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Cuban Economic News
Archive: to 12/2013
Cuban TV Industry Takes Another Step towards Digital Switchover 12/26/2013 Havana
Reporter: "Cuban specialists recently presented the first working prototype
of an integrated digital television set manufactured in Cuba, using liquid
crystal display (LCD) and light emitting diodes (LEDs)."
The Need to Speed up Changes in Oriente 12/7/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "No one
can accept that a lack of attractions is the culprit for Oriente
underdevelopment. The area holds the home site of the Rough Riders landing
in Daiquiri and Siboney, San Juan Hills, the Morro Castle and the sunken
wreckage of the Spanish fleet. General Antonio Maceo’s home and Square, the
Bacardi Museum, Jose Marti Mausoleum, Santa Efigenia cemetery, the Gran
Piedra Coffee ruins, the Moncada Garrison, the Basilica of the Virgin of
Charity, the site of the Protest of Baragua and Loma del Gato, where General
Jose Maceo fell in combat are all close at hand. We also have the English
Speaking Caribbean and Haitian community in Goat Hill in Guantanamo,
Caimanera overlooking the Guantanamo Naval Base, the Alexander Humbolt
Biophere reserve and Baracoa. The sites of the beginning of Cuba’s two Wars
of Independence, the city where the national anthem was written, the home of
the Father of the Cuban Nation, the site where slaves were freed, the Granma
landing and the Sierra Maestra are all there. One of Cuba’s best beaches in
Guardalavaca, Christopher Columbus' landing site in Bariay and Cuba’s
largest arqueological dig in Banes suffice to attract an additional million
tourists to Cuba."
La Zona de Desarrollo del Mariel. Potencialidad y Riesgos. 11/25/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "Escépticos,
fatalistas y enemigos, presagian el fracaso del ZED debido a la severa falta
de vías de comunicación en el país, deficiente abasto de agua,
alcantarillado, electricidad, lentitud cibernética, deplorable comercio
minorista, transporte, construcción, servicios de apoyo, correos, viviendas
y la mentalidad de algunos en el siglo XX. Ignoran o subvaloran los cientos
de miles de profesionales, técnicos y científicos que Cuba ha formado, lo
que le permite calificarlos y recalificarlos para asumir cualquier
responsabilidad, a diferencia de muchos países vecinos que partirían de
cero."
Soft Landing in Cuba? Emerging Entrepreneurs and Middle Classes 11/1/2013 Brookings
Institution
Cuba:
Beginning of the End of Dual Currency 10/22/2013 Havana Times: 'Many
economists believe that the dual currency distorts accounting and hampers
economic productivity on the island. Monetary unification “is not a measure
that will resolve all the current economic problems, but its implementation
is essential to ensure the restoration of the value of the Cuban peso,”
noted the official Granma newspaper on Tuesday."
Trabajo por cuenta propia revela tensiones de género en Cuba 10/14/2013 Global
Voices: por Sandra Abd'Allah-Alvarez Ramírez
Crean cooperativas en la Oficina del Historiador 9/27/2013 Opus
Havana: "Hoy viernes fueron constituidas oficialmente dos cooperativas no
agropecuarias de primer grado de la Oficina del Historiador de la Ciudad: la
de vidriería Vidria y la de metales Calflat. En el acto, efectuado en la
Casa Pedroso, y en el que intervino Eusebio Leal Spengler para saludar la
iniciativa y desear éxitos a los cooperativistas, se conoció que estas se
crearon con el objetivo de diversificar el trabajo en la institución en una
nueva modalidad, utilizando en este caso específico la experiencia de
graduados y profesores de la Escuela Taller Gaspar Melchor de Jovellanos."
Cuba expands list of allowed private sector jobs 9/26/2013 AFP: "The
Communist Party daily Granma reported that among the 18 newly authorized
private sector occupations is that of real estate agent, in keeping with an
earlier decision to legalize private real estate transactions. Vendors of
agricultural produce and telecommunications salespeople also have been added
to the list."
Cuban Cinema
at a Crossroads: Independent Productions on the Island 8/30/2013 Havana
Times: "Calviño believes that “the first step would be to create a legal
platform for independent productions. Today, we can’t even sign a contract
or open our own bank account,” she explains, adding that the important thing
“is to be allowed to work without the stress of thinking one is doing
something illegal.”"
A business-friendly Cuba gets a hand from Canada 8/29/2013 Toronto
Globe & Mail: “The irony is those that will save the Revolution are the
emerging small- and medium-sized private businesses,” he says. “And those
that could destroy it are those elements in the bureaucracy that resist
these changes.”
The
Privatization of Education in Cuba: Kissing the Right Frog 8/27/2013 Havana
Times: "In this connection, Zulema’s day care center is one case among many
others, which include private schools maintained by international
organizations, to which the children of Cuba’s nouveaux riches flock in a
mad, happy rush. As such, Cuban society is slowly becoming exposed to two
visibly different ways of accessing education. At the top, we have the
children of those who have come out victorious in the process of capitalist
restoration, comfortable in their private institutions and nurseries. At the
very broad base, we have the heirs of poverty, in an educational system that
is in shambles, with badly-paid teachers and ramshackle facilities. Some go
up while others plunge further down."
La música cubana
se vende en bolsa negra 8/22/2013 Cubanet: "Hace algún tiempo, una
“bomba” explotó en el Centro Provincial de la Música, en Matanzas. Una
directiva de esa empresa se embolsaba miles de dólares, derivados de turbios
manejos relacionados con agrupaciones contratadas en Varadero. Con ganancias
sucias, la mujer se estaba construyendo un auténtico palacete, comparable
con el que intentó erigirse, décadas atrás, el proverbial Luis Orlando
Domínguez."
Illegal Dental
Work on the Rise in Cuba 8/22/2013 Havana Times: "Generally speaking,
dentists with private clinics are specialists or technicians from the field
who continue to work for the State or quit their day jobs in search of
financial improvement. They have clinics with basic conditions at home and
no license to operate. In fact, no one is authorized by the government to
offer health services privately, as a self-employed professional. Another
practice consists of offering dental appointments and diagnostic procedures
outside State clinics, in private residences, and conducting the actual
surgery in the government institution, using the equipment and supplies
there illegally."
Celebran Aniversario 26 de los Joven Club de Computación 8/16/2013 CubaDebate
Cuba’s Journey on the Internet: There’s a Long March Ahead 8/14/2013 Time: "only
25% of the population is online" [This figure comes from official sources.]
Internet access now a reality for some Cubans, but not cheap at $4.50 an
hour 8/6/2013 CNN
Cuba’s Economic Performance in 2012 7/24/2013 CounterPunch
Hospitales cubanos
se caen a pedazos y si los reparan, es con pacientes dentro 7/2/2013 CubaNet: "El
doctor me mira sorprendido cuando le pregunto si considera que no se puede
transportar a un paciente grave en un ascensor donde van otras personas. Al
preguntarle me acuerdo de los ingresos hospitalarios con mi padre y la
cantidad de veces que subí con él acostado en una camilla, luchando por
protegerlo del hombre que sacaba un contenedor de basura, en presencia de
médicos conversando que me obligaban a ver aquella situación como “normal”."
Guantánamo en nosotros 6/30/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "El Centro Medico del
Caribe en que quedaría transformado el Hospital Agostinho Neto y su Escuela
de Medicina para unos 10,000 alumnos nacionales e internacionales, pudiera
contar con un equipo facultativo-docente internacional, solidario,
progresista, que contribuyera a conferirle el más alto nivel
científico-investigativo de la región, graduando con el máximo nivel y rigor
científico a unos 500 médicos, 1000 enfermeras y 500 tecnólogos anuales,
procedentes de todo el mundo."
Guantánamo in us 6/30/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "The devastation caused by
Hurricane Georges in Guantanamo in 1998 led the Caribbean American Children
Foundation, other solidarity groups, humanists and peace loving people
across Florida, to collect health, educational, handicap, sports and
cultural goods which were placed on the first four engine cargo airplane to
depart from Miami to Guantanamo since 1959. These solidarity efforts have
continued with that region to this day."
