Black Women Face Double Discrimination, Half Century After Revolution

By Patricia Grogg

Maritza Rodríguez (right), with a colleague and her daughters.
Creditatricia Grogg/IPS

HAVANA, Sep 21, 2010 (IPS) - Cuban women have to work twice as hard as men to get ahead in their careers. But things are even tougher for black women in Cuba, although discrimination by reason of gender or skin colour is prohibited by law and by the constitution itself.

"My mother, who was a simple farm worker, used to always say to my sisters and me: 'You girls have to study hard to show everyone you can be just as good as any white boy or girl in whatever you choose to do.' And that’s exactly what I tell my daughter now," Maritza Rodríguez, a 51-year-old elementary and high school history teacher, told IPS.

She said she has never felt less than anyone else, not even when she feels the eyes of all the sales staff on her as she looks around a store. "They look at me suspiciously because I'm black and I'm not all dressed up; it doesn't occur to them that I'm a professional. That's a form of discrimination," she said.

Like most people in Cuba, Rodríguez was severely affected by the economic crisis of the 1990s, brought on by the fall of the Soviet Union and the East European socialist bloc, Cuba's main aid and trade partners. But she doesn't dwell on that. She does complain, however, about the lack of opportunities she as a black woman has to get ahead in her profession.

"In 2005 I completed a master's degree, and now I'd like to write a book," she said. But her ambition alone is not enough to overcome financial difficulties, poor access to sources, and a limited network of contacts. "In that sense I feel marginalised as a woman and as an Afro-Cuban. I don't see many black women writers in Cuba; most female writers here are white," she said.

More than 60 percent of the 11.2 million people of this Caribbean island nation are of African or mixed-race descent, according to studies by Esteban Morales, an academic who specialises in racial issues.

Racial inequality in Cuba was for many years a taboo issue, and it is only recently that people have begun to talk openly about it. Public debate was prompted by calls by the Cofradía de la Negritud (roughly, 'The Black Guild'), a project that seeks to raise awareness about the problem. One of its most recent workshops focused precisely on the double discrimination faced by black women in Cuba.

The Cofradía de la Negritud is also attempting to address the lack of proper media coverage given to race issues, as well as the lack of a gender perspective.

This may explain the surprised reaction by many of the participants in the late August workshop to Desiderio Navarro's presentation on the portrayal of Afro-Cuban women in advertising.

Navarro, a writer and cultural activist, used images to illustrate what he argues is a racist ad campaign designed to attract foreign tourists to Cuba through post cards, posters and billboards showing young black women on the beach. The scantily-clad women in the images are always on their own; for Navarro, an underlying suggestion -- and the key part of the message conveyed -- that these women are available.

"Afro-Cuban women took advantage of the opportunities afforded by the (1959) revolution, and we now see them engaged as professionals in every area, including education, health, science, and culture," but in advertising they are being "sold" as sex objects, Cuban art critic and writer Inés María Martiatu told IPS.

Mayra Espina, a psychologist and writer who works at the Psychological and Sociological Research Centre, said that several studies concur that the 1990s crisis aggravated poverty and social inequalities.

Black Cubans are more likely than their peers of European descent to live in poor housing conditions and earn low incomes, she pointed out. Women in general and Cuba's eastern provinces are also more acutely affected by the gap in socio-economic conditions.

Some of the participants in the workshop said Afro-Cubans are always at a disadvantage and that more than half a century of social change under the socialist government has done little to erase social differences, which date back to colonial times, when the population was divided between white slave-owners and African slaves.

Espina said that Cuba's social policies are "universalistic" in nature, and that there was never an attempt to specifically address the prejudice and discrimination faced by any group in particular, on the argument that such an approach only serves to perpetuate stigmatisation and inequalities.

But, "exactly the opposite has happened, as extremely egalitarian policies have not been able to overcome the enormous inequality we started out with" in terms of discrimination, she said.

Espina agreed with Morales -- who has written several essays on the issue of race -- that affirmative action is needed to tackle inequalities rooted in a person's gender, skin colour or the area they live in. The particular problems of each group must be addressed, she said.

According to Espina, gender, race and social class are intricately connected sources of discrimination. Thus, she says, "It is not enough to provide free education for all; more funding and greater quality education must be made available to the most vulnerable groups and to those living in the worst conditions."

In a recent article, Morales said that Cuba would benefit from an affirmative action approach to development, aimed at eliminating the disadvantages faced by the black and mixed-race populations and other disadvantaged groups.

