CUBABRIEF: The Economist Daily Dispatch focused today on “The declining quality of Venezuelan propaganda.” The British magazine reports that democracy has been extinguished, and that there are food shortages and people killed.
CUBABRIEF: The Economist Daily Dispatch focused today on “The declining quality of Venezuelan propaganda.” The British magazine reports that democracy has been extinguished, and that there are food shortages and people killed.
The Miami Herald reports today that "Growth returns to Caribbean Basin, but recovery is uneven" "Economic performance in the Caribbean will be uneven this year: Some economies will grow by 5 percent or more, but others will be lucky to eke out even negligible economic growth."
Raul Castro's government continues to warn against "foreign countries meddling in the internal affairs of Venezuela," while Cuban security forces continue to train President Maduro's political police.
CubaBrief: Today we highlight an article from Nora Gamez Torres about an unprecedented Harvard meeting of "30 Cuban activists, writers, academics and entrepreneurs, mostly of African descent" based on the island on the Afro-Cuban experience.
CubaBrief: Today we highlight an article from Nora Gamez Torres about an unprecedented Harvard meeting of "30 Cuban activists, writers, academics and entrepreneurs, mostly of African descent" based on the island on the Afro-Cuban experience.
A group of mostly young bigots desecrated the symbol of freedom erected by the students at Tiananmen Square in 1989.
There is no doubt that Cuban rulers are concerned about the progressive isolation of Nicolás Maduro's chavista (inspired by the legacy of the late Hugo Chávez) government.
RAUL CASTRO AND THE NEW TENANT: Just in case the Cuban dictator had not realized fully the implications of the new tenant in the White House, the U.S. missile attack against a Syrian air force base, and the unanimous Congressional support it has receivedhas reminded him of the new reality. The shorthand for what has happened in Havana, Tehran and Pyongyang is that “Trump is not Obama.”
While the Cuban government lobby and its friends continue to distribute a Potemkin narrative of Cuba, the facts on the ground remain.
AS REPORTED BY CUBABRIEF AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS called on governments, and media around the world to helpthree siblings from Holguín who had been on a hunger strike since March 7th.
According to Cuba press reports Bolivian president Evo Morales underwent a successful throat surgery at a Havana hospital a couple of days ago. CubaBrief notes that Havana's media also reported Hugo Chavez's "successful" medical treatments on the island.
REVELATIONS ABOUT CUBA BY THE ECONOMIST: “…Unless the country reduces the obstacles to private investment in hotels, services and supply chains, it will struggle to provide tourists with the value for money that will keep them coming back.
Ros-Lehtinen, Wasserman Schultz Lead Bipartisan Call For Review of Havana Club Trademark License to Castro Regime-Owned Cubaexport
WHAT HAPPENED TO RAUL CASTRO’S REFORMS? TheFinancial Times reports today that “Havana has allowed its domestic reform drive to grind to a halt…” FT says “Raul Castro sought to decentralize the economy and boost productivity by allowing self-employment, slashing state bureaucracy, welcoming foreing investment and unifying Cuba’s dual currency system.” But the promises made by General Castro when he inherited power have come to naught.
"The next year will determine Raúl Castro’s economic legacy," according to an article in this morning's The Miami Herald. Just as Quixotic as the perennial "next year in Havana".
Readers of CubaBrief would not be surprised to learn that “the Cuban government has banned the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from being spread in Cuba,” or that “children and teenagers were told to burn copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in a ‘hate rally’ against the Ladies in White.”
They say that they fulfill their mission when they serve in countries that have signed agreements with the Cuban regime. "Mission." It is a term that supposes a zeal to spread the faith, and entails a set of diplomatic shenanigans.
In the fable of the scorpion and the frog, a scorpion asks a frog to carry it across the river. The frog, afraid of being stung, hesitates. But the scorpion argues that if it were to sting the frog, they would both drown. Considering that it would be irrational for the scorpion to cause both of their deaths, the frog agrees.
For many years the Cuban government asserted that the reason Cubans risked the dangerous journey in unseaworthy vessels to Florida was because of America's open arms policy for Castro's victims. B
The word in Cuba's capital according to Santeria priests is that Barack Obama hexed Cuban baseball when he joined Raul at the Pan American stadium during his visit last year. Santeria is the Afro-Cuban religion brought to the island by African slaves.