The violent reaction to the dissident who ran through Revolution Square carrying a US flag on May Day has been the last of a series of failed responses. The guy was beaten up and arrested in the middle of Revolution Square, during the rally for May Day in front of journalists.
Old Panfilo has become the greatest reporter of modern Cuba, it isn’t by chance that the entire country comes to a standstill and sits in front of the TV every Monday evening to watch his comedy show. Even his censored programs pass around from hand to hand or on USBs and hard-drives.
Finally, Cuba’s telephone company ETECSA seems to have heard the people’s cries and has improved its previous offer, benefiting users of their service and the country, which receives a lot of hard currency for top-ups made abroad.
During 2015, a total of 2174 Cuban children and teenagers suffered reported acts of physical abuse, grooming, rape, sexual abuse, pedophilia, statutory rape and incest. Such cruelty is an offense which should make us all ashamed. Cuba isn’t the only country in the world where these atrocities take place. We can think of a thousand excuses, tell ourselves that there will always be sexually perverted adults in any society, that it is impossible to know what happens behind everyone’s closed doors or that the number of minors who suffer this abuse is much smaller than that in other countries.
Last weekend I went out with little Lucia to walk the streets of Old Havana, attracted by the children’s dance show performed in its plazas. It was fascinating to witness the quality of the groups, the environment and the large number of children among the audience.
Cuban workers pay for healthcare and education. Ever since the 1960s, surplus value gained from their labor has gone to the State’s coffers, the State being the main owner of the country’s modes of production and only redistributor of this wealth.
In a country often with considerable food shortages, dozens of tons of tomatoes are rotting in Guantanamo because nobody is collecting them. In the face of situations like this one, which affects the national and local economy, you can’t divide the blame up between everyone.
An inspector recently fined us because we had thrown some buckets of water on the street and a little reached the sidewalk. “Don’t you know comrade that it is only allowed on Saturdays?”, she asked very seriously, while taking out her booklet for giving fines.
Cuban authorities have launched a new set of measures to benefit Cuban mothers so as to increase the country’s birth rate and to stop society from aging at the rapid rate it is today. These are steps in the right direction, but are they enough?
A president in pre-revolutionary times used to say that Cuba is a country made of cork because whatever happens it always remains afloat. And if we look at what has happened over the last half a century, we would be tempted to say that this is true.
