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Contamos las historias de jóvenes como tú que se sienten protagonistas de esta Cuba que cambia; aquellos que transforman los barrios, que emprenden, dialogan y construyen iniciativas ciudadanas para su gente. Te mostramos cómo otros jóvenes superaron las barreras y hoy impulsan un proyecto propio.

A large part of the Saratoga Hotel, located in Old Havana, collapsed this morning, May 6, 2022. The original façade of the property collapsed, as well as at least a third of the adjoining building. The damage is considerable, and the exact causes of the accident and the number of fatalities and injured is still now known.Several posts on social networks showed widespread chaos at the accident site, large volumes of debris and damage to the environment near the site. A tweet from the Cuban Presidency said that the explosion in the hotel was caused by a gas leak; although investigations continue.There is a danger that the collapse of the buildings will continue, so the authorities are expanding the perimeter for evacuating people near the site.Carlos Ricardo Pérez Díaz, national director of the Integrated Emergency and Medical Emergency Service (SIUM), who is at the scene of the incident, reports the preliminary figure of 19 injured and two deceased so far. Most of the victims are transferred to the Hermanos Ameijeiras, Calixto García, Manuel Fajardo and Miguel Enríque hospitals where they receive medical attention.Law enforcement and rescue forces are in the vicinity of the Saratoga, as well as a considerable volume of citizens, who in some videos are seen helping in rescue efforts.President Miguel Díaz-Canel, prime minister Manuel Marrero Cruz, and Esteban Lazo Hernández, president of the National Assembly, also visited the site of the explosion.The Saratoga hotel belongs to the Gaviota group, inherited from the extinct Habaguanex of the Office of the Havana Historian. It had 96 rooms and was not open to the public at the time of the explosion. Its reopening was scheduled for the next few days, so there were service personnel inside the building. <blockquote>This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/news/the-saratoga-hotel-in-havana-collapses/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/se-derrumba-hotel-saratoga-en-la-habana" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.</blockquote>

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The Saratoga Hotel in Havana Collapses

May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) proclaimed it so in 1993. The date deliberately coincides with the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration. This document was written up by representatives of the African press and establishes the principles of freedom of the press.According to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of speech is a fundamental right. It also stipulates that “everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”With this premise as a guide, general principles of freedom of the press explain that there is only an independent press if it is free from “governmental, political or economic control or from control of materials and infrastructure essential for the production and dissemination of newspapers, magazines and periodicals.”It also recognizes that “by a pluralistic press, we mean the end of monopolies of any kind and the existence of the greatest possible number of newspapers, magazines and periodicals reflecting the widest possible range of opinion within the community.”&nbsp;Another May 3rd came around in Cuba and there are still no safeguards for these principles. It’s a society where key media outlets are controlled by the only existing political party, and those who try to be independent are criminalized, stigmatized, and persecuted.This persecution not only happens to independent professional journalists, but also to citizens who express their concerns on social media, in the public space and on alternative communication channels to report the reality in their neighborhood or society. Laws such as Decree Law 370 and 35 lay out restrictions and sanctions for expressions in the virtual space, and the draft bill of the new Penal Code further expands upon this.Within this context, it’s especially important for Cubans that the UN chose the theme: “Journalism under digital siege”, to shine a light on this year for World Press Freedom Day. A theme spotlights “the multiple ways recent developments in surveillance, as well as big data collection&nbsp;and artificial intelligence (AI), impact journalism, freedom of expression&nbsp;and privacy. Also, under the spotlight will be digitally-mediated attacks on journalists, and the consequences of all this on public trust in digital communications,” the UN website reads.Network surveillance – which independent journalists, opposition members and activists suffer in Cuba – is seen as a threat to the exercise of freedom of the press, in other parts of the world. In UNESCO’s last report on World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development (“Threats that Silence”), electronic and digital surveillance endanger journalism all around the world. The report says that surveillance endangers journalists’ safety because it reveals sensitive and personal information that can be used to harass them in court or to attack them arbitrarily.On World Press Freedom Day, we, here at El Toque, want to recognize all the Cuban journalists who suffer harassment, surveillance and repression for practicing their profession. Especially Lazaro Yuri Valle Roca, who has been in prison for approximately 300 days for exercising journalism and standing up to the status quo. This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/opinion/reporting-isnt-a-crime-but-in-cuba-its-treated-as-such/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/informar-no-es-delito-cuba-asedio-a-la-libertad-de-prensa" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.

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Reporting Isn’t a Crime, but in Cuba It’s Treated as Such

US and Cuban officials met in Washington D.C. on April 21st for talks on issues related to the Migration Agreements between the two countries.According to standard press releases, the mutual interest is to enable safe, legal, and orderly migration. However, the current migration crisis in Cuba shows that there are several obstacles to achieving that goal.Beyond the usual rhetoric of both governments, no concrete actions were reported to reduce the flow of Cubans who arrive daily at the US border, and which in March 2022 exceeded 32,000.The Biden administration stated that among the US interests is promoting family reunification and promoting greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms on the island.Likewise, Cuba reiterated its concern about the measures of the US government “that stimulate migration, generate socioeconomic conditions that encourage people to leave the country and that reinforce the blockade, cause loss of life and the commission of crimes of smuggling of migrants, immigration fraud and human trafficking.”Although the US government noted that these talks “are generally held every six months,” those on Thursday represented the first of the Migration Agreement talks between Washington and Havana since 2018.The resumption of these meetings could be a positive signal for the immigration issues that are still pending. These include the reestablishment of consular services at the US embassy in Havana and the Family Reunification Program —suspended in 2017— and the granting of the 20,000 annual immigrant visas agreed after the rafters crisis in 1994 and suspended since 2017.According to the content of the agreements, on the negotiating table is also the commitment of the United States to return to the island Cubans intercepted at sea who cannot show “well-founded fear of being persecuted if they are returned.”Although this aspect has seen compliance —1,399 have been intercepted by the Coast Guard—, since the reopening of the island’s airports in November 2021, the Díaz-Canel government does not accept any Cuban deported through commercial flights or charters.Cuba’s commitment since 2017 is also to accept Cuban citizens who have been ordered expelled after illegally entering US territory and not qualifying for humanitarian aid.“Cuba will reintegrate the returnees into Cuban society, without measures being taken against them, as a consequence of their attempt to emigrate illegally,” establishes the Cuban commitment.According to the authorities of the Office of Detention and Deportation (ICE), there are already 40,000 Cubans with a deportation or expulsion order. However, after the refusal to receive them on the island, they are granted a permit to remain in the US with an employment authorization and driver’s license. The all-time record of 3,385 deportations to Cuba was set during the Trump administration.Recent statements by the US Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, foresee a possible reestablishment of the Cuban-American migratory agreements.“We are exploring the possibility of resuming that [migration agreements], and it is a reflection of our commitment to legal, orderly, and humane ways so that individuals, including Cubans, do not take, for example, the seas, which is a journey extraordinarily dangerous,” said Mayorkas during the Ministerial Conference on Migration and Hemispheric Protection, held this week in Panama.Although Mayorkas’s statements occurred before the meeting on Thursday, the press releases from both governments confirm that there is interest in changes occurring in the near future.“Participation in these talks underscores our commitment to hold constructive talks with the Government of Cuba when appropriate to advance the interests of the United States,” the US State Department statement highlighted.Meanwhile, the Cuban delegation concluded that “the United States must stop hindering and violating the rights of Cubans to travel to third countries in the area and demanded compliance with the bilateral migratory agreements in their entirety and not selectively.”The bilateral dialogue has generated uncertainty within Cuba for those who plan to reach the United States border by traveling north from Nicaragua, and today they are concerned about possible measures that hinder their objective.Meanwhile, in the Cuban exile community, the talks have generated controversy, because some demand a representation of the Cuban-American community in these meetings, and others are unaware of any usefulness in this meeting, which, they say, legitimizes the government in Havana.The dialogues between the two countries focus on a series of bilateral agreements made in 1984, 1994, 1995 and 2017, stemming from the migratory waves during the Mariel exodus (1980), the rafters’ crisis (1994) and the suspension of the Dry Feet Wet Feet policy (2017). <blockquote>This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/what-changes-came-out-of-the-cuba-us-migration-talks/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/que-cambia-tras-las-conversaciones-migratorias-entre-cuba-y-estados-unidos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.</blockquote>

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What Changes Came Out of the Cuba-US Migration Talks?

Cubans can’t imagine a New Year’s celebration without roast pork as the main dish. However, the reality on December 31, 2021 was very different for some families: high prices of pork meant that the longed-for food wasn’t featured on many tables.Nostalgic memories include a suckling pig sandwich on the street, pork steak at lunch time and even rearing a pig or two in the middle of the city that later inspired the parody song «La puerca de papa» (Daddy’s Pig) by the comedy group Punto y Coma, over 10 years ago.It was these current shortages and pork prices going up in Cuba that Lucia March, Camilo Condis and Maykel Gonzalez spoke about on the 97th episode of El Enjambre, a podcast by elTOQUE.<div class="ql-embed-external" src="<iframe id='audio_85518770' frameborder='0' allowfullscreen='' scrolling='no' height='200' style='width:100%;' src='https://www.ivoox.com/player_ej_85518770_6_1.html' loading='lazy'></iframe>"><iframe id="audio_85518770" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" height="200" style="width:100%;" src="https://www.ivoox.com/player_ej_85518770_6_1.html" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>Lucia referred to a report by Cuban TV News that labeled pork as a luxury on the table of Cubans that decided to keep it in their diets. «The same news feature admitted that the most typical meat in Cuban cuisine is now too expensive to eat in today’s Cuba».«The news said that supply and demand prices of pork went up from 50 pesos in 2020 to over 200», Camilo added. «This week, I saw it selling for 230 pesos per pound and you couldn’t buy it by piece, you had to buy the whole leg. According to official figures shared during the report, some 26,000 tons of pork are expected to be produced this year, which is ridiculously low considering 200,000 tons were produced in 2016».«To give you an idea of just how dire things are», the podcaster continued, «only 52 tons of pork were produced in Sancti Spiritus, in the first few months of 2022. That is the equivalent of how much Cuba used to produce in just one day back in 2018».Emilio Interian, a pork producer interviewed in the news report, said that the main cause of this crisis is shortages of fodder for pigs. The situation is so serious that the farmer has two to three pigs starving to death on him every day, which affects breeding. Births before used to give an average of ten to eleven piglets, but now the average is five to six.The report gave statistics that allow us to quantify the reduction in fodder imports for pigs. In 2017, there were approximately 14,000 producers with pork agreements in Cuba, while there are only 1400 registered pork producers today, which means that 90% of them stopped rearing pigs for sale.«Farmers are buying fodder for pigs via the Gelma marketing company at US dollar prices on the magnetic MLC cards, which has shot up expenses and forced them to hike up prices in order to continue producing. Where does a farmer get MLC (The magnetic cards in USD that people don’t earn in Cuba) to buy fodder from? They have to buy the MLC with their pesos on the illicit market, because there’s no other choice», Camilo explains.<h2>Controversy surrounding the draft Family Act</h2>The young podcasters also mentioned controversial statements made by Pastor Barbaro Marrero Castellanos on Cuban TV show Palabra Precisa, on April 1st. The religious leader was invited to talk about the draft Family Act, along with Pastor Dora Arce Valentin. The program stirred a commotion on social media with Pastor Marrero’s statements and many independent media outlets echoing the news.The pastor said that, in line with the Baptist Church’s teachings, the Family Act has positive aspects such as caring for the disabled, elderly and family conflict resolution strategies. But he also spoke about what he considered to be negative aspects of the Act.«One of the first criticisms he made, which I was completely taken aback by, was that parents’ rights are limited if they aren’t able to use corporal punishment on their children. I never thought that hitting children would be a priority for members of the Church. It never entered my mind that a pastor would say on national TV that he wanted the right to beat his children; moderately, but to hit them. What the hell is that! I don’t understand», Camilo says.«Corporal punishment in our society and country is perfectly normal, it’s been going on since the time of our great-great-grandparents», Maykel points out. «Physical beatings were never a thing in my family because my father had suffered them when he was a child, and he decided he would never beat us, as he believed they were counterproductive».The statement from the religious leader that really sparked outrage was the following: «The Church isn’t called upon to adjust to the times, like we say today; the Church shouldn’t have to adapt, but should rather be a driving force for society to change; the Church isn’t a thermometer that adapts to the weather around it; it is a thermostat that is called upon to establish a healthy climate for society not to become corrupted».In this regard, Camilo said: «This is a tough one because we are talking about a secular State where the Church hasn’t had any formal power since 1959. I’m also shocked that he would say on national TV that the Church is who should be the one defining society’s rules and dictating the laws that we live our lives by».<h2>Growing migration</h2>The El Enjambre podcasters also gave an update on US-Cuba relations, talking about an interview published on Cubanet with US Charge d’Affaires in Cuba, Timothy Zúñiga-Brown.Regarding resuming consular services in Cuba, the US diplimat said that they had been working internally and with the Cuban Government to gradually resume the immigration visa process. He specified that it would only be this kind of visa, not tourism or short-stay visas for the US. He said that they were working on building up their personnel to process more visa applications and that for now applications continued to function at the US Embassy in Guyana.Regarding the current exodus of Cubans towards the US, Zúñiga-Brown pointed out that the number of young people leaving was especially a cause for concern, and the way they leave, especially those who travel by sea. However, he admitted that there had been a turnaround in the flow of people from Cuba who now prefer to migrate by land, which means many more are crossing the border.«We know that many of the main reasons for illegal migration are a lack of economic opportunities, citizen security, and respect for human rights and basic freedoms (…). The agreement that exists is to grant a minimum of 20,000 visas per year, however, the number of people leaving Cuba is much higher than this. I get the idea that there are many more reasons Cubans are leaving Cuba», the US diplomat said.When talking about US-Cuba relations, Zúñiga admitted that they have always been difficult, but that this may be the worst time in decades since the Revolution triumphed. He referred to those arrested during the July 11th protests and appealed to the Cuban Government to respect freedom of thought, speech and assembly, rights recognized by the Cuban Government in the UN Declaration of Human Rights. <blockquote>This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/pigs-without-feed-and-cubans-without-pork/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/cuba-y-sus-mayores-desde-lentes-jovenes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.</blockquote><blockquote>Follow&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/is-us-cuba-immigration-remittances-policy-loosening-up/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(40, 157, 204);">this link</a>&nbsp;to listen to all El Enjambre episodes&nbsp;in Spanish only.</blockquote>