Cuba opens first Catholic seminary since the revolution


The new seminary on the outskirts of Havana on 3 November The seminary marks a new stage in Church-state ties in Cuba


* Cuba moves to come in from the cold
* Cuba's Castro meets Church heads
* Cardinal says Cuba is in crisis

Cuban President Raul Castro has attended the inauguration of the first new Catholic building on the communist island in more than half a century.

Mr Castro joined priests, including Vatican officials, at a new seminary outside of the capital, Havana.

Ties between the Roman Catholic Church and state soured in the aftermath of the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Relations have eased in recent years and Church officials recently helped to broker the release of 52 dissidents.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church in Cuba, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, had warm words for Mr Castro and his brother Fidel during the opening of the new San Carlos and San Ambrosio seminary on Wednesday.

"In the name of the Church, I thank both the former president, as well as current President Raul Castro, who honours us with his presence, for the state's support of this work," Cardinal Ortega said.

The inauguration was also attended by senior Vatican officials and a group of bishops from the US, including Thomas Wenski, the Archbishop of Miami, which is the centre of the Cuban exile community.
Papal visit

The new seminary, where students will be trained for the priesthood, is a symbol of just how far Church-state relations have improved in recent years, says the BBC's Michael Voss in Havana.
Raul Castro attends the inauguration of the new seminary Raul Castro turned to the Church to broker a deal over dissidents

The original seminary was taken over by the Cuban authorities in 1966 and men wanting to become priests were forced to study at an old building in Havana.

After the 1959 revolution, many priests left Cuba and Fidel Castro declared the island an atheist state, although diplomatic ties with the Vatican were never severed.

The major turning point in relations came in 1998 when Pope John Paul II was permitted to visit Cuba.

Earlier this year, President Raul Castro, facing growing international pressure, turned to the Catholic Church to help arrange the release of 52 political prisoners.

Under the agreement, the government promised to free - by 8 November - 52 political prisoners imprisoned in 2003 after a crackdown on opposition activists, government critics and commentators.

So far, 39 have flown to Spain, along with members of their families. However, seven of the 13 dissidents still in prison have rejected the Church deal because they do not want to leave Cuba.

8 November 2010 Last updated at 20:47 ET

Castro calls rare Cuba communist party congress
President Raul Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela Raul Castro announced the party conference during a meeting with his Venezuelan ally Hugo Chavez
Continue reading the main story
Related stories

* Cuba to cut a million public jobs
* Cuba to ease some economy control
* Cardinal says Cuba is in crisis

Cuban President Raul Castro has called the first congress of the ruling Communist Party in 14 years.

He said the congress, to be held in April next year, would address Cuba's economic problems.

The party congress is supposed to be held every five years but has been repeatedly postponed.

Since taking over from his brother Fidel in 2006, Raul Castro has taken steps to reduce the state's almost total control of the economy.

"The sixth Congress will concentrate on solving problems in the economy, on the fundamental decisions on updating the Cuban economic model, and will outline the economic and social policy of the party and the revolution," President Castro said.

He urged all Cubans to help prepare for the meeting, saying that unity between "revolutionaries, the leadership and the majority of the people" was vital to the "future perfection of socialism".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Michael Voss BBC News, Havana

Cuba remains one of the last centrally controlled command economies in the world.

Most other remaining communist countries, such as China and Vietnam have embraced market reforms while maintaining political control.

Mr Castro has also convened a National Party Conference for the end of this year.

It is believed that this is where decisions will be made about the composition of the party leadership.

Raul Castro may be president but his elder brother Fidel Castro remains head of the all-powerful Communist Party.

Raul Castro has taken steps to promote small private enterprise.

In September, he announced plans to lay off around a million state employees - around a fifth of the workforce - and encourage them to find work in the private sector.

He also said restrictions on private enterprise would be eased, with small businesses allowed to employ staff, borrow money, and sell services to government departments.

Cuba's state-run economy has been gripped by a severe crisis in the past two years that has forced it to cut imports.

It has suffered from a fall in the price for its main export, nickel, as well as a decline in tourism. Growth has also been hampered by the 48-year US trade embargo.

President Castro made the announcement during a meeting in Havana with his ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

They extended a 10-year-old co-operation agreement between the two countries. President Castro said there would be a "strategic union".

Venezuela is Cuba's biggest trading partner and supplies it with oil at preferential prices in exchange for the work of thousands of Cuban health workers and other specialists in Venezuela.

