Cuba’s Tense 2014 Veracruz Games

It felt as though Cuba was aiming to secure a first place at the Olympic Games or a seat in the UN Security Council – but they were merely the 2014 Veracruz Central American and Caribbean Games. The tension felt during the competition could be felt both on the island and the host country.

Read More

My Havana 25 Years On

Some of my friends make fun of the fact Havana was named one of the 7 wonder cities of the world. They write about the large heaps of garbage on the streets, the ruined buildings, the geysers of sewage and how the pot-holes resemble war trenches.

Read More

Changes in Cuba: Just for Show?

“To be effective, any reform effort should be consistently democratic and peaceful, seeking to overcome divisions and to establish exchange and cooperation, as well as eliminate the aggressive and threatening rhetoric of international economic and political pressures” – Pedro Campos

Read More

For and Against Fracking in Cuba

The root cause of the economic problems that overwhelm our economy, as my colleague Erasmo Calzadilla has correctly pointed out, is the energy shortage. Historically, Cuba has stated that it lacks large fossil fuel reserves…

Read More

The Conflictive Cuba-USA Relations

On February 3, 1961, Kennedy signed an “embargo on all trade with Cuba.” At the time, there was yet no special migratory legislation for Cubans and the Guantanamo Naval Base had been in operation on the island for 58 years that month, on the basis of bilateral agreements that had never been revoked.

Read More

Courageous Cuban Blog Turns 5

When I was a kid, in the neighborhood in Uruguay where I grew up, we’d call anyone who didn’t show enough courage to climb a tree, make someone trip during a soccer match or trade blows with any adversary a “faggot.”

Read More

Cuba: The Way We Understand Haiti’s Poverty

One of the questions that most people ask me when they learn of my interest in Caribbean issues is the main cause behind Haiti’s economic backwardness. Our neighbor has become one of the world’s poorest countries, despite the well-known devotion, industriousness and zeal of its inhabitants.

Read More