A schizophrenic situation has been enduring in Cuba for decades: the State sells things to you, but it doesn’t pay you enough to be able to buy them. Likewise, the much criticized two-currency system is what keeps most Cuban state companies afloat.
Read MoreThere’s no doubt that one of the achievements of the Cuban Revolution has been universal access (not free) to health care for every Cuban. I have felt pride in our medical power at times. That pride has deflated on several occasions when I have needed to use this power.
Read MoreThere isn’t an idea more absurd than the one that stigmatizes neo-colonialism with wanting greater freedom and a market economy, as an example of falling under the US’ radar. There are dozens of countries which have a market economy and democracy and they aren’t subordinated to the US.
Read MoreThere’s a knock at the door and I open it. My neighbor shows me a copy of Granma newspaper and there’s a flask of rum in his other hand. He walks in happily as if he were plotting something and asks me if I can switch on the fan.
Read MoreThe 8th sequel of the blockbuster The Fast and the Furious is already in the homes of many Cubans thanks to great “know-how” which, relying on new technologies plus a great amount of cunning and other tricks, has allowed anyone who has a USB drive to see the movie in the comfort of their own homes while it makes its world premiere.
Read More“Every day that passes in Venezuela, that country sinks more in poverty, more political positions are polarized and its return to democracy becomes more difficult,” comments the usually pro-Nicaraguan government newspaper El Nuevo Diario in an editorial on Monday.
Read MoreThe Venezuelan government is almost exclusively dependent on the State oil company PDVSA to fund its budget. Likewise, the governments of Raul Castro in Cuba and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua rely on the company to fund their coffers.
Read MoreAs a result of the decisions recently made by Cuban cultural institutions, along with the Cuban government, to censor the films Santa y Andres by Carlos Lechuga and the documentary Nadie by Miguel Coyula, a worrying phenomenon has come about.
Read MoreThe Government tells us that electricity is “subsidized”, in conformance with their calculations which are made in USD, but the effect it has on our pockets is as if it were the “black market”. To highlight the State’s generosity they compare these prices with those in New York and London.
Read MoreFinally, 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.
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