While tourists drink water out of a bottle, Cubans ration and boil a
limited supply
BY BRIANA ERICKSON
HAVANA
Men sit on the steps and play a hand of cards, women chat outside barred
windows, stray dogs missing tufts of fur trot by.
Taxi drivers call it the last stop in Havana.
The locals call the neighborhood El barrio de Jesus María.
Up the steep concrete steps, a multi-generational family of seven shares
a pastel blue apartment and the basic rations common in Cuba — including
a sparse and potentially unclean water supply that sloshes around in a
dark, old cistern just inside the doorway.
Cuba seems like a water-rich country, with abundant rainfall, rivers
crisscrossing the island and groundwater that bubbles up in turquoise
springs.
But it has always struggled to provide enough fresh water for its people.
Part of the problem is that the water isn't where the people are. While
Cuba's capital city is in the wetter western part of the country, its
population of over 2.1 million means that it has less water per capita
than many other regions. Atop distribution problems, Havana and other
parts of the nation also lack sufficient infrastructure and
water-quality treatment. The strain has worsened in recent years due to
drought.
Back inside the fading blue apartment, a bouncy 3-year-old cheers to the
sound of Spanish-speaking trolls on the television.
The little boy, called Diandro, grabs his stuffed Spiderman toy.
"Es mi favorito," he says.
His neighborhood, made up of 120 to 150 blocks, has an open-air market
for meat and fruit and a mini supermarket. The outdoor market opens at
10, but locals get there at 9 to make sure they can get enough food for
their families.
They live in southern Havana, on a street about a 20-minute drive from
where tourists usually venture.
Those who live here don't have cars, and the buses don't come to this
neighborhood. Residents walk 16 blocks or more to work, or ride their bikes.
The water in their makeshift well comes from government trucks, "las
pipas," when the neighborhood is in need.
The family rations 10 buckets a day per person.
Every workday, Yan Alvarez picks up a stack of white papers labeled
"Despacho."
Each signifies at least 10 places where he must pump water throughout
Old Havana. Each home takes 20 to 30 minutes to fill.
"No llueve," says the 40-year-old who has worked the job for seven years.
It doesn't rain.
The hefty man says he worked 18 hours the day before: 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.
He pulls up his old truck to a pink apartment. Number 109 on a street
called Aguacate. His wife Leonida guides him from the passenger side.
He drags the long hose from the blue tank into the home, snaking around
the truck and into the house of Yanin Amaga, who stands graciously at
the door.
Along with neighbors around the city, she says she looks forward to the
day the water truck comes. Sometimes she must stretch her meager fill-up
for as many as seven days before she sees Alvarez again.
"Café?" She asks, bringing him a small mug with a saucer.
As he sips his coffee, his 3-year-old son Alejandro, shirtless and
wearing plaid swim trunks, hops out of the truck and trips in his blue
rain boots.
In the home at El barrio de Jesus María, Diandro's Aunt Elena Rodriguez,
her son Fabio and her spouse Eduardo Torres live downstairs.
All three share a room and a twin bed. Together, they make the
equivalent of 20 Convertible Cuban Pesos a month as dance teachers.
(About $23 USD at a recent exchange of $1 USD to 0.87 CUC).
Outside the family's room, natural light floods from a roofless hallway.
To the right is the area the family calls the well, a crumbling cistern
where they fill buckets of water for their daily needs: Cleaning.
Cooking. Showering. Hand-washing. Dishes. And on Sundays, laundry. They
boil water for drinking.
If the pipas come when they aren't home, they must call and bribe the
truck people with money to come back, Torres says.
Producing safe drinking water for his family has become a daily ritual.
Although Torres has had to boil water since he was a child, he says it
never gets easier.
"Aquí no vivimos, acquí solo sobrevimos," he says.
We don't live here, we only survive here.
In addition to their fill-up from the water truck, water also trickles
in from the streets every day, topping off their supply.
Torres, dark haired and charismatic, crouches into the well. Placing a
red bucket into the hole, he tugs up the splattering water. When the
water level gets too low, the family members hoist it up with a cable.
To have running water, the pipes would cost the family $150 to $200 CUC.
(About $172 to $230 USD). That's more than Torres and Rodriguez make in
a year as dance teachers.
He fills a pot and lugs it to the stovetop, turning the knob. As the gas
kicks on, the blue light flickers. The gray water sizzles; floating
specks of sedimentary rock, calcium and chloride swirl around.
Las Pipas drivers
Outside the Aguas de la Habana, where Yan and the other Las Pipas
drivers refill their water tanks, workers in rain boots and long pants
twist a rusty wheel.
Water spouts into four trucks simultaneously. It cascades down the sides
and drips onto the road. Not all fills the yellow, blue and green tanks;
some is lost in mud puddles on the street. All over Cuba, water is also
lost through leaking pipes, adding to the problems with water supply.
The smell of gas permeates the air as a blue truck with a dolphin on the
back hums by. It holds 8,000 liters. The other trucks hold 10,000. Some
12,000. Each heads throughout the city to homes in need of water.
Families are encouraged to boil it for safe drinking.
Outside a home down the street, two men wear navy shirts that read
"Aguas de la Habana." Prying up a sewer hole with a lit cigarette
between his teeth, one of the men shakes his head. There are
20,000-liter pipas, too, and they go straight to the hotels, he says.
While Cuban residents ration, tourists drink bottled water by the liter
and take hot showers as if they're at home.
The Cuban government has been working to build new water supply
infrastructure around the country. But it hasn't been enough for people
in Havana and other cities.
The more important strategy long-term is to protect Cuba's natural water
resources and ensure the growing tourist industries use water wisely and
help fund sustainable solutions, says Roberto Pérez Rivero of Cuba's
Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, a scientific
nonprofit.
"Taking the water from here to there, that can solve the problem. But
for a while," he says. Without a more holistic solution than the pipas,
"soon everyone will be in scarcity."
Boiling water at home
Back at the apartment, the water is still bubbling on the stove.
Rodriguez grabs a handkerchief and carries the steaming water to the
cement staircase to cool. They can drink it in two hours.
She grabs a lid to one of the water buckets and uses it as a cutting
board. She wraps her fingers around a handle-less knife and chops
tomatoes with the blade, her curly dark hair framing her face.
She tosses a tomato slice into the air. Her pit bull Mentira jumps up to
catch it.
"Ella Italiana," Rodriguez jokes.
She grabs a handful of black beans and dips them into the water to wash,
holding them out in her palm. The color contrasts with the turquoise on
her nails.
"Me encanta mi país," Rodriguez says.
I love my country.
"Pero… a Cuba le falta todo," she says.
But... Cuba lacks everything.
THIS STORY IS PART OF A "CUBA: OUTSIDE IN" MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING
PROJECT DONE BY STUDENTS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA COLLEGE OF
JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATIONS.
See: http://cubaoutsidein.com/
Source: Safe drinking water is a commodity in Cuba | Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/cuba/article152407904.html
Tuesday, May 30, 2017
An Appeal to the White House
Editorial: An Appeal to the White House
DDC | Madrid | 30 de Mayo de 2017 - 14:42 CEST.
Castroism's plans for 2018 are clear: to officially sanction the
transfer of power to the family's heirs and double down on the kind of
state capitalism that the Castros and the military elite already
administrate.
