayers for fools and we need to stop this."
Large numbers of Cubans are fleeing to the U.S. since the Obama
administration renewed diplomatic relations in late 2014. Those who
reach land can stay, even if they arrive illegally.
Most say they are coming to find better work opportunities in the U.S.,
and because they fear the U.S. will eventually end their special status
and unique advantages as newcomers.
After a year and a day they can become permanent U.S. legal residents.
Many then go back and forth between the U.S. and Cuba to visit and bring
money or goods to family and friends.
These return trips have raised questions about why Cubans are treated as
political refugees - entitled to generous U.S. aid - when they quickly
return to the island that oppressed them.
Immigrants from most other nations are barred from collecting aid in the
U.S. for their first five years. Those here illegally are not eligible
at all.
Curbelo, the son of Cuban exiles, titled his bill the "Cuban Immigrant
Work Opportunity Act," saying: "Cubans coming to the United States will
have the same opportunity as immigrants from other nations, like
Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Central America – from any country–to work
and earn an honest living while contributing to our great nation."
The legislation would not apply to those already living in the United
States.
Despite the enormous potential savings cited by the Congressional Budget
Office, the figure is low when compared with the full cost of aid to
Cubans calculated by the Sun Sentinel.
In its investigation, the newspaper estimated that welfare to Cuban
immigrants–federal refugee assistance, food stamps and aid to seniors
and the disabled–cost more than $680 million a year.
About 42 percent of that is Supplemental Security Income - cash for
impoverished seniors. The Sun Sentinel found large numbers of elderly
Cubans immigrating here and immediately getting such aid even though
they never held jobs here.
Source: Congress considers bills to restrict welfare for Cuban
immigrants | In Cuba Today -
http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article80851537.html
Homosexuality and military service
Homosexuality and military service
MARÍA MATIENZO PUERTO | La Habana | 31 Mayo 2016 - 4:22 pm.
Military service in Cuba is mandatory for all young people over the age
of 17. However, if any of them declares himself to be "openly gay," he
may be relieved of his responsibility to "defend the homeland." Among
gay men there are three basic groups: those who are not called, those
who evade service, and those who complete it.
According to the duty officer at the Plaza of the Revolution
Municipality's Military Committee: "The law is not published, but it
exists. The person in question must submit, in writing, a signed letter
stating that 'I am gay.' But he must be sure that he knows what he's
doing, because this goes on his record, for life."
"As if homosexuality were a career that one could regret choosing later
in life," jokes Nonard, who posts photos of himself on Facebook dressed
as a woman.
He says that he was never even called: "I was always was a 'girl,' and
when the summons came, my father told them so, and they didn´t insist."
"They didn´t call me either," recalls one of the transsexuals in the
Parque Central. "With these tits, do you think that anyone thinks I'm
still a man?"
But they are not the only ones. Many respondents believe that because
"the whole neighborhood knows it," when they show up to carry out
verifications the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR),
"points them out, literally."
A large number of gays confess that when the time came for the "call,"
they had already come up with an evasion strategy.
"Whether they believed it or not, I didn´t even ask myself," says Rolo,
who recently decided to "come out of the closet" and would not have
known how to deal with so many "males together" without someone
realizing his sexual preference.
He adds: "In my time there was none of that, if you entered you were the
laughingstock, or the tool, or something unpleasant. I chose to claim
that I had hypertension and that, at age 18, I had more health problems
than my grandmother."
Alberto had to complete just one year of military service because he had
been accepted to college, but his mannerisms and computer skills meant
that he ended up writing a thesis for a high-ranking officer of the
military unit he was assigned to.
David presented psychiatric papers and in the middle of the interview
one of the soldiers on the entrance commission called him aside and
asked him if he was gay. "I never understood, but it seemed like he was
promising me heaven. But I denied everything. "
Ernesto, like others, saw military service as a unique opportunity: "I
said nothing because I wanted to take advantage of Order 18" he says,
referring to the law that provides young people the opportunity to serve
and then enter college, "but the truth is that I don´t regret anything.