Policía allana
vivienda y ocupa bienes de Alfredo Guevara 6/29/2013 Café Fuerte: "En
verdad, estamos ante un asunto de corrupción de proporciones mayúsculas,
pues Alfredo Guevara era uno de los mayores coleccionistas privados de
pintura cubana, patrimonio con el que traficó durante décadas y era tolerado
por la oficialidad por su defensa del régimen”, agregó el cineasta. “Esa
tolerancia ha llegado a su fin”. El realizador dijo a CaféFuerte que “hay
constancia de que ese tráfico con obras de arte ha proporcionado cientos de
miles de dólares a los herederos, quienes han invertido en varias
propiedades en Miami”.
Policía allana
vivienda y ocupa bienes de Alfredo Guevara 6/29/2013 CubaNet: "En
verdad, estamos ante un asunto de corrupción de proporciones mayúsculas,
pues Alfredo Guevara era uno de los mayores coleccionistas privados de
pintura cubana, patrimonio con el que traficó durante décadas y era tolerado
por la oficialidad por su defensa del régimen”, agregó el cineasta. “Esa
tolerancia ha llegado a su fin”. El realizador dijo a CaféFuerte que “hay
constancia de que ese tráfico con obras de arte ha proporcionado cientos de
miles de dólares a los herederos, quienes han invertido en varias
propiedades en Miami”. Guevara murió de un ataque cardíaco el pasado 19 de
abril, a los 87 años. Sus cenizas fueron esparcidas días después en la
escalinata de la Universidad de La Habana, el lugar donde forjó su carrera
como líder estudiantil comunista y conoció a Fidel Castro."
Cuba demanda un nuevo Baragua 6/20/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "Proponer la
formación de una Empresa Mixta de 100,000 acres cada uno, con las Arroceras
del Delta del Mississippi, los Citricultores, Ganaderos, Cultivadores de
Papa, Fresa, Repollo y Vegetales del Estado de la Florida. Proponer la
formación de Empresas Mixta al 50/50% con pequeños y medianos empresarios
minoritarios del Caribe, América Latina y los Estados Unidos, para la
construcción y restauración de 400 hoteles de 2** y 3***, 100 Cines, 30,000
comercios de víveres, ropa, construcción, restaurantes, farmacias etc."
Cuba demands another Baragua 6/20/2013 AfroCubaWeb: "Propose a 50/50%
Joint Venture of 50,000 acres with the Mississippi Delta rice growers,
100,000 acres each with Florida citrus, cattle ranchers, potato, strawberry,
vegetable and cabbage growers. Propose a 50/50% Joint Venture with 20,000
mid-size and small Caribbean, Latin American and US Minority entrepreneurs,
to refurbish/build and operate 400 2** and 3*** Hotel, 100 movie theaters,
30,000 grocery, garment, home improvement stores, restaurants, pharmacy
etc."
Ataca Sección Cuba de LASA a académico por interesarse en economista
sancionado 6/9/2013 Marti Noticias: "El bloguero relató que el profesor
de Baruch College en Nueva York, e investigador de la blogósfera cubana, Ted
Henken, quien es miembro de la sección, provocó la reacción de una verdadera
“brigada de respuesta rápida intelectual” cuando preguntó por qué el
economista Omar Everleny Pérez, quien tiene una ponencia en el Congreso y ha
asistido a otras ediciones, no asiste al evento. Junto con Pavel Vidal,
actualmente en la filial de Cali, Colombia, de la Universidad Javeriana,
Pérez ha sido uno de los críticos más agudos e impacientes desde el
oficialismo de las reformas de Raúl Castro en la isla. Se ha sabido que hace
poco perdió su puesto en el Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana, fue
degradado a una posición más oscura y se decidió que no asistiera al
Congreso de LASA. Pardo Lazo relata que cuatro de los académicos enviados
por La Habana –con Carlos Alzugaray a la cabeza-- protagonizaron el acto de
repudio a Henken, echándole en cara a grito pelado que ningún norteamericano
estaba autorizado a interesarse por la suerte de ningún cubano."
Cuba’s New
Cybercafés: A Piecemeal Strategy 5/30/2013 Havana Times: "With a total
of 334 computer consoles around the country, the cybercafés will be open 11
hours a day. If every user were to navigate for only an hour, a mere 3,700
people would be able to access the Internet a day. If we maintain our
initial figure of 8 million potential Internet users, people would get to
connect once every 5 years. Even if we assume I am exaggerating and that
only 10 % of this hypothetical population wants to use the Internet, each
person would have access to the web only once every six months. And Cuba’s
phone company, ETECSA, needed all of two years to take this bold step, from
the date in which the installation of an underwater fiber-optic cable
between Cuba and Venezuela was completed."
CUBA: Los desafíos del cooperativismo 5/24/2013 Cooperativismo en
Movimiento: "Las cooperativas se vislumbran como una de las formas
empresariales no estatales que tendrán mayor protagonismo en el nuevo modelo
económico cubano. Si hasta ahora solo eran de carácter agropecuario,
comienzan los experimentos en otros sectores."
Fiber Optic
Cable Between Cuba and Jamaica Now Operative 5/22/2013 Havana
Times: "Doug Madory, the top analyst for Renesys, said adding Jamaica gives
Cuba a backup in case of an interruption in the branch of the ALBA-1 to
Venezuela."
¿Un futuro petrolero para Cuba? 5/6/2013 Progreso: "Ahora, los casos de
Cuba y de Brasil son totalmente diferentes, porque estás hablando de una
materia prima que es la caña de azúcar. En Cuba ya podemos recuperar un
millón de hectáreas de tierra que históricamente siempre han sido tierras
azucareras, así que no estamos hablando de deforestación. Los estudios que
hemos hecho nos demuestran que una industria azucarera cubana recapitalizada
totalmente puede contribuir alrededor de 3500 millones de dólares al año a
la economía cubana. Porque tienes el etanol hoy en día a dos dólares el
galón y tienes el azúcar a 18-20 centavos."
A future in oil for Cuba? 5/6/2013 Progreso: "Now, the cases of Cuba
and Brazil are totally different, because you're talking about a raw
material that's sugar cane. In Cuba, you can regain one million hectares of
land that historically was always sugar land, so we're not talking about
deforestation. The studies we've done show that a totally recapitalized
sugar industry can contribute about $3.5 billion a year to the Cuban
economy. That's because ethanol is priced at $2 per gallon and sugar is
priced at 18 to 20 cents."
E-book: de la tecnología a la mentalidad, y viceversa 4/22/2013 Cubaliteraria: "No
hay tradición que sobreviva si no es capaz de convivir, y utilizar, los
adelantos tecnológicos. Esa es la esencia que no debe perderse de vista ante
los nuevos escenarios del e-book, que es aún un sucedáneo del libro de papel
y, por lo pronto, un producto que, teniendo múltiples posibles receptores,
carece de demanda y, sobre todo, de la existencia de autores que puedan
sostenerla."
Bloqueo norteamericano obstaculiza comercio electrónico de Cuba 4/10/2013 CubaDebate: "Cuba
denunció aquí que el bloqueo impuesto por Estados Unidos obstaculiza su
acceso a las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones y, por
consiguiente, limita el uso y desarrollo de las aplicaciones del comercio
electrónico. El viceministro cubano de Comunicaciones, Wilfredo González,
evidenció el carácter discriminatorio de las medidas unilaterales de
Washington y su dimensión extraterritorial, que van en contra de las
directrices del programa de trabajo de la Organización Mundial del Comercio
(OMC)."
Preocupa vulnerabilidad de Cuba a aumento del nivel del mar 4/10/2013 CubaDebate: "“Este
fenómeno afectará los ecosistemas, la productividad de los suelos agrícolas,
incrementará la vulnerabilidad de los asentamientos costeros, reducirá las
áreas forestales y de cultivos, y la calidad y disponibilidad del agua”,
explicó Escobar. “Cuba ha establecido prioridades en función de reducir esas
vulnerabilidades, identificadas en estudios de prevención y riesgo de
desastres realizados por científicos del país”, agregó. Entre las
actividades priorizadas para reducir los impactos del ascenso del nivel del
mar, el experto señaló la conservación y rehabilitación de los ecosistemas
protectores de la línea de costa: arrecifes de coral, manglares y playas de
arena."