This road map involves two farcical elections beginning in November 2017
– municipal and parliamentary ones. In the municipal elections several
dozen independent candidates will try to run, for the first time, and
after the second ones Raúl Castro might step down from the presidency of
the country, which would mean that, for the first time in decades, and
at least nominally, a Castro will no longer head up Cuba.
Both events will give rise to an unprecedented scenario and generate
dynamics that are difficult to predict, even for the regime itself. The
current spike in repression against any form of independence on the
Island is linked to the authorities' uncertainty, as they are made even
more nervous by the volatile situation facing their Venezuelan ally
Nicolás Maduro.
In this context, the White House has proposed withdrawing funds
supporting democracy in Cuba. The issue is still to be debated in
Congress, but its ultimate approval would have serious consequences for
the Cuban democratic cause.
Totalitarian laws remain in place on the Island. In addition to
repressing them, the regime condemns to social exclusion all those who
oppose it. Attempts to legalize independent initiatives are continually
rejected. Activists cannot work in the State sector, and are harassed if
they try to undertake economic activity on their own. They are the
victims of beatings, torture, abductions and arbitrary arrests,
prevented from traveling, expelled from the universities, and their
children are harassed at school. Retracting support would mean leaving
them completely at the mercy of their repressors.
At a time when the Tourism and Agriculture sectors are seeking ways to
access the Island's market, abandoning support for those fighting for
democracy in Cuba would be a boon for the elite that has ruined the
country and denies the vast majority of its citizens any chance for
freedom and prosperity. It is not only with investment in the economy
that the Cuban issue may be resolved, but also in human rights and
democratization.
US President Donald Trump stated on May 20: "The Cuban people deserve a
government that peacefully defends democratic values, economic freedoms,
religious freedoms and human rights. And my Administration is committed
to achieving that vision." In pursuit of these aims, the White House
should reconsider its proposal to cancel aid for those who are now
fighting for a democratic and diverse Cuba; a country that, among other
things, would not constitute a source of conflict in the region.
Source: Editorial: An Appeal to the White House | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/1496135288_31501.html
DDC | Madrid | 30 de Mayo de 2017 - 14:42 CEST.
Castroism's plans for 2018 are clear: to officially sanction the
transfer of power to the family's heirs and double down on the kind of
state capitalism that the Castros and the military elite already
administrate.
This road map involves two farcical elections beginning in November 2017
– municipal and parliamentary ones. In the municipal elections several
dozen independent candidates will try to run, for the first time, and
after the second ones Raúl Castro might step down from the presidency of
the country, which would mean that, for the first time in decades, and
at least nominally, a Castro will no longer head up Cuba.
Both events will give rise to an unprecedented scenario and generate
dynamics that are difficult to predict, even for the regime itself. The
current spike in repression against any form of independence on the
Island is linked to the authorities' uncertainty, as they are made even
more nervous by the volatile situation facing their Venezuelan ally
Nicolás Maduro.
In this context, the White House has proposed withdrawing funds
supporting democracy in Cuba. The issue is still to be debated in
Congress, but its ultimate approval would have serious consequences for
the Cuban democratic cause.
Totalitarian laws remain in place on the Island. In addition to
repressing them, the regime condemns to social exclusion all those who
oppose it. Attempts to legalize independent initiatives are continually
rejected. Activists cannot work in the State sector, and are harassed if
they try to undertake economic activity on their own. They are the
victims of beatings, torture, abductions and arbitrary arrests,
prevented from traveling, expelled from the universities, and their
children are harassed at school. Retracting support would mean leaving
them completely at the mercy of their repressors.
At a time when the Tourism and Agriculture sectors are seeking ways to
access the Island's market, abandoning support for those fighting for
democracy in Cuba would be a boon for the elite that has ruined the
country and denies the vast majority of its citizens any chance for
freedom and prosperity. It is not only with investment in the economy
that the Cuban issue may be resolved, but also in human rights and
democratization.
US President Donald Trump stated on May 20: "The Cuban people deserve a
government that peacefully defends democratic values, economic freedoms,
religious freedoms and human rights. And my Administration is committed
to achieving that vision." In pursuit of these aims, the White House
should reconsider its proposal to cancel aid for those who are now
fighting for a democratic and diverse Cuba; a country that, among other
things, would not constitute a source of conflict in the region.
Source: Editorial: An Appeal to the White House | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/derechos-humanos/1496135288_31501.html
Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the crisis
Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the crisis
PEDRO CAMPOS | La Habana | 24 de Mayo de 2017 - 18:28 CEST.
Raúl Castro pledged to hand over the presidency in 2018 to a new leader
who, according to the current Constitution, will be elected by the
National Assembly of the Popular Power arising from the elections to be
held this year.
He would be another president elected indirectly, not by a popular vote,
but rather by the deputies: 50% proposed by the Party-Government, and
the other 50% by the para-Party organisations and provincial and
municipal delegates of the People's Power, as per the current electoral law.
Spokesmen for the Party/Government have stated that they are working on
a new electoral law (still undisclosed as of May 2017, such that its
prompt enactment is doubtful), which may involve a major change and fill
the democratic space necessary between its approval and the election
process, capable of guaranteeing genuine free elections.
Such a space must create a climate of national trust and tolerance, of
the kind that does not exist today, and include new laws on the freedom
of expression, association, political parties and a new multi-party
electoral law that guarantees that the people and representatives of all
political entities can express their views, participate in the electoral
process, and access political power at the district, municipal,
provincial and national levels, without harassment or repression.
Without this previous process of democratization, featuring guarantees
on the exercise of civil and political rights, as recognized in the UN
Charter of Human Rights, there will be no way to guarantee the
necessarily democratic solution to the political, social and economic
crisis in which Cuba has been immersed by a dictatorial system
controlled by a bureaucracy seeking to perpetuate itself in power.
But the Government is doing none of this.
The various movements that promote participation in official elections,
and the organization of a plebiscite, and other initiatives along these
lines, succeed in demonstrating the absence of democracy, but fail to
change the system.
Unless the elections that are already being organised for this year are
postponed, and the current Parliament previously proceeds to adopt all
these laws and mechanisms needed to ensure an authentic exercise of
democracy, any substantial change in Cuban society in 2018 will be unlikely.
Without these steps the forthcoming elections will proceed as usual, and
those proposed from above will elect those who tapped them, in a
repetition of the same old farce of "socialist democracy" that we have
been witnessing since 1976, to ensure that the Castro cadre remains in
power, perennially.
The whole world should know that in Cuba there is no guarantee of
democratic elections that allow the people and their various
representatives real access to power.
The 1959 Revolution managed to overthrow Batista's tyranny because it
was, they claimed, being carried out to restore the democratic
Constitution of 1940 and the institutional course interrupted by the
coup on 10 March, 1952.
Wise men say that, when one loses his way, if he wants to reach his
destination he must return to where he went off the path.
Cuba strayed from the path of democracy, liberty and development in
1959, when, instead of re-embracing the Constitution of '40 and calling
for democratic and free elections, as promised by the guerrilla leader
from the Sierra Maestra, he claimed the popular triumph for himself,
and, exploiting the political effervescence of the moment, advanced a
populist-egalitarian-stateist program of "social justice," at the cost
of utterly upending all of Cuban society, in the typical style of Latin
American caudillismo, combined with a Stalinist "dictatorship of the
proletariat."
What came next is all too well known, although told in various ways.
