Pedro Campos

“We support the current policy of firmness and the intelligent policies being pursued in the international arena by the Soviet Union – I mean Russia,” declared Raul Castro.

I am not an expert on soccer or any other sport and, like most Cubans from my generation, I am a baseball aficionado (which doesn’t mean I am not enjoying the good soccer games we’ve been seeing in the World Cup held in Brazil this year).

By the looks of it, the “cooperative fever” is gradually spreading, despite all of the hurdles Cuba’s bureaucracy places in its path. We must now create a “National Institute for the Development of Cooperatives” to promote the growth of cooperatives in Cuba and/or establish an NGO with the same aims.

The letter that 44 renowned US personalities wrote President Obama, calling for a relaxation of the embargo on Cuba, has given new impetus to the old debate about the real effects this policy has on Cuba’s political situation.

We hear many complaints to the effect that Cuba’s official press does not fulfill its informative duties. Sometimes, people blame the ineptitude of journalists, their lack of cunning or motivation to criticize bad practices and offer solutions to the problems that affect the population.

This geopolitical move by Moscow aims to deliver a message to the USA: that its current and future interventions in the Ukraine could meet with a response from a nearby territory (Cuba). It hints at an eventual restaging of the Cold War situation, with different tonalities.