1 December 2010 Last updated at 19:11 ET


Cuba begins public debate on economy changes

People walk past a poster of Fidel Castro on a bookshop window in Havana What do the Cuban people think?


* Castro calls Cuban party congress
* Cuba unveils new business taxes
* Cuba to cut a million public jobs

Cuba has launched a public debate on plans to transform its socialist economy by reducing the role of the state and boosting private enterprise.

Ordinary Cubans are being encouraged to discuss the changes so their views can be taken into account at a ruling communist party congress next April.

The government says everyone should have a free say on the future of Cuba.

But it also insists that the "socialist character" of Cuba's political system will not change.

Under the headline "It is the people who decide", the official Communist Party newspaper Granma said everyone in Cuba should take part in the economic debate

It urged people to discuss the changes through Communist Party organisations, trade union meetings and community groups.

"Nobody should remain with an unexpressed opinion, much less be prevented from expressing it," it said.

"At stake is the future of the Cuban nation."

However, Granma also stressed that the "socialist character" of Cuba's political and social system was "irrevocable."
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Michael Voss BBC News, Havana

Cuba is entering a period of potential social upheaval.

Half a million workers are due to lose their jobs in the coming months as the government attempts to overhaul the island's struggling state-run economy.

President Raul Castro is also encouraging people to become self-employed or set up small businesses to help take up the slack.

The government has publicly released a 32-page report listing in detail the proposals, and this is intended to form the basis of the discussions.

These debates will not touch on the political shape of Cuba's one-party state nor on replacing the centrally-controlled command economy with a return to capitalism.
Economic problems

The three-month debating period is presented as the opportunity for the public to participate in decisions to be taken at the ruling communist party's sixth congress in April, the first to be held in 14 years.

President Raul Castro called the congress in November, saying it would "concentrate on solving problems in the economy and updating the Cuban economic model."

But many details of the economic changes have already been announced, so it is not clear how much influence the public debate will really have.

In September, President Castro announced plans to lay off around up to a million state employees - about a fifth of the workforce - and encourage them to find work in the private sector.

Half of those posts are to go by the end of March, just weeks before the planned congress.

Restrictions on private enterprise are being eased, with small businesses allowed to employ staff, borrow money, and sell services to government departments.

They will also have to pay tax.

Thousands of Cubans have already been given licences to set up private businesses, and more are registering every week.

Since taking over from his brother Fidel in 2006, Raul Castro has taken steps to reduce the state's almost total control of the economy, which has has been gripped by a severe crisis in recent years.

It has suffered from a fall in the price for its main export, nickel, as well as a decline in tourism.

Growth has also been hampered by the 48-year US trade embargo.

El déficit económico de Cuba
Cuba carece de recursos para sobrevivir más de dos años


Los consejeros comerciales de China, España, Francia, Italia, Canadá, Japón y Brasil anticipan una "fatal" situación económica antes de lo previsto. El italiano habla de la "insolvencia" en 2011

JUAN JESÚS AZNÁREZ - Madrid - 09/12/2010



La crisis financiera global y la incapacidad para atender la servidumbre de su cuantiosa deuda externa agravarán la situación económica de Cuba hasta extremos que pueden ser "fatales en dos o tres años", según el pronóstico de los representantes en La Habana de dos países acreedores, Francia y Japón, y de los consejeros comerciales de China, aliado político y comercial de Cuba, España, Brasil, Italia y Canadá (EEUU), principales inversores en la isla después de Venezuela.

* Cable sobre la sección de intereses de EE UU en febrero 2010



Pese al sombrío futuro es improbable una liberalización sustantiva, señala el cable de la Sección de Intereses de Estados Unidos número 248021, fechado en febrero de este año, que recoge las conclusiones del almuerzo organizado por el consejero político y económico de la legación norteamericana con los siete técnicos internacionales acreditados en Cuba. La previsión del italiano es alarmante: "Italia dice que sus fuentes en el gobierno de Cuba sugieren que Cuba podría ser insolvente en el 2011". Al consejero chino le exaspera la rigidez cubana. "Un dolor de cabeza", dice

Las aperturas estructurales que facilitarían el despegue de la centralizada economía comunista no acaban de ejecutarse, mientras el gobierno de Raúl Castro "se retuerce las manos en las indecisión porque teme las consecuencias políticas de cambios largamente demorados", escribe Jonathan D. Farrar, jefe de la Sección de Intereses, al resumir la opinión de sus colegas.