The answer is not to return, literally, to that time, which is
impossible, but rather to pursue anew a restoration of the country's
democratic life and foster the conditions for a new democratic
constitutional convention.
Today it seems unlikely that Raúl Castro and the gerontocracy that
surrounds him will act to undertake this task.
However, the internal economic crisis, the depletion of the system at
every level, Fidel's death, the international protests in response to
the massive, flagrant and systematic violations of the civil and
political rights of the Cuban people; the crumbling of the economic
support that the regime once received from Chávez, the decline of
authoritarian populism in the region, the proven superiority of private
and cooperative work systems over State-based models, and Cubans'
gradual access to the Internet, have been furthering the idea of the
need for change, among the governing elite and those destined to rise to
power tomorrow, and, above all, among the Cuban people.
Let no one forget that these types of systems have always brought about
their own deaths, in a kind of self-induced apoptosis, from within.
Consequently, the different opposition figures and dissidents should
concentrate on continuing to demonstrate the unfeasibility, immorality
and illegality of centralised stateism, especially its violations of
human rights; support formulas for the popular economic empowerment of
civil society, promote the widest possible access to the Internet, and
prepare for the coming democratic change, thereby averting a cycle of
violence.
Source: Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the
crisis | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495643317_31361.html
PEDRO CAMPOS | La Habana | 24 de Mayo de 2017 - 18:28 CEST.
Raúl Castro pledged to hand over the presidency in 2018 to a new leader
who, according to the current Constitution, will be elected by the
National Assembly of the Popular Power arising from the elections to be
held this year.
He would be another president elected indirectly, not by a popular vote,
but rather by the deputies: 50% proposed by the Party-Government, and
the other 50% by the para-Party organisations and provincial and
municipal delegates of the People's Power, as per the current electoral law.
Spokesmen for the Party/Government have stated that they are working on
a new electoral law (still undisclosed as of May 2017, such that its
prompt enactment is doubtful), which may involve a major change and fill
the democratic space necessary between its approval and the election
process, capable of guaranteeing genuine free elections.
Such a space must create a climate of national trust and tolerance, of
the kind that does not exist today, and include new laws on the freedom
of expression, association, political parties and a new multi-party
electoral law that guarantees that the people and representatives of all
political entities can express their views, participate in the electoral
process, and access political power at the district, municipal,
provincial and national levels, without harassment or repression.
Without this previous process of democratization, featuring guarantees
on the exercise of civil and political rights, as recognized in the UN
Charter of Human Rights, there will be no way to guarantee the
necessarily democratic solution to the political, social and economic
crisis in which Cuba has been immersed by a dictatorial system
controlled by a bureaucracy seeking to perpetuate itself in power.
But the Government is doing none of this.
The various movements that promote participation in official elections,
and the organization of a plebiscite, and other initiatives along these
lines, succeed in demonstrating the absence of democracy, but fail to
change the system.
Unless the elections that are already being organised for this year are
postponed, and the current Parliament previously proceeds to adopt all
these laws and mechanisms needed to ensure an authentic exercise of
democracy, any substantial change in Cuban society in 2018 will be unlikely.
Without these steps the forthcoming elections will proceed as usual, and
those proposed from above will elect those who tapped them, in a
repetition of the same old farce of "socialist democracy" that we have
been witnessing since 1976, to ensure that the Castro cadre remains in
power, perennially.
The whole world should know that in Cuba there is no guarantee of
democratic elections that allow the people and their various
representatives real access to power.
The 1959 Revolution managed to overthrow Batista's tyranny because it
was, they claimed, being carried out to restore the democratic
Constitution of 1940 and the institutional course interrupted by the
coup on 10 March, 1952.
Wise men say that, when one loses his way, if he wants to reach his
destination he must return to where he went off the path.
Cuba strayed from the path of democracy, liberty and development in
1959, when, instead of re-embracing the Constitution of '40 and calling
for democratic and free elections, as promised by the guerrilla leader
from the Sierra Maestra, he claimed the popular triumph for himself,
and, exploiting the political effervescence of the moment, advanced a
populist-egalitarian-stateist program of "social justice," at the cost
of utterly upending all of Cuban society, in the typical style of Latin
American caudillismo, combined with a Stalinist "dictatorship of the
proletariat."
What came next is all too well known, although told in various ways.
The answer is not to return, literally, to that time, which is
impossible, but rather to pursue anew a restoration of the country's
democratic life and foster the conditions for a new democratic
constitutional convention.
Today it seems unlikely that Raúl Castro and the gerontocracy that
surrounds him will act to undertake this task.
However, the internal economic crisis, the depletion of the system at
every level, Fidel's death, the international protests in response to
the massive, flagrant and systematic violations of the civil and
political rights of the Cuban people; the crumbling of the economic
support that the regime once received from Chávez, the decline of
authoritarian populism in the region, the proven superiority of private
and cooperative work systems over State-based models, and Cubans'
gradual access to the Internet, have been furthering the idea of the
need for change, among the governing elite and those destined to rise to
power tomorrow, and, above all, among the Cuban people.
Let no one forget that these types of systems have always brought about
their own deaths, in a kind of self-induced apoptosis, from within.
Consequently, the different opposition figures and dissidents should
concentrate on continuing to demonstrate the unfeasibility, immorality
and illegality of centralised stateism, especially its violations of
human rights; support formulas for the popular economic empowerment of
civil society, promote the widest possible access to the Internet, and
prepare for the coming democratic change, thereby averting a cycle of
violence.
Source: Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the
crisis | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495643317_31361.html
Going after the whistleblower rather than the culprits: the tobacco conflict continues in Mayarí
Going after the whistleblower rather than the culprits: the tobacco
conflict continues in Mayarí
OSMEL RAMÍREZ ÁLVAREZ | Holguín | 29 de Mayo de 2017 - 17:25 CEST.
Criminalizing the disclosure of violations to the public, rather than
those who perpetrated them, seems to be the approach taken by the
authorities in the conflict between producers in Mayarí, Holguín, and
the state company Cubatabaco for unfair payments for crops.
In previous articles I have discussed the plight faced by we producers
as a result of the prices of so-called "affected tobacco," or category-3
tobacco, a completely useable and marketable class of the plant that
generates major profits for Cubatabaco, but is paid for as if it were
garbage, at just a third of its production cost.
The situation has worsened because the volume of this type of tobacco
increased in the last harvest due to the adverse effects of a mysterious
and unavoidable malady called "green spot."
Attempts to seek redress undertaken by the cooperative of producers from
the state company's management and technicians have all been in vain,
with no grievances properly channeled. The agreement of the Assembly of
Members ((Asociados)) not to sell the tobacco until the problem of
unfair prices was solved, was violated by all of them - beginning with
the president of the cooperative, who evidently feels a greater
allegiance to the interests of the State than those of the farmworkers.
In the midst of this controversial situation, a rumor spread that the
authorities were finally taking the price problem seriously.
Unfortunately, this was not due to the fact that the payment was, in
fact, unfair, but rather because of the coverage of the issue in
alternative media.
Of course, the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), charged
with detecting any injustices suffered by farm laborers, and fighting
for a solution, has done nothing, despite the fact that we producers
support the organization with levies on our income.
The municipal managers of the ANAP and those of the cooperative are
grappling with "the problem of Osmel Ramírez," not that of the unfair
price. They are proceeding cautiously, because they know that I am
advancing a whole collective's complaint, and any move against me would
put me in the spotlight.
