Since 2012 and following a consistent rise in incidence, cancer has been the chief cause of death in Cuba. The public officials responsible for divulging this news have assured us this doesn’t have to do with the spread of the condition but with a decrease in the incidence of the former main cause of death: heart conditions.
In my previous post, I exposed the lies and half-truths about the state of cancer in Cuba divulged by high government officials. These officials have made an effort to convey a false image of control over this condition, an image than can be refuted with the most elementary of statistics.
In 2012, cancer was reported to be among the main causes of death in Cuba, after several years of a less disquieting trend. It is frightening to think that one out of four Cubans currently die of this condition. The World Health Organization claims we are one of the most severely affected countries in Latin America.
I want to begin this post sharing with you my joy over some recent news: Cuba’s National Assembly (Parliament) convened recently and one of their conclusions is that the island’s economy continues to slow down.
Marino Murillo has always struck me as a contemptuous person. The arrogance with which he speaks before the legislature, the self-confidence with which he addresses the thorny issues, and his body language, place him somewhere between a domineering public official and a neighborhood butcher.
Goooooooooooooooooooal by Adidas and McDonalds, by Hyundai and Coca Cola, by Sony, FIFA and TeleSur. The gold medal goes to neo-liberalism, the IMF and all big banks, to exponential growth, industrialism and the policy of pillaging countries for raw materials…
The Cuban opposition is a mind-boggling issue. The State has shrouded itself with so much smoke and fear that it is practically impossible to know the identity of those who confront it. From its point of view, all are mercenaries, supporters of the US blockade and champions of savage capitalism.
Of the Cuban companies currently at the forefront of the country’s transition to State capitalism, ETECSA (the island’s monopoly phone company) is among the most unpopular. ETECSA’s widespread unpopularity is not unwarranted.
On Father’s Day – Sunday, June 15 – I decided to pay Cuba’s Cinematheque a visit. I hate Sundays, have many misgivings about the traditional family and its pathetic festivities, try to avoid public transportation on weekends and loathe the scorching sun of our summer afternoons more than a vampire would. (16 photos)
Shouldn’t an avowedly communist newspaper suspect that a class confrontation hides behind pressing social problems? When those who write for the paper tackle the issue of education, shouldn’t their point of departure be Marx’s critique of State schooling?