Search Results for: Haroldo Dilla

Despite the proclaimed “national pride” that we Cubans show through thick or thin — as well as our obsession with looking at the world as a sphere that rotates around our problems — perhaps no other country in the world has been subsidized for a longer period of time and with so many resources.

Taking advantage of the government’s new permissiveness, the Catholic Church convened a conference entitled “Current Challenges of the Cuban Nation” led by Alfredo Guevara. According to some reports, those in attendance included some dissidents as well as important Cuban academics.

Cuba’s foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said the blockade has been a failure, but I disagree. On the contrary, I think it’s been quite successful. However, I do agree with the conclusions reached by the foreign minister and with those who voted against the embargo at the UN.

The death of Laura Pollan occurred at a time that the Ladies in White were redefining their place on the Cuban political scene.

With the new rules regarding the sale/purchase of vehicles, the government persists in its intention to monitor the processes of social mobility. Not like before, not in all the detail, but still managing the key variables and reserving a veto power.

The United States has committed deplorable acts against the Cuban nation, it’s true, but all of those together fail to justify even one of the arbitrary measures taken by the Cuban government (many of them still in force) against its emigrant population.

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.

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