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Pigs without feed and Cubans without pork

On October 1st, the Observatory of Aging, Care and Rights “Cuido 60”, launched a call for the “Mirar la vejez” (Looking at old age) photography competition, in collaboration with&nbsp;elTOQUE’s&nbsp;multimedia platform.The contest wanted to compile photos that reflect the diversity, heterogeneity, inequality, but also the creativity and contribution of the elderly in Cuba. With these photos, they wanted “to put a face and context to old age on the island” and also recognize the work of young photographers interested in the subject matter.According to the competition’s guidelines, everyone interested in or outside Cuba could take part. The photographs had to be unedited and original works, and they had to be linked to aging, caring and elderly rights in Cuba. Every participant could present a maximum of two photographs.“Mirar la vejez” had a jury of experts, including Miguel Coyula, Cuban film director, who graduated in Filmmaking from the San Antonio de los Baños nternational School of Film and Television (EICTV) and famous for his movie&nbsp;Memorias del desarrollo, an adaptation of the book with the same name by Edmundo Desnoes; Damaris Betancourt, Cuban photographer living in Switzerland and; Geandy Pavon, multidisciplinary visual artist, known for his project Nemisis.In an online awards ceremony, on March 17th, Cuido60’s executive director, Elaine Acosta, announced the winners of this competition and also announced the prize winners of the “Si yo te contara”&nbsp;(If I told you) literary competition, linked to this initiative.The following are the competition’s top three places, as well as 11 mentions, including the one won by our director of Photography Sadiel Mederos.<h2>Awards:</h2>First place to the photograph “Descansando” (Resting) taken by Abraham Echevarria Diaz, from the Artemisa province, Cuba. “For being an eloquent portrait of neglect in old age in Cuba in few details. Without overexaggerating the drama or unnecessarily exposing the protagonist. Without delving into the borderline limits of shame and integrity, but by capturing the veracity of the moment, the light, the shadows and a cautious distance, this photo manages to delicately depict an annoying and painful reality to think about. Life in rural Cuba hasn’t really been documented over these past 63 years outside of pro-government hotspots. It’s a story that deserves to be told because it may be one of the few chinks where we can see signs, including entire fragments of Cuba before the Revolution.”<figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/Primer_Lugar_Cuido60_a950862100.jpg" alt="" caption="First place to the photograph “Descansando” (Resting) taken by Abraham Echevarria Diaz." width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/Primer_Lugar_Cuido60_a950862100.jpg" alt=""></a>First place to the photograph “Descansando” (Resting) taken by Abraham Echevarria Diaz.</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/Segundo_Lugar_Cuido60_ea08af34a9.jpg" alt="" caption="Second place to the photograph “La madre de Alain”, taken by Manuel Almenares Estrada, from Havana, Cuba." width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/Segundo_Lugar_Cuido60_ea08af34a9.jpg" alt=""></a>Second place to the photograph “La madre de Alain”, taken by Manuel Almenares Estrada, from Havana, Cuba.</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/Tercer_Lugar_Cuido_60_5ef984968d.jpg" alt="" caption="Third place for the photograph “Del ensayo: El mundo de los mas”, by photographer David Lopez Cruz, living in Matanzas, Cuba." width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/Tercer_Lugar_Cuido_60_5ef984968d.jpg" alt=""></a>Third place for the photograph “Del ensayo: El mundo de los mas”, by photographer David Lopez Cruz, living in Matanzas, Cuba.</figure><h2>Mentions:</h2>Rene Alberto Rodriguez Castellanos, Luis Adrian Sanchez Negrin, Rene Alberto Rodriguez, Williams Cruz Perdomo, Abraham Echevarria Diaz, Laura Cepero Elordi, Jedi Guevara Nieblas, Antonio Nores Hernandez, David Lopez Cruz and Sadiel Mederos Bermudez.<figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/1_Primera_mencion_Rene_Alberto_Rodriguez_Castellanos_Realidad_40602b2045.jpg" alt="" caption="First Mention: René Alberto Rodríguez Castellanos (Reality)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/1_Primera_mencion_Rene_Alberto_Rodriguez_Castellanos_Realidad_40602b2045.jpg" alt=""></a>First Mention: René Alberto Rodríguez Castellanos (Reality)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/2_Segunda_mencion_Luis_Adrian_Sanchez_Negrin_Un_cumulo_de_suenos_81b51a9897.jpg" alt="" caption="Second Mention: Luis Adrian Sanchez Negrin (An accumulation of dreams)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/2_Segunda_mencion_Luis_Adrian_Sanchez_Negrin_Un_cumulo_de_suenos_81b51a9897.jpg" alt=""></a>Second Mention: Luis Adrian Sanchez Negrin (An accumulation of dreams)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/3_Tercera_mencion_Rene_Alberto_Rodriguez_Castellanos_Parranderos_375c15561f.jpg" alt="" caption="Third Mention: Rene Alberto Rodriguez Castellanos (Parranderos)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/3_Tercera_mencion_Rene_Alberto_Rodriguez_Castellanos_Parranderos_375c15561f.jpg" alt=""></a>Third Mention: Rene Alberto Rodriguez Castellanos (Parranderos)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/4_Cuarta_mencion_William_Cruz_Perdomo_Mi_vecina_Elia_477c3d4fc6.jpg" alt="" caption="Fourth Mention: William Cruz Perdomo (My neighbor Elia)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/4_Cuarta_mencion_William_Cruz_Perdomo_Mi_vecina_Elia_477c3d4fc6.jpg" alt=""></a>Fourth Mention: William Cruz Perdomo (My neighbor Elia)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/5_Quinta_mencion_William_Cruz_Perdomo_Manolo_el_pintor_d4e3ba6e62.jpg" alt="" caption="Fifth Mention: William Cruz Perdomo (Manolo el pintor)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/5_Quinta_mencion_William_Cruz_Perdomo_Manolo_el_pintor_d4e3ba6e62.jpg" alt=""></a>Fifth Mention: William Cruz Perdomo (Manolo el pintor)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/6_Sexta_mencion_Abraham_Echevarria_Diaz_Compania_84da5cd5c5.jpg" alt="" caption="Sixth Mention: Abraham Echevarría Díaz (Company)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/6_Sexta_mencion_Abraham_Echevarria_Diaz_Compania_84da5cd5c5.jpg" alt=""></a>Sixth Mention: Abraham Echevarría Díaz (Company)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/7_Septima_mencion_Laura_Cepero_Elordi_El_viejo_pescador_0cb8436871.jpg" alt="" caption="Seventh Mention: Laura Cepero Elordi (The old fisherman)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/7_Septima_mencion_Laura_Cepero_Elordi_El_viejo_pescador_0cb8436871.jpg" alt=""></a>Seventh Mention: Laura Cepero Elordi (The old fisherman)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/8_Octava_mencion_Jedi_Guevara_Nieblas_Constante_permanencia_de_mi_desgracia_a022e85eb9.jpg" alt="" caption="Eighth Mention: Jedi Guevara Nieblas (Permanent hardship)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/8_Octava_mencion_Jedi_Guevara_Nieblas_Constante_permanencia_de_mi_desgracia_a022e85eb9.jpg" alt=""></a>Eighth Mention: Jedi Guevara Nieblas (Permanent hardship)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/9_Novena_mencion_Antonio_Nores_Hernandez_Los_objetos_personales_ac11eb6b62.jpg" alt="" caption="Ninth Mention: Antonio Nores Hernández (Personal Belongings)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/9_Novena_mencion_Antonio_Nores_Hernandez_Los_objetos_personales_ac11eb6b62.jpg" alt=""></a>Ninth Mention: Antonio Nores Hernández (Personal Belongings)</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/10_Decima_mencion_David_Lopez_Cruz_Sin_Titulo_e491163a7f.jpg" alt="" caption="Tenth Mention, David Lopez Cruz" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/10_Decima_mencion_David_Lopez_Cruz_Sin_Titulo_e491163a7f.jpg" alt=""></a>Tenth Mention, David Lopez Cruz</figure><figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/11_Oncena_mencion_Sadiel_Mederon_Bermudez_Venas_Vitalis_416a9748bf.jpg" alt="" caption="Eleventh Mention: Sadiel Mederos Bermúdez (Vital Veins)" width="75" style="width: 75%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/11_Oncena_mencion_Sadiel_Mederon_Bermudez_Venas_Vitalis_416a9748bf.jpg" alt=""></a>Eleventh Mention: Sadiel Mederos Bermúdez (Vital Veins)</figure> <blockquote>This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/photo-feature/cubas-elderly-in-front-of-young-peoples-lenses/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/cuba-y-sus-mayores-desde-lentes-jovenes" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.</blockquote>

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Cuba’s elderly in front of young people’s lenses