Prevén en Cuba incremento de producción de cemento ecológico 4/7/2013 CubaDebate: "Expertos
cubanos prevén para 2014 un incremento de la producción de cemento
ecológico, material que por su menor contenido de clínquer reduce la emisión
de dióxido de carbono a la atmósfera, refleja hoy la prensa."
Otro robo descarado amparado en el bloqueo 3/31/2013 Cuba Debate: "El
robo descarado de marcas cubanas en Estados Unidos sigue siendo amparado por
autoridades federales en ese país, quienes se escudan en las espurias
regulaciones del bloqueo económico, financiero y comercial que Washington
practica contra Cuba. Esta semana, una comisión federal norteamericana juzgó
que la empresa General Cigar Co. Inc. puede seguir utilizando el nombre de
la marca registrada Cohiba para sus puros en Estados Unidos."
Cuba: Producción porcina se ha incrementado 3/29/2013 CubaDebate: "El
presidente de la Sociedad Cubana de Porcicultores (SCP), Francisco Diéguez,
dijo hoy en La Habana que la implementación de una estrategia especial en
esa esfera en el país permitió un crecimiento de esa masa animal. La
disminución de la importación de alimentos y su sustitución por otros
cultivos producidos en esta isla y la aplicación de medidas rigurosas para
el control de las enfermedades que afectan a los cerdos influyó
positivamente, explicó."
The
Internet, Broadband and Foreign Policy - Cyber Cuba 2/26/2013 Cuba-L
Cuba: Una estrategia energética nunca está desvinculada del modelo económico 2/25/2013 Rebelion: por
Manuel David Orrio
La inversión extranjera en Cuba 2/16/2013 OnCuba: "En su momento fue la
noticia del día; luego, nada más se supo: Cuba trabajaba en la modificación
de la Ley 77 sobre la inversión extranjera, y la nueva legislación debía
promulgarse antes de que finalizara diciembre del 2012, según declaró a
mediados del pasado año la directora de Finanzas del Ministerio de Comercio
Exterior e Inversión Extranjera, Yamila Fernández."
LOS SERVICIOS DE MICROFINANZAS EN CUBA: UNA NECESIDAD URGENTE 2/1/2013 Revista
Caribeña de Ciencias Sociales: Universidad de la Habana
CUBA: realidad y perspectivas del cooperativismo 1/29/2013 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: Entrevista a Camila Piñeiro Harnecker, investigadora del
Centro de Estudios de la Economía Cubana
The Economics of the Cuban Embargo 1/29/2013 CounterPunch: "This
growing international trade, disguised as sending goods to needy family
members in Cuba, now includes filling the hulls on 10 or more daily charter
flights from US cities to Cuba. Cuban Americans send goods, often with
“mules,” to provide family members in Cuba, needing supplies for their
businesses. The “mules” return with cash, derived from sales of these goods.
Some of the new Cuban stores and restaurants supplied by Miami-based Cubans
make substantial profits, some of which get spent in Cuba, and ends up in
Cuba’s central bank. Miami, the United States’ poorest large city, derives
income because it provides jobs involved in buying and selling the goods
sent to Cuba. Jobs also arise from routine tasks created around the daily
charter flights to and from Cuba, and the fees collected from take offs and
landings. Add to this, the work for accountants, book-keepers and others."
Is Cuba The Next Emerging Market? 1/29/2013 Forbes: "Small changes
allowing some private enterprise in Cuba are coinciding with the U.S.’s own
policy shifts: As a result, the economic embargo, which prevents most
business and travel in Cuba for U.S. firms and citizens, is becoming more
porous. In 2009 President Obama relaxed travel restrictions and remittances
for Cuban-Americans, enabling them to invest in small private businesses.
U.S. citizens can now legally travel to Cuba. But is it time to look at Cuba
as a viable emerging market? U.S. public opinion is shifting in favor of
normalizing ties, and the American business lobby in particular wants to
take advantage of the untapped market, which it believes is worth $1 billion
a year."
Cuba first high-speed internet connection activated 1/24/2013 BBC: "The
$70m (£44m) fibre-optic cable arrived from Venezuela in February 2011, but
tests on the line are said to have begun only this month."
Cuba is Testing Underwater Internet Cable 1/24/2013 OnCuba: "Quality
tests on internet traffic through the cable began on January 10, with real
traffic from and to Cuba in order to normalize this communication system.
The connection has initially been used for international telephone traffic,
the company explained. Once the experimental stage concludes, the operations
of the underwater cable would not imply yet the multiplication of
possibilities to access the internet, since investment would have to be done
in the internal telecommunication infrastructure and increase hard currency
resources to pay for the Internet traffic."
Is the Venezuelan undersea cable operational? 1/22/2013 OnCuba: "The
news came out of a report posted Sunday on the website of Renesys (USA), a
company considered an “internet intelligence authority”. In the report
author Doug Madory wrote routing data showed significantly faster traffic to
Cuba. According to this analysis the ALBA-1 cable is allowing data
transmission faster than before, when outgoing and ingoing data was
travelling via satellite. Though Cubans haven’t still seen a real
improvement in speed, the news fills them with hope. The subsea data cable
will increase internet speed exponentially in Cuba. It will multiply by 3000
data, images and voice transmission with a bandwidth of 640 gigabytes and
capacity to handle 10 million phone calls simultaneously, according to
fayerwayer.com."
Cosméticos para la mujer negra 12/23/2012 Trabajadores: "Por atinado y
certero me sorprendió gratamente el criterio de la diputada Olivia Teresa
González, de Centro Habana, en la más reciente reunión de la Comisión de
Industrias y Construcción, de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular: “No
hay una perspectiva o proyección en la producción nacional de cosméticos y
otros productos de belleza para la mujer negra”, dijo."
Cuba Denounces
New US Treasury Fines 12/20/2012 Havana Times: "A statement posted on
the front page of the Granma newspaper discussed the December 11 imposition
of a $375 million fine against London-based HSBC Holdings for violating US
sanctions against several countries, including Cuba. A day after, OFAC
announced the implementation of an another fine of $8.5 million against the
Japanese bank Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, also for processing financial
transactions involving a group of countries that included Cuba. The Cuban
Foreign Ministry considers this to involve “new acts in the extraterritorial
application of the provisions of the US blockade against Cuba and also
against entities in third countries."
Telephone
Fraud, Corruption and One-Party Democracy in Cuba 12/17/2012 Havana
Times: "As for democracy and party systems, the general trend of
representative democracy is predominantly toward bipartisanship while
communist systems were founded on the concept of a single party. One thing
to consider is the set of traditions of the countries where socialist
revolutions triumphed. In ancient Russia, these traditions were shaped by
the absolutism implanted for centuries by the tsarist autocracy. China,
Vietnam and North Korea can be described as eastern monarchies that are
equally despotic and overly centralized. In Latin America, Cuba follows the
tradition inherited from Spain, where kings once prevailed, followed by
caudillos."
Cuba abre la puerta a las cooperativas privadas 12/11/2012 El Pais: "Un
resquicio de autonomía se abrió ayer al entrar en vigor un decreto ley que
ampliará de forma gradual el cooperativismo en Cuba. En una etapa preliminar
se prevé que este contribuya a la creación de más de 200 asociaciones de ese
tipo en todo el país. Desde la pasada sesión de la Asamblea Nacional, en
julio de este año, se aguardaba la entrada en vigor de una medida que se
espera dinamice la deteriorada economía de la Isla. Hasta ahora esta forma
de gestión solo estaba permitida en el sector agropecuario. Pero desde hoy
incluirá también los sectores gastronómico, de transporte, servicios
personales y domésticos, la recuperación de materias primas y los servicios
de la construcción, entre otros."
In Communist Cuba,
the Tax Man Cometh 11/28/2012 MSNBC: "A sliding scale income tax - from
15 percent for earnings of more than 10,000 pesos (about $400) annually, to
50 percent for earnings of over 50,000 pesos, (about $2,000) - adopted in
1994, remains in the new code for the self-employed, small businesses and
farms, but it also includes a series of new deductions to stimulate their
work."
Damnificados de “Sandy” adquieren materiales de construcción 11/13/2012 CubaDebate
Brazil-Cuba: Full steam ahead 11/13/2012 Progreso Weekly: "With little
hoopla, Brazil has become Cuba’s second trade partner in Latin America. The
trend is rising, according to basic data: In 2011, the bilateral trade
exchange rose by 45 percent, compared with 2010, when it totaled US$501.4
million. This year, it is expected to close at $1 billion."