It was the time of my life that I enjoyed the most."
Some of the respondents did not even recognize that they were being
discriminated against, even when they were assigned to kitchen or office
work. And no one dares to give the names of the officers who coerced,
discriminated against or excluded them.
The medical examinations conducted by the military commission may be
invasive, but there are three questions in the psychological evaluation
revealing the homophobic nature of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
"Are you homosexual? Have you had relations with other men? Do you have
fantasies about or have you masturbated while thinking about other men?"
Ruben reports that he was asked this during his interview to enter the
military service. "Of course I lied, because I was still in the closet,
but I remember very well how, after a time in the unit I was assigned
to, I had sex in a warehouse, on some sacks of rice, with one of the
unit leaders. Nobody forced me, but, try as I might to conceal it, it
was like they had a fag director there. "
He shared how one of his friends, tired of all the dissimulating, and
the hypocrisy of his guards, burst into a meeting and announced his
homosexuality. From that point he only had to go occasionally to sign a
document certifying that he was "in good health."
Most respondents considered it a blessing to be excluded from the
"defense of the homeland" because "there's a lot of work there."
"I mean, if nobody is going to attack us, and there are already more
than enough military people ..." said one of the boys who spends his
nights in the Parque de la Fraternidad.
In Cuba, where the struggle for gay rights is institutionalized by a
figure like Mariela Castro Espín, the president's daughter, the
legalization of gay marriage has proven impossible thus far. Also
pending is the legalization of gays not only in the military service
program, but in the Armed Forces. In the 60s compulsory military service
served as a pretext for the official opening of concentration camps
(UMAP) for young homosexuals and other "undesirables." According to the
official statements released then, so that all these young people with
"problems" could do their duty to the homeland, they had to be separated
from the rest and treated in a particular way.
Since then no solution has been found that renders homosexuality and
compulsory military service compatible while avoiding homophobic
practices. The CENESEX, headed up by Mariela Castro, but also the FAR,
have much work to be done in this area. As in the case of gay marriage,
however, we have no idea when this is going to happen.
Source: Homosexuality and military service | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1464704553_22754.html
MARÍA MATIENZO PUERTO | La Habana | 31 Mayo 2016 - 4:22 pm.
Military service in Cuba is mandatory for all young people over the age
of 17. However, if any of them declares himself to be "openly gay," he
may be relieved of his responsibility to "defend the homeland." Among
gay men there are three basic groups: those who are not called, those
who evade service, and those who complete it.
According to the duty officer at the Plaza of the Revolution
Municipality's Military Committee: "The law is not published, but it
exists. The person in question must submit, in writing, a signed letter
stating that 'I am gay.' But he must be sure that he knows what he's
doing, because this goes on his record, for life."
"As if homosexuality were a career that one could regret choosing later
in life," jokes Nonard, who posts photos of himself on Facebook dressed
as a woman.
He says that he was never even called: "I was always was a 'girl,' and
when the summons came, my father told them so, and they didn´t insist."
"They didn´t call me either," recalls one of the transsexuals in the
Parque Central. "With these tits, do you think that anyone thinks I'm
still a man?"
But they are not the only ones. Many respondents believe that because
"the whole neighborhood knows it," when they show up to carry out
verifications the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDR),
"points them out, literally."
A large number of gays confess that when the time came for the "call,"
they had already come up with an evasion strategy.
"Whether they believed it or not, I didn´t even ask myself," says Rolo,
who recently decided to "come out of the closet" and would not have
known how to deal with so many "males together" without someone
realizing his sexual preference.
He adds: "In my time there was none of that, if you entered you were the
laughingstock, or the tool, or something unpleasant. I chose to claim
that I had hypertension and that, at age 18, I had more health problems
than my grandmother."
Alberto had to complete just one year of military service because he had
been accepted to college, but his mannerisms and computer skills meant
that he ended up writing a thesis for a high-ranking officer of the
military unit he was assigned to.
