I was in residence at the Ecumenical Research Department (DEI) in Costa Rica, when the study on civic participation that I was carrying out —by the force of circumstances— turned into passionate accompaniment of the social movement opposed to the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.
Read MoreAlthough both sides had kept the meetings discreet, D.C. felt tremors radiating from some Washington offices. Feeling the ground shake, right-wing Cuban-American congressional offices requested the Department of State convene an “immediate informational meeting” on the activities of Bisa Williams to consider if contacts with the Cuban government had risen to “unnecessary levels.”
Read MoreStalin is defended by loads of Cubans nostalgic for the Soviet era, and those who love the rattle of weapons. These are Cubans whose minds did not transcend the events of 1985-1991 in the USSR. They are people who have no compassion for the millions of dead, because for them political power is justified in itself by its own existence.
Read MoreWe should remember that Cuban workers have 50 years of effort and struggles under their belts. Endurance to physical and psychological labor has its limits. These can only be fortified by gusts of air that -in Cuba- will be given by carrying out a political revolution: overthrowing the bureaucracy and elevating the workers into full control of the society.
Read MoreI’ve spent these last weeks in a kind of “intellectual maquiladora,” gripped by work, bureaucratic reports and projects that never seem to become of anything. I sit here tired of sustaining a precarious balance between commitment and dreams; content with doing what I like, but sick of thinking about my people and my island.
Read MoreWhat’s most striking is the combined absurdity, stagnation and outdated fashion that is demonstrated in the entire staging of the festivities. Like a theatrical production revisited on many occasions by the same playwright -without the slightest contribution by the actors- neighborhood blocks get “decked out” to hail their special day.
Read MoreYou had to see the face of the head of personnel at the Lenin School when he saw that sheet. “This is nasty!” he said to himself, and then commented to me, “We’ll have to do some checking. Call me in a couple days.”
Read MoreI’d never given thought to those jobs. I’d never even asked myself who takes care of the trees in my city, or what’s the name of the man who passes by at dawn, sweeping the street clean of what others have tossed on the ground.
Read MoreIn the end the same thing happens to most people as to me. Most of the vacation time is spent resolving problems that – were there not so much red tape – would be very simple to solve, instead of taking us an entire day, week, or two weeks.
Read MoreFulfilling an old dream, I recently visited an encampment of the Landless Workers Movement (MST) in Brazil. Learning about the MST is to draw closer to one of the greatest, most expressive and most organic Latin American social movements.
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