In recent posts we’ve discussed the future of Communist Cuba after the current generation of leaders is gone, and what might be expected of the next generation. These questions are on the top of the minds of current leadership, and so this weekend’s conference of the Union of Communist Youth fit smoothly into that context: […]
For all the hubbub surrounding President Evo Morales socialist agenda, one element of his political project seems largely overlooked—revanchism. On March 23, Morales headed Bolivia’s Sea Day Celebration, commemorating the end of War of the Pacific, which resulted in Chile annexing half of Bolivia, including its Pacific coast. The fete’s recently adopted slogan—“Motherland or Death: […]
Despite predictions that recent polarizing events would freeze the slow steps of US-Cuba rapprochement, the last week or so has shown more persistence on both sides to overcome differences in favor of continuing productive dialogue on relevant issues. US business representatives and Cuban tourism officials met in Cancún last week for three days to discuss […]
The “vicious circle” is, as Dalia Acosta and others have written, a pattern that has been repeated over and over during the history of Cuba in the last decades: the seemingly inevitable cycle of relaxing and tightening among the governments of Cuba, the United States and the European Union. The reasons for the vicious circle are […]
These are actually by no means “the” answers. But here are mine: Are Communist Party officials a bit overoptimistic when they say, as they frequently do, that “the future of the Revolution is guaranteed”? Overoptimistic yes, but completely off base, no. Many Cubans beyond the so-called “dissident” community are frustrated with the Cuban political and […]
Supporters and opponents alike frequently look to the Cuban regime with the same impression: the current political cadre is aging without indicating a clear method of succession. The average age of Raúl Castro’s cabinet is over 70. Fidel Castro is 83, and Raúl is 78. The general sense that the regime might successfully pull off a […]
The U.S. Treasury Department has made a rule change that it says will help people in Iran, Sudan, and Cuba communicate with the outside world. An amendment made this week will make it possible for American companies to acquire general licenses for exportation of personal Internet-based communications services, such as instant messaging and chat, to these […]
The last few weeks have been an intriguing one for Latin America. With the release of a report showing an increase of 150% in weapons purchases by Latin American governments over the last 5 years, US officials being murdered in Mexico’s drug war, Lula visiting the Middle East and Medvedev confirming a trip to Argentina […]
Excerpts from a European Parliament resolution passed on March 10, 2010: The European Parliament… strongly condemns the avoidable and cruel death of the dissident political prisoner Orlando Zapata Tamayo after a hunger strike of 85 days, and expresses its solidarity and sympathy with his family; Condemns the pre-emptive detention of activists and the government’s attempt […]
As the move toward energy conservation takes hold, lithium for use in ion batteries is destined to play a significant role in the energy equation of the next generation. From 2003-2007, global demand for lithium carbonate doubled, and realizing current hybrid car technologies will require access to massive stocks of lithium, which is largely harvested […]
Brazil’s President Lula is a largely beloved figure, in his country and abroad: Barack Obama is widely quoted as having told Lula, upon meeting at the G20 summit in London in April 2009, that the Brazilian leader was “the most popular politician on earth.” But even Lula appears to have some issues that he cannot […]
No greater nightmare would have been imagined by the technocrats in Brussels when forming the guidelines for expanding the EU than one of the new and relatively unprepared nations joining the EU becoming a candidate for removal from the Union. All nations in applying for EU membership had to meet specific economic stability levels to […]
Mari Carmen Aponte (shown above right) has been down this road before. This time it does not look like she is backing down—yet. Senate Republicans (including Senator Jim DeMint, above left) are blocking approval of the Obama administration’s nomination of Aponte to the post of Ambassador to El Salvador, claiming concern over her past ties […]
This week, NAFSA’s Senior Advisor for Public Policy, Vic Johnson, commented on Barack Obama’s words before a Town Hall in Istanbul, Turkey last year. There, President Obama had made a statement on the great benefit of exchanges between young people across country boundaries, saying: “Simple exchanges can break down walls between us, for when people […]
In the face of machismo and homophobia on the island and in much of the Hemisphere, and despite an international community that may be tending more towards tolerance of LGBT individuals but is still far from fully accepting these into society, Cuba—as we’ve noted previously—has a surprisingly high level of institutional support for the gay, […]