David presented psychiatric papers and in the middle of the interview
one of the soldiers on the entrance commission called him aside and
asked him if he was gay. "I never understood, but it seemed like he was
promising me heaven. But I denied everything. "
Ernesto, like others, saw military service as a unique opportunity: "I
said nothing because I wanted to take advantage of Order 18" he says,
referring to the law that provides young people the opportunity to serve
and then enter college, "but the truth is that I don´t regret anything.
It was the time of my life that I enjoyed the most."
Some of the respondents did not even recognize that they were being
discriminated against, even when they were assigned to kitchen or office
work. And no one dares to give the names of the officers who coerced,
discriminated against or excluded them.
The medical examinations conducted by the military commission may be
invasive, but there are three questions in the psychological evaluation
revealing the homophobic nature of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR).
"Are you homosexual? Have you had relations with other men? Do you have
fantasies about or have you masturbated while thinking about other men?"
Ruben reports that he was asked this during his interview to enter the
military service. "Of course I lied, because I was still in the closet,
but I remember very well how, after a time in the unit I was assigned
to, I had sex in a warehouse, on some sacks of rice, with one of the
unit leaders. Nobody forced me, but, try as I might to conceal it, it
was like they had a fag director there. "
He shared how one of his friends, tired of all the dissimulating, and
the hypocrisy of his guards, burst into a meeting and announced his
homosexuality. From that point he only had to go occasionally to sign a
document certifying that he was "in good health."
Most respondents considered it a blessing to be excluded from the
"defense of the homeland" because "there's a lot of work there."
"I mean, if nobody is going to attack us, and there are already more
than enough military people ..." said one of the boys who spends his
nights in the Parque de la Fraternidad.
In Cuba, where the struggle for gay rights is institutionalized by a
figure like Mariela Castro Espín, the president's daughter, the
legalization of gay marriage has proven impossible thus far. Also
pending is the legalization of gays not only in the military service
program, but in the Armed Forces. In the 60s compulsory military service
served as a pretext for the official opening of concentration camps
(UMAP) for young homosexuals and other "undesirables." According to the
official statements released then, so that all these young people with
"problems" could do their duty to the homeland, they had to be separated
from the rest and treated in a particular way.
Since then no solution has been found that renders homosexuality and
compulsory military service compatible while avoiding homophobic
practices. The CENESEX, headed up by Mariela Castro, but also the FAR,
have much work to be done in this area. As in the case of gay marriage,
however, we have no idea when this is going to happen.
Source: Homosexuality and military service | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1464704553_22754.html
Liberal Republic - Socialist Revolution
Liberal Republic / Socialist Revolution
MIGUEL SALES | Málaga | 1 Jun 2016 - 9:43 am.
May 20 will mark 114 years since the founding of the Republic of Cuba.
The date, which went unnoticed by almost everyone, is important in
itself, because it marks the moment when Spain's last holding in the
Americas broke away from the Crown and was constituted as a sovereign
state, and because it marks the point on the calendar when the liberal
republic, born of the pro-independence struggles of the 19th century,
and the socialist republic, spawned by the political conflicts of the
20th century, reached exactly the same age: 57.
It should be clarified that we are speaking of historical precision
here; that is, equivalence between the two periods and not mathematical
exactitude. It is possible to subtract from the computation the three
years of the second American intervention (1906-1909) during which the
Republic was suspended, and it would also be valid to discount the first
two years (1959-1960), which constituted the transition or semi-liberal
prologue to what would become the totalitarian regime of the Castro
brothers. But these adjustments would not alter the essential fact: both
stages are now perfectly equivalent and, in fact, also equal to the
insurrectional phase that preceded the Republic, which lasted from 1847
to 1898.