Santiago de Cuba se levanta 10/27/2012 Cuba Debate: "El pueblo de
Santiago de Cuba, aún en medio del pesar por las pérdidas humanas y
materiales que le dejó Sandy, se levanta con absoluta fe en la recuperación
de su terruño y hace a favor de ello con el apoyo que llega de otras
provincias del país. En consonancia, brigadas de linieros y operarios de las
empresas eléctrica y telefónica ya trabajan para restaurar el suministro de
energía, afectado en casi un 85 por ciento, así como dar vitalidad a los más
de 17 mil teléfonos interrumpidos."
Venezuela envia ayuda humanitaria a Cuba y Haití 10/27/2012 Cuba
Debate
In Cuba, the
Teachers Are Leaving 10/25/2012 Havana Times: "Last year, 14,000
teachers left the classroom with medical leave certificates or requesting
self-employment licenses, while this summer another 4,000 gave up teaching
without excuses. Meanwhile, 80 percent of the slots to study teaching
careers are vacant."
Cubanos son propietarios de casi 85 por ciento de viviendas del país 10/22/2012 Cuba
Debate: "Las familias cubanas son propietarias de casi el 85 por ciento de
las viviendas existentes en el país y solo el seis por ciento están
vinculadas o son medios básicos de organismos de la administración central
del Estado. El resto de ellas está considerado en régimen de arrendamiento y
en cuartos, habitaciones, bohíos y otros tipos, según el más reciente
informe hasta 2011 de especialistas del sistema de la vivienda en la nación,
al que la AIN tuvo acceso."
Sex Tourism:
The Largest Free-market in Cuba 10/15/2012 Havana Times: "When the
Cuban government began promoting the tourism industry in the 1990s, it was
sex tourism that jump-started that initiative. Twelve years into the 21st
century, they have managed to transition to other more conventional forms of
tourism. Eco tourism, family tourism and luxury tourism are gradually coming
to occupy prominent places in the industry."
Cuba, Uruguay y Brasil: intercambio para crecer 10/10/2012 Microcredito: "Una
delegación de referentes cubanos visitó las experiencias cooperativas del
Uruguay y Brasil, con el propósito de relevar las experiencias que tienen
ambos países en torno a la Economía Social y Solidaria (ESS), sector sobre
el cual Cuba quiere impulsar en el marco de su proceso de actualización
socioeconómica."
Cooperativismo cubano: modificaciones en las Unidades Básicas de Producción
Cooperativa 10/5/2012 Cooperativismo en Movimiento: video
Prices and
Taxes in Cuba 10/4/2012 Havana Times: "To really achieve the
redistribution of wealth, taxes should be applied only on luxury goods,
those products that aren’t necessary for life. Applying them on milk,
cooking oil, soap and meat ends up being punishment against the poor. Kiosks
have been opened in all the districts selling products in convertible
hard-currency. One needs only to stand around one of those to witness how
many of the people who shop there are clearly poor people who have to save
every penny to buy the most indispensible items. A few days ago people were
complaining that detergent was scarce in the hard-currency stores. The
problem was actually that only large packages were being sold, while the
fact is that many Cubans can barely manage to scrape together the 50 cents
(USD) for the smallest packets."
New investment fund aims to catch wave of interest in Cuba 9/27/2012 International
Institute for the Study of Cuba: "Romar group, which is active in equipment
sales, development, trading, finance and logistics in Latin America, Africa
and Eastern Europe, has kept a low profile during the almost 20 years it has
done business in Cuba, but the family-owned company is now emerging as an
important link with the island for investors. Romar’s development arm, Q
Hospitality, is negotiating construction of four hotels, one each in Havana,
Viñales, Trinidad and Santa Lucía. Plans also include construction of a
80-mw wind farm in Cuba. However, its most ambitious project is a marina and
real estate development at Tarará, just east of Havana."
CUBA: Las cooperativas en el nuevo modelo económico 9/21/2012 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: "Los Lineamientos de la Política Económica y Social del
Partido y la Revolución aprobados por el VI Congreso del Partido Comunista
de Cuba (PCC) mencionan a las cooperativas como una de las formas
empresariales no estatales[3] que tendrán cabida en el nuevo modelo
económico a instaurar en los próximos años en nuestro país."
Peligros e incertidumbre tras las nuevas regulaciones aduanales 9/14/2012 AfroCubaWeb: de
Alberto Jones
Cuba ensaya nuevos usos de las tarjetas de débito 9/10/2012 KokaCub@: "Personas
en Cuba que disponen de una tarjeta de débito en pesos cubanos (CUP) pueden
adquirir productos –por un precio equivalente- en tiendas estatales donde se
compra solo en pesos convertibles (CUC), como parte de un experimento que se
desarrolla al menos en la capital."
Mercado cubano se abre a los productos brasileños 9/7/2012 CubaDebate
New tax in Cuba threatens consumption in a hungry nation 9/4/2012 AFP: "Cuba
has slapped a new customs tax on everyday goods shipped from overseas in a
drive that experts say could weaken the economy and sap consumption. The
levy took effect Monday and is payable in foreign currency. It targets goods
imported by private citizens, often self-employed people who have started up
businesses as part of timid reforms undertaken by the communist government
in 2011."
Desde hoy, en vigor nueva Resolución de la Aduana en Cuba 9/3/2012 CubaDebate: "A
partir de este lunes tres de septiembre entra en vigor la Resolución No. 122
de la Aduana General de la República de Cuba referente a los envíos hacia el
país por vía aérea, marítima, postal o de mensajería."
Import tax deadline has Cuba entrepreneurs on edge 9/1/2012 Miami
Herald: "A sudden jump in import taxes on Monday threatens to make life
tougher for some of Cuba's new entrepreneurs and will mean higher prices for
many of their customers by raising the cost of goods ranging from
jungle-print blouses to jewelry. The new measures steeply hike duties on
cargo shipments, as well as on many bulk goods brought in by airline
passengers, a crucial supply line for many of the small businesses the
government has been trying to encourage as it cuts a bloated workforce in
the socialist economy."
¿El
principio del fin de la doble moneda en Cuba? (I) 8/31/2012 Havana
Times: "El cartel en cuestión anunciaba que los portadores de tarjetas
magnéticas del sistema RED podían usarlas para pagar sus compras en esa
chopin con moneda nacional, claro, al tipo de cambio oficial establecido. El
sistema RED opera en tres bancos cubanos (Banco Popular de Ahorro, Banco de
Crédito y Comercio y Banco Metropolitano) y emite tarjetas de débito en las
cuales a algunos sectores de los trabajadores cubanos se les deposita su
salario. El salario en moneda nacional, claro."
¿Abrazará Cuba la economía solidaria? 8/21/2012 Cooperativismo en
Movimiento: "El 25 de julio, en una de las más concurridas sesiones de la
reunión semestral de la Asamblea Nacional del Poder Popular (especie de
poder legislativo) de Cuba, fue la estrella Murillo Marino. Jefe de la
comisión del Comité Central del Partido Comunista para la reforma económica,
él detalló, durante más de dos horas, los planes para los próximos años.
Gran parte de las empresas estatales dejan de ser mero apéndice de los
ministerios y tendrán autonomía financiera y operativa. Más importante aún,
222 pequeñas y medianas empresas, hoy pertenecientes al Estado, serán
transformadas en cooperativas, en teoría, 100% autónomas. Una amplia gama de
servicios - incluido el transporte público, mercados de frutas, restaurantes
y centros de crías de camarones - se llevará a cabo por la nueva gestión de
las líneas de la “economía solidaria”."
Cuba: Breaking
The Fiber Optic Monopoly 8/10/2012 Havana Times: "Capote discusses how
he was involved in a US project to generate Wi-Fi reception in Havana by
planting a small number of devices in key points all across the Cuban
capital. Could it be possible to do that without the help of the CIA? Surely
the Chinese sell such gadgets. Who knows, maybe even the Wi-Fi system that
“Paul”/“Daniel” was going to install could be built with components “MADE IN
CHINA.”"