There have been plenty of ads selling houses and apartments in Cuba over the past few months. It’s normal for people to include furniture and electrical appliances as part of the sale. Raising money needed to embark on a migrant route to the US is the reason why many are being driven into this business. With a wide variety of options and questionable demand due to cash shortages on the island, we ask: what is the price of houses and apartments in Cuba today? How much do people end up paying by the end of the transaction? Who are the buyers?In episode 95 of&nbsp;El Enjambre, a podcast by elTOQUE, Camilo Condis, Lucia March and Maykel Gonzalez answer the first of these questions. The&nbsp;El Enjambre&nbsp;hosts talk about an <a href="https://yandryfernandez.medium.com/cu%C3%A1nto-cuesta-la-vivienda-en-cuba-f8047cd825c3" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">article</a> by Cuban journalist Yandry Fernandez Perdomo, who now lives in Spain and carried out a study about the housing market on the island, using graphs and illustrative data.Cuba’s housing market has faced its fair share of problems after 1959. The Urban Reform Act in 1960 gave properties to the people living in them, prevented their sale or rent, abolished private construction until 1970 and got rid of mortgages. Nevertheless, houses were still being sold during this period on the illicit market, as journalist Fernandez Perdomo explains. It wasn’t until 2011 that Raul Castro’s Government authorized the sale and purchase of homes between Cubans and foreigners living on the island.Fernandez Perdomo studied over 10,000 classified ads on Revolico and extracted data such as the average price of a property in Cuba: US $36,989. In terms of prices by province, the cheapest average sale price was in Las Tunas ($17,437), Granma ($17,843), Mayabeque ($24,039), Isla de la Juventud ($24,906) and Guantanamo ($28,714).Average property prices in Villa Clara, Artemisa, Camaguey, Holguin and Pinar del Rio range between $30,000 – $35,000. In ascending order, there’s Havana ($40,569), Sancti Spiritus ($46,000), Cienfuegos ($54,000), Santiago de Cuba ($55,000), Matanzas ($59,000 USD) and Ciego del Avila, number one in the average sale price of a property: $61,660 USD.Camilo explains that, according to Fernandez Perdomo’s analysis, the most expensive provinces to buy a house in correspond to important tourism spots such as Moron, in Ciego de Avila; Varadero and Cardenas, in Matanzas; Viñales, in Pinar del Rio; Trinidad, in Sancti Spiritus; as well as central municipalities in Havana.The journalist also compiled and analyzed home prices in the capital. Surburban municipalities such as Habana del Este ($24,900), Cotorro ($17,000), Regla ($16,000) and Guanabacoa ($24,000) have less expensive properties. Playa ($69,956) and Plaza de la Revolucion ($55,600) are the most expensive. Prices in the rest of Havana range between $25,000 and $38,000.Fernandez Perdomo also published a graph which reveals that an independent house can cost double, triple or quadruple that of an apartment, regardless of the municipality it’s located in.“Yandry Fernandez ends his article by comparing house prices with the average wage in Cuba, which is around 4,000 Cuban pesos per month (approximately US $40, according to the unofficial exchange rate), which is very far-removed from the price of a house. It would take an “ordinary” person 77 years to pay for an average apartment with their entire wage,” Camilo says.The freelancer and podcaster compares this analysis to a similar study published by OnCuba in 2014, based on over 15,000 ads on the porlalivre.com website, between August and December 2013. “I was very surprised to discover that Havana is where prices have increased the least since then. The average house price in the capital in 2022 is lower than it was in 2014. That year, the average price was $41,185 and today, it stands at $40,560. Prices have gone up quite a bit in all the other provinces, though.”Camilo says that while it’s a well-known fact that people are selling their homes today to emigrate, the question would be to investigate who is buying these people’s homes, who are getting rid of everything to leave. “It would be very interesting for an independent media outlet to investigate this.”“My theory is that not many houses are being sold because there isn’t a lot of cash around,” Maykel points out. “There are lots of ads, but very few sales. My other theory is that these prices aren’t the final value. I know people who have taken a while to sell their homes because nobody had so much cash. They have no other choice but to lower the price. It’s a complicated issue.”Fuel and electricity shortagesThe&nbsp;El Enjambre&nbsp;podcasters also spoke about the latest fuel crisis on the island. “Long lines of vehicles taking up entire blocks could be seen at every CUPET gas station across the country. They didn’t have fuel all of a sudden, or sales became regulated,” Lucia says.The young woman delved into what the causes of this problem might be. She talked about a note published by the State Electric Company about the unforeseen shutdown of the Antonio Guiteras power plant from the National Electric Grid, for almost a week. Days later, the newspaper&nbsp;Giron de Matanzas&nbsp;announced on its Facebook page that fuel sales would be regulated at gas stations for natural persons from March 20th, because of problems in supplies to gas stations.The note also informed that up to 10 liters of gasoline and 20 liters of diesel had been authorized, for container sales. In the case of filling up a car’s tank directly, the limit would be 20 liters of gasoline and up to 40 liters of diesel. “It’s not a result of a fuel deficit in the country, but of poor logistical assessment of distribution by Transcupet, who are responsible for supplying their establishments and who only have 62% of their fleet working at the moment,” the institution’s announcement explained.“They say that these tankers need to prioritize diesel for generators, which are crucial given the temporary electricity crisis across the country. When this task is done, they can go back to supplying gas stations in the province. It seems that these tankers to transport fuel aren’t good business, because if they were, they wouldn’t have 38% of their fleet idled. On Tuesday March 22nd, all of the gas stations woke up in Havana with long lines and I know people who waited 10 hours to fill up their tanks. There were also blackouts lasting several hours in different provinces,” Camilo adds.The young podcasters talked about information from CUPET (Cuba Petrol) about the causes of distribution problems of diesel and gasoline to national gas stations, including an increase in demand.Given the Guiteras power plant was reintroduced into the National Electricity Grid, the&nbsp;El Enjambre&nbsp;hosts are hoping everything will return to normal soon. If these explanations aren’t real and there really is a fuel shortage in the country, lines will continue.<figure class="image-ql" src="/uploads/Verdecia_Wimar_EL_ENJAMBRE_PODCAST_d2f07ad209.jpg" alt="" caption="" width="100" style="width: 100%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="/uploads/Verdecia_Wimar_EL_ENJAMBRE_PODCAST_d2f07ad209.jpg" alt=""></a></figure>Lucia, Camilo and Maykel also gave an update about complaints filed against folk singer Fernando Becquer – with another 30 women coming forward in recent days – and statements published this week about 11J Protest trials. They questioned the six-year-prison-sentence for young Yoan de la Cruz, for filming the protests in San Antonio de los Baños.Follow&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/is-us-cuba-immigration-remittances-policy-loosening-up/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(40, 157, 204);">this link</a>&nbsp;to listen to all El Enjambre episodes&nbsp;in Spanish only.This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/house-apartment-prices-in-cuba-where-is-it-cheaper-to-buy/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/precios-casas-cuba-donde-es-mas-barato-comprar" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.

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House/Apartment Prices in Cuba: Where Is it Cheaper to Buy?

US-Cuba relations have become a trending topic on Cuban social media after different articles went viral on the issue in recent weeks. Camilo Condis, Lucia March and Maykel Gonzalez spoke about this on&nbsp;El Ejambre,&nbsp;elTOQUE’s&nbsp;podcast.These young people spoke about the announcement made by different Cuban government media outlets about President Joe Biden allegedly authorizing remittances to be sent to Cuba. This information immediately sparked confusion about whether the current US Administration had in fact changed its policy towards Cuba.&nbsp;&nbsp;The&nbsp;El Ejambre&nbsp;hosts clarified that remittances aren’t themselves banned; it’s Cuban military-owned companies being involved in the process that is prohibited. “Even&nbsp;Granma&nbsp;published the news that Cuban-American Carlos Lazo initially gave, but there’s no official change in the US Administration’s policy. Government journalists should have verified the information before publishing it and echoing it,” Camilo says.The interesting thing for this podcaster is that a note was published on the Cuban Central Bank’s website, under the heading “Information of Interest” that explained the following:“News has spread that the foreign entity RevoluGROUP Canada Inc. has included Cuba on its list of destination countries to send remittances.“In this regard, we inform that no Cuban financial institution, or of any other kind, has a contract or formal relationship with RevoluGROUP, thus the formality and security of these transactions is not recognized.“We ratify that that US Government still upholds it bans and coercive measures implemented between 2020 and 2021 against Cuban financial institutions.”Given popular queries on the issue,&nbsp;Diario de Cuba&nbsp;interviewed Cuban economist Emilio Morales, president of Havana Consulting Group and vice-president of RevoluGROUP in the US. The responses he gave to this media outlet were repeated by Morales in a press conference on March 8th.&nbsp;The businessman explained that, given the exceptional need to send remittances to Cuba right now, RevoluGROUP Canada had decided to add Cuba to its list of destination countries for remittances. The decision was made before studying the Law and sanctions in place, so necessary adjustments were made on the platform to satisfy specific requirements imposed by regulations from the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in regard to the Cuban market. When registering for the platform, for example, users undergo a verification process to ensure that military members or other repressors are not benefitting from remittances or using this system, adhering to the list of those sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury.&nbsp;According to Morales, the company is abiding by the Biden Administration’s wishes to find a viable solution to restore remittance services to Cuba, without these passing through Cuban military-led companies’ hands. He denied outright that the US Government has authorized RevoluGROUP explicitly to do this, although he does indicate the company informed the US Department of the Treasury about the platform’s availability, its features, levels of security, reach and future steps for this online payment platform to adapt to regulations imposed on the Cuban market. According to his statements, this is all in keeping with the Law and specifications from OFAC.Morales’ most controversial statements include the assurance that money moving via RevoluGROUP “will not pass or ever pass through any Cuban military-led company” and that this company “will not have a contractual relationship with any Cuban entity, now or ever.”“This company is trying to send money directly to the recipients of these remittances, which will arrive on their MLC cards directly,” Camilo explains. Nevertheless, Maykel points out that by depositing this money on MLC cards, this money will still end up in the hands of the Cuban Government and its companies, as it’s practically impossible to withdraw cash from these cards.Other news linked to US-Cuba relations is the an article published by&nbsp;El&nbsp;Nuevo Herald. It has to do with a draft bill to resume the family reunification parole program, which allows eligible Cuban-Americans to bring their loved ones over to the US with a special permit while they wait for their immigration visas.&nbsp;&nbsp;“This has been the news of the week because people have been waiting years for this reunification,” Maykel says. Camilo stresses that this is just a proposal for now and that we have to wait and see if it will be approved. “This program was suspended after the “sonic accidents” in Havana, and there are over 22,000 applications pending to be processed for this Cuban family reunification parole program, almost the same number of Cubans who have crossed the US border this year.”The&nbsp;El Nuevo Herald&nbsp;article explains that the draft bill instructs secretaries of National Security and US Department of State to begin to process family reunification parole applications and to appoint personnel to the US Embassy in Havana, from its agencies. According to the Law, parole granted by the program will be valid for an initial period of at least two years. This temporary timeline will allow many Cubans who arrive with parole to seek permanent residency, by invoking the Cuban Adjustment Act.Another piece of good news in this regard highlighted by&nbsp;El Enjambre’s&nbsp;podcast hosts was the press conference given by the US Embassy in Havana, which announced it would resume a limited number of visa services to facilitate its diplomatic commitment and to expand consular services. Details are still forthcoming.Follow&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/is-us-cuba-immigration-remittances-policy-loosening-up/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(40, 157, 204);">this link</a>&nbsp;to listen to al El Enjambre episodes&nbsp;in Spanish only. This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/is-us-cuba-immigration-remittances-policy-loosening-up/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/estados-unidos-cuba-proyecto-reunificacion-familiar-y-nueva-via-envio-remesas" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Is US-Cuba Immigration & Remittances Policy Loosening up?