However, for a comparison between the liberal stage and the socialist
stage of the Republic to make any sense, it is necessary to situate the
two periods in their respective contexts. There is a tendency to talk
about "Cuba" or the "Cuban people" as ahistorical entities, as subjects
that, once constituted in the first third of the 19th century, have
endured, unchanged and identical, the nearly 200 years separating the
regime from the absolute powers wielded at present. But this illusion of
transcendence ignores the obvious fact that the population of the
island, along with its ideas and beliefs, its political and
socio-economic conditions, and the international context, were very
different during each of these stages.
It is impossible to understand what was Cuba in 1959 if we do not take
into account the starting point of 1899. At the conclusion of the second
war of independence the island had been devastated by a conflict that
had taken a particularly heavy toll on civilians, and had seriously
eroded its economic cornerstones. The strategy of "reconcentration"
employed by the Spanish General Valeriano Weyler, and the "incendiary
torch" approach of the Cuban-Dominican General Máximo Gómez,
respectively, left 20% of the population dead, and the island with its
agro-industrial wealth cut in half. The production of sugar, tobacco,
livestock and other products was down sharply compared to 1895. There
were no direct overland transport links between Havana and Santiago,
epidemics of cholera and yellow fever were still frequent, and more than
half of the population was certainly illiterate.
In the next half century sugar production increased eightfold, life
expectancy more than doubled, going from less than 30 to more than 65,
the number of homes with running water tripled, and illiteracy was
reduced to less than half.
But the statistics only partially reflect the degree of modernization
and development that the island knew under the liberal republic. In
those 57 years the Island saw the introduction of film, radio,
automobiles, the central railway, aviation and, starting in 1949,
television. The most harmful pandemics were eradicated, and dozens of
schools and hospitals were built and equipped. While all this was
achieved, Cuba welcomed and employed more than a 1.5 million immigrants,
many of whom regularly sent remittances to their families in Spain,
Jamaica, Mexico and other countries.
And this transformation occurred in an international context that was
not always favorable: two world wars, the Great Depression of 1929, the
nationalist fever that greatly affected trade between countries, and the
revolution of 1930 against General Machado, whose consequences would
impact the island until the middle of next decade. It was a world in
which there were virtually no international aid agencies, nor was there
any concept of development aid. And all this occurred in a country that,
according to the Marxist interpretation of history, was the victim of
Yankee monopolies, the greed of capitalist entrepreneurs, and sacking by
its venal rulers.
When in 1959 the insurrection, commanded by Fidel Castro, overthrew the
Government of Fulgencio Batista, Cuba was one of the most developed
countries in Latin America, boasting socioeconomic indicators better
than in many regions of the central US, or southern Europe. But Cubans
did not use to compare themselves to Oklahoma farmers, or sharecroppers
from the Algarve, and much less to their counterparts in Honduras or
Colombia. The obligatory reference point was Paris-London-New York and,
when pride sagged, Madrid.
According to the promises of its leaders, the Revolution had come to
restore democratic rule, under the auspices of the 1940 Constitution and
to continue, with some corrections, the developmental effort of the
previous period. But in reality the Castro brothers and their inner
circle had a different, secret plan, which they began to implement as
soon as they occupied key positions.
Their project, clearly explained by writers and witnesses like Rufo
López Fresquet, Manuel Urrutia, Elena Mederos, Tad Szulc and others, was
based on the Marxist-Leninist vulgate: in a Third World country true
national independence and rapid economic development could only be
achieved through the implementation of a "dictatorship of the
proletariat" that nationalized the economy, crushed the bourgeoisie, and
threw off its subordination to imperialist powers.
In the case of Cuba, the application of this formula entailed the
confiscation of domestic and foreign capital, the creation of a huge
repressive apparatus (firing squads, committees of informers, prisons
and labor camps) and a break with US, in the framework of a strategy
that was only possible thanks to the USSR's military, diplomatic and
economic protection. After two years of intense resistance to the
establishment of the Communist regime, the Government, with a single
party and under a single leader, was consolidated in 1962.