Pavel Vidal Alejandro: “Microfinance in Cuba” 7/31/2012 The Cuban
Economy
Max Marambio gana caso contra Cuba y reclama $153 millones 7/28/2012 Café
Fuerte: "El empresario chileno Max Marambio logró un fallo favorable ante la
Corte Internacional de Arbitraje (ICC) en el litigio que sostiene por la
compañía mixta Alimentos Río Zaza y reclamará una indemnización de $153
millones de dólares al gobierno cubano. El tribunal de París decretó esta
semana, por mayoría, la disolución de la sociedad y la liquidación de los
bienes compartidos con el Estado cubano, reportó el diario chileno."
Promueven en Cuba la creación de cooperativas fuera de sector agropecuario 7/24/2012 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: "Cuba promueve la creación de cooperativas fuera del sector
agropecuario, como parte del proceso de actualización del modelo económico
del país, informó hoy Marino Murillo, vicepresidente del Consejo de
Ministros. De acuerdo con el funcionario, es más conveniente para la nación
esa forma de producción no estatal, pues con ella se privilegian grupos y no
individuos, de acuerdo con el concepto de desarrollo que se implementa."
Cuba: El Cooperativismo y sus perspectivas en la actualización del modelo
económico 7/23/2012 Cooperativismo en Movimiento
Entrega la banca cubana más de 250 millones de pesos en créditos 7/19/2012 CubaDebate
Cuba's non-farm co-ops debut this week 7/17/2012 Reuters: "One hundred
state-run produce markets and 26 other establishments were scheduled to
become private cooperatives on Monday as Communist-run Cuba continues to
shed secondary economic activity in favour of individual initiative and
markets."
Cuba proyecta cooperativas en sectores de servicios 7/12/2012 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: "El gobierno cubano estudia la posibilidad de aplicar el
sistema de cooperativas a sectores de servicios como transporte y
gastronomía, en medio de los cambios que lleva adelante para “actualizar” el
modelo socialista de la isla. Un grupo de especialistas elabora en la
actualidad una metodología aplicable a cualquier tipo de unión, un manual de
cooperativismo y un sistema de contabilidad y las políticas tributarias, de
precios y de seguridad social. La intención gubernamental es implantar las
cooperativas en los servicios, la gastronomía, el transporte y otros rubros
de la economía."
Otorgados en Cuba más de 47 000 créditos bancarios a particulares desde
diciembre 6/28/2012 CubaDebate
US Treasury Department Fines ING Bank with 619 millions for Violating the
Blockade 6/13/2012 Cuba MINREX: "This sanction by the United States
Government against a bank for commercing with Cuba is the largest-ever
imposed by OFAC."
The Potential of Cuba’s Search for Oil 5/25/2012 COHA
Cuba: aumentará en más de 200 000 cifra de trabajadores por cuenta propia en
el 2012 5/25/2012 Cubadebate
Venden en Nueva York obra de Wifredo Lam por 4 millones de dólares 5/25/2012 Cubadebate
Rivera painting fails to sell at auction, but Wilfredo Lam makes $4.56M 5/24/2012 Auction
News
CUBA: el gobierno fomenta la creación de cooperativas 4/27/2012 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: "El gobierno cubano parece inclinado a poner énfasis en la
formación de cooperativas en el contexto de una idea de colocar en manos “no
estatales” la responsabilidad de generar, en pocos años, cerca de la mitad
del Producto Interno Bruto anual. A inicios de este mes Marino Murillo, jefe
de la Comisión Permanente de Implementación y Desarrollo de los cambios en
el gobernante Partido Comunista de Cuba (PCC) anunció que se iniciará “la
creación experimental de cooperativas fuera del sector agropecuario”. La
información divulgada por Murillo en un Consejo de Ministros no explicó los
sectores en los cuales se aplicará, o se está aplicando ya, el experimento,
pero sí subrayó que respetará “el papel regulador del Estado y el
Gobierno”."
Microcrédito y microfinanzas, ahora en Cuba 4/18/2012 IPS: "La apertura
del crédito desde la banca estatal permite sumar nuevos recursos a
disposición de los emprendimientos privados."
Cuba and China strengthen economic relations 2/23/2012 Granma
Why Cuba must produce the food it needs 2/23/2012 Granma
¿Una Cuba con petróleo? 1/1/2012 El Economista de Cuba: "La compañía
estatal petrolífera cubana dice que las reserva pueden ser cuatro o cinco
veces mayores. Cuba va a empezar a extraer petróleo en el Golfo de México.
Si encuentra lo que está buscando, la abundancia de petróleo podría
arrebatar a Cuba del agarrón de los Estados Unidos antes de que Obama deje
la Casa Blanca. Esta posibilidad ha traído el equipo de ataque al congreso
de Miami liderado por la fanática congresista Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
(Republicana por Florida, R-FL), quien básicamente quiere que se
criminalicen las extracciones en la sección cubana del Golfo."
Cuba: campesinas camagüeyanas en cooperativas pecuarias 12/29/2011 Cooperativismo
en Movimiento: "Desde los inicios del proceso revolucionario, se han
implementado numerosas políticas favorables al acceso de las mujeres al
trabajo y en especial al empleo, pero aún queda mucho por hacer en el logro
de una verdadera equidad. La participación de las mujeres en los puestos
relacionados con la dirección, ya sea política o administrativa, aún se
mantiene muy distante de la participación potencial que, como profesionales,
pueden aportar ellas en estas esferas de toma de decisiones."
2011: Cuba recibe un 7,6% más de turistas 12/26/2011 Cubahora
Amplían facilidades de arrendamiento a particulares (+ Gaceta) 12/26/2011 Cubahora: "A
partir del primero de enero del 2012, y de forma gradual durante ese año,
trabajadores de las empresas provinciales de Servicios Personales, Técnicos
y del Hogar podrán arrendar locales y áreas como trabajadores por cuenta
propia, de acuerdo con una nota publicada hoy por el diario Granma."
Anuncian rebaja de precios de materiales de la construcción 12/23/2011 Cubahora
Inter-American Dialogue consults the IISC - Predicting the future: What will
happen over Cuba in 2012? 12/20/2011 IISC: Washington-based
forecasting.
Entra en vigor mañana política crediticia cubana y otros servicios bancarios 12/19/2011 Cubahora: "A
partir de mañana entrarán en vigor el Decreto-Ley 289, tres resoluciones
complementarias del Banco Central de Cuba (BCC) y una instrucción del
Ministerio de Economía y Planificación, con el objetivo de ampliar la
política crediticia cubanay otros servicios bancarios."
Analysis: Cuba’s new financial policy — accelerating the economy 12/3/2011 Cuba
Standard: "A foreseeable challenge is that, effectively, these three banks —
whose basic experience and knowledge was formed under the logic of credit
for medium-size and large enterprises — will be able to speedily assume the
principles that govern microfinance. An alternative, more attuned with
international practices, would have been to create microcredit banks or
other financial institutions that solely specialize on serving this market
segment. The formation of mixed-capital microcredit institutions (for
example with some Latin American microcredit bank) would multiply the
financial, logistical and know-how potential of Cuban banks facing the
opening of a non-state small-business sector."
Cuba’s Social
Networks 12/3/2011 Havana Times: "However “nothing has changed,” said
young Cuban blogger Roberto Gonzalez. Speaking to BBC Mundo, he said,
“Previously Cuba was linked [to the Internet] by a satellite connection, so
I could understand why it was so slow, but now — six months after we’ve been
linked by an underwater cable connection — it’s just as bad.” The national
press isn’t touching the issue. Only Yohandry’s pro-government blog
indicated recently that there’s no problem with the cable – but without
explaining why it still doesn’t work, why some senior-level project managers
were arrested, or why others fled the country."
The new Cuban entrepreneur: Boris Reyes 10/1/2011 Cuba Absolutely
Cuba Woman’s
Small Business Secret 9/5/2011 Havana Times: by Yusimi Rodriguez
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Cuba May Allow Microfinance as Part of Modernization of
Economic System 7/13/2011 MicroCapital: "Juan Diego Ruiz, general
coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Development Co-operation
(AECID, in Spanish), an instrument of the Spanish government, said, “Today
what’s being talked about more is credit policy, credit for the productive
sector, and it’s an issue that is being discussed both on the street and in
offices.” Tomás Marco, head of agricultural development in Cuba for AECID’s
Spanish Technical Office for Cooperation, commented that it is in the area
of self-employment “where microcredit fits best, with a focus on
individuals. What’s opening up is a possibility; it’s not even a certainty.
