Business & Economy Archives - Page 88 of 223

Nicaraguan Farmers in Opposing Camps over GMOs

Alvaro Fiallos, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers of Nicaragua (UNAG) president: “It’s not true they would raise productivity in

New Protest Set Against Nicaragua Canal

A rural movement opposed to the construction of an inter-oceanic canal in southern Nicaragua announced a new protest march against the megaproject, promoted by the Ortega government and the Chinese consortium HKND.

Store Sales and Cuba’s Army of Resellers

Everything begins with an order “from above”. Then the paperwork comes down and nighttime preparations. The following day, from the crack of dawn, the commotion, chaos, crowds… This isn’t an undercover operation; there’s a sale.

Cubans Receive “Symbolic Bills” for Medical Services

Cuban patients who are seen at medical institutions in Havana have begun to receive an unprecedented bill with the cost of the medical services they’ve received. The Public Health Ministry (MINSAP) says that giving patients a “symbolic bill” is part of a program that is being developed across the country to make patients and medical institutions aware of how much these services cost.

Small Businesses in Cuba, Challenges and Obstacles

Anything to do with funding, supplies and taxes has to be a headache today for Cuba’s self-employed. [In the case of taxes, they were once demonized here as an evil of only capitalist systems.] The other obstacles on the road to success are huge.

Tomatoes are Rotting in Guantanamo

Tomatoes are rotting in the Caujeri Valley, a man tells me, which has had a good harvest this year, with a yield that doubles what was expected and has a modern factory to process them but, right now, its productive capacity isn’t enough to deal with all of the tomatoes that are coming in from the fields.

Cuba: Small Slithers of Change Towards Progress

Within the internal and external setbacks which the Cuban people have experienced in the last 60 years, physical and mental changes are being seen in language and daily tasks which make the most optimistic of us see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Cuba’s Telecommunications Monopoly Squeezes Customers, Again

ETECSA, Cuba’s telecommunications monopoly, has done it again; it is Cuban families’ public enemy number 1, without any logical need or reason. At a time when many Cubans are still learning how to use the company’s expensive Nauta services, the firm has in effect jacked up its prices.

As the Tourism Dollars Roll into Cuba

Celia was on the lookout every day, she asked her friends, she hunted a lot, but there wasn’t any way for her to find a decent place to rent for a reasonable price. Until a friend stated the obvious: “My girl, everybody is renting them out to the “yumas” (foreigners) now.

Cuba Reports Crackdown on Tax Evasion

According to government reports, a total of 223 cases of tax evasion by people who are self-employed were sent to Cuban courts, and if found guilty, they could be sentenced to up to 8 years in prison.