Over the next 54 years the Castro regime seized all the country's
resources, and received a huge volume of subsidies - first from the
USSR, followed by Venezuela - to promote the development of a society
that in 1959 had already generated considerable wealth. And it undertook
this task during an era of relative peace, and technological
breakthroughs, and in a very favorable economic climate, with assistance
from multilateral agencies, and while maintaining trade relations with
the whole world (except the US), and without having to worry about
strikes, student demonstrations, the claims of minorities, criticism by
the media and other social pressures. The press, trade unions,
churches, student groups and all other institutions of civil society
have always complied with the directives of the Communist Party of Cuba
(PCC).
What Castroism has "achieved", under such auspicious circumstances,
jumps out: a demographic crisis that has proven very difficult to solve,
a broken economy, colossal debt (creditors are now pardoning debts,
almost ashamed to have demanded what they were owed), cities that are
falling apart, and squalid living conditions for most of the
population. When one considers the lack of running water, electricity,
transportation, housing, clothing and food that Cubans have suffered in
the past half century, the achievements that the Government touts in its
propaganda, extolling the Holy Trinity of Education, Health and Sports,
seem paltry, to say the least.
One glance at the actual contents of the education received, and the
quality of the health care provided, and the cost of the Olympic medals
won, and one concludes that the results have been deplorable. Because
there is little to add: ballet, some films portraying bygone areas on
the Island, a biotechnology sector not complying with international
standards, and a tourism sector that is just starting to recover the
importance it boasted in the 1950s. (International tourism has
multiplied by 40 since that time. In 1957, Cuba was already receiving
more than 300,000 visitors a year, mainly from the US and Canada. If the
current Government had implemented another policy, instead of
celebrating the 3 million the country receives today, it would be
welcoming 12 million.)
But, obviously, when a regime has a daily like Granma, and an absolute
monopoly over the radio, television, films, print press, and the
education system, it is not difficult to convert failures into
victories, every day of the year, if necessary.
Though the results of half a century of socialism are profoundly
deficient, its moral consequences are much worse. Three generations of
Cubans have become accustomed to living under constant lies, without
rights, and without dignity. And 1.5 million Cubans have fled in search
of the freedom and prosperity that the regime has denied them. On the
Island, hundreds of thousands of young people still see emigration as
the only prospect for progress for themselves and their families.
"How did we fall so low?" wonder many Cubans who are old enough to
remember what the country was like before 1959.
The explanation of the phenomena that gave rise to this collective
failure would require another text, at least as extensive as this one.
Suffice to say, for now, that the Republic's strong socio-economic
performance was not accompanied by similar progress in the national
political sphere. The political class failed and, by doing so, dragged
down everything else: the State, economy, culture and social development.
Over these past decades millions of Cubans have sacrificed their freedom
and rights, placing them in the hands of a purportedly enlightened,
bombastic leader who claimed to know everything, to make infallible
decisions, and, who, to make matters even worse, has sought to establish
a North Korea-style dynasty.
The incipient regeneration that is underway is going to be very
difficult. The way things stand, there is no other path than to fully
accept the past, with all its causes for pride, and for shame, and to
try to right the ship that went off course in 1959. Without puerile
optimism, or any certainty of a happy ending, but in the hope that, with
effort, intelligence and goodwill, another May 20th might be achieved.
So that Cuba might become, finally, the Republic its heroes dreamed of,
with and for the good of all.
Source: Liberal Republic / Socialist Revolution | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1464767009_22771.html
MIGUEL SALES | Málaga | 1 Jun 2016 - 9:43 am.
May 20 will mark 114 years since the founding of the Republic of Cuba.
The date, which went unnoticed by almost everyone, is important in
itself, because it marks the moment when Spain's last holding in the
Americas broke away from the Crown and was constituted as a sovereign
state, and because it marks the point on the calendar when the liberal
republic, born of the pro-independence struggles of the 19th century,
and the socialist republic, spawned by the political conflicts of the
20th century, reached exactly the same age: 57.