In mid-May a commission came to my home to analyze my articles on
nonconformities in the harvest price. It was made up of the director of
the tobacco company in the municipality, along with the deputy director,
deputy agricultural director, and legal counsel, all at the provincial
level. They were all very friendly and receptive.
It was a heated but respectful exchange in which the initial
disagreement evolved into tacit consensus. "Do you think that the price
of 292 pesos per quintal of category-3 tobacco is fair, when it is paid
for at just 30% of its production cost, and the product generates
thousands of pesos in profits?" was my question.
First they tried to change the subject to avoid the heart of the matter,
but they ended up recognizing reality, and promised to pass on this
source of discontent to their superiors. They called the situation a
"problem," while I insisted that it was an "injustice" and assured them
that I would continue to fight for our interests.
I defended my right to freely write about the reality around me and to
publish it on the Internet. They did not overtly question that
contention. And I stressed my commitment to the strictest ethics of
honest writing, and being true to the facts.
Minutes after the meeting, several farmworkers came to my house. One of
them, coincidentally, had come by in the middle of our talk, and told
the rest. They wanted to know what had happened and, to my surprise,
they knew about my articles, because the rumors had circulated widely.
Of course, they do not surf the Internet, as this is something
inaccessible for most people, due to the high prices of Wi-Fi hotspots.
Those who do, usually use it to communicate less expensively on IMO, or
check Facebook, not to read news and, much less, articles. This is why
it is easy to distort and stigmatize anything that is published, and to
frighten many people. But this issue is very sensitive because it
affects income that is vital of thousands of families, while swelling
state coffers with undeserved profits.
This issue shall be addressed again at a meeting of the cooperative.
Although it seems very difficult to win this battle, it is a duty to
fight for a fair price for all the tobacco we harvest.
We are required by law to negotiate with Cubatabaco, the only company of
its kind existing in the country. The alternative we have is to live in
dishonorable complicity with injustice, an option that we cannot
consider. Hence, the conflict continues.
Source: Going after the whistleblower rather than the culprits: the
tobacco conflict continues in Mayarí | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1496071534_31477.html
conflict continues in Mayarí
OSMEL RAMÍREZ ÁLVAREZ | Holguín | 29 de Mayo de 2017 - 17:25 CEST.
Criminalizing the disclosure of violations to the public, rather than
those who perpetrated them, seems to be the approach taken by the
authorities in the conflict between producers in Mayarí, Holguín, and
the state company Cubatabaco for unfair payments for crops.
In previous articles I have discussed the plight faced by we producers
as a result of the prices of so-called "affected tobacco," or category-3
tobacco, a completely useable and marketable class of the plant that
generates major profits for Cubatabaco, but is paid for as if it were
garbage, at just a third of its production cost.
The situation has worsened because the volume of this type of tobacco
increased in the last harvest due to the adverse effects of a mysterious
and unavoidable malady called "green spot."
Attempts to seek redress undertaken by the cooperative of producers from
the state company's management and technicians have all been in vain,
with no grievances properly channeled. The agreement of the Assembly of
Members ((Asociados)) not to sell the tobacco until the problem of
unfair prices was solved, was violated by all of them - beginning with
the president of the cooperative, who evidently feels a greater
allegiance to the interests of the State than those of the farmworkers.
In the midst of this controversial situation, a rumor spread that the
authorities were finally taking the price problem seriously.
Unfortunately, this was not due to the fact that the payment was, in
fact, unfair, but rather because of the coverage of the issue in
alternative media.
Of course, the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP), charged
with detecting any injustices suffered by farm laborers, and fighting
for a solution, has done nothing, despite the fact that we producers
support the organization with levies on our income.
The municipal managers of the ANAP and those of the cooperative are
grappling with "the problem of Osmel Ramírez," not that of the unfair
price. They are proceeding cautiously, because they know that I am
advancing a whole collective's complaint, and any move against me would
put me in the spotlight.
In mid-May a commission came to my home to analyze my articles on
nonconformities in the harvest price. It was made up of the director of
the tobacco company in the municipality, along with the deputy director,
deputy agricultural director, and legal counsel, all at the provincial
level. They were all very friendly and receptive.
It was a heated but respectful exchange in which the initial
disagreement evolved into tacit consensus. "Do you think that the price
of 292 pesos per quintal of category-3 tobacco is fair, when it is paid
for at just 30% of its production cost, and the product generates
thousands of pesos in profits?" was my question.
First they tried to change the subject to avoid the heart of the matter,
but they ended up recognizing reality, and promised to pass on this
source of discontent to their superiors. They called the situation a
"problem," while I insisted that it was an "injustice" and assured them
that I would continue to fight for our interests.
I defended my right to freely write about the reality around me and to
publish it on the Internet. They did not overtly question that
contention. And I stressed my commitment to the strictest ethics of
honest writing, and being true to the facts.
Minutes after the meeting, several farmworkers came to my house. One of
them, coincidentally, had come by in the middle of our talk, and told
the rest. They wanted to know what had happened and, to my surprise,
they knew about my articles, because the rumors had circulated widely.
Of course, they do not surf the Internet, as this is something
inaccessible for most people, due to the high prices of Wi-Fi hotspots.
Those who do, usually use it to communicate less expensively on IMO, or
check Facebook, not to read news and, much less, articles. This is why
it is easy to distort and stigmatize anything that is published, and to
frighten many people. But this issue is very sensitive because it
affects income that is vital of thousands of families, while swelling
state coffers with undeserved profits.
This issue shall be addressed again at a meeting of the cooperative.
Although it seems very difficult to win this battle, it is a duty to
fight for a fair price for all the tobacco we harvest.
We are required by law to negotiate with Cubatabaco, the only company of
its kind existing in the country. The alternative we have is to live in
dishonorable complicity with injustice, an option that we cannot
consider. Hence, the conflict continues.
Source: Going after the whistleblower rather than the culprits: the
tobacco conflict continues in Mayarí | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1496071534_31477.html
Monday, May 29, 2017
Mesa-Lago: 'I cannot see the Government acquiring another strategic partner like the Soviet Union or Venezuela'
Mesa-Lago: 'I cannot see the Government acquiring another strategic
partner like the Soviet Union or Venezuela'
DDC | Madrid | 25 de Mayo de 2017 - 19:05 CEST.
"What alternative does the economy of Cuba have if it is not the
non-State sector? Unless there appears another subsidy-distributing
savior, like the Soviet Union or Venezuela were. But I cannot see there
being another strategic partner," stated the economist and academic
Carmelo Mesa-Lago during the presentation of his latest book in Madrid.
He explained that he found implausible the prospect of China being this
deliverer, although Beijing has increased trade with Havana: in 2014 it
was 9% and the most recent numbers, from 2015, indicated 16%.
The book Voces de cambio en el sector no estatal cubano.
Cuentapropistas, usufructuarios, socios de cooperativas y compraventa de
viviendas (Voices of Change in the Cuban Non-State Sector. The
Self-Employed, Usufruct Workers, Partners of Cooperatives and Property
Sales), coordinated by Mesa-Lago, was presented this Tuesday afternoon
in Madrid's Casa de América.