El cultivo privado de tierras ociosas, una reforma potencialmente significativa, aplicada en 2009, no ha sido efectiva por la inexperiencia de los adjudicatarios y la carencia de maquinaria, capital y mercados. Los consejeros calculan que si "la inestable Venezuela" reduce significativamente su ayuda económica, centrada fundamentalmente en el envío de cerca de 90.000 barriles diario de petróleo, Cuba podría verse avocada a reformas similares a las aplicadas, a la fuerza, durante el Período Especial de principios de los noventa. La revolución cubana perdió entonces los multimillonarios subsidios soviéticos y casi quiebra. "El pueblo cubano ha nacido acostumbrado a los tiempos difíciles y responderá a las próxima convocatoria oficial a apretarse el cinturón con similar aguante", anticipa Farrar en su informe al Departamento de Estado.

Reducción del déficit

Oficialmente, la situación financiera no es tan crítica, teniendo en cuenta el embargo norteamericano de hace medio siglo y los dos golpes demoledores del 2009: dos huracanes que consumieron miles de millones de euros en pérdidas. El pasado dos de noviembre, durante la inauguración de la feria comercial de La Habana, el ministro de Comercio Exterior, Rodrigo Malmierca, afirmó que en los nueve primeros meses del 2009 al crecer las exportaciones y caer radicalmente las importaciones, el déficit fiscal se redujo en 2.949 millones de euros.

Las tendencias financieras, contribuyeron al aumento de los ingresos nacionales, según el ministro, "y nos han permitido a enfrentar gradualmente los problemas de liquidez en las finanzas externas". La deuda exterior de Cuba alcanzó los 17.800 millones de dólares en el año 2007, con tendencia alcista, según las cifras disponibles.

Las reformas previstas por el gobierno permitán la actividad privada en 178 actividades y descentralizarán, en alguna medioda, la gestión. El Estado controla hasta ahora el 90% de la economía nacional.

Las valoraciones recogidas por el anfitrión estadounidense son pesimistas, discurren en la dirección contraria a la comentada por el ministro, y coinciden en mencionar el creciente protagonismo de las Fuerzas Armadas al frente de las empresas estatales. "La economía cubana está progresivamente manejada por ingenieros militares que son capaces de llevar el día a día de los negocios, pero no tienen la visión de promover reformas que saquen al país del desorden económico y la economía centralizada". Los consejeros comerciales dicen que la dirección económica ha sido más centralizada aun y los ministerios económicos restringen las consultas. "El francés se quejó de que las finanzas del gobierno cambiaron del Banco Central al ministerio de Economía y Planificación, y que con ese cambio ya no tiene acceso ni a la información, ni a los funcionarios".

Créditos, de uno a cuatro años

Cuba redujo drásticamente las importaciones, con la consiguiente pérdida de mercancías y artículos antes a disposición de la sociedad, e instó a la mayor productividad local, a todas luces insuficientes para cubrir las apatencias y necesidades de una población de 11 millones de personas. El consejero comercial español argumentó en el almuerzo que apenas hay espacio en Cuba para reducir sus importaciones después de un recorte del 37% en el 2009. Sólo selvan las compras básicas. "Los problemas de cobro afectan a todos los países. A pesar de haber reestructurado toda su deuda oficial en 2009, Japón no ha recibido ningún pago. Incluso China admitió tener problemas para cobrar a tiempo y se quejó de las peticiones cubanas de extender las condiciones de los créditos de uno a cuatro años", continúa el informe a Washington.

Los chinos desaprueban la rigidez cubana en la constitución de empresas mixtas. "No importa si la inversión extranjera en un negocio es de diez o cien millones de dólares, la inversión del gobierno de Cuba siempre se subirá hasta el 51% (para ejercer el control de la sociedad)", dijo el consejero comercial chino con visible exasperación", según reproduce Farrar. "Cualquier discusión acerca de reformas tipo chino, fundamentalmente las referidas a la inversión extranjera, son difíciles, "un dolor de cabeza", dice el chino". El almuerzo prosigue con adivinanzas sobre la orientación de la política cubana. El consejero canadiense aventura que, contrariamente a Fidel Castro, Raúl necesita de "la maquinaria" del Partido Comunista Cubano (PCC) para implementar los cambios, se abunda sobre "la variable venezolana" , mientras al encargado de redactar el informe sobre Cuba para el Departamento de Estado, Jonathan D. Farrar, lo concluye así: "El gobierno cubano continúa confuso, en gran medida porque sus líderes están paralizados por miedo a que con las reformas perderán el poder al que se han aferrado durante más de 50 años".

