News

Spain asked US president-elect Barack Obama on Thursday for a “change of attitude” regarding Cuba. Secretary of State for Ibero-America, Trinidad Jimenez, also encouraged the US to end its half century blockade of the island and recognized President Raul Castro’s “willingness” to seek an understanding through dialogue. Spain is the EU country with the most investments in Cuba.

The main objective of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet’s upcoming trip to Cuba in February is to contribute to regional integration, affirmed Alejandro Foxley, that South American country’s foreign minister. Bachelet will be the first Chilean president to visit the island after the 1972 trip by Salvador Allende, who was toppled a year later by a US-backed military coup, reported IPS. Bachelet is scheduled to attend the Havana stage (Feb. 12-22) of the month long Cuba International Book Fair, to which Chile and its publishing houses are this year’s special guest.

The Cuban population increased by 932 persons in 2008 when taking into account live births (122,556) compared to the total of deaths (84,970) and emigrants (36,654). The National Statistics Office reported that the island now has 11,237,772 residents compared to 11,236,790. The slight increase represents less than a hundredth of one percent in a country with an increasingly aging population, which makes it hard to replace the workforce. The median age in Cuba is now 37.94 years.

In other data the statistics office reported that 75.4 percent of the population is urban and that the combined nationwide life expectance is 77.97 years, 80.2 for women and 76.0 for men, unchanged over the last year.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, arrives in Cuba on Wednesday where he will meet with President Raul Castro and Parliament Chairman Ricardo Alarcon. “The official visit to the Cuban capital seeks to promote a new political architecture in the region,” states the Ecuadorian press citing the Foreign Ministry.

Correa is scheduled to visit the Havana based Latin American School of Medical Sciences (ELAM) where numerous Ecuadorians are studying on scholarships. The economist by profession will also lecture at the University of Havana on the topic of Latin American integration and the international financial crisis, states the elcomercio.com website.

Correa arrives on the heels of another state visit by Panama’s Martin Torrijos. After he leaves, Cuba will also receive President Cristina Kirchner of Argentina over the weekend and Chile’s Michel Bachelet in February.

Cuba has just made available electronic copies of thousands of documents of US author Ernest Hemingway from the over two decades when he lived on the outskirts of Havana (1939-1960) and wrote several novels.

An unpublished epilogue of “For Whom the Bell Tolls”, set during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), a screenplay for his classic “The Old Man and the Sea”, and several of Hemingway’s personal belongings including letters were scanned and organized by Cuban heritage specialists with assistance from the Social Science Research Council of New York.

The scanning of the 3,197 is part of project to protect the originals, said Ada Rosa Alfonso, director of the Hemingway Museum located at Finca Vigia.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa is scheduled to arrive in Havana on Wednesday Jan. 7 for a three day official visit to the island. Correa will conclude his first year in office on January 15. Argentinean President Cristina Fernandez is also expected to visit Cuba later in January.

The Cuban capital welcomed half of the international tourism arrivals to the island in 2008, announced sources from the Ministry of Tourism. The Caribbean country’s principal city has 10,225 rooms in 62 hotel installations, reported IPS.

Barack Obama takes office in two and a half weeks and Cuban President Raul Castro restated on Friday that he is ready to meet the US leader for unconditioned direct talks “without intermediaries.” Castro said he had no illusions of major change in US policy towards the island, but noted that Obama has raised a lot of expectations around the world and “could take some positive steps.”

Panamanian President Martin Torrijos arrives in Cuba on Saturday for an official two day visit. Torrijos, who last visited Cuba in May, will be traveling with several cabinet members, journalists and business executives. “The president will meet with top Cuban authorities on his agenda related to the regional economy, health care and culture,” said Eric Rodriguez Auerbach, Torrijos’ secretary of communication.

Cuba closed 2008 with 330,000 mobile phone clients, a figure that could go up to 1.6 million in three years, said Maximo Lafuente, vice president of the Cuban Telephone Company (ETECSA), a Cuban-Italian joint venture. “The growth in cell phones in the island is unstoppable, just like in all countries,” noted Lafuente. The price charged to contract a cell phone line in Cuba recently dropped by nearly 50 percent, to US $72, reported IPS.