"Many people have told me, inside and outside Cuba, that Raúl Castro is
weary, that he can´t take it any more, that he wants out of this. Miguel
Díaz-Canel is the designated first vice-president, the man who would be
the successor to the general on 24 February next year. Díaz-Canel does
not have widespread support, but rather only those who also back Castro:
the Party and the Armed Forces. If Raúl Castro retires completely, what
is Díaz-Canel going to do? He cannot do anything. Raúl Castro has been
attempting reform for 10 years. Is Díaz-Canel going to achieve what the
general could not in an entire decade? This is one of the fundamental
questions, and I don't have an answer for that," explained the Cuban
academic.
At the event on Tuesday, Mesa-Lago also talked about Economy Minister
Marino Murillo.
"We haven't heard a thing from Murillo for the past eight or nine
months. He has disappeared. He was the person responsible for the report
on the process of economic reforms, and for implementing them. This
worries me very much, because he was the man who was in charge of all
this," he expressed.
The academic also spoke about another aspect of the national economy:
the sale of professional services.
"The purchase of Cuban professional services by Venezuela and Brazil has
diminished, and revenue has dipped. In 2016 it may have dropped to 5
billion dollars or less," he said.
With regards to the book presented this Tuesday, he explained that it
was a joint work, produced in collaboration with Roberto Veiga González
and Lenier González Mederos, both Cubans residing on the Island, who
conducted the interviews; Sofía Vera Rojas, a doctoral candidate in
Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh; and Aníbal
Perez-Liñán, a professor of Political Science at the same institution,
who did the tabulations and their analysis.
"There were 80 interviews, of people in four sectors (the self employed,
usufruct workers, partners of cooperatives, and peopled involved in
property sales). We did not provide answers to choose from. Rather, they
were open-ended interviews, with nothing to mark. They took between an
hour and a half and two hours. They were very intensive," he stressed.
Regarding the number of people interviewed, he expressed regret: "We do
not claim that this was a scientific survey. Unfortunately, that would
have been impossible. We would have had to request permission from the
authorities in Cuba, and they were not going to give it to us. I have
colleagues who were able to conduct interviews in Cuba, but with a
10-year moratorium on their release, such that when the results finally
come out, they're already out-of-date."
Regarding the data featured in this volume, he stated that, with
reference to satisfaction with what they do, and what they earn, 80% of
the self-employed reported that they were very satisfied (with scores of
8, 9 and 10), and only 5% gave scores of 1 to 3.
Other data obtained in this study indicated that 57% of workers in the
non-State sector have between 1 and 5 employees. Only 2% reported having
more than 15.
"Another surprise for us was that 93% reported having net profits after
the payment of taxes. And two thirds of them said that they reinvested
all their profits. There is, therefore, a process of business growth,
but with limits placed on it by the State. The owner of a paladar
(restaurant) cannot have a chain. He cannot have several," explained
Mesa-Lago.
He indicated that there are five taxes levied on the self employed and,
in this regard, observed that the most absurd of all is the one on their
staffs: "The more employees a self-employed businessperson hires, the
higher the taxes he must pay. This is absurd, because it is in the
State's interest for there to be more employees. In statements some
years ago, the Government announced that 1.8 million State employees are
unnecessary. Hence, the State has to reduce their numbers, and, for
this, needs for non-State jobs to be created. They are penalizing
someone who actually helps to solve a problem that is fundamental."
The interviews also found that 92% of workers in the non-State sector
would like to expand their businesses, and even sell abroad.
"The book has more than statistics. One can see what people are saying.
One of the people interviewed said that he saw a container with his
products, to be sold in Bahamas and Barbados. It is impressive, because
there are so many restrictions, but the self-employed still have an
enterprising spirit, one that could really be magnificent if they did
not face so many hurdles."
As for advertising, he defined it as very rudimentary. 67% is comprised
of calling cards, flyers, and signs placed at the front of the business.
Just 19% of entrepreneurs have access to the Internet.
The fundamental problems cited by the self-employed and usufruct workers
were the difficulty of obtaining raw materials, State bureaucracy and
interference, red tape and taxes. In response to the question "What
would you like to see improve?" two thirds of those interviewed
indicated the State bureaucracy, and the issue of raw materials.
With reference to remittances, only 24% of those interviewed reported
receiving economic remittances: "Here there was fear. I think that
people were wary. Later 68% responded recognized that they received help
from relatives on and off the Island."
Mesa-Lago also lamented the fact that many qualified professionals
engage in unskilled labor activities.
"What the State must do is allow professionals to practice their trades:
of 201 activities approved by the Government for self-employed labor,
most are unskilled. There are not even 10 that constitute skilled
labor," he complained.
"My conclusion is that if there were more flexibility, and the non-State
sector were bolstered, there would be growth in the Cuban economy, and
an improvement in social welfare. Unfortunately, reform is very slow.
And, of course, there is the question of the decentralization of the
State sector," concluded the academic.
Participating in the function on Tuesday were Consuelo Naranjo, director
of the History Institute, Advanced Scientific Research Council; José
Antonio Alonso, Professor of Applied Economics at the Universidad
Complutense de Madrid; and Carlos Malamud, a principal research
historian with the Elcano Institute of International Studies.
A distinguished professor of Economics and Latin American Studies at the
University of Pittsburgh, Mesa-Lago is the author of a range of books
and articles on the Cuban economy and comparative economic systems,
among other topics. He has received several prizes, among them the
Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung (1991, 2002), and recognition by the
International Labour Organization (WLO) for his research on decent work,
jointly with Nelson Mandela (2007). In 2015 he was named one of the 50
most influential intellectuals in Ibero-America.
Source: Mesa-Lago: 'I cannot see the Government acquiring another
strategic partner like the Soviet Union or Venezuela' | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495731946_31398.html
partner like the Soviet Union or Venezuela'
DDC | Madrid | 25 de Mayo de 2017 - 19:05 CEST.
"What alternative does the economy of Cuba have if it is not the
non-State sector? Unless there appears another subsidy-distributing
savior, like the Soviet Union or Venezuela were. But I cannot see there
being another strategic partner," stated the economist and academic
Carmelo Mesa-Lago during the presentation of his latest book in Madrid.
He explained that he found implausible the prospect of China being this
deliverer, although Beijing has increased trade with Havana: in 2014 it
was 9% and the most recent numbers, from 2015, indicated 16%.
The book Voces de cambio en el sector no estatal cubano.
Cuentapropistas, usufructuarios, socios de cooperativas y compraventa de
viviendas (Voices of Change in the Cuban Non-State Sector. The
Self-Employed, Usufruct Workers, Partners of Cooperatives and Property
Sales), coordinated by Mesa-Lago, was presented this Tuesday afternoon
in Madrid's Casa de América.
"Many people have told me, inside and outside Cuba, that Raúl Castro is
weary, that he can´t take it any more, that he wants out of this. Miguel
Díaz-Canel is the designated first vice-president, the man who would be
the successor to the general on 24 February next year. Díaz-Canel does
not have widespread support, but rather only those who also back Castro:
the Party and the Armed Forces. If Raúl Castro retires completely, what
is Díaz-Canel going to do? He cannot do anything. Raúl Castro has been
attempting reform for 10 years. Is Díaz-Canel going to achieve what the
general could not in an entire decade? This is one of the fundamental
questions, and I don't have an answer for that," explained the Cuban
academic.
At the event on Tuesday, Mesa-Lago also talked about Economy Minister
Marino Murillo.
"We haven't heard a thing from Murillo for the past eight or nine
months. He has disappeared. He was the person responsible for the report
on the process of economic reforms, and for implementing them. This
worries me very much, because he was the man who was in charge of all
this," he expressed.
