If U.S. citizens gain the right to travel to Cuba, experts are saying the immediate flow of visitors from the United States to the island would be great. “If the travel ban is lifted, you’ll probably see hundreds, hundreds of American yachtsmen going to Cuba the next day,” according to Timothy Ashby, a former U.S. […]
Reuters, a leading news and financial agency, recorded short videos of individuals in cities around the globe at the end of 2008, asking for postcard-length messages to the new U.S. President. Here is the postcard from Havana, with responses to the question: What message would you give to Obama? The answers: “Obama, you are the […]
Cuba’s most important export industry, nickel production, is on the verge of being unprofitable after a persistent decline in international nickel prices. Nickel has accounted for over half of goods export earnings in recent years, and reserves remain plentiful. Indeed, the Holguin province of Cuba has around 34% of the world’s reserves. But falling prices […]
Not long ago, the Cuban American National Foundation (CANF) was an incredibly conservative, hard-line exile group almost inextricably linked with the Republican party. After the Elián González controversy (2000-2001), the hard-liners split off to form the Cuban Liberty Council, leaving behind a more centrist/moderate CANF. That shift was considerable at the time, but the statement […]
Read this article by Norman Girvan: Fidel Castro Unseen Guest at Vth Summit. The number of issues facing the Americas at this moment is staggering: the upcoming Summit must address the current financial crisis and global economic downturn, energy concerns, drug trafficking, migration pressures, persistent poverty and inequality, organized crime and regional violence, at least. And yet, […]
I was recently told, rather unceremoniously, that Cuba’s neighbors in the Caribbean are quite content with a Castro regime in Havana. Apparently these small countries ‘dread’ a regime change, an evolution of the form of government, or an end to the embargo. This point merits special discussion. The reason for such sentiment, of course, is […]
Manuel Marrero Faz of Cuba’s Ministry of Basic Industries stated this week that Havana would welcome U.S. companies’ help in developing the island’s oil industry, should the embargo (someday) be lifted. “We’re very close to each other. We’re neighbors. Why not do business?” He said. A previous post described the possible benefit to the United […]
Representative Barbara Lee of California is head of a Congressional delegation that arrived today in Havana to discuss tourism and trade, as well as other U.S.-Cuba exchanges (health, cultural and academic). She expressed before departing: “America’s harsh approach toward our nearest Caribbean neighbor divides families, closes an important market to struggling U.S. farmers, harasses our […]
Cuban artist Tania Bruguera, a resident of Havana, set up a podium and microphone as the backdrop to her performance art show on Sunday at the 10th Havana Biennial, a prestigious international festival. Volunteers from the audience were invited to speak for no more than one minute each, and during each speech actors dressed in […]
“Acopio,” the system that organizes the purchase and distribution of about 90% of Cuba’s agricultural output, will no longer be overseen by Cuba’s agriculture ministry but by the domestic trade ministry. A brief report on state-run television explained that by reassigning this duty, the agriculture ministry will be able to focus solely on production without […]
This post can also be seen on FPA’s Latin America Blog. This month marked a historic change for El Salvador and popular movements in Latin America as a whole. Central America in the late 70’s and early 1980’s was one of the warfronts of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. Countries such […]
Fareed Zakaria GPS this past Sunday brought one of the most popular leaders in Latin America to English speaking viewers with an interview with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva. With questions of the economic crisis, oil, relations with Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia as well as Brazil’s role as one of the world’s largest […]
This month marked a historic change for El Salvador and popular movements in Latin America as a whole. Central America in the late 70’s and early 1980’s was one of the warfronts of the Cold War between the US and the USSR. Countries such as Cuba and even Mexico became entrenched in the problems in […]
A “new” bill that removes legal barriers to all travel to Cuba (not just family-related visits) will be unveiled on Tuesday in the Senate, with a host of supporters rallying behind it. The bill has been proposed for the last two years, but died each time in Committee under the threat of presidential veto. This time, both […]
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced today that Washington plans to maintain the embargo against Cuba—the first definitive statement on the current Administration’s stance on the issue and a serious blow to the many analysts and think tanks advising that the embargo be lifted. Biden’s statement came at the Progressive Governance Summit in Chile, convened […]