Nobody knows if loans in hard currency for self-employed people will be
permitted.” In another sign of international interest, the Italian Permanent
National Committee for Microcredit, an agency of the Italian government that
was set up to facilitate microfinance activities, has also made visits to
Cuba."
El cuentapropismo con voz de mujer 7/8/2011 IPS: "¡Café! ¡Las jabas,
aquí las jabas! (bolsas) ¡Queso crema del bueno...! Las voces, todas
femeninas, se confunden entre el ruido y las ofertas habituales en cualquier
mercado cubano. Elisa, de 64 años, estuvo entre estas mujeres hasta que fue
multada por comercio ilegal. "Lo pagué caro", dice."
Microcredit
Knocks Softly on Cuba’s Door 6/28/2011 Havana Times: "A microcredit
system could begin operating in Cuba as part of reforms adopted by the
government of Raul Castro to modernize the country’s socialist economic
system. “Until about a year and a half ago, you practically couldn’t talk
about this issue, but now the situation is different,” a European diplomat
told IPS. He preferred not to be identified, to avoid undermining progress
on the issue, which has its own particular complexities in the case of Cuba.
“The idea of microcredit went from being almost sacrilege to something
interesting,” he noted."
Cooperativas y socialismo 6/27/2011 Cooperativismo en
Movimiento: "Nosotros..Primero destruimos potentes cooperativas cubanas
entre los annos 1959-65 y ahora las queremos reiniciar 2012…."
CUBA: Microcredit Knocks on Door…Softly 6/27/2011 IPS
Starting My
Own Business in Cuba 6/22/2011 Havana Times
Cuba’s
High-Flying Corruption 6/16/2011 Havana Times: "Some of my colleagues
are complaining that the scalpel isn’t cutting everything as deep as it
should, but for me what’s particularly interesting is that the government
has in fact decided to apply surgical techniques to the problem, and they’re
doing it publically. It seems that corrupt politicians will no longer be
dealt with as “miscalculating comrades” who always deserve a second chance.
Now such individuals are running the risk of being tried and convicted as
common criminals."
Myopic policies hurts local economy 6/6/2011 AfroCubaWeb
Cuba planning to drill deep-water oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico 4/7/2011 Global
Research
Pequeños propietarios cubanos podrán vender al Estado 3/30/2011 Cuba
Debate
Más de 83 000 cubanos solicitaron licencias para Trabajo por Cuenta Propia 1/7/2011 Cuba
Debate: "Más de 85 000 personas, la mayoría sin vínculo laboral, han
solicitado licencia para el Trabajo por Cuenta Propia desde finales del
pasado octubre, reporta hoy el diario Granma. Hasta el cierre del pasado año
se habían otorgado 75 061 nuevas licencias para el Trabajo por Cuenta Propia
y 8 342 se hallaban en proceso, desde que fuera aprobada la ampliación y
flexibilización de esta actividad."
Cuba’s Economic Paradigm Shift: A Work in Progress, Norman Girvan and Alissa
Trotz 12/20/2010 Norman Girvan
Cuba looks ready to allow small loans for reforms 10/11/2010 Reuters: ""We
are trying to help create a financial instrument currently nonexistent in
Cuba to provide the agriculture sector with credit in hard currency," said
Juan Diego Ruiz, local coordinator of the Spanish government aid agency.
Cuban officials have for long been wary of "microcredits" -- first developed
in the 1980s to provide financial services to the poor in Bangladesh --
because they worry the small loans to groups of individuals could undermine
the country's socialist principles, especially if coming from abroad. But
Western diplomats say Cuba's government now appears ready to give such
financing a try, even though it does not want to talk openly about
"microcredits"."
The self-employed sector - Much more than an alternative 9/24/2010 Granma: "Increasing
the opportunities for self-employment is one of the decisions which the
country is making in terms of restructuring its economic policy, in order to
increase levels of productivity and efficiency. It is also an attempt to
offer workers another way of feeling useful in terms of personal effort, and
to distance ourselves from those concepts that almost condemned
self-employment to extinction and stigmatized those who decided to legally
join that sector in the 1990s. On August 1, the approval of a tax system of
taxation for the self-employed sector was also made public, in line with the
nation’s new economic scenario. Whoever contributes more, will receive more
is the principle of the new tax regime that will help to increase sources of
income to the state budget, and achieve an adequate redistribution of that
income to society."
Cuba unveils private sector expansion plan 9/24/2010 Reuters: "Many are
expected to get start-up money from relatives living abroad, especially in
the United States." [US Cubans are largely of Spanish descent.]
The rationalizations: A first look 9/22/2010 Progreso: "Can a private
sector capable of assimilating and maintaining a workforce that large be
developed in Cuban society? Several factors will determine this, among them
the facilities available to secure credits and supplies, the creation of
wholesale warehouses, and the official regulations that rule them. The
absence of any of these items would undermine the effort to open and
energize the economy."
The Cuban Model, Not Working So Much 9/14/2010 Atlantic: "Last week,
there was a bit of a kerfuffle on the international Interwebs about Fidel
Castro's statement to me that the "Cuban model" doesn't even work for Cuba
anymore. Fidel himself said, in speech last Friday, that I had
misinterpreted his statement, that it was American-style capitalism, and not
Cuban-style socialism, that was failing."
Cuba to cut 500,000 from state payroll 9/13/2010 Financial
Times: "Better accounting would be demanded of businesses, and the way they
were taxed would be changed. As well as taxes on income, the self-employed
would pay a sales tax and 25 per cent social security tax for themselves and
each employee, the sources said, while co-operatives would pay a tax on
profits and social security."
Agreed, We
Need a Different Model 9/11/2010 Havana Times: "In an interview granted
to the US magazine The Atlantic, Fidel Castro was quoted as saying “The
Cuban model doesn’t even work for us anymore.” At no moment did he speak of
socialism, but of the “model.” The interpretation of this by an academic
taking part in the conversation was that Fidel was referring to the high
degree of State involvement in the economy. This factor precisely
characterizes “State socialism” or “real socialism,” which has failed
everywhere as it maintains a concentration of ownership (but in the hands of
the State) and the wage-labor form of production – a model that Lenin
himself termed “state monopoly capitalism.”
Fidel
says econ remark 'misinterpreted' 9/11/2010 Press TV
Fidel: 'Cuban Model Doesn't Even Work For Us Anymore' 9/8/2010 Atlantic
Alerta roja contra la corrupción - Patricia Grogg entrevista al politólogo
ESTEBAN MORALES 8/17/2010 IPS: "IPS: Usted es muy conocido por temas
sobre Estados Unidos, las relaciones de Cuba con ese país y el racismo. ¿Qué
lo llevó a escribir sobre la corrupción, un asunto que, según sectores
oficialistas, alimenta "campañas de desprestigio" contra el país si se
ventila públicamente? EM: Escribí esos artículos porque creo que son los
peligros de ahora. Y tengo un lema: en medio de la situación que hemos
vivido estos años, creo que quien quiera ser revolucionario tiene que tener
su propia guerra, librar sus propias batallas y correr los riesgos que sean.
En caso contrario, que se quede en su casa, bajo la cama. Eso de que el
enemigo va a aprovechar las cosas tampoco me inmoviliza, porque el enemigo
no nos va a resolver el problema, sino al contrario. Soy de los que piensa
que a veces es más saludable que seamos nosotros mismos quienes reconozcamos
nuestras deficiencias a que sea el enemigo quien nos las lance luego a la
cara, o nos las guarde, que es peor."