A group of renowned Cuban intellectuals and artists living on the archipelago – who belong to official cultural institutions – wrote a public letter they called “Manifesto against silence, for justice”, the main objective of which is to demand the release of the July 11th protestors sentenced to prison. Intellectuals and academics from the diaspora community also joined the spirit and purpose of the document.This manifesto has essentially become a protest. It also seeks to report, yet again, state repression deployed to calm down protests on July 11th and 12th 2021; as well as sentences given to make examples of those taken to trial. The letter explains that it is a humanist duty to condemn every act of violence and arbitrariness, regardless of the ideology of the Government that commits it.The document calls upon intellectuals and artists to join it and make this complaint their own, so victims of the State can be supported, and the Cuban government’s punitive actions come to a halt.Signees include filmmakers such as Fernando Perez and Juan Pin Vilar; historians Alina Fernandez, Mario Navia and Leonardo Fernandez; poets Alex Fleites and Jorge Fernandez Era; as well as activists – some of whom are outside Cuba for the time being but are permanent residents on the island – linked to different public protests that have challenged the State’s power recently.Here, is the full manifesto:To Cuba’s artistic and intellectual community:On July 11th and 12th 2021, Cuba was shaken by a social uprising that was responded to by the State’s deployment of its military forces and their repressive actions. These events led to excessive violence which resulted in the death of citizen Diubis Laurencio Tejada, the forced entry of homes, protestors being beaten and over 1000 citizens arrested, as a direct consequence. This episode of civil disobedience was followed by the prosecution of over 500 citizens who have been given sentences to set an example, over 20 years in prison in many cases.Despite the Government’s announcement, the right to protest exists but is still pending regulation. Faced with the 11/12J protests, the State responded with excessive and methodological political and legal violence that went beyond the one-off and spontaneous acts of violence committed during the uprising by some citizens. The responsibilities of a protestor damaging an object or another person’s property doesn’t compare to that of somebody attacking another person (and the attackers being law enforcement officers or civilians).Given the above, the signees below declare:I-&nbsp;These Cubans have only exercised their right to have rights, the same way citizens protest every day in our region of Latin America and in the world. When excesses take place in protests in any country, those involved – whether they are citizens or public officials – need to be taken to trial with due process and according to the Law, it should never aim for excessive punishment.II-&nbsp;Sentences given publicly ridicule all Cuban society – going beyond ideological beliefs or political membership – and stop any attempt for people to actively take control of their lives in their country. The young people taken to trial mostly come from vulnerable neighborhoods, hit hard by severe economic crisis and poor government administration. Sentences, violations of due process – according to Cuban and international Law – and government media coverage of these trials to set an example, are excessive.III-&nbsp;It is the intellectual duty of every academic and artist, during any period of time and in any society, to condemn violence and arbitrariness without double standards, without ideological exemptions or realpolitik subterfuges. We need to condemn it because the victims of this violence are almost always those whose lives, needs and interests are the object of our research and work.IV-&nbsp;It is our social responsibility to accompany victims of State violence if we understand what happened between July 11th-12th as a social uprising, like we would in all of Latin America, expressed with civil disobedience, and the result of the Government’s poor administration of the economy and authoritarian means of managing conflict and socio-political participation in Cuba.V-&nbsp;At this unprecedented and sad moment in Cuban history, we are calling upon our intellectual and artistic colleagues to join us. These prisoners are – or could be – our relatives, neighbors, friends. Ourselves even. During this age of online connections, we all know what’s going on. Nobody is disconnected from recent events, testimonies and how things have unfolded.You can condemn or support the State’s violence from any ideological standpoint. Under-handedness, silence, or passivity with the punitive trials of protestors during the social uprising, instead of defending vulnerable citizens and making the authorities answer for their actions, will only perpetuate and extend abuse and conflict. We, people of ideas and words, will become accomplices of violence and injustice, consciously or underhandedly.For that reason, given the prolongation and corruption of these trials, the punitive essence of these, and lessons from similar processes in our region, we demand the&nbsp;release of our fellow Cubans. Likewise, previous delimitation needs to be established for private and public responsibilities for the violence related to these protests. The real way to begin this process – by an amnesty or something similar – is up for discussion, but not its essence. The Law can’t subordinate justice.&nbsp;Adriana Ortega NormandAlberto Abreu ArciaAlex Fleites RodriguezAlexander Hall LujardoAlexei Padilla HerreraAlfredo Lopez de la RochaAlina Barbara Lopez Hernandez.Amaury Pacheco Del MonteArmando Chaguaceda NoriegaCamila Cabrera RodriguezCarmelo Mesa-LagoCarolina Barrero FerrerDany Roque Gavilla s.jEloy Viera CañiveFernando Perez ValdesHarold Cardenas LemaHaroldo Dilla AlfonsoHelen Ochoa CalvoIvette Garcia GonzalezJorge Fernandez EraJose Manuel Gonzalez RubinesJuan Pin VilarLeonardo Manuel Fernandez OtañoLeonardo Romero NegrinMario Valdes NaviaMarta Maria Ramirez GarciaMauricio de Miranda ParrondoMiguel Alejandro HayesOmar Everleny Perez VillanuevaPedro Manuel Monreal GonzalezRafael Rojas GutierrezRaul Prado RodriguezSandra CeballosTania BrugueraTeresa Diaz CanalsUva de Aragon y Hernandez-Cata This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/opinion/cuba-manifesto-against-silence-for-justice/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/manifiesto-contra-el-silencio-por-la-justicia" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Cuba: Manifesto against Silence, for Justice

Cuban activist Anamely Ramos, who has been in the United States for several months, denounced Wednesday that she was prevented from returning to Cuba. American Airlines did not allow her to board the flight to Havana. “Cuba sent them a message that I am not allowed in the country. American says that when that happens, they abide by what Cuba says,” she posted on Facebook.From the Miami International Airport, Ramos who lives in Cuba, made a direct broadcast in which she assures that she will not leave the airport until she is allowed to fly to her country. However, the airport director, Ralph Cutie, told her personally that she cannot stay at the facility. Cutie confirmed that “the Cuban government is refusing entry to her country.”According to a summary of events published by Anamely herself, the police asked her to move away from the American Airlines boarding area.Anamely Ramos does not have legal status to remain in the United States or in any other country, which places her in a situation of statelessness and de facto exile. Her US type B1 visa, for a single entry, expires in April. “My house is in Cuba, my legal situation is in order in Cuba,” she insisted.Airlines are allowed to operate in a country under bilateral agreements. In this case, American Airlines is released from liability since it believes that it complies with Cuban regulations. These contemplate the possibility of declaring inadmissible in Cuban territory any person, including Cuban citizens. The political use of these entry regulations contradicts article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that all people have the right to return to their country.Miami media called by the activist have reported the events. Ramos cited them because she foresaw the possibility of this course of events after previous experiences such as that of journalist Karla Pérez, and the fact that the Cuban government has pushed numerous activists and dissident voices into exile.Who is Anamely Ramos?Ramos is an art curator. She left Cuba in January 2021 to pursue a doctorate in Anthropology at the Universidad Iberoamericana (IBERO) in Mexico City.She then traveled to the United States to attend the opening of a contemporary art exhibition on Cuba and Venezuela at the Museum of the Organization of American States, organized by the Victims of Communism Foundation.During her stay there, Ramos organized and participated in events to demand the release of political prisoners after the July 11 protests in Cuba, as well as that of rapper Maykel Castillo and artist Luis Manuel Otero. She also met in Washington with Republican legislators Mario Díaz-Balart and Carlos Giménez.For twelve years Ramos was a professor at the Higher Institute of Art (ISA), from where she was expelled in 2020 for her continuous criticism of the Government and her support of independent artists.“They already kicked me out of ISA, and my son left the country, they already harass my loved ones and separate us. What remains for them to do is not enough to keep me for doing for what I think is fair and necessary,” she posted on Facebook in September 2020, when she was expelled from the apartment she shared with a friend in Havana.In November of that year, Anamely joined the group of artists, journalists, and members of civil society who carried out a protest from the house of Luis Manuel Otero, headquarters of the San Isidro Movement, to demand the release of imprisoned rapper Denis Solís.Several of the San Isidro Movement members and supporters were on hunger strike, while others were there in a support capacity. The group was forcibly removed from the artist’s home in a midnight raid in the early hours of November 26, 2020, triggering a series of events that began with an unprecedented sit-in in front of the Ministry of Culture. This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/news/activist-anamely-ramos-blocked-from-entering-cuba/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/cuba-impide-entrada-al-pais-de-la-activista-anamely-ramos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Activist Anamely Ramos Blocked from Entering Cuba

The Cuban Government continues to take a different path to the one economists suggest to resolve the crisis of the island’s economic system and to revive its economy.Despite recommendations from economists and other experts in different fields about the need to cut out state intermediaries from imports and exports by private businesses, the Government recently published an updated list of these intermediary companies, adding another six to manage this service.According to Camilo Condis on&nbsp;El Enjambre, a podcast by&nbsp;elTOQUE, this goes hand-in-hand with a new tax on retail sales to individuals and legal entities selling agricultural products at retail points belonging to credits and service cooperatives, farmers’ markets, agricultural production cooperatives, sales at fairs, etc.“The measure was ordered and made public by the Ministry of Finance and Prices, and completely goes against suggestions made by Cuban economists to stimulate farm production. This regulation is only going to increase the price of agricultural products in the short-term. Meanwhile, any tax will be reflected in Cuban people’s pockets,” Camilo says.Lucia March and Maykel Gonzalez agree with Camilo, saying that the country needs to get rid of taxes in the agricultural production chain, given the critical situation the country is in right now.The second contradiction between economists and the Cuban Government has to do with the stores selling with USD prices via magnetic currency called MLC. According to&nbsp;El Enjambre&nbsp;hosts, Alejandro Gil, deputy prime minister and the minister of Economy, stated last week that if MLC stores didn’t exist, the country would be in an even tighter spot and goods and services being sold to the population in Cuban pesos would be even less, given extreme shortages on the commercial network.Furthermore, Gil said that MLC stores were a social justice measure because they allowed foreign currency to be redistributed, stocking up the commercial network in Cuban pesos. “The insult comes as a slap in the face when you realize that Gil isn’t even an economist and that what he’s saying, doesn’t in fact agree with what economists are saying, unfortuntely,” Maykel points out.Interestingly enough, that same week&nbsp;Alma Mater&nbsp;published a series where they asked economists to talk about the elements that have an effect on Cubans’ everyday lives. One of the questions they asked was the following: Would it be better for MLC stores to be closed immediately and for good? The experts answered the following:Antonio Romero, a professor at the International Economy Research Center at the Universidad de La Habana, said that eliminating the network of MLC stores should form part of the economic and institutional reforms process, drawn up in a way so that monetary sovereignty is reestablished and the national currency accomplishes everything it’s meant to.Oscar Fernandez, an independent consultant, pointed out: “MLC stores aren’t the problem, the problem is that there is a selection of goods that can only be found at these establishments and there isn’t a market in Cuban pesos. This wouldn’t be a problem if there was a legal mechanism for those who don’t earn their wages in MLC, allowing them to exchange their pesos and go to these stores to buy what the rations doesn’t sell them.“As there is no currency exchange market, people are forced to turn to the informal market. Economic policy drives Cubans towards an illegal activity, while the draft bill of the Penal Code proposes extremely severe sentences for people who make deals on the informal exchange market, and this conflict is unacceptable.”On the other hand, Betsy Anaya, director of the Cuban Economy Study Center at Universidad de La Habana, said: “I don’t have the statistics about how much MLC stores mean to the country in terms of revenue. While they are significant, it’s unsustainable and unacceptable that basic essentials are being sold in a currency that isn’t the Cuban Peso and for which there isn’t an official exchange mechanism. Lastly, at a time when an important rise in foreign currency entering the country isn’t being noted, the informal exchange rate is becoming higher and higher, as are prices, consequently, of products for Cubans who have no access to hard currency.”Anaya added that this network was conceived with the mission of holding onto dollars in Cuba, the ones that were leaving to other countres such as Panama, to buy different goods, as a temporary measure to face the “shock” that has come from a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and a stricter blockade. In this regard, she recommended we go back to the initial objective: to promote sales in free trade areas for individuals and legal entities, but also to ensure freely convertible currency is legally sold to anyone who wants to go to these spaces.According to Juan Triana, an economist from the Cuban Economy Research Center at Universidad de la Habana, an appropriate exchange policy needs to be adopted and dollar purchases need to be respected in these stores. He says that the operating scheme of these stores seems to be broken at its core, as these stores are unable to guarantee a stable supply so products are being sold at high prices, which contributes to inflation, speculation and hikes up the demand for dollars and growth of speculation on the USD – MLC market, and vice-versa, fueling inflation again.“This new deformed version of what was the CUC is a lot worse than its predecessor. The root of this evil lies in the extent to which the retail sector has been nationalized and monopolized since 1968,” the expert says.Consultant Ricardo Torres believes that the issue of MLC stores is economic and political in nature. “The underlying issue here is that revenue in foreign currency plummeted and the Government opted for a solution that has an extremely high political cost. The fact that Cuba depends so much upon remittances and the financial system and the fact the financial system doesn’t offer an alternative for these currencies to enter the economy, clearly illustrates the steep downturn in productivity that is severely affecting the country.&nbsp;There are other ways to get a hold of these currencies, but this won’t resolve the problem large population groups have in accessing them.Iliana Fernandez, a professor at the Department of Cuban Economics at Havana University, summarized the two alternatives: or dollarize the entire economy or eliminate MLC stores completely.“Experts who have worked or work in institutions that have the task of analyzing and studying the Cuban economy are advising the Government to get rid of MLC stores or to sell MLC to Cubans officially. None of this is a priority though for the minister of Economy, who defends the exact opposite; nobody can get their head around that! The minister should read a little more&nbsp;Alma Mater&nbsp;and&nbsp;Temas,” says Camilo. This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/more-red-tape-for-businesses-in-cuba-needing-to-import/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/mas-empresas-importadoras-estatales-mas-trabas-para-sector-no-estatal" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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More Red Tape for Businesses in Cuba Needing to Import