It should be clarified that we are speaking of historical precision
here; that is, equivalence between the two periods and not mathematical
exactitude. It is possible to subtract from the computation the three
years of the second American intervention (1906-1909) during which the
Republic was suspended, and it would also be valid to discount the first
two years (1959-1960), which constituted the transition or semi-liberal
prologue to what would become the totalitarian regime of the Castro
brothers. But these adjustments would not alter the essential fact: both
stages are now perfectly equivalent and, in fact, also equal to the
insurrectional phase that preceded the Republic, which lasted from 1847
to 1898.
However, for a comparison between the liberal stage and the socialist
stage of the Republic to make any sense, it is necessary to situate the
two periods in their respective contexts. There is a tendency to talk
about "Cuba" or the "Cuban people" as ahistorical entities, as subjects
that, once constituted in the first third of the 19th century, have
endured, unchanged and identical, the nearly 200 years separating the
regime from the absolute powers wielded at present. But this illusion of
transcendence ignores the obvious fact that the population of the
island, along with its ideas and beliefs, its political and
socio-economic conditions, and the international context, were very
different during each of these stages.
It is impossible to understand what was Cuba in 1959 if we do not take
into account the starting point of 1899. At the conclusion of the second
war of independence the island had been devastated by a conflict that
had taken a particularly heavy toll on civilians, and had seriously
eroded its economic cornerstones. The strategy of "reconcentration"
employed by the Spanish General Valeriano Weyler, and the "incendiary
torch" approach of the Cuban-Dominican General Máximo Gómez,
respectively, left 20% of the population dead, and the island with its
agro-industrial wealth cut in half. The production of sugar, tobacco,
livestock and other products was down sharply compared to 1895. There
were no direct overland transport links between Havana and Santiago,
epidemics of cholera and yellow fever were still frequent, and more than
half of the population was certainly illiterate.
In the next half century sugar production increased eightfold, life
expectancy more than doubled, going from less than 30 to more than 65,
the number of homes with running water tripled, and illiteracy was
reduced to less than half.
But the statistics only partially reflect the degree of modernization
and development that the island knew under the liberal republic. In
those 57 years the Island saw the introduction of film, radio,
automobiles, the central railway, aviation and, starting in 1949,
television. The most harmful pandemics were eradicated, and dozens of
schools and hospitals were built and equipped. While all this was
achieved, Cuba welcomed and employed more than a 1.5 million immigrants,
many of whom regularly sent remittances to their families in Spain,
Jamaica, Mexico and other countries.
And this transformation occurred in an international context that was
not always favorable: two world wars, the Great Depression of 1929, the
nationalist fever that greatly affected trade between countries, and the
revolution of 1930 against General Machado, whose consequences would
impact the island until the middle of next decade. It was a world in
which there were virtually no international aid agencies, nor was there
any concept of development aid. And all this occurred in a country that,
according to the Marxist interpretation of history, was the victim of
Yankee monopolies, the greed of capitalist entrepreneurs, and sacking by
its venal rulers.
When in 1959 the insurrection, commanded by Fidel Castro, overthrew the
Government of Fulgencio Batista, Cuba was one of the most developed
countries in Latin America, boasting socioeconomic indicators better
than in many regions of the central US, or southern Europe. But Cubans
did not use to compare themselves to Oklahoma farmers, or sharecroppers
from the Algarve, and much less to their counterparts in Honduras or
Colombia. The obligatory reference point was Paris-London-New York and,
when pride sagged, Madrid.
According to the promises of its leaders, the Revolution had come to
restore democratic rule, under the auspices of the 1940 Constitution and
to continue, with some corrections, the developmental effort of the
previous period. But in reality the Castro brothers and their inner
circle had a different, secret plan, which they began to implement as
soon as they occupied key positions.
Their project, clearly explained by writers and witnesses like Rufo
López Fresquet, Manuel Urrutia, Elena Mederos, Tad Szulc and others, was
based on the Marxist-Leninist vulgate: in a Third World country true
national independence and rapid economic development could only be
achieved through the implementation of a "dictatorship of the
proletariat" that nationalized the economy, crushed the bourgeoisie, and
threw off its subordination to imperialist powers.