Cuban capitalists must wait for change as Fidel Castro returns to the fray 7/24/2010 Telegraph,
UK
¿Mudos o protagonistas? 7/22/2010 BBC Mundo: "Sin lugar a dudas Esteban
Morales se metió en un terreno en el que cosechará mucho odio en las alturas
pero también el respeto de la mayor parte de sus compatriotas de a pie, no
porque les haya revelado un secreto sino por el valor de publicarlo. La
escasa reacción entre los intelectuales comunistas a pesar de lo arbitrario
de la sanción contra el profesor va a dar nuevos bríos a los
"excomulgadores", sobre todo si creen que la medida sirve como acción
preventiva para proteger sus intereses personales. Pero también podría
convertirse en un bumerán ya que coloca a los militantes e intelectuales
ante la disyuntiva de regresar a la seguridad del silencio o convertirse en
protagonistas en la construcción de una sociedad mejor, asumiendo todos los
riesgos que eso implica."
El misterio de la Santísima Trinidad 7/12/2010 Kaos en la Red: de
Esteban Morales - "Pero los verdaderos corruptos no son los que venden leche
en polvo, ni siquiera los que venden bienes duraderos a las mismas puertas
de los supermercados, sino los que desde sus cargos en el gobierno y en el
estado, controlan y abren los almacenes. Son esos, los que debemos remover
de los cargos estatales, pues son los que de verdad manejan los recursos del
estado y las posiciones cómodas, que a veces les facilitan a sus amigos. ¿O
de donde salen los colchones, televisores, aires acondicionados y otros
productos duraderos, que se vocean y venden a las mismas puertas de las
“shoppings”?, ¿de donde salen esos productos, duraderos? Se trata del propio
funcionario estatal corrompiendo hacia abajo. Porque nadie importa esos
productos, ni compra la leche en polvo en el exterior, ni disfruta del poder
como ellos, de abrirles los almacenes a los delincuentes."
Where
Corruption Begins 7/10/2010 Havana Times: by Erasmo Calzadilla "However
Morales, without perceiving it, wanders past another deeper cause of the
corruption when he asserts that corrupt bureaucrats can do more harm,
because they are “within the government and the state apparatus, which
really manage the domestic resources.” Didn’t it occur to the professor to
wonder what an official is doing —be they honest or corrupt— managing
“domestic” resources without being under the direct control of those who
produce these resources? Corruption didn’t begin the moment the manager
misappropriated wealth, but a little before, when surplus value was
expropriated from the workers and a law protected that act."
Corrupción en las altas esferas del poder de la isla 7/4/2010 Clarín,
Argentina: "Cuba está viviendo una dura lucha interna dentro de los
estamentos de poder entre intelectuales que denuncian graves casos de
corrupción y funcionarios que intentan mantener a toda costa un sistema del
que se están favoreciendo personalmente con enormes cantidades de dólares…
El caso Morales ya inunda los blogs en Internet, particularmente los leídos
por los funcionarios cubanos y los disidentes “socialistas”. En cambio, tuvo
menos repercusión entre los exiliados en Miami."
Corruption: The true counter-revolution? 4/21/2010 Progreso: by Esteban
Morales - "Without a doubt, it is becoming evident that there are people in
positions of government and state who are girding themselves financially for
when the Revolution falls, and others may have everything almost ready to
transfer state-owned assets to private hands, as happened in the old USSR.
Fidel said that we ourselves could put an end to the Revolution and I tend
to think that, among other concerns, the Commander in Chief was referring to
the questions relative to corruption. Because this phenomenon, already
present, has continued to appear in force. If not, see what has happened
with the distribution of lands in usufruct in some municipalities around the
country: fraud, illegalities, favoritism, bureaucratic slowness, etc. In
reality, corruption is a lot more dangerous than the so-called domestic
dissidence. The latter is still isolated; it lacks an alternative program,
has no real leaders, no masses. But corruption turns out to be the true
counter-revolution, which can do the most damage because it is within the
government and the state apparatus, which really manage the country's
resources."
Investors sticking it out in crisis-prone Cuba 12/17/2009 Reuters: "Investment
projects number 258, similar to 2008."
El 70% de los suelos cultivados de Cuba están amenazados por la erosión 11/17/2009 EFE
Cuba orders extreme measures to cut energy use 11/11/2009 Reuters: "In
documents seen by Reuters, government officials have been warned that the
island is facing a "critical" energy shortage that requires the closing of
non-essential factories and workshops and the shutting down of air
conditioners and refrigerators not needed to preserve food and medicine."
Carta de
Felix Sanchez sobre la canasta básica 10/31/2009 AfroCubaWeb: Esta
carta sobre "la canasta básica," el necesario de cada dia, circula de nuevo
en Cuba en octubre, 2009 y fue escrito en 2006.
Missing their chance 10/28/2009 Cadena Habana: "Health care also
suffers the consequences, because heart diseases are the first cause of
death in the United States. The lives of many US citizens could be saved if
they had access to Cuban drug Ateromixol, commonly known as PPG. It is the
best anti-cholesterol drug available in the market, according to a study
conducted by Geneva University. It is cheaper and more effective than the
ethanols and steroides available in the United States."
Cuba's declining trade betrays depth of its crisis 10/20/2009 Reuters: "Business
between Cuba and four of its top five trading partners has declined sharply
this year in a reflection of the communist-led Caribbean island's deep
economic crisis, trade reports from the countries said. Reductions in
exports to and imports from Cuba ranged from 20 percent to as high as 50
percent, according to the reports from China, Spain, Canada and the United
States. In descending order, they are the top traders with Cuba after
Venezuela. Numbers were not available for Venezuela, which is the leading
economic and political ally of Cuba's government and supplies the island
with oil."
The demise of the free lunch 10/8/2009 Economist: "The government is
also organising thousands of public meetings across the island to discuss a
wider ten-point plan that proposes an end to the monthly ration of free
staples and a host of perks, such as free wedding cakes. Instead, the focus
is on creating incentives to work harder by raising wages, and thus
productivity. All this reflects the ideas of Raúl Castro, who after almost
half a century as defence minister replaced his elder brother as Cuba’s
president last year and who has been much franker in discussing the
country’s economic failures."
From truffles to fox furs, U.S. ships more than food to Cuba Read more here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/incoming/article1934188.html#storylink=cpy 9/5/2009 Miami
Herald: "U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba hit a record $711.5 million in
2008, as prices for commodities soared. That makes the United States Cuba's
fifth-largest trading partner overall. ``We are the natural provider of food
and agriculture products to Cuba,'' says Kirby Jones, president of Alamar
Associates, a consulting firm for U.S. companies aspiring to trade with
Cuba. ``We're No. 1 and could be selling a lot more, were it not for the
restrictions.''
Cash-strapped Cuba says toilet paper running short 8/7/2009 Reuters
Cuba Suspends Communist Party Congress and Lowers Projection for Economy 7/31/2009 AP: "Cuba
on Friday suspended plans for a Communist Party congress and lowered its
2009 economic growth projection to 1.7 percent _ nearly a full percentage
point _ as the island's economy struggles through a "very serious" crisis.
In a closed-door meeting of the Communist Party Central Committee, officials
agreed to postpone indefinitely the first congress since 1997, which had
been announced for the second half of this year. The gathering was to chart
Cuba's political future long after President Raul Castro and his brother
Fidel are gone. Instead, top communists will try and pull their country back
from the economic brink."
Cuba ponders reduced state role in economy 7/28/2009 Reuters: "Cash-strapped
Cuba should consider putting more of its state-run economy in the hands of
producers, as President Raul Castro has done with agriculture, the country's
top economic commentator said on Tuesday. Ariel Terrero, during his regular
Tuesday appearance on state-run television, did not call for private
management, but suggested that sectors such as food services and retail
could perform better if they were run in a new way."
Raul Castro says Cuba must put land to better use 7/26/2009 AP: "Raul
Castro said Sunday that the global economic crisis means tougher times ahead
for Cuba, but the country has no one to blame but itself for poor farm
production that leads to frequent shortages of fruits, vegetables and other
basics. In a speech marking Revolution Day, Cuba's president said the island
can't pin all its problems on Washington's 47-year-old trade embargo. He
implored Cubans to take better advantage of a government program begun last
year to turn unused state land over to private farmers."
UN praises Cuba's ability to feed people 11/14/2007 AP: "A U.N. food
expert hailed Cuba as a world model in feeding its population, some 18 years
after the collapse of the Soviet Bloc ravaged the island's economy and
sparked widespread hunger. Jean Ziegler, who has been the United Nations'
independent investigator on "the right to food" since 2000, spent 11 days in
Cuba on a fact-finding mission, meeting with top officials and chatting up
farmers, state managers and ordinary Cubans waiting in line for food
allotted by ration cards. "We haven't seen even one malnourished person" - a
rare feat in much of poverty-stricken Latin America, Ziegler said Tuesday.
