Opinion

After Mexico, the Latin American country with the greatest and deepest cultural ties with Cuba is probably Chile. That relationship, like all others, has its history. It was particularly intense during the government of Salvador Allende (1970-1973), when for the first time an electoral process brought a left-wing candidate to the presidency, a foreshadowing of events that would unfold in the region many years later.

The photo is an image very similar to those published in recent times and of others that we could find in any family album: a grandfather receiving a visit from one of his daughters or granddaughters. However, two small but striking details can be observed that make this photo somewhat different from previous ones.

For Russia, the strategic alliance means a revival of traditional links with Cuba, trade preferences and investment on the island. For Cuba, it represents much-needed economic and political support.
—As for the Cuban debt accumulated in the Soviet years, some Russian sources say this seems to be finally buried and forgotten, leaving a clean slate for this new stage in bilateral relations.

A fellow editor reminded me the other day that Cuban media professionals draw a danger line for themselves. The line keeps them from stepping onto shaky ground, where some higher up might perceive their subject matter as too controversial or too negatively critical.
—The rationale is always that internal problems should not be divulged or discussed by the Cuban media, because such writing “helps the enemy.”

Jefferson’s statement that “nothing would be more suitable” —than the idea that Cuba constituted— “the most interesting addition that could be made to our system of states,” would become one of the most damaging political tendencies of the century for the existence of the Cuban nation.
—The 19th century produced numerous expressions of paternalism, but without a doubt one of the most representative is the narrative that Cubans weren’t ready for self government.

It’s now public record that the Cuban government shared intelligence gathered by the Cuban Five with the FBI back in 1998. However, instead of detaining the terrorists, the FBI arrested the informants, who have now been in jail for over 10 years.
—As of Friday, the Cuban Five case is now in the hands of the US Supreme Court after the defense team led by attorney Thomas Goldstein of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP filed their appeal.

The most visible indication of a change in Cuba policy is that the right-wing Cuban-Americans are not among the Hispanics selected for key positions in his administration. They have been replaced by Cuban-American fashion designers whose talents have spurred the press to talk about the fresh style and spirit of renewal of the First Lady.

The “collective punishment” inflicted by Washington takes on both a tragic and at times ridiculous nature. The absurd prevails when a businessman is punished for selling water purifiers to the city of Havana, or a retired US couple is hounded by the US Treasury Department for touring the island on bicycles.

Fidel Castro will play the lead role at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Cuban Revolution on New Years Day in Santiago de Cuba, whether or not his health allows him to be there personally. His clarity of vision is best exemplified by his prediction early on that the bubble of speculative finances in the US was going to burst.

Cuba maintained its solidarity ethics even during the severe economic crisis in the first half of the 1990s, but concessions to market oriented measures installed for shear survival have created a growing gap between a new rich and a new poor.