Opinion Archives - Page 397 of 499

Alfredo Guevara’s Mark on Cuba

The first time I ever spoke with Alfredo Guevara was after I had just arrived in Cuba, at the beginning of the 1990s. At the time, I was planning a television news piece on Fidel Castro and wanted to interview those who had been close to him at different points in his life. Cuba was experiencing frequent blackouts at the time and there was a power cut while we were riding the elevator up to his office at the film institute. Stuck between two floors, we were forced to crawl out through the section of door that seemed largest to us.

Women of the North and South

I believe gender-related violence is the main problem we face right now, and I have written about this issue on several occasions. The Cuban government must implement new measures so as to keep this problem at bay, or from reaching the levels caught sight of in other countries in the region, which report alarming rates.

Obama’s Cuba Policy Impasse

Though President Obama never promised he would lift the Cuban embargo, he began his first term with a series of bold moves which raised some hopes on the island. Today, he seems to have stopped trying, having hit what appears to be a convenient dead end.

The incapacity of “state socialism” to renew itself and the tasks of the left

To freely defend its ideals, the socialist left has been forced to prioritize the struggle for the democratization of the political system. This is a summary of a much longer essay in Spanish.

Cuba’s Pending Racial Debate

In 1925, Las Margaritas, the birthplace of Cuban singer Celia Cruz, was one of Havana’s poor black neighborhoods. Today, the children who live in this shantytown have free access to education and healthcare, but little of the deplorable living conditions that prevailed back then has changed, and its inhabitants are still, for the most part, of the same skin color.

Why Cuban Travelers Are So Vulnerable

When someone holding a Cuban passport goes through an airport, they draw the undivided attention of its immigration officers, for he/she is seen, not as a run-of-the-mill traveler, but as a potential illegal immigrant. Likewise, Cuban consulates abroad are seldom equipped to offer services to help nationals.

My Opinion in Havana Times

Getting to know the reality of any country is very easy in these days of the Internet. One can’t keep anything a secret. Even national security issues of a country are increasingly difficult to hide. An outstanding example is the body of revelations by Wikileaks.

Cuba/Travel: Opportunism and Meatballs

Director Philip Lord is a very bright, young man. No doubt he’s on many lists of up and coming Hollywood directors. He’s already registered two box office successes with “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” and more recently “21 Jump Street.” This past week he ventured into the political fray – with a vengeance and head first.

Cuba, the Crisis in Venezuela and the Specter of the Special Period

Nicolás Maduro’s electoral victory, recently announced by Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), has left us with more questions than answers. A number of analysts have argued that Cuba could enter a second “Special Period in Times of Peace”, should Caracas be unable to maintain its oil shipments to the island.

Cuba and the BRICS

In Cuba, the BRICS are presented to us as an alternative to the hegemony of the United States and its Western European allies. While this may well be a valid contrast, we must look behind such apparently simple remarks, for they point to the fact that half of humanity has undertaken a form of development that was in no way foreseen by the communists who steered the educational system and ideology in my country for many years.