"The right to being fed is the priority, without a doubt.""
Dual economy could trouble Cuba's future 11/17/2006 Miami
Herald: "Cubans say the unequal system is the single most exasperating issue
facing them. So much of the economy runs on the dollar that the typical
family here needs greenbacks to buy everything from razors to bedsheets to
shoes -- items largely available only at government stores that price their
goods in dollar equivalents. Yet the average worker earns 250 pesos a month
-- about $10. ''In Cuba, money is worthless,'' said dissident Lizette
Fernández who left Cuba in August and now lives in Hialeah. ``You get soap
two times a year, and when you run out, you have to go to the dollar store,
where it costs 75 (U.S.) cents. There is virtually nothing you need that you
can buy with Cuban pesos.'' Before she left Cuba, Fernández helped kick off
a campaign demanding that all government establishments sell goods in a
single currency -- pesos."
Cuba's military puts business on front lines 11/15/2006 WSJ: "Cuba's
Revolutionary Armed Forces rent rooms to tourists through Gaviota SA, the
island's fastest-growing hotel conglomerate. They sell premium cigars,
peddle consumer goods through an island-wide retail chain and serve lobster
dinners at the Divina Pastora restaurant in Havana's landmark Morro Castle.
The military also has a say in allotting nickel mines and leasing offshore
lots for oil exploration. The University of Miami's Institute for Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies estimates that soldiers control more than 60 percent
of the island's economy. The military's economic role will likely become
even more critical after the death of Cuba's ailing 80-year-old leader,
Fidel Castro, who is widely believed to be dying of cancer. Although Mr.
Castro has steadfastly opposed economic reforms during his 47-year communist
regime, his younger brother and anointed successor, Raul, has shown a deep
interest in free-market experiments in the past. As defense minister since
the 1959 revolution, he has frequently looked to the military as his
laboratory."
U.S. embargo cost Cuba $4 billion in 2005 10/1/2006 PL: "The U.S.
embargo on Cuba cost the Caribbean nation more than $4 billion last year,
double the tally a year earlier, as tougher U.S. rules took a bigger bite
out of the island"s recovering economy, Cuban officials said Monday. Cuba
saw sharp declines in the number of U.S. visitors and Cuban-Americans coming
to see family because of Washington"s tighter rules on travel to the island.
Restrictions on money transfers and packages meant less cash and fewer goods
arriving in Cuba for friends and family, Cuban authorities said. Despite
rising U.S. pressure, Cuba"s economy posted robust growth in 2005: roughly
12 percent, according to Economy and Planning Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez."
Cuba's economic fate up in air 8/28/2006 USA Today: "Kirby Jones,
president of the U.S.-Cuba Trade Association, says Canada and European
nations have more than 300 joint ventures with Cuba in telecommunications,
oil and energy, mining, port management and other sectors. "This is not the
Cuba of old, when everything was under Soviet Union domination," he says.
"This is a brand new version, a mixture of capitalism and socialism." Raul
Castro could continue in that direction, some economists and scholars say.
Initially, he might unveil small, cosmetic reforms to polish Cuba's image
and win over his people. He might let Cubans start thousands of small
businesses in trade, agriculture and tourism, as the Castros allowed in the
mid-1990s. One scenario: Cuba copies China, a blend of authoritarian state
control, manufacturing, mass-market consumerism and high-tech development.
"At best, Raul will try the mini-China model," says Antonio Gayoso of the
Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy and a former economist in
Cuba's finance ministry. "At worst, he and the military will continue the
repressive control they have now.""
Flow of funds to Cuba holds steady 5/26/2005 Miami Herald: "Cubans
living in the United States still send an estimated $460 million a year to
relatives on the island despite restrictions tightened by the Bush
administration last summer, according to a poll released by a Coral Gables
firm Wednesday. But a portion of the Cubans on the island who receive the
cash transfers believe they are getting less money, according to a separate
and less scientific survey conducted inside the island by a Washington-based
think tank. The assumption: That Fidel Castro's government is taking a
bigger bite of the remittances, one of the key sources of income in an
island where the economy was devastated by the 1990s collapse of Soviet
subsidies. ''Now that it is clear to them how much money is arriving, [the
Cuban government] is now getting a higher and higher percentage of that
money,'' said pollster Sergio Bendixen of Bendixen & Associates."
Experts question sense of revaluing Cuban peso 4/5/2005 Miami
Herald: "Cuba's recent strengthening of its currency is designed to close
the gap in the purchasing power of those who earn only pesos and those who
receive U.S. dollars from abroad, analysts say. But the peso's revaluation
makes no economic sense because the communist-ruled island's economy is not
strong enough to back up the 7-8 percent increase in the value of its
currency, the experts added. When coupled with a government decision in
November to charge a 10 percent fee on all dollars converted into pesos, the
changes amount to a 17-18 percent strengthening of a currency that is not
accepted anywhere outside Cuba."
Private taxis eliminated from Havana Capitolio 5/4/2004 Havana
Journal: "Eusebio Leal. In spite of his title, perhaps suggesting quaint
stories and dusty archives, Mr. Leal has in recent years become quite a
powerful man, especially around the old city. His brief extends to urban
renewal, preservation and beautification of buildings and public areas of
Old Havana, and the promotion of tourism, one of the primary sources of hard
currency for the government. As a result of his office’s involvement in
tourism, Mr. Leal controls a sizable budget in hard currency, deriving
income from some government-operated tourist enterprises and employing the
moneys in urban renewal. Although Mr. Leal’s office gets high marks for some
of its preservation work, ordinary citizens resent being displaced from
their homes, or as in this case, their place of business."
Cuba economy flat as tourism booms and sugar crashes 5/5/2003 Reuters: "Cuba's
economy has stagnated so far this year, despite a surge in tourism that has
helped to compensate for the near collapse of the Communist-run Caribbean
island's sugar industry, government sources said Monday."
St. Mary’s students in Cuba to study its economy 3/17/2003 Express
News, San Antonio: "Fourteen St. Mary's University students are in Cuba this
week examining the island's economy in the wake of 40 years of socialism,
isolation and the recent influx of U.S. tourists and business interests. The
students, members of a semester-long School of Business and Administration
course studying the nation, will spend 10 days in and around Havana."
Cuba: New Slowdown For Motor Of Economy 1/13/2003 Black World
Today: "The Cuban government continues staking its bets on tourism as the
new engine of the economy, even though its goal of drawing an annual two
million visitors was frustrated for the third year in a row in 2002.
Arrivals were down five percent last year from 2001 levels, with a total
number of 1.7 million foreign tourists. But a slight increase in the past
few weeks has local authorities breathing easier."
Castro has chokehold on private sector, scholars say 11/21/2002 Miami
Herald: "But scholars at a conference on Cuba's economy said Wednesday that
the Castro regime has never allowed the private sector to flourish. It has
choked businesses with red tape, forced them into illegal survival
strategies and condemned them to a provisional and tenuous existence.
''These enterprises face a very insecure future,'' said Ted A. Henken, a
professor at Tulane University who wrote a doctoral thesis on Cuba's
experiments with self-employment. Fighting off economic collapse after the
fall of the Berlin Wall, the Castro regime in mid-1993 permitted some Cubans
to create their own jobs. It said Cubans could seek licenses to work in any
of 117 occupations, including bicycle taxi operators, street vendors,
artisans and other categories. With time, the list of occupations grew to
about 160 categories of self-employment. By 1996, some 209,000 Cubans were
self-employed. The number has since shrunken to about 150,000 people, a sign
of the mistrust the Castro government feels toward the sector, the scholars
said."
La pobreza golpea a los orientales 1/13/2002 El Nuevo Herald: what they
fail to mention is the disastrous impact of the Guantanamo US Naval Base on
the economy of Oriente: it takes up the best deep water port in the
Caribbean for US fantasies.
Havana: the Dynamics of Local Executive Power 1/1/2002 Capital city
politics in Latin America: democratization and empowerment: by Joseph L
Scarpaci
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