The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Airbnb Payments, owned by Airbnb, agreed to remit $91,172.29 “to settle its possible civil liability for apparent violations of the sanctions against Cuba.”The note from the agency belonging to the US Treasury Department reports that “this activity included payments related to guests traveling for reasons outside of the authorized categories of OFAC, as well as failing to keep certain mandatory records associated with transactions related to Cuba.”The 12 categories of authorized trips to Cuba are: family visits; Official business of the United States government, foreign governments, and certain intergovernmental organizations; journalistic activity; professional research and professional meetings; educational activities; religious activities; public performances, clinics, workshops, athletic and other competitions and exhibitions; support for the Cuban people; humanitarian projects; activities of private foundations or research or educational institutes; export, import or transmission of information or informational materials; and certain authorized export transactions.At the urging of OFAC, Airbnb conducted a review based on a sample of transactions by stays (accommodation of travelers by Airbnb ‘hosts’) and ‘experiences’ (traveler activities provided by Airbnb hosts) in Cuba. This control showed that between September 28, 2015, and March 1, 2020, Airbnb processed payments related to 3,464 transactions of stays in Cuba by Airbnb guests who traveled for reasons outside the authorized categories.The average transaction amount for each stay was $139.52. Airbnb also processed payments related to 3,076 transactions for Experiences in which Airbnb Payments did not keep records in accordance with OFAC regulations. The average transaction amount processed for each Experience was $78.40.Airbnb stated that it took steps to correct its enforcement deficiencies and, as part of its agreement with OFAC, implement additional commitments designed to minimize the risk of a similar violation in the future. These include:– An IP blocking regime to consider problems related to allowing people located in Cuba to act as hosts on the Airbnb, Inc. platform, at the same time as preventing these people from conducting transactions as guests on the platform;– The compilation of information on the country of residence and the payment instrument, in order to determine whether the users are nationals or residents of Cuba;– A review of Hosts in Cuba to ensure that no Hosts are officials of the Cuban government or members of the Communist Party, and also perform manual checks to ensure that there are no publications associated with the Cuba Restricted List;– Require Guests who book a Stay or Experience to complete a certification before completing the process; and– Require that users who include a property in Cuba as a Host on the Airbnb, Inc. platform certify that they are independent entrepreneurs.BackgroundAirbnb has been enabled in Cuba since April 2015. In just hours, nearly a thousand ads from landlords across the country appeared, most of them in Havana.Ben Rhodes, Barack Obama’s former deputy national security adviser and political analyst, commented on Twitter that the OFAC fine involves “denying US citizens the ability to directly bring income to Cubans and build connections between our people.”Rhodes pointed to the contradiction in the fact that “allowing more US citizens to travel to Cuba was a policy that many members of Biden’s team helped design in 2015.”In November 2020, it became known that OFAC was investigating Airbnb activities in Cuba to review compliance with the US sanctions against the island.“Depending on OFAC’s assessment of its Cuba review, we could be subject to potentially significant civil monetary penalties and litigation, and our brand and reputation could be adversely affected,” the company said at the time.Airbnb in Cuba in figures*$40 million paid to Cuban people to share their home, between 2015 and 201733 nights is the average number of nights that Cuban hosts share their space per year$164 is the average amount paid per reservation to a Cuban hostThe average age of Cuban hosts is 43.$2,700 is the average annual payment for a Cuban host58% of Cuban Airbnb hosts are women*Figures from 2019 This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/airbnb-fined-for-violating-the-us-embargo-on-cuba/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/ofac-multa-a-airbnb-por-realizar-actividades-que-violan-el-embargo-a-cuba" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Airbnb Fined for Violating the US Embargo on Cuba

With national products being sold in foreign currency with USD prices becoming more and more common, state-led companies “are getting fresh hard currency as if they were exporting, but they are in fact taking advantage of the shortages that exist in the economy right now and the fact that a dollarized market exists that allows this,” economist Oscar Fernandez Estrada pointed out, during an interview for an episode of&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/selling-in-usd-doesnt-make-cuban-companies-more-efficient/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(40, 157, 204);">El Enjambre</a>, a podcast by&nbsp;elTOQUE.&nbsp;“The effect the Reforms Process should have had on these companies’ productivity and efficiency dissipate,” as these acquire revenue in foreign currency without establishing themselves on the international market and without having to pay 24 pesos for the dollar.&nbsp;“This is the main contradiction of these reforms: the main objective of the Economic Reforms Process, which is to make State companies’ situation more transparent and force them to make a leap in efficiency which even forces them to make adjustments, isn’t being met at all because sales in dollars act as an escape valve. These companies haven’t been able to react because the reforms process currently underway hasn’t matured enough to give state-led companies greater autonomy in their management. As a result, we are reaping results that weren’t expected from the Reforms Process,” Fernandez explains.&nbsp;This economist believes that conditions needed to have been created beforehand, so that sales would respond to pressures created by a new devaluation. Meanwhile, every company selling exports, would have increased its sales and, as a result, their benefits, because the exchange rate would have worked in their favor.&nbsp;“Before, you needed one peso to buy a dollar and every dollar deposited went onto accounting records as a peso as well; now, a dollar is 24 pesos. The thing is, if you apply this pressure to companies and conditions aren’t created for them to react with real autonomy, it’s very hard for them to take a leap in efficiency that allows them to overcome the pressure of devaluation.”&nbsp;According to the academic, the coexistence of the dollar market in stores and the intercompany environment dissipates hopes of jumps in efficiency that it was hoped the Reforms Process would impose on these companies with a high percentage of imported goods. While they need 24 pesos now to be able to import something worth a dollar, letting these companies sell directly in USD equivalents – as is the case today – creates artificial export conditions, as if they were exporting, when they haven’t made any progress in productivity or efficiency; they haven’t conquered export markets.How does Cuba find its way out of the inflation labyrinth?In order to reduce inflation and develop the economy, the Cuban State needs to create intervention and regulation strategies for exchange markets with economic instruments, Oscar Fernandez also said in this episode of&nbsp;El Enjambre.&nbsp;The most important thing is to determine which indicators are going to measure the evolution of our economy towards its targets, he explains.&nbsp;The high inflation rates that are hitting the country hard are linked to fluctuations on the informal exchange market, as prices handled by the State are not dynamically growing. There is a crack in benchmarks of money’s purposes and, as a result, currency chaos ensues because of value loss. “For example, fuel hasn’t gone up in price, it remains the same; however, private drivers have stepped up their prices because living costs have gone up, because everything being sold in the dollar stores is following chaotic standards.”In the Cuban economist’s own words, the State needs to find a way to manage the informal exchange market of foreign currency, just like it did in the ‘90s, when it faced an exchange rate of 150 pesos to the dollar on the street. During that crisis, the State designed economic policies to intervene in the informal exchange market and regulate it with market-based instruments. In a relatively short time, it managed to lower the exchange rate until this stood at 20:1. “If the dollar on the informal market remains a reference, illicit market prices will never go down and wages will never be enough.”Giving a boost to the private sector and unlocking other methods of prodcution before the Economic Reforms Process was a key factor to reduce the inflation rate the Cuban population is suffering today. If it had done this, economic actors of all stripes would have been in a better position to respond to the pressures of this process, the expert believes, who praises the recent opening of the private sector to more activities.&nbsp;The economist believes that the creation of more private businesses with legal status and non-agricultural cooperatives with greater freedom than before, is a process that will have an extremely positive impact on sales in a relatively short period of time. “It’s expected that this greater flexibility in the private sector today translates into greater, more varied sales in a 1-3 year period, as well as greater ties even with the state-led sector.”&nbsp;One of the most controversial statements made by minister of Economy, Alejandro Gil, has been that the Economic Reforms Process was not the cause of inflation. According to Fernandez, inflation in Cuba today was going to happen regardless of the measures the Government was or wasn’t going to implement, because of the breakdown in the global economy produced by the pandemic, which have been felt for much longer than initial forecasts.&nbsp;“Trade flows have been interrupted and maritime transport has become a lot more expensive, which is key for receiving goods in a country like Cuba. This phenomenon in the global economy was going to give rise to inflation in Cuba under any circumstance, just like it has in other countries. On top of that, we have restrictions linked to US foreign policy, which makes this even more difficult.”&nbsp;Nevertheless, regardless of the international situation that was going to bring a certain level of inflation and shortages with it due to the disappearance of tourism revenue, the expert points out that the Economic Reforms Process has produced a “reset” in the economy; currency variables are intervening at a very delicate time, which is making this situation worse.&nbsp;Camilo Condis: “In May 2021, the minister of Economy Alejandro Gil said that small and medium-sized enterprises are overvalued and won’t be a magic fix for the Cuban socialist State economy. What does he believe the role of small and medium-sized enterprises needs to be in the Cuban economy?Oscar Fernandez: “Small and medium-sized companies effectively aren’t a magic fix. They won’t be the answer to important problems in the Cuban economy, nor will they give way to breakthrough production levels, precisely because they are small and medium-sized, but they will be able to bridge gaps in the economic ecosystem.“It is believed that an economy is fixed with large companies in big sectors, that we will have tourism, nickel and that we will have an economy if we develop three or four sectors. That is wrong, because the country cannot be run as if it were a company. There have to be ecosystems; it’s like a forest where there have to be a million different sized organisms, that do many different things, for tall trees to stand strong and grow. It’s exactly the same, these small and medium-sized enterprises will oxygenate the system.&nbsp;“Beyond creating job opportunities and bridging many gaps in product supply that don’t exist today, it will produce ties with the state-led sector. State companies will be able to solve many things they haven’t been able to find a solution to with other state-led companies, because of the flexible nature of production in small and medium-sized enterprises. The second thing they can take greater advantage of is that small cracks will open up in the US blockade via the private sector, and joint ventures with state-led companies will be able to break some of the chains that US sanctions pose for Cuba.”&nbsp;When wages have less purchasing powerFernandez said that the Economic Reforms Process failed from top to bottom, which is an opinion many of his colleagues share, including Pedro Monreal, who wrote on Twitter: “The Reforms Process said that those receiving a state wage would be in a better situation. Measured against this objective, the Reforms Process is a failed economic policy.”&nbsp;Oscar Fernandez adds that the Reforms Process is the heir to currency unification, which should have been implemented a few years before and was absolutely essential. Nearly every economist clamored for this to happen and, although it was quite close to happening in 2014 with a plan and timeline conceived for its execution, it was delayed for reasons that remain unknown, and was then implemented at the completely wrong time.&nbsp;The policy failed to meet its objectives. A year later, there are still different currencies circulating; in addition to the Cuban peso, you have MLC stores (a kind of virtual dollar), dollars in cash and other foreign currencies, such as the euro, circulating in the economy. The most basic objective, which was to eliminate the dual exchange rate, wasn’t met. There is an exchange rate for the digital dollar on the street that stands at about 80 pesos for MLC, and a bit less for dollars in cash.&nbsp;On the other hand, the official exchange rate remains at 24 x 1, but because an exchange market doesn’t exist where the bank can sell at this rate, the same situation has arisen, just like it did two years ago. Alongside the official exchange rate of 24:1, there is another exchange rate that is handled by the&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/selling-in-usd-doesnt-make-cuban-companies-more-efficient/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(40, 157, 204);">illicit market</a>. The final outcome? A significant devaluation of the Cuban peso.&nbsp;The Government has increased wages with the promise of prices not going up so much and, as a result, their wages would ensure greater purchasing power. However, this situation has not been controlled. A clear supply crisis has unfolded; prices have gone up which has led to devaluation in costs, of production supplies too, which is then translated into higher final product prices. “It’s very hard to contain this; inflation is expected because of weak product supply conditions to react to new pressures imposed by the Reforms Process.”&nbsp; This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/selling-in-usd-doesnt-make-cuban-companies-more-efficient/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/empresa-estatal-y-ventas-en-mlc-ni-mas-eficiencia-ni-mayor-productividad" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Selling in USD Doesn’t Make Cuban Companies More Efficient