[B]Castro misreads WikiLeaks, Washington misreads Castro[/B]

[IMG]http://foreignpolicy.com/files/fp_uploaded_images/101213_granma.jpg[/IMG]

Posted By Charles Homans Monday, December 13, 2010 - 12:38 AM Share

WikiLeaks poses an interesting dilemma for governments that share Julian Assange's hostility to Washington, but not his enthusiasm for information. Case in point: Havana. Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sánchez offers a glimpse:

I remember the first mention of Julian Assange's site in our official media was accompanied by a certain complicity on the part of the article writers, a hint of laughter anticipating the damage that the publication of these classified documents could cause the U.S. Government. But when the name of Cuba began to appear along with reports about the interference of Venezuela and the testimonies of coercion against their own medical personnel, the enthusiasm of the newspaper Granma turned to annoyance and the initial applause gave way to silence. Not even the Maximum Leader referred to Wikileaks again.

She's presumably referring to this cable from the Caracas embassy, which alleged that Cuban medical personnel were being forced against their will to work in Venezuela. Aside from old-school communist credibility, medical expertise is the main export Cuba has to offer Venezuela, which under Hugo Chávez has become an essential trading partner and oil supplier for Fidel and now Raúl Castro's government.

Speaking of which, a February cable published Friday -- one of only a couple to emerge from the U.S. interests section in Havana, signed by Jonathan Farrar, the top official there -- offers a sweeping view of the crumbling Cuban economy: Chávez's support is the only thing keeping Cuba from falling back into the deprivations of the Special Period, Farrar reports, and the country is defaulting right and left on its trading partners. But the cable also suggests that American diplomats badly misread the seriousness of Raúl Castro's economic reform agenda:

Despite how badly Cuba needs them, significant economic reforms are unlikely in 2010, especially with the continued delay of a policy-revising Communist Party Congress... . The [government of Cuba]'s direction and leadership remains muddled and unclear, in great measure because its leaders are paralyzed by fear that reforms will loosen the tight grip on power that they have held for over 50 years. Faced with political uncertainty regarding future Cuban leadership and relations with the United States, the Cuban people are more likely to endure a slow erosion of state-subsidies than a much-needed radical restructuring.

Less than a year later, a radical restructuring may in fact be on the way.

* ELPAIS.com >
* Internacional


Raúl Castro: "Rectificamos pronto al borde del precipicio o nos hundimos"
El presidente admite ante los diputados "errores" en medio siglo de socialismo

MAURICIO VICENT 19/12/2010



O Cuba cambia o se hunde la revolución. Así de sencillo. Más alto no lo pudo decir Raúl Castro en su última intervención ante el Parlamento, en un discurso clave, muy crítico con los "errores" cometidos durante medio siglo de socialismo. El presidente cubano dijo que ahora no es tiempo de mirar atrás y que no se puede esperar para actuar. "O rectificamos o ya se acaba el tiempo de seguir bordeando el precipicio, nos hundimos, y hundiremos (...) el esfuerzo de generaciones enteras", dijo, en momentos en que en la isla se prepara el VI Congreso del Partido Comunista de Cuba, que debe abrir el país a un modelo de economía mixta, con cada vez más espacio para la iniciativa privada y menos papel del Estado.

Raúl Castro Ruz


Nacimiento:
03-06-1931

Lugar:
Birán

Cuba
Cuba
A FONDO

Capital:
La Habana.

Gobierno:
República comunista.

Población:
11,423,952 (est. 2008)


Castro expuso con crudeza la situación crítica que atraviesa la isla y reconoció que los dirigentes cubanos deben desterrar viejos métodos y poner en marcha los cambios o se hipotecará el futuro. "Se trata sencillamente de transformar conceptos erróneos e insostenibles acerca del socialismo, muy enraizados en amplios sectores de la población durante años, como consecuencia del excesivo enfoque paternalista, idealista e igualitarista que instituyó la revolución en aras de la justicia social".

El mandatario cubano tampoco fue complaciente con la labor del Partido Comunista y los cuadros políticos, reconociendo que por el mal hacer de algunos se habían frenado iniciativas de cambio. "Es necesario cambiar la mentalidad de los cuadros y de todos los compatriotas al encarar el nuevo escenario que comienza a delinearse", afirmó, tras destacar que "el Partido debe dirigir y controlar y no interferir en las actividades del Gobierno, a ningún nivel". Castro dijo que los acuerdos del Gobierno deben cumplirse y no convertirse en letra muerta como ha sido habitual e insistió en que repetir errores pone en juego "la vida de la revolución".