In the case of Cuba, the application of this formula entailed the
confiscation of domestic and foreign capital, the creation of a huge
repressive apparatus (firing squads, committees of informers, prisons
and labor camps) and a break with US, in the framework of a strategy
that was only possible thanks to the USSR's military, diplomatic and
economic protection. After two years of intense resistance to the
establishment of the Communist regime, the Government, with a single
party and under a single leader, was consolidated in 1962.
Over the next 54 years the Castro regime seized all the country's
resources, and received a huge volume of subsidies - first from the
USSR, followed by Venezuela - to promote the development of a society
that in 1959 had already generated considerable wealth. And it undertook
this task during an era of relative peace, and technological
breakthroughs, and in a very favorable economic climate, with assistance
from multilateral agencies, and while maintaining trade relations with
the whole world (except the US), and without having to worry about
strikes, student demonstrations, the claims of minorities, criticism by
the media and other social pressures. The press, trade unions,
churches, student groups and all other institutions of civil society
have always complied with the directives of the Communist Party of Cuba
(PCC).
What Castroism has "achieved", under such auspicious circumstances,
jumps out: a demographic crisis that has proven very difficult to solve,
a broken economy, colossal debt (creditors are now pardoning debts,
almost ashamed to have demanded what they were owed), cities that are
falling apart, and squalid living conditions for most of the
population. When one considers the lack of running water, electricity,
transportation, housing, clothing and food that Cubans have suffered in
the past half century, the achievements that the Government touts in its
propaganda, extolling the Holy Trinity of Education, Health and Sports,
seem paltry, to say the least.
One glance at the actual contents of the education received, and the
quality of the health care provided, and the cost of the Olympic medals
won, and one concludes that the results have been deplorable. Because
there is little to add: ballet, some films portraying bygone areas on
the Island, a biotechnology sector not complying with international
standards, and a tourism sector that is just starting to recover the
importance it boasted in the 1950s. (International tourism has
multiplied by 40 since that time. In 1957, Cuba was already receiving
more than 300,000 visitors a year, mainly from the US and Canada. If the
current Government had implemented another policy, instead of
celebrating the 3 million the country receives today, it would be
welcoming 12 million.)
But, obviously, when a regime has a daily like Granma, and an absolute
monopoly over the radio, television, films, print press, and the
education system, it is not difficult to convert failures into
victories, every day of the year, if necessary.
Though the results of half a century of socialism are profoundly
deficient, its moral consequences are much worse. Three generations of
Cubans have become accustomed to living under constant lies, without
rights, and without dignity. And 1.5 million Cubans have fled in search
of the freedom and prosperity that the regime has denied them. On the
Island, hundreds of thousands of young people still see emigration as
the only prospect for progress for themselves and their families.
"How did we fall so low?" wonder many Cubans who are old enough to
remember what the country was like before 1959.
The explanation of the phenomena that gave rise to this collective
failure would require another text, at least as extensive as this one.
Suffice to say, for now, that the Republic's strong socio-economic
performance was not accompanied by similar progress in the national
political sphere. The political class failed and, by doing so, dragged
down everything else: the State, economy, culture and social development.
Over these past decades millions of Cubans have sacrificed their freedom
and rights, placing them in the hands of a purportedly enlightened,
bombastic leader who claimed to know everything, to make infallible
decisions, and, who, to make matters even worse, has sought to establish
a North Korea-style dynasty.
The incipient regeneration that is underway is going to be very
difficult. The way things stand, there is no other path than to fully
accept the past, with all its causes for pride, and for shame, and to
try to right the ship that went off course in 1959. Without puerile
optimism, or any certainty of a happy ending, but in the hope that, with
effort, intelligence and goodwill, another May 20th might be achieved.
So that Cuba might become, finally, the Republic its heroes dreamed of,
with and for the good of all.
Source: Liberal Republic / Socialist Revolution | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1464767009_22771.html
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