In recent weeks, social media platforms have echoed requests for help from mothers and relatives of the young people arrested during the July 11th protests in Cuba. Their voices have come together as one to demand justice and transparency in the legal proceedings that concern their children.One woman in particular has become a spokeswoman for many. This woman is Barbara Farrat Guillen, mother of 17-year-old teenager Jonathan Torres Farrat, who was arrested on July 13th and is being sentenced for appearing in a video that went viral on social media, in which he threw a rock at police officers.Barbara Farrat, the mother, was arrested on Friday December 24th and held in police custody for several hours after trying to leave her house. She was released soon after. She held a hunger strike in protest to put pressure on the Government to release her son and she has publicly announced that she is HIV+. According to her own statement, State Security agents have threatened to take her to prison if she continues to use social media to complain about the situation.In podcast&nbsp;El Enjambre’s&nbsp;last episode of the year, Camilo Condis, Lucia March and Maykel Gonzalez, spoke about this and other cases. According to Maykel, the mothers of the young people in prison have sent a letter to President Miguel Diaz-Canel, which was delivered by Barbara Farrat and her husband to the State Council’s Citizen’s Assistance Office. The letter was signed by 150 people, including relatives and friends of those arrested during the July 11th protests.“She was able to organize all of this, she has become an activist; she and her husband Orlando Ramirez pushed for this to happen and in the letter they are appealing for amnesty, pardon or a stay in the hundreds of cases of 11J political prisoners. They are asking Diaz-Canel for “a noble gesture that finally puts an end to many families’ suffering,” as they have been separated from their loved ones for many months now,” Maykel says.Relatives say that the Government would be committing a great injustice if protestors in pre-trial detention are sentenced to prison. The letter addressed to Diaz-Canel urges the legal system and the Cuban Government to “stop and reflect upon the fact that any harm caused, regardless of what this harm was, won’t be resolved with injustice and that a citizen exercising their constitutional right doesn’t constitute a crime.”Maykel, a young journalist, said that there is a consensus among public opinion that the Public Prosecutor’s requests for 11J prisoners are excessive. “Fifteen to thirty-year prison sentences are being asked for the 15 people arrested in La Güinera,” Camilo explains.These fifteen prisoners are: Dayron Martin Rodriguez, Miguel Paz Esteven, Jose Luis Sanchez Tito, Frank Aldama Rodriguez, Alexander Guillermo Martinez Amoroso, Lazaro Zamora Gonzalez, Alexis Sosa Ruiz, Dianyi Liriano Fuentes, Orlando Carvajal Cabrera, Marlon Brando Diaz Oliva, Elier Padron Romero, Jesus Enrique Vazquez Cabrera, Karen Vazquez Perez, Brusnelvis Adrian Cabrera Gutierrez and Leoalis de la Caridad Valera Vazquez.The podcast also shares Maria Luisa Fleitas Bravo’s testimony, another mother who is suffering because of her son’s arrest, who asked for people to share a video in which she asks for help in her son Armando Vazquez Fleitas’ case, who she hasn’t been able to see for three months.“I am asking for justice to be served and I will continue to demand justice for my son. Armando is currently being held in Valle Grande for having taken part in the July 11th protests, when he took to the streets in La Guinera to protest peacefully. “They arrested him; they’re asking for a 20-year prison sentence for my son as if he were a murderer or rapist. I’m asking you all to please help me; I don’t know what I’m going to do; I’m desperate.”Fleitas asked people to upload her video to social media “so that the entire world knows what they are doing to young people in Cuba.” She added that there are many other helpless mothers like herself, who need their children to be released. “I am also asking the Evangelical Churches to pray for our children. Please help me, I can’t bear it any longer, I can’t sleep knowing that they are asking for a 20-year prison sentence for my son,” says Armando’s mother at the end of the video.The mothers of those in prison have said that they are not counterrevolutionaries, that they have played by the rules and have tried every legal channel and procedure available, but their petitions haven’t been heard and they haven’t been given any answers. They strongly disagree with how the Government is treating their children like criminals and counterrevolutionaries, when they have never stepped foot in a police station before in their lives. They are asking to be heard and for their children not to be sentenced to 20, 25 or 30 years in prison. They demand a serious and in-depth investigation and claim that what is happening to these young people is unjust.“They are being charged with sedition, a crime that is a lot more serious that previous charges of minor offenses, such as contempt. This needs to be resolved with transparency, explain who was and wasn’t violent during the protests, be held accountable in these cases, because people know what’s going on. It is the legal authorities’ responsibility to give some kind of response and even more so in the cases of minors, because it’s absolutely outrageous,” Maykel says.Other problemsAt another point in the episodle, Camilo talks about a viral post on social media by farmer Leonel Capote about his fellow farmers’ concerns. A lack of water for their crops was one of the problems listed, and many farmers have found themselves forced to carry buckets of water, because they don’t have a well or a pump for watering their crops.“It’s very hard to produce food on a large scale without having proper irrigation systems in place,” Camilo says. “How can the Cuban Government not facilitate irrigation systems to these farmers, when they are essential, basic? Farmers are asking them for credit and the opportunity to install these systems for their crops; it’s a priority. I believe the Cuban Government should be subsidizing irrigation systems.”The podcaster echoed the farmers’ complaint about existing resources in the country for the agricultural sector being directed towards state-controlled means of production first, which are less efficient and extremely unproductive. According to official data, the private agricultural sector in Cuba produces 75.9% of root vegetables and 75.3% of leafy vegetables in the country.“It’s a lot more efficient than the state sector and yet, when resources do come into the country, they are sent to state companies which are a lot more inefficient and produces less. Fertilizers and supplies are being sold with USD prices, which doesn’t make any sense either. You can’t produce efficiently without technology and resources,” Camilo weighs in.Lucia talks about the Cuban Government’s assessment of the latest actions enforced to control the COVID-19 situation, after a slight increase in the number of positive cases. New Omicron variant cases have been detected, up until now, and the Delta variant continues to be the main strain of the virus in the country. The number of autochtonous cases has dropped and the number of imported cases has grown.The weekly sketch, titled “Unanimously”, depicts a Christmas dinner of a Cuban family where things take a complicated turn at every unexpected event. The Cuban history section with Monica Fernandez talks about taxes, freedom of expression and Cuban women as a national symbol during the colonial period. This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/mothers-of-11j-prisoners-demand-justice-for-their-kids/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/madres-de-presos-politicos-del-11j-reclaman-justicia-para-sus-hijos" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Mothers of 11J Prisoners Demand Justice for Their Kids

Selling or marketing, opening a small shop, or offering services in design, programming and software development are the initiatives that have generated the most searches in the Economic Activities Browser developed by&nbsp;El Toque&nbsp;for the private sector in Cuba. The site was launched in August.Cubans utilized this tool to find out if their idea for a private or cooperative venture is allowed in Cuba under the existing regulations. The application is based on data from the National Classifier of Economic Activities, as well as the list of activities that aren’t authorized for the different categories – non-agricultural cooperatives; micro, small, and medium businesses; and self-employment. The official lists of activities authorized and prohibited were officially presented in Decree 49/2021.After performing a statistical analysis of over 8,000 searches conducted on the site in the past four months, we selected the 30 most frequently mentioned activities. To do so, we grouped the terms alphabetically and according to their meaning, which allowed us to identify the number of searches related to each economic activity.It’s worth noting that the most sought-out activities aren’t generally tied to vital areas of the economy, but rather are related to other recent business initiatives. On the other hand, over the past months there’s been a growing scarcity of food, hygiene products and clothing in the state business networks that sell in Cuban pesos. Many items have been transitioned to selling in foreign currency. This has motivated the growth of the informal market, as an alternative to have access to these goods, since most Cubans only have pesos.As a result, there are ever more participants in the informal market. These economic actors dedicate themselves to the resale of products, or to buying merchandise outside the country and reselling it back home. The latter explains why many users of the search engine want to know what kinds of product sales could be legally licensed as a business.There’ve also been repeated searches related to activities such as teaching, consulting, and advising, which indicates that various highly professionalized sectors are interested in entering the non-state market. Architecture showed a similar pattern, although there were fewer overall searches.Searches related to publicity and marketing activities were also very common. Given the landscape that’s coming with the creation of the micro, small and medium business opportunities, the new non-agricultural cooperatives and the self-employed workers, marketing and advertising studies will become essential, in order to generate knowledge and spur services to increase competitiveness among the economic actors.Another of the activities most often searched are those tied to personal caregiving. If we take into consideration the data from the report: “The aging of the population, Cuba and its territories”, published in 2021 by the Cuban National Statistics and Information Office, we find that 21.3% of the Cuban population is over 60 years old, and there’s no indication these numbers are going to shrink. Hence, the existence of private services dedicated to caring for the aged could bring relief and lead to a broader availability.If we group the searches according to country, we find that the five locations where the most inquiries were realized were: Cuba, the US, Spain, Germany and Canada.In the case of searches originating in the United States, the general pattern remains the same: sales and commerce, design, programming, and teaching. From Spain, there were more frequent searches regarding other business ideas, such as recording studios, ice cream parlors, or searches related to tourism and to milk.Searches conducted from CubaThe searches from Cuba weren’t very different from the general searches.Sales and commerce once again had the leading role. There was an extremely broad spectrum of searches in terms of types of sales and marketing. There were also a fair number of searches of activities related to the production or elaboration of different soft drinks and fruit drinks. The difficulty finding these products in the state market, and the high prices in the informal and private markets has generated interest in such activities.Among users’ questions are those regarding the possibility of forming merchandising groups, establishing cooperatives of translators and interpreters, and about the actual legality of tattoo parlors.An analysis of the data also uncovered the fact that there are searches linked to a more complex economic scenario and more closely connected to international tendencies. While it’s true they don’t have a lot of frequency, we list some here for their value in understanding some aspects of Cuban reality.<ul><li>Remittances</li><li>Blockchain – cryptocurrency</li><li>Coaching</li><li>Gold mining</li><li>NGOs</li><li>Accounting for small and medium businesses</li><li>Cooperatives of translators and interpreters</li></ul>Situation of the micro, small and medium businesses and private services in 2021Since the first list of approved independent economic activities was published on September 29, a total of 1,207 economic enterprises have been approved. According to the Ministry of the Economy and Planning, of the total number of micro, small and medium businesses approved, 1,166 are private, 22 are state-run, and only 19 are cooperatives.The main economic activities identified in the lists up until now are tied to construction, food production and computer programming activities, as well as auto maintenance and repair. Three of these activities were among those most searched.How does the economic activities search engine function in the non-state sector?Once a search request has been received, the tool returns a list of activities related to the search terms, together with a description of these. Each activity is marked with an icon that indicates whether or not it’s authorized in the country.The searches can contain the name of the activity that the searcher is interested in, or some words related to it. For example, to seek information whether it’s possible to start a bakery or related activity, the user could enter the word “bakery”. It’s not necessary to add words such as: “How could I?”, or “Is it possible?” or to write question marks.In order to put emphasis on one key word during the search, we recommend adding the symbol “+”: for example: “producing +cheese”. This will restrict the search results to the word that appears after the plus sign.For those who desire direct information about what isn’t allowed, the site also offers the option of downloading the entire list of activities that are forbidden for non-agricultural cooperatives, private micro, small and medium businesses, or self-employment.To try out the search engine,&nbsp;<a href="https://emprende.eltoque.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: inherit;">click here</a>. This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/cubas-most-common-business-ideas-for-2021/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/estas-son-las-ideas-de-negocios-en-cuba-mas-buscadas-en-2021" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