The academic also spoke about another aspect of the national economy:
the sale of professional services.
"The purchase of Cuban professional services by Venezuela and Brazil has
diminished, and revenue has dipped. In 2016 it may have dropped to 5
billion dollars or less," he said.
With regards to the book presented this Tuesday, he explained that it
was a joint work, produced in collaboration with Roberto Veiga González
and Lenier González Mederos, both Cubans residing on the Island, who
conducted the interviews; Sofía Vera Rojas, a doctoral candidate in
Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh; and Aníbal
Perez-Liñán, a professor of Political Science at the same institution,
who did the tabulations and their analysis.
"There were 80 interviews, of people in four sectors (the self employed,
usufruct workers, partners of cooperatives, and peopled involved in
property sales). We did not provide answers to choose from. Rather, they
were open-ended interviews, with nothing to mark. They took between an
hour and a half and two hours. They were very intensive," he stressed.
Regarding the number of people interviewed, he expressed regret: "We do
not claim that this was a scientific survey. Unfortunately, that would
have been impossible. We would have had to request permission from the
authorities in Cuba, and they were not going to give it to us. I have
colleagues who were able to conduct interviews in Cuba, but with a
10-year moratorium on their release, such that when the results finally
come out, they're already out-of-date."
Regarding the data featured in this volume, he stated that, with
reference to satisfaction with what they do, and what they earn, 80% of
the self-employed reported that they were very satisfied (with scores of
8, 9 and 10), and only 5% gave scores of 1 to 3.
Other data obtained in this study indicated that 57% of workers in the
non-State sector have between 1 and 5 employees. Only 2% reported having
more than 15.
"Another surprise for us was that 93% reported having net profits after
the payment of taxes. And two thirds of them said that they reinvested
all their profits. There is, therefore, a process of business growth,
but with limits placed on it by the State. The owner of a paladar
(restaurant) cannot have a chain. He cannot have several," explained
Mesa-Lago.
He indicated that there are five taxes levied on the self employed and,
in this regard, observed that the most absurd of all is the one on their
staffs: "The more employees a self-employed businessperson hires, the
higher the taxes he must pay. This is absurd, because it is in the
State's interest for there to be more employees. In statements some
years ago, the Government announced that 1.8 million State employees are
unnecessary. Hence, the State has to reduce their numbers, and, for
this, needs for non-State jobs to be created. They are penalizing
someone who actually helps to solve a problem that is fundamental."
The interviews also found that 92% of workers in the non-State sector
would like to expand their businesses, and even sell abroad.
"The book has more than statistics. One can see what people are saying.
One of the people interviewed said that he saw a container with his
products, to be sold in Bahamas and Barbados. It is impressive, because
there are so many restrictions, but the self-employed still have an
enterprising spirit, one that could really be magnificent if they did
not face so many hurdles."
As for advertising, he defined it as very rudimentary. 67% is comprised
of calling cards, flyers, and signs placed at the front of the business.
Just 19% of entrepreneurs have access to the Internet.
The fundamental problems cited by the self-employed and usufruct workers
were the difficulty of obtaining raw materials, State bureaucracy and
interference, red tape and taxes. In response to the question "What
would you like to see improve?" two thirds of those interviewed
indicated the State bureaucracy, and the issue of raw materials.
With reference to remittances, only 24% of those interviewed reported
receiving economic remittances: "Here there was fear. I think that
people were wary. Later 68% responded recognized that they received help
from relatives on and off the Island."
Mesa-Lago also lamented the fact that many qualified professionals
engage in unskilled labor activities.
"What the State must do is allow professionals to practice their trades:
of 201 activities approved by the Government for self-employed labor,
most are unskilled. There are not even 10 that constitute skilled
labor," he complained.
"My conclusion is that if there were more flexibility, and the non-State
sector were bolstered, there would be growth in the Cuban economy, and
an improvement in social welfare. Unfortunately, reform is very slow.
And, of course, there is the question of the decentralization of the
State sector," concluded the academic.
Participating in the function on Tuesday were Consuelo Naranjo, director
of the History Institute, Advanced Scientific Research Council; José
Antonio Alonso, Professor of Applied Economics at the Universidad
Complutense de Madrid; and Carlos Malamud, a principal research
historian with the Elcano Institute of International Studies.
A distinguished professor of Economics and Latin American Studies at the
University of Pittsburgh, Mesa-Lago is the author of a range of books
and articles on the Cuban economy and comparative economic systems,
among other topics. He has received several prizes, among them the
Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung (1991, 2002), and recognition by the
International Labour Organization (WLO) for his research on decent work,
jointly with Nelson Mandela (2007). In 2015 he was named one of the 50
most influential intellectuals in Ibero-America.
Source: Mesa-Lago: 'I cannot see the Government acquiring another
strategic partner like the Soviet Union or Venezuela' | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495731946_31398.html
Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the crisis
Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the crisis
PEDRO CAMPOS | La Habana | 24 de Mayo de 2017 - 18:28 CEST.
Raúl Castro pledged to hand over the presidency in 2018 to a new leader
who, according to the current Constitution, will be elected by the
National Assembly of the Popular Power arising from the elections to be
held this year.
He would be another president elected indirectly, not by a popular vote,
but rather by the deputies: 50% proposed by the Party-Government, and
the other 50% by the para-Party organisations and provincial and
municipal delegates of the People's Power, as per the current electoral law.
Spokesmen for the Party/Government have stated that they are working on
a new electoral law (still undisclosed as of May 2017, such that its
prompt enactment is doubtful), which may involve a major change and fill
the democratic space necessary between its approval and the election
process, capable of guaranteeing genuine free elections.
Such a space must create a climate of national trust and tolerance, of
the kind that does not exist today, and include new laws on the freedom
of expression, association, political parties and a new multi-party
electoral law that guarantees that the people and representatives of all
political entities can express their views, participate in the electoral
process, and access political power at the district, municipal,
provincial and national levels, without harassment or repression.
Without this previous process of democratization, featuring guarantees
on the exercise of civil and political rights, as recognized in the UN
Charter of Human Rights, there will be no way to guarantee the
necessarily democratic solution to the political, social and economic
crisis in which Cuba has been immersed by a dictatorial system
controlled by a bureaucracy seeking to perpetuate itself in power.
But the Government is doing none of this.
The various movements that promote participation in official elections,
and the organization of a plebiscite, and other initiatives along these
lines, succeed in demonstrating the absence of democracy, but fail to
change the system.
Unless the elections that are already being organised for this year are
postponed, and the current Parliament previously proceeds to adopt all
these laws and mechanisms needed to ensure an authentic exercise of
democracy, any substantial change in Cuban society in 2018 will be unlikely.
Without these steps the forthcoming elections will proceed as usual, and
those proposed from above will elect those who tapped them, in a
repetition of the same old farce of "socialist democracy" that we have
been witnessing since 1976, to ensure that the Castro cadre remains in
power, perennially.
The whole world should know that in Cuba there is no guarantee of
democratic elections that allow the people and their various
representatives real access to power.
The 1959 Revolution managed to overthrow Batista's tyranny because it
was, they claimed, being carried out to restore the democratic
Constitution of 1940 and the institutional course interrupted by the
coup on 10 March, 1952.
Wise men say that, when one loses his way, if he wants to reach his
destination he must return to where he went off the path.