Castro también rechazó la política de secretismo empleada en el pasado por la revolución, y abogó por "poner sobre la mesa toda la información y los argumentos que fundamentan cada decisión".

Ahora, añadió Raúl Castro, es "vital explicar, fundamentar" los cambios que se van a introducir. El presidente cubano, eso sí, aclaró que los cambios son para hacer sostenible el socialismo, no para regresar al capitalismo. La apertura e impulso de la iniciativa privada y el trabajo por cuenta es "irreversible", pero no se permitirá la acumulación de capital de los nuevos dueños. Primará la planificación, no el mercado, pero se abrirá el dique de los cambios.

[B] Cuba ask other countries to retire their debt. Basically, Cuba is insolvant and can not meet its obligations. Now Cuba wants other countries to remove the debts off the books!! But who will pay for this? The poor and middle classes in these nations via higher taxes and foregone social spending/investments. 2011 is going to see many interesting developments in Cuba. The jury is still out that they will be able to handle the enormous challenges in moving from a Stalinist system into a modern market driven system where private initaitives will determine "winners" and "losers" in the society. [/B]
Atilio A. Boron

Rebelión




En estos días Cuba se enfrenta a un dilema de hierro: o actualiza, revisa y reconstruye su modelo económico o la revolución corre el serio riesgo de sucumbir ante la presión combinada de sus propios errores y las agresiones del bloqueo estadounidense. Los países de América Latina y el Caribe, así como la casi totalidad de los de África y Asia, no pueden permanecer indiferentes ante esta situación, o limitarse a contemplar como la revolución libra, sin otra ayuda que sus propias fuerzas, esta decisiva batalla.

Pero el apoyo no puede ser meramente declarativo. Eso está bien, pero es insuficiente. Cuba necesita algo más: concretamente, que sus acreedores, especialmente cuando ellos son países de América Latina y el Caribe,[B] anulen la deuda externa cubana[/B].

Argentina es el mayor de esos acreedores -por un préstamo otorgado por el gobierno de Héctor Cámpora y su Ministro de Economía José B. Gelbard en 1973- y que el ex Canciller del Presidente Néstor Kirchner, Rafael Bielsa, renegociara proponiendo una quita del 50% de su monto, que si se suman el capital y los intereses acumulados en la actualidad ascendería aproximadamente a unos 1.800 millones de dólares. Para esa misma época su colega de gabinete, el ministro de Economía Roberto Lavagna, proponía a los acreedores de la Argentina una quita del 75% sobre el valor nominal de la deuda defolteada con el derrumbe de la convertibilidad en diciembre del 2001. Como es bien sabido, este país finalmente logró una quita que, según los cálculos, fluctúa en torno al 70% del valor nominal de los bonos de su deuda. Lo menos que debería hacer la Casa Rosada sería garantizar para Cuba el mismo trato que obtuvo de sus propios acreedores. Aunque eso sería lo mínimo. Lo correcto, lo que sería éticamente impecable, sería dar por cancelada esa deuda y de ese modo aliviar la carga que pesa sobre la hermana república de Cuba.

Los 1.147 habitantes de la Argentina que, gracias a la “Operación Milagro”, en el último año recuperaron gratuitamente su vista en el Centro Oftalmológico Dr. Ernesto Guevara, de Córdoba, y los más de 20.000 alfabetizados que aprendieron a leer y escribir con el programa cubano “Yo Sí Puedo” son otras tantas razones para dar por cancelada esa deuda. Tal cosa sería un acto de estricta justicia. Y lo mismo deberían hacer los gobiernos de México, que mantiene acreencias del orden de los 500 millones de dólares; Panamá, 200 millones; Brasil, 40 millones; Trinidad-Tobago, 30 millones y Uruguay, también con 30 millones.