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Cuba’s Most Common Business Ideas for 2021

Events in recent weeks linked to 15N (November 15th) and the&nbsp;Archipielago&nbsp;platform have gone hand-in-hand with civil lessons that can be seized and taken advantage of for social gain.In a new episode of&nbsp;La Colada&nbsp;podcast, writer and journalist Jorge de Armas asks his colleague, political analyst Enrique Guzman Karell, about the post-15N landscape in Cuba and the role of Cuban citizens and Government. Young artist Camila Lobon joins them and also gives her two cents.According to Guzman, social protest is not wearing thin in Cuba at all. Revolutionary situations and leaderships that arise in society gestate from reality itself. “As long as the State is unable to change and transform, leaders, projects, proposals and initiatives will continue to appear. This is inevitable, it’s the law of History.The 15N protests were expected to be either very isolated and controlled, or non-existent, if we analyze the scenes of repression, intimidation and coercion that the Cuban Government enacted in the weeks leading up to the protest called by the&nbsp;Archipielago&nbsp;platform, the political expert said. The fact the protest was announced a considerate amount of time in advance allowed the Government to control citizens’ and society’s actions, deploying all of the resources at its disposal to prevent any kind of protest.“This in no way means to say that it was a defeat, because it is a gradual process. There wasn’t going to be another Cuba after 15N. Cuba has been becoming a different Cuba for a long time now and&nbsp;Archipielago’s victory came from the very moment it managed to channel certain civil needs. Cuban citizens are a little freer today than they were two months ago, even if we still can’t see this freedom clearly, and this freedom will enable us to have more rights in the future than we have today,” he said.Camila Lobon analyzes post-15N reality with great optimism. It has proven that Cuban civil society continues to reorganize and initiatives and citizens’ commitment to the country’s political reality continues to grow. “A rebellious spirit and need for change are inoculated in Cubans and this isn’t going to change, no matter how many repressive strategies the regime implements, which it has learned over the decades.”The artist lists a series of lessons learned from 15N, including the growing need to make projects more horizontal in their action and organization, giving importance to more vulnerable people in society and to continue to raise awareness. We need to bear in mind the fact that Cuba is still a country with a high level of indoctrination, blackmail and coercion by military forces that have been trained to do this; trapped in a horror dreamscape that the Government unfolds every time there is a potential detonator for a social uprising, like what happened on July 11th.Citizens need energy, determination and efforts to continue to raise awareness at any level (media campaigns, calls and civil society projects) to solve Cuba’s political problems. It’s a matter of advocating for citizens to continue to protest and demand their rights, Lobon points out.“We have to continue to break down the Cuban mindset, lift the ideological veil and the symbolic capital of the process we know as the “Revolution”. We have to normalize protests as our right, that the Government is there to offer a public service,” she says.Lobon agrees with Guzman Karell when he says that change won’t exactly be immediate; it’s a process that will take time, so we have to keep our expectations in check, not lose hope and become disheartened when faced with the difficulties that present themselves on the road to getting out of this historic rut.Within this context, the obsolescence of the Cuban Government’s discourse and actions today has become clear, which on a symbolic level continues to bet on a historic moment when it could count upon the majority,” Guzman adds. The Cubans who call themselves “revolutionaries” are projecting themselves more and more as conservatives. “Hate rallies have returned, which were always reactionary, shameful, cruel and disgusting. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the State doesn’t accept differences.”Another point that has become crystal clear is which side violence comes from, the ones who have wanted to crush other Cubans. “It hasn’t been&nbsp;Archipielago&nbsp;at all, and that is another victory. In spite of everything the State has done to them, they continue to speak without rancor,” the political expert stresses.Guzman harbors a concern about this: if the Cuban Government has closed the door to any chance of entering a dialogue with&nbsp;Articulacion Plebeya, Archipielago,&nbsp;the 27N movement, who is it hoping to talk to about differences, profound crises and Cuban society’s problems? How do they think Cuban society will be able to channel this unhappiness, dissatisfaction, desire for change?This article was translated into&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/is-social-protest-wearing-thin-in-cuba/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">English</a>&nbsp;from the original in&nbsp;<a href="https://eltoque.com/esta-agotada-la-protesta-social-en-cuba" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 123, 255);">Spanish</a>.

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Is social protest wearing thin in Cuba?

Imágenes curiosas y raras del Primero de Mayo en Cuba

Estos son los muertos y desaparecidos tras la explosión del hotel Saratoga

El servicio militar obligatorio y las manipulaciones de la diplomacia cubana

HAVANA TIMES – Pornography and erotic representations date back to the oldest times of humanity. Since the Paleolithic era, primitive tribes had already established a totemic cult centered towards procreation, the womb and the phallic cult.
Based on these ancient cults, it is assumed that paleolithic figures of Venus, such as the Willendorf Venus, evoked human admiration for the genitals, motherhood, fertility and eroticism, through breasts and buttocks of exaggerated proportions – with a possible intention to represent pornography.
In Indian culture, especially within philosophies such as that of the Tantra, it was understood that sex was a part of human divinity and at times represented a path towards spiritual enlightenment. The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana (400-200 BC) is the epitome of sexuality in Ancient India.
The classical societies of Ancient Greece and the Ancient Roman Empire adopted human sexuality as the basis of artistic expression. The representation of sexual scenes was common in these civilizations; one example being the details in the frescoes of the suburban baths of Pompeii, where scenes with sexually explicit acts are appreciated – including the representations of group sex, homosexual and oral sex.
The modern concept of pornography is defined by the massive commercialization of erotic material, thus abandoning its artistic character and increasing its distribution via mass production, thereby gaining a greater presence dating from the sexual revolution during the 1970s to the present day.
Since the advent of the Internet, pornographic consumption has skyrocketed to astonishing levels. Pornhub, the largest free porn website on the network, received more than 42 billion visits during the year 2019, which is equivalent to the impressive 115 million visits a day. Within the statistics of the site, it was revealed that amateur videos top the list of user preferences and that 32% of people who access the website are women – increasing by 3% compared to the previous year.
Does more internet mean more porn in Cuba?
In Cuba, the increase in Internet access has meant a parallel increase in the consumption of pornography. It still remains far from topping the list of countries with the highest data traffic within the statistics of the Pornhub platform.
However, reports from the site itself, reveal that the increase in Cuba’s participation in the web during the last 5 years has been overwhelming; appearing as one of the leaders in internet surfing growth from cell phones – according to data from 2016. The increase in mobile traffic to Pornhub amongst Cuban users was 310%.
The explanation of this phenomenon became evident since the implementation and increase of Wi-Fi points in the country as of 2013, the reduction in navigation rates in 2015 and the enablement of access through mobile data in December 2018. Therefore, the consumption of pornography in Cuba is under new conditions caused by increased internet access.
To undertake this article, 20 young Cubans were surveyed – aged between 20 and 35 years. 15% confessed to consume online pornography, arguing that the facilities had arisen in the face of greater internet access within recent years. 55% admitted having downloaded pornographic videos from websites such as Bingoporno, Miporno and of course – Pornhub.
What motivates a Cuban to use the Internet to consume porn (at its still relatively expensive price) when the distribution by USBs still works effectively? The possibility of choosing content within greater diversity – was one of the responses of the respondents.
Telegram and its XXX channels
When the cost of Internet browsing is as high as it is in our country, any tool that promises to speed up the process and optimize our search is a treasure. Telegram, the application developed by the Dúrov brothers – launched in 2013, provides the user with a huge amount of multimedia content in the most automatic way possible.
In 2015, the application incorporated the “channels” service. Through this option it is possible to send all types of files on a massive scale; allowing users to subscribe in an open and unlimited way. These channels can be found on the web via a URL – being able to access the entire history of sent messages.
Hundreds of institutions and individuals currently use this route to disseminate their contents, and of course the proliferation of XXX channels was notoriously fruitful.
At the end of the year 2019 there were hundreds of Telegram channels where pornographic content was shared. By subscribing to one of these channels – The Bots – the virtual assistants of Telegram, a board of options is shown with the most diverse sexual content.
In this way, the user can select the variety of his or her preference, and the bot redirects him or her to the videos of that category. This process saves the user considerable navigation time trying to find and select the specific content that they are looking for.
Some of these sites are very active; publishing dozens of daily videos and with several thousand subscribers. There are also channels specializing in home or amateur videos; the category that tops the list of preferences, according to Pornhub statistics.
Of the young people surveyed, 25% admitted to subscribing to an XXX channel on Telegram.
Is pornography morally acceptable?
What is understood as pornography is conditioned by the subjectivities of each person with respect to sex. But the conception is – almost always, of a video or photograph showing sexual intercourse or an explicit sexual act. This explicitness is what the user, spectator, consumer – expects. What the industry has created as an expectation, and what differentiates a pornographic material from an erotic one.
The human being is, in general, highly sensitive to visual stimuli, the inclination to observe sexual scenes is an innate characteristic. The areas of the brain that are activated when watching pornography are the same that are stimulated during sexual intercourse, the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter mainly associated with the anticipation of reward that also acts in the programming of memories and of information in the brain.
This means that when the body wants, for example, food or sex, the brain remembers what it must do to get the same pleasure as on previous occasions. This, combined with the accessibility and anonymity provided by the consumption of porn, makes us extremely sensitive subjects to its hyper stimulant effects.
There are conflicting opinions about the morality of pornography; a sector of society condemns it for its commercial nature and because it can trigger an addictive and therefore harmful vice for the individual.
However, a current train of thought considers it an art form, in order to show the beauty of human sexuality. Some defend this precept by arguing that it is a form of freedom, and that it is fundamental to the evolution of a society free from prejudices and taboos.
All of the 20 young people surveyed, confessed to having accessed pornography, 55% of them being women, thus demonstrating that females, who historically represent a smaller percentage, are also consumers of this industry. However, there are few those who dare to admit it – as they remain subjugated to the social prejudices of yesteryear.
The survey also revealed that 70% had made homemade pornographic videos with their partners, 50% had maintained telephone sex, via instant messaging or video calls, and another 35% admitted that they would like to try this practice. The opinions in general of the young people with whom I had the opportunity to spend time with, were of support and acceptance to the porn industry – 95% of them said that they considered it morally acceptable.
However, all agreed on the danger of excess. The scenes that can be seen in porn, as with addictive substances, are hyper stimulant triggers that produce an unnatural secretion of high levels of dopamine, which can deteriorate the reward system of dopamine and render it useless in the face of a natural pleasure source.
Psychiatrist Norman Doidge explains it this way:
“Pornography satisfies each of the prerequisites for neuroplastic change. When pornographers boast that they are going one step further by introducing new and stronger themes, they forget that they must do so because their clients are developing a tolerance to the usual content.”
The data collected by Pornhub reveals that conventional sex is less and less interesting for consumers, who replace it with themes such as incest or violence. The perpetuation of sexual violence is especially worrisome, as it could directly influence the statistics of violent episodes in real life.
What is the position of the Cuban state in the face of the increase in porn consumption in our country?
The current Law no. 62 of the Criminal Code of Cuba (Art. 303, subsection C), penalizes with a penalty of deprivation of liberty ranging from three months to one year, or a fine of 100 to 300 installments to he who “produces or circulates publications, prints, film tapes or tape, recordings, photographs or other objects that are obscene, with a tendency to pervert and degrade customs. ”
What are those objects? What is considered obscene? What can pervert and degrade customs? Which customs? As much as the State tries to keep Cubans outside of the “obscenities” considered improper in the socialist system, the ports of entry always mocked them. If not, how did Playboy magazines and graphic-erotic novels enter the country? And the “original” movies on VHS, with their covers illustrated in colors?
The USB distribution – copying content on external discs – revolutionized the modalities of audiovisual consumption in Cuba. Thus, resulting in the first channel for the “virilization” of content on the Island. Porn, was not left out.
So how could the government control the consumption of porn over the Internet? What mechanisms does one adopt in restricting access to pornographic content for children and adolescents?
Although many have insisted on showing a “neat” image of Cuba in that sense, the consumption of pornography among adolescents is a reality, even within educational centers. In the surveys carried out, 65% confessed to having consumed pornography before the age of 15, and 15% of them admitted to having started watching porn merely out of curiosity.
The most alarming of these figures is that if we take into account that we are talking about the 90s and the beginning of the 2000s, when the access and distribution of pornography was negligible compared to the current levels, it can be speculated that the percentages are much higher in children and adolescents today.
There is, at least not legally or publicly registered, any mechanism for the Cuban telecommunications company – ETECSA, to regulate the consumption of pornography – especially the consumption among minors.
These mechanisms could be aimed at identifying the mobile devices of children and adolescents to restrict access to this type of material, create alert generation systems before the attempt to access these devices, by sending notifications to parents, encouraging the use of parental control tools.
These actions could be considered duties of the company with respect to consumption via the Internet. The rest would be the responsibility of families and school institutions, although controlling all distribution channels among minors is practically impossible, especially when there are very popular alternative channels in Cuba, such as Zapya, a mobile application for wireless file sharing, or the USB copy.
The scenario demands to modernize the regulations. It is absurd that the production and distribution of pornographic material is penalized or that its exhibition in theaters is censored and its entry intended to be controlled from abroad, when the Internet remains an open and increasingly popular channel in Cuba, as in the rest of the world, for all those activities.
It’s necessary to admit that the consumption of pornography in Cuba is a fact; open your eyes to the reality of what has been going on for decades and that it is gaining more strength in the face of the internet’s rise and access in our country.
Instead of masking the truths and trying to avoid the tarnishing of this false image of ‘the preservers of good manners and morality’, it is imperative to adapt regulations and laws so that they themselves may adapt to the times we are living in, and thus work so that the explosion of multimedia does not foment crime or especially affect children and adolescents – the most vulnerable to all these changes.
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<blockquote>This article was translated to <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/pornography-and-the-internet-its-impact-on-cuban-society/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://zona-binaria.com/cacharreando/pornografia-e-internet-su-impacto-en-la-sociedad-cubana/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spanish</a>.
This text was originally published by the Zona Binaria blog and its author is Jessica Jones. It is fully republished in elToque with the intention of offering varied content and ideas and from different perspectives to our audiences. What is reproduced here is not necessarily the editorial position of our media.
</blockquote>

