Opinion Archives - Page 450 of 495

Soap Portrays the Cuba of Its Time

“Bajo el Mismo Sol” (Under the Same Sun) is probably not the best soap series that’s ever come on Cuban TV, but it is one of the best in terms of reflecting the Cuba of its time.

Cuba Elite Faces Identity Crisis

In technical terms, while the political system moves towards an authoritarian status — requiring obedience more than empathy — the elite maintains its totalitarian bent, as if it were actually in a position to command the enthusiastic allegiance of people around the promise of a new world that it can no longer even promise.

Revolutionary carrots and sticks

It is no secret that the Cuban government has harshly punished those people that oppose it; using violence in many cases and long prison terms against many dissenters. On the other hand they stimulate those that support their rule.

Adios September 28

I live in one of the many marginal neighborhoods of Havana, and ever since I can remember, whenever the date of September 28 started to approach, the residents on each block are summoned to a gathering of their CDR (Committee for the Defense of the Revolution).

Thinking Different Isn’t Bad

Ever since I was little my friends used to say I was headstrong because I always went against everything. The truth is, though, I don’t think I’m like that at all. I only stand up for my ideas, my principles and my preferences – tooth and nail.

Cuba’s Tree without Roots

The Romans weren’t the ones who invented municipalities as local institutions, but they understood the need to develop political structures capable of maintaining the unity of their empire. The Cuban model, to the contrary, is so centralized that almost nothing is done without authorization from Havana.

Cuba’s Tantrum Foreign Policy

Raul Castro has stated that one of his main priorities is to restore the country’s international economic credibility, something I find quite reasonable.

Cuba Silent on Child Prostitution Case

According to unofficial media here, yesterday a trial began — behind closed doors — in which 14 people (among them three Italian citizens) are implicated in the death of a Cuban junior high school student.

A Cuban Kid’s Hunger

Around 9 o’clock last night, while I was passionately reading an autobiography, my youngest daughter interrupted me. With the face of a good little girl, she announced: “Mummy, I’m hungry.”

Cuba-US Agents, a Humanitarian Way Out

It takes some effort to believe that Washington is seriously thinking they’ll succeed at securing a pardon for Alan Gross by simply saying that if Havana wants “warmer relations with the United States” they should free him. It’s as if they’ve tried to sow hopes using the strategy of the invisible carrot.