¿Por qué de estricta justicia? Por varias razones. Expondremos simplemente dos. En primer término, como equitativa retribución por el generoso e inigualado internacionalismo cubano que llevó a esa revolución a trascender sus fronteras sembrando de médicos, enfermeras, dentistas, educadores e instructores deportivos por todo el mundo, mientras el imperio y sus aliados lo saturaba con militares, “comandos especiales”, espías, agentes de inteligencia, policías y terroristas. A lo largo de las últimas décadas Cuba envió al exterior unos 135.000 profesionales de la salud a más de 100 países de todo el mundo, especialmente Latinoamérica y el Caribe y África, pero también los hay en Asia. Los médicos cubanos estaban en Haití desde mucho antes de su fatídico terremoto, y luego de él aumentaron su presencia mientras que Estados Unidos enviaba … marines. La ayuda cubana para combatir la enfermedad y prevenir las muertes en tantos países fue, y es, concreta y efectiva. Ahora los pueblos y naciones del Tercer Mundo deben correr a asistir a ese faro de la liberación nacional y social que desde hace más de medio siglo inspira e ilumina las más nobles luchas de nuestros pueblos. Y deben hacerlo con una solidaridad militante, traducible en ayuda económica efectiva. Las declaraciones serán bienvenidas, pero insuficientes.

En segundo lugar, hay una obligación moral de ayudar a Cuba porque, pensemos: ¿qué hubiera sido de nuestros países si su revolución no hubiese resistido a pie firme,[hubiera EEUU invadido a Santo Domingo sin haber visto una Revolucion Socialista Cubana?] sin arriar sus banderas, a las presiones del imperialismo y la derecha mundial una vez producida la implosión de la Unión Soviética? Con una Cuba de rodillas, vencida e inerme ante la restauración del saqueo neocolonial al que había sido sometida desde 1898; con sus sueños y utopías humanistas vapuleados por el retorno triunfal de las mafias capitalistas como las que, por ese entonces, estaban asolando a la difunta Unión Soviética; con la revolución y la creación de una sociedad solidaria anatemizadas como irresponsables ensoñaciones de falsos mesías que inexorablemente culminan en una infernal pesadilla, ¿habría sido posible el trascendental cambio ideológico-político materializado en el ascenso y consolidación en el poder de Hugo Chávez, Evo Morales y Rafael Correa, para no mencionar sino los casos más significativos? Más aún, sin el estímulo emanado de la heroica resistencia de Cuba, de su “mal ejemplo” evidenciado en tasas de mortalidad infantil menores que las de Estados Unidos a pesar del bloqueo y las agresiones, ¿habría sido posible el auge de la muy moderada centroizquierda en países como Argentina, Brasil y Uruguay a comienzos del nuevo siglo? ¡De ninguna manera! Si estos avances fueron posibles fue, amén de las causales propias de cada caso, porque Cuba resistió. Si hubiese capitulado y sido convertida en un protectorado estadounidense el tsunami derechista hubiera arrasado esta parte del mundo. Gracias a Cuba nuestros pueblos evitaron tamaña catástrofe. [Que pretenciones! ]

Por eso, aparte de anular las deudas existentes con los países de la región, los acreedores tanto como quienes no lo son deberían crear sin dilación un fondo especial de solidaridad con la revolución cubana. Estados Unidos lo hizo para salvar a los europeos de la debacle después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y su éxito fue extraordinario. El Plan Marshall satisfizo plenamente las expectativas que había despertado y las economías europeas se recuperaron rápidamente. Cuba, castigada con dos planes Marshall en contra –tal es, hasta ahora, el costo del bloqueo estadounidense sobre la frágil economía cubana- merece con creces un gesto similar de sus hermanos latinoamericanos. Estos cuentan con enormes reservas en sus bancos centrales.

En 2007 el presidente ecuatoriano Rafael Correa calculó las reservas existentes en la región rondarían en torno a unos 200.000 millones de dólares, y esa cifra no ha dejado de crecer en los años posteriores. Una estadística suministrada por el FMI indica que a finales del 2009 las reservas internacionales de la Argentina ascendían a 49.599 millones de dólares, 238.520 millones en Brasil, 90.837 en México, 26.115 en Chile, 24.991 en Colombia, 32.803 en Perú y 35.830 en Venezuela. Sin duda alguna, con los aumentos registrados en 2010, las reservas combinadas de estos países -más otros, como Bolivia, Ecuador y Uruguay no contemplados en la estadística- superarían holgadamente los 500.000 millones de dólares. De ahí la enorme importancia de poner en marcha cuanto antes el Banco del Sur, todavía trabado por pretextos burocráticos y por la miopía política de que hacen gala algunos gobiernos. Afectando apenas el 2 por ciento de tan fabulosas reservas se podría crear, sin mayor esfuerzo, un fondo especial de [B]10.000 millones [/B]de dólares destinado a financiar el complejo proceso de reformas económicas socialistas que Cuba debe llevar a cabo impostergablemente en los próximos meses.

Sería un gesto de merecida reciprocidad ante la probada solidaridad cubana con nuestros países a lo largo de cinco décadas; y también un acto de calculado altruismo para lo cual sólo hace falta voluntad política, porque el dinero ya está. ¿O es que algún gobernante de la región puede ser tan ingenuo como para no darse cuenta que, si la Revolución Cubana fuese derrotada, el imperio se abalanzaría con todas sus fuerzas sobre nuestros países, sin distinción de pelajes ideológicos, para recolonizar a sangre y fuego al continente y restaurar el orden que Fidel y el Movimiento 26 de Julio vinieron a impugnar el 1 de enero de 1959?

[B]Cuba is against the wall and now wants a mini Marshall Plan to rescue her from the abyss of financial insolvency. With so many nations hurting right now, it does not look very promising for Cuba. And the USA will await the terms of negotiation under far better conditions than the Cuban leadership ever hoped to bring to the reprochmount with the Giant of the North. [/B]

The financial crisis has brought down the price of nickel - a main Cuba export.
Stocks are high.
http://www.kitcometals.com/charts/nickel_historical_large.html
Also new production is coming on stream with new technology and possibly subsidised electrictity.
http://thecubaneconomy.com/articles/2010/06/bad-news-for-cuba%e2%80%99s-nickel-industry-and-sherritt/
Cuba's economy is small compared with Argentina's when it defaulted.
I'm sure Cuba's loans will just get extended till the global economy is better managed.
S.

A bit dated.

The Cuban economy in the next five years Economic slowdown or take-off? Feb 2008
by: Emily Morris



With the fortunes of the global economy now looking more uncertain than before, and the outcome of Cuba´s broad internal debate on economic policy still unknown, it is not easy to forecast the Cuban economy in the next five years. In this context, the Economist Intelligence Unit´s annual publication, Country Forecast: Cuba, is hedged with more provisos than usual. However, the exercise provides a basis for assessing the likelihood of a set of different scenarios, and their impact on the forecast. This article sets out and explains the central scenario, then considers some alternatives.

First, the headline figures: the Economist Intelligence Unit predicts that Cuba´s GDP will grow by an average of 5.3% a year in 2008–09, and slip back to 4.7% in 2010–12. Not bad, but a slowdown compared with the five year period from 2002–07 when average growth (according to our estimates) reached nearly 7%. The forecast is above the Latin American regional and global averages for the period of 3.9% and 4.5% respectively, but lags Chinese growth of 8.5%.

Cuban growth, according to this forecast, will be driven by domestic demand–that is, investment and, to a lesser extent, household consumption. The past three years have seen exceptional externally–driven growth, which is not likely to be repeated. Unlike the 2004–06 period, the external balance will not make a net positive contribution to GDP growth, as import demand will outpace export expansion. In terms of output, the pattern will also alter: where services have been leading in the past five years, lagged by relatively subdued growth of industry and a contraction in the agricultural sector, we expect the next five years to see more balanced growth. However, given the low levels of production compared with potential, and chronic productivity problems, the upturn in industry and agriculture will be relatively modest.

The assumptions upon which the forecast rest are, first, the fundamental political one: that there is no change of government. This is based on an assessment of the current balance of political and social forces within Cuba, and on the assumption that there will be no intervention from outside. We consider that a response by the existing government to pressures for “adjustment” of the existing system is more likely than a change of government. This view seems to be borne out by the process of broad discussion launched by Raúl Castro, which will lead to new steps to reform the system in the coming year.

The second assumption concerns the overall orientation of economic management. At present it is unclear how far–reaching any measures in response to the debate will be, but our central scenario envisages significant but not radical change. Initiatives might include measures such as wage and price adjustments that improve incentives, some changes in the way that agriculture and food distribution are organised, and an increase in the accountability of enterprise managers. Efficiency gains arising from these adjustments are included in our forecast, and are tied to the acceleration in real wage growth.

Our third assumption is about macro–economic stability. We consider that the Central Bank, which has been keeping a close eye on financial regulation and monetary management, will continue its cautious approach. We assume only a slight revaluation of the Cuban peso, given the risks to price stability and sharp impact on relative incomes of any radical adjustment. This will help to avoid price instability and keep real household spending from rising by more than around 6% a year.

The forecast also rests on assumptions about external conditions. The Economist Intelligence Unit´s global forecast envisages a slight slowdown in global economic growth, which implies that commodity prices will fall from current high levels. The impact of lower nickel prices