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Pornography and the Internet: Its Impact on Cuban Society

Over 900 people signed the petition by Feministas Cubanas on Change.org, requesting the Cuban government can open up a corridor of humanitarian flights from the US. Basic essentials, such as medicine and personal hygiene items, would enter the island via this corridor, without Customs restrictions.Addressed to president Miguel Diaz-Canel, the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the Ministry of Interior and the Council of State and Ministers, the petition asks for mechanisms to be put into place so that Cubans living abroad can travel to the island and deliver these products, as long as they can provide proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations beforehand.The text mentions the vaccination rate in the US, where “48.4% of the adult population has been vaccinated against the virus, and 60.5% have received at least one dose of the vaccines available in this country,” according to statements from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).It also announces that it is very easy to confirm that US residents wanting to enter Cuba with necessary resources have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as they have a card issued by this very center.“Cuba is facing a serious health crisis right now, with shortages of medicines, food and personal hygiene items, caused by the country’s deteriorating economic situation and the COVID-19 pandemic,” the petition explains at the beginning, recognizing that “unilateral sanctions weigh heavily upon the country” and that “measures implemented by the Cuban government” restrict deliveries of these items.Since February 6th, the Cuban government has cut down on certain flight connections and has canceled others, due to the declining health situation in the country.&nbsp;According to the Cuban Airports and Airport Services Company (ECASA) Facebook page, American Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and charter flights will continue to fly from the US, on a weekly basis.On the other hand, financial restrictions established by the embargo, as well as the ban on remittances being sent via different platforms (especially via Western Union), have directly affected the way Cubans living abroad can contribute.Given this situation, individuals and organizations are looking for safe ways to send their aid to Cubans living on the island.<figure class="image-ql" src="null" alt="null" caption="null" width="null" style="width: null%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="null" alt="null"></a></figure> <h4>Humanitarian corridors, humanitarian flights or safe air travel corridors</h4>Not every crisis situation justifies opening up a humanitarian corridor. On December 14, 1990, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 45/100 that stipulated, for the first time, the need to establish this kind of safe route.This resolution defines corridors as a means to facilitate the circulation of humanitarian convoys, victims of armed conflicts and humanitarian personnel. Transfers (of people or aid) normally take place from, or to, a region of armed conflict.According to International Humanitarian Law and its implementation, such are established mostly in the system of peacekeeping missions and refugee protection programs by the UN and other international bodies. Depending on their purpose, safe areas can be defined as: providing humanitarian aid, evacuating endangered persons; and to encourage the repatriation of refugees and displaced persons. Humanitarian corridors can be land, sea or river or air routes.Secondly, agreements between all parties involved are the key to these demilitarized areas. The Cuban government would have to enter in agreement with some US counterpart to establish “every party’s obligations, the principle of national sovereignty, the territorial integrity of the State in question” and respect for the so-called “Guiding Principles on the Right to Humanitarian Assistance“, which were written up at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, in 1992.The five restrictions allude to:<ol><li>Time: humanitarian corridors are established during an emergency period, during which you have the right to travel and provide aid for as long as needed. As a result, if a corridor of humanitarian flights were established to bring medicine into Cuba, this would be limited to a fixed duration of time outlined between both parties.</li><li>Space: the most direct route possible to the destination should be established. This means that if a corridor of humanitarian flights is established, medicines would leave from a certain place, and arrive at a certain place. Yet, the US government has banned charter flights from the US from reaching Cuban provinces, since March 10, 2020. In this case, mechanisms would have to be established and monitored so that aid can reach other provinces in Cuba, once they arrive at Jose Marti International Airport, in Havana.</li><li>Objects: according to the San Remo document, only care items, medicines, emergency medical/surgical materials and food should be transported. In this case, people responsible for bringing aid are normally considered “humanitarian personnel”, and they are duly trained and focused on delivering and supervising aid. They should not be citizens living in one country, who are visiting citizens living in another.</li><li>Practice: humanitarian corridors should not threaten peace, order or State security, in the places they are established.</li><li>Ethical restrictions imply a respect for impartiality, and the obligation to prevent assistance from being diverted. In regard to these last two principles, the State receiving assistance will have to recognize a state of crisis and allow international organizations and humanitarian personnel to verify the mechanisms established to manage this assistance and that they comply with the agreement.</li></ol>On the other hand, humanitarian flights and repatriation are normally used to transport passengers who have been left stranded in other countries, who require emergency medical treatment, or to take refugees away from areas of armed conflict, or to transport humanitarian assistance.Generally-speaking, assistance is delivered via humanitarian personnel, not citizens who are interested in offering help. Their services should be free, as paying for this assistance goes against the humanitarian essence.Furthermore, respective States, diplomatic missions, embassies, and aeronautical authorities involved must be responsible for organizing this assistance and covering costs. Once again, this depends on the agreement outlined between involved parties and under the San Remo’s five guiding principles.Finally, safe air corridors have been applied in many countries, especially in the European Union, to ensure tourist travel between two countries with a similar Rt rate.They normally go through different phases, depending on the health situation in the countries that decide to open up an air corridor. These phases range from more limited movement, to slowly lifting border controls, as the pandemic situation in both places improves.Every country can outline its own methodology to create a corridor, but they normally have to receive authorization from international health organizations, that confirm or verify the States’ information about the pandemic and its impact.<h4>Citizen-led assistance</h4><figure class="image-ql" src="null" alt="null" caption="null" width="null" style="width: null%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="null" alt="null"></a></figure> This isn’t the first time that civil society groups or activists have created a petition for humanitarian aid to Cuba. One of the most popular was the letter signed by professor Carlos Lazo, which gained over 15,000 signatures, to the US president at the time, Donald Trump, asking the US to lift sanctions against Cuba during the pandemic. Months later, he wrote an open letter to Joe Biden with the same objective, that gained over 20,000 signatures.Some of the most repetitive humanitarian petitions on platforms such as Change.org, and which involve the Cuban and US governments, have to do with opening up the US Embassy in Havana again so it offers all services, visa applications etc.; restoring the Cuban Family Reunification Parole Program) which was suspended in 2017; the elimination of strict Cuban Customs regulations; and the chance to send unlimited remittances back to Cuba.Recent petitions for sending medicines to Cuba are now joining this list, and they involve three key routes: direct deliveries via courier services, raising money for buying sanitary materials via international organizations and money donations and resources for Cuban NGOs or NGOs based in Cuba.The first route is mainly for organized citizens who use their own means to buy medicines and send them using different delivery platforms.However, this tends to be the most expensive way, as prices depend on the weight of the delivery, as well as the expense of buying medicines. So, promoters are asking that charter and commercial flights begin to fly to Cuba more frequently, and for Customs restrictions to be lifted, so they can deliver this aid in person.In this case, ensuring transparency of the delivery of resources will be a challenge, as aid directed to individuals or groups of people will make it difficult to register.Organizers of these initiatives normally make appeals on social media so that networks can be formed in different countries, thereby minimizing delivery and purchase costs.One of the more popular petitions has been the one organized by Reynaldo Lastre and Eilyn Lombard, which was shared on Facebook by the academic Mabel Cuesta. According to the organizers, they were able to raise “almost 3000 USD and infinite kilos of medicines” in less than 24 hours, Cuesta posted on her personal profile.In a more recent post, Cuesta explained that half of the load was currently in Havana, according to the tracking service used by the delivery agency, and the rest will arrive at Varadero and Santa Clara Airports, coming from Canada.She also posted on her page that they have received “a huge donation of medicines: antibiotics, surgical supplies, vitamins, gloves, digestive medicines, Omega, everything…”, and now they are collecting money via PayPay to send this as a package to Cuba.The second route is used by international organizations and cooperation agencies, to contribute towards the COVID-19 vaccination process. Normally, big anti-US embargo campaigns are articulated, that seek to gain individual donors and organizations, so that once they’ve raised their target, this money can then be used to buy resources.Cuba is using this mechanism to ask for help to buy syringes, needles and masks. The Canadian-Cuban Friendship Association and its network of members had managed to buy and send a container with 1,920,000 syringes by April 12th, and they are preparing the second one.<figure class="image-ql" src="null" alt="null" caption="null" width="null" style="width: null%; margin: 0 auto; cursor: pointer;" link="" contenteditable="false"><a href="" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" class="ql-image-inner-post"><img src="null" alt="null"></a></figure> From Europe, the SODEPAZ organization has promised to collaborate in raising funds to buy 10 million syringes with the slogan “Blockades kill, your solidarity gives life”, and UN agencies such as UNICEF and PAHO have also delivered kits with supplies for COVID-19 health emergencies.Puentes de Amor, project by professor Carlos Lazo, NEMO (Cuba Anti-Embargo Movement) and Codepink: Women for Peace&nbsp;<a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/us-cuba-humanitarian-corridor/blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">have also launched</a>&nbsp;a campaign to raise funds to buy syringes.According to the organizers, they have a 100,000 USD target so they can send 3 million syringes to Cuba. Lazo himself said that “the US Department of the Treasury has granted a licence so that funds can be raised to buy syringes for Cuba.”In these cases, donations would reach health authorities, who would then be responsible for distributing these resources to hospitals or care units and ensure they are being used ethically.The third route to send medicines to Cuba consists of getting in touch with different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are working in Cuba. People, groups and organizations that get in touch with NGOs to deliver these resources to them.The NGOs would then be responsible for distributing this aid and applying accountability mechanisms to donors. Caritas and the Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Center are two of the NGOs that are normally in charge of collecting and distributing donations: the latter mostly coming from Pastors for Peace caravans.&nbsp;This article was translated into <a href="https://havanatimes.org/features/us-cuba-humanitarian-corridor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">English</a> from the original in <a href="https://eltoque.com/un-corredor-humanitario-de-estados-unidos-a-cuba" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Spanish</a>.

Hombre camina por La Habana, ciudad, Cuba, alimentación, Capitolio. Foto: Natalia Favre.

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US-Cuba Humanitarian Corridor?