Cuba strayed from the path of democracy, liberty and development in
1959, when, instead of re-embracing the Constitution of '40 and calling
for democratic and free elections, as promised by the guerrilla leader
from the Sierra Maestra, he claimed the popular triumph for himself,
and, exploiting the political effervescence of the moment, advanced a
populist-egalitarian-stateist program of "social justice," at the cost
of utterly upending all of Cuban society, in the typical style of Latin
American caudillismo, combined with a Stalinist "dictatorship of the
proletariat."
What came next is all too well known, although told in various ways.
The answer is not to return, literally, to that time, which is
impossible, but rather to pursue anew a restoration of the country's
democratic life and foster the conditions for a new democratic
constitutional convention.
Today it seems unlikely that Raúl Castro and the gerontocracy that
surrounds him will act to undertake this task.
However, the internal economic crisis, the depletion of the system at
every level, Fidel's death, the international protests in response to
the massive, flagrant and systematic violations of the civil and
political rights of the Cuban people; the crumbling of the economic
support that the regime once received from Chávez, the decline of
authoritarian populism in the region, the proven superiority of private
and cooperative work systems over State-based models, and Cubans'
gradual access to the Internet, have been furthering the idea of the
need for change, among the governing elite and those destined to rise to
power tomorrow, and, above all, among the Cuban people.
Let no one forget that these types of systems have always brought about
their own deaths, in a kind of self-induced apoptosis, from within.
Consequently, the different opposition figures and dissidents should
concentrate on continuing to demonstrate the unfeasibility, immorality
and illegality of centralised stateism, especially its violations of
human rights; support formulas for the popular economic empowerment of
civil society, promote the widest possible access to the Internet, and
prepare for the coming democratic change, thereby averting a cycle of
violence.
Source: Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the
crisis | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495643317_31361.html
PEDRO CAMPOS | La Habana | 24 de Mayo de 2017 - 18:28 CEST.
Raúl Castro pledged to hand over the presidency in 2018 to a new leader
who, according to the current Constitution, will be elected by the
National Assembly of the Popular Power arising from the elections to be
held this year.
He would be another president elected indirectly, not by a popular vote,
but rather by the deputies: 50% proposed by the Party-Government, and
the other 50% by the para-Party organisations and provincial and
municipal delegates of the People's Power, as per the current electoral law.
Spokesmen for the Party/Government have stated that they are working on
a new electoral law (still undisclosed as of May 2017, such that its
prompt enactment is doubtful), which may involve a major change and fill
the democratic space necessary between its approval and the election
process, capable of guaranteeing genuine free elections.
Such a space must create a climate of national trust and tolerance, of
the kind that does not exist today, and include new laws on the freedom
of expression, association, political parties and a new multi-party
electoral law that guarantees that the people and representatives of all
political entities can express their views, participate in the electoral
process, and access political power at the district, municipal,
provincial and national levels, without harassment or repression.
Without this previous process of democratization, featuring guarantees
on the exercise of civil and political rights, as recognized in the UN
Charter of Human Rights, there will be no way to guarantee the
necessarily democratic solution to the political, social and economic
crisis in which Cuba has been immersed by a dictatorial system
controlled by a bureaucracy seeking to perpetuate itself in power.
But the Government is doing none of this.
The various movements that promote participation in official elections,
and the organization of a plebiscite, and other initiatives along these
lines, succeed in demonstrating the absence of democracy, but fail to
change the system.
Unless the elections that are already being organised for this year are
postponed, and the current Parliament previously proceeds to adopt all
these laws and mechanisms needed to ensure an authentic exercise of
democracy, any substantial change in Cuban society in 2018 will be unlikely.
Without these steps the forthcoming elections will proceed as usual, and
those proposed from above will elect those who tapped them, in a
repetition of the same old farce of "socialist democracy" that we have
been witnessing since 1976, to ensure that the Castro cadre remains in
power, perennially.
The whole world should know that in Cuba there is no guarantee of
democratic elections that allow the people and their various
representatives real access to power.
The 1959 Revolution managed to overthrow Batista's tyranny because it
was, they claimed, being carried out to restore the democratic
Constitution of 1940 and the institutional course interrupted by the
coup on 10 March, 1952.
Wise men say that, when one loses his way, if he wants to reach his
destination he must return to where he went off the path.
Cuba strayed from the path of democracy, liberty and development in
1959, when, instead of re-embracing the Constitution of '40 and calling
for democratic and free elections, as promised by the guerrilla leader
from the Sierra Maestra, he claimed the popular triumph for himself,
and, exploiting the political effervescence of the moment, advanced a
populist-egalitarian-stateist program of "social justice," at the cost
of utterly upending all of Cuban society, in the typical style of Latin
American caudillismo, combined with a Stalinist "dictatorship of the
proletariat."
What came next is all too well known, although told in various ways.
The answer is not to return, literally, to that time, which is
impossible, but rather to pursue anew a restoration of the country's
democratic life and foster the conditions for a new democratic
constitutional convention.
Today it seems unlikely that Raúl Castro and the gerontocracy that
surrounds him will act to undertake this task.
However, the internal economic crisis, the depletion of the system at
every level, Fidel's death, the international protests in response to
the massive, flagrant and systematic violations of the civil and
political rights of the Cuban people; the crumbling of the economic
support that the regime once received from Chávez, the decline of
authoritarian populism in the region, the proven superiority of private
and cooperative work systems over State-based models, and Cubans'
gradual access to the Internet, have been furthering the idea of the
need for change, among the governing elite and those destined to rise to
power tomorrow, and, above all, among the Cuban people.
Let no one forget that these types of systems have always brought about
their own deaths, in a kind of self-induced apoptosis, from within.
Consequently, the different opposition figures and dissidents should
concentrate on continuing to demonstrate the unfeasibility, immorality
and illegality of centralised stateism, especially its violations of
human rights; support formulas for the popular economic empowerment of
civil society, promote the widest possible access to the Internet, and
prepare for the coming democratic change, thereby averting a cycle of
violence.
Source: Without concrete steps towards a democratic solution to the
crisis | Diario de Cuba -
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/1495643317_31361.html
Monday, May 22, 2017
Cuba’s Proxy War in Venezuela
Cuba's Proxy War in Venezuela
Mary Anastasia O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal
The commitment to Maduro among soldiers and police is breaking down
Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro is responding to mass demonstrations
by selectively killing civilians. If, as a result, some branch of the
military breaks with the regime, the country will descend into civil
war. But until then it's a one-sided slaughter.
It's also a Cuban proxy war. More than a dozen high-ranking Cuban
officers are said to be in Venezuela, along with thousands of Cuban
intelligence agents. Their job is to keep Venezuelan army officers under
constant surveillance to prevent the feared military uprising to restore
democracy. If the international community wants to head off disaster, a
good place to start would be in Havana.
On Thursday Miami's El Nuevo Herald reported it has a recording of
Venezuelan generals—at a meeting in Barquisimeto three weeks ago—"giving
orders to use snipers to control demonstrators." According to the Herald
they did so "with the argument that they find themselves on the
threshold of a civil war."
Maybe the generals know something not yet acknowledged publicly—that the
commitment to Mr. Maduro among the nation's soldiers and police is
breaking down.
It happened once before, in April 2002, when snipers backing the regime
picked off protesters during a demonstration in Caracas. When some
members of the army refused to help then-President Hugo Chávez crack
down on the crowd, he was forced to step aside, albeit temporarily.
Once back in power, Chávez accelerated the recruitment and arming of
paramilitaries. Thousands now show up at antigovernment protests, firing
weapons into crowds and using their motorcycles to run down
demonstrators. If the Cubans remain the power behind the throne, there
will be no one to stop these trained killers from slitting the throats
of the opposition.
The possibility of a break inside the armed forces seems to be on the
rise. As the Journal's Anatoly Kurmanaev reported on Wednesday, National
Guard riot police are worn down from taking on thousands of street
protesters almost daily since the beginning of April. Rank-and-file
soldiers also are not immune to the hardship and hunger caused by Mr.
Maduro's senseless economic policies. They say they too are underpaid
and underfed.
The dictatorship is clearly worried about this and recognizes it will
lose a war of attrition. One source in Caracas who marched in the
streets Thursday observed a noted increase in regime repression.
In recent weeks government enforcers also have launched attacks on lower
middle-class neighborhoods where Maduro critics live. They break down
gates and doors, rampage through apartment complexes, fire tear-gas
canisters through windows and loot homes.
On May 7 the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported that between
April 4 and May 5 the National Guard, together with National Bolivarian
Police and chavista militia, invaded 11 different residential areas in
Caracas. One family of four in the El Paraíso district, requesting
anonymity, told of how they cowered together in a bathroom for eight
hours to keep from being asphyxiated by the tear gas that had inundated
the rest of their apartment.
It wasn't the first blitz on the building complex known as Terrazas del
Paraíso. On April 19 pro-government thugs smashed an iron grille to get
in and rob one of the neighbors. On April 26 civilian-clothed militia
entered the complex and fired rubber bullets, injuring some residents.
"But it was to frighten us, because they didn't steal anything," one of
the victims told the newspaper.
On May 11 El Nacional reported that since this most recent wave of
protests began, state security forces and paramilitary have engaged in
similar violence and theft against 13 condominiums in six cities
including Maracay, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Merida. Forty-seven people
have been killed in the violence perpetrated by the antiriot squads and
paramilitary madmen since early April.
This is state terrorism. But it may not have its intended effect. Most
of the country is solidly against the government, and this includes
low-income Venezuelans, once the base for chavismo. Paradoxically the
repression seems to be strengthening opposition resolve. Perhaps
Venezuelans have reached a tipping point. They will get new elections
and freedom for political prisoners, or are ready to die trying.
The brutality also may be eroding the confidence of the men and women in
uniform. Many seem not to have the stomach for the cruelty their Cuban
handlers expect from their South American protégés. On May 5 opposition
leader Henrique Capriles said 85 members of the armed forces, including
some young captains and sergeants, had been detained by the regime for
criticizing the repression. On May 19 a member of the National Guard was
arrested in Táchira for having crossed over to defend protesters.
The international community has the power, through sanctions, to rein in
Cuba. If it fails to do so, the Venezuelan opposition will be massacred.
Source: Cuba's proxy war in Venezuela | Babalú Blog -
https://www.babalublog.com/2017/05/22/cubas-proxy-war-in-venezuela/
Mary Anastasia O'Grady in The Wall Street Journal
The commitment to Maduro among soldiers and police is breaking down
Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro is responding to mass demonstrations
by selectively killing civilians. If, as a result, some branch of the
military breaks with the regime, the country will descend into civil
war. But until then it's a one-sided slaughter.
It's also a Cuban proxy war. More than a dozen high-ranking Cuban
officers are said to be in Venezuela, along with thousands of Cuban
intelligence agents. Their job is to keep Venezuelan army officers under
constant surveillance to prevent the feared military uprising to restore
democracy. If the international community wants to head off disaster, a
good place to start would be in Havana.
On Thursday Miami's El Nuevo Herald reported it has a recording of
Venezuelan generals—at a meeting in Barquisimeto three weeks ago—"giving
orders to use snipers to control demonstrators." According to the Herald
they did so "with the argument that they find themselves on the
threshold of a civil war."
Maybe the generals know something not yet acknowledged publicly—that the
commitment to Mr. Maduro among the nation's soldiers and police is
breaking down.
It happened once before, in April 2002, when snipers backing the regime
picked off protesters during a demonstration in Caracas. When some
members of the army refused to help then-President Hugo Chávez crack
down on the crowd, he was forced to step aside, albeit temporarily.
Once back in power, Chávez accelerated the recruitment and arming of
paramilitaries. Thousands now show up at antigovernment protests, firing
weapons into crowds and using their motorcycles to run down
demonstrators. If the Cubans remain the power behind the throne, there
will be no one to stop these trained killers from slitting the throats
of the opposition.
The possibility of a break inside the armed forces seems to be on the
rise. As the Journal's Anatoly Kurmanaev reported on Wednesday, National
Guard riot police are worn down from taking on thousands of street
protesters almost daily since the beginning of April. Rank-and-file
soldiers also are not immune to the hardship and hunger caused by Mr.
Maduro's senseless economic policies. They say they too are underpaid
and underfed.
The dictatorship is clearly worried about this and recognizes it will
lose a war of attrition. One source in Caracas who marched in the
streets Thursday observed a noted increase in regime repression.
In recent weeks government enforcers also have launched attacks on lower
middle-class neighborhoods where Maduro critics live. They break down
gates and doors, rampage through apartment complexes, fire tear-gas
canisters through windows and loot homes.
On May 7 the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional reported that between
April 4 and May 5 the National Guard, together with National Bolivarian
Police and chavista militia, invaded 11 different residential areas in
Caracas. One family of four in the El Paraíso district, requesting
anonymity, told of how they cowered together in a bathroom for eight
hours to keep from being asphyxiated by the tear gas that had inundated
the rest of their apartment.
It wasn't the first blitz on the building complex known as Terrazas del
Paraíso. On April 19 pro-government thugs smashed an iron grille to get
in and rob one of the neighbors. On April 26 civilian-clothed militia
entered the complex and fired rubber bullets, injuring some residents.
"But it was to frighten us, because they didn't steal anything," one of
the victims told the newspaper.
On May 11 El Nacional reported that since this most recent wave of
protests began, state security forces and paramilitary have engaged in
similar violence and theft against 13 condominiums in six cities
including Maracay, Valencia, Barquisimeto and Merida. Forty-seven people
have been killed in the violence perpetrated by the antiriot squads and
paramilitary madmen since early April.
This is state terrorism. But it may not have its intended effect. Most
of the country is solidly against the government, and this includes
low-income Venezuelans, once the base for chavismo. Paradoxically the
repression seems to be strengthening opposition resolve. Perhaps
Venezuelans have reached a tipping point. They will get new elections
and freedom for political prisoners, or are ready to die trying.
The brutality also may be eroding the confidence of the men and women in
uniform. Many seem not to have the stomach for the cruelty their Cuban
handlers expect from their South American protégés. On May 5 opposition
leader Henrique Capriles said 85 members of the armed forces, including
some young captains and sergeants, had been detained by the regime for
criticizing the repression. On May 19 a member of the National Guard was
arrested in Táchira for having crossed over to defend protesters.
The international community has the power, through sanctions, to rein in
Cuba. If it fails to do so, the Venezuelan opposition will be massacred.
Source: Cuba's proxy war in Venezuela | Babalú Blog -
https://www.babalublog.com/2017/05/22/cubas-proxy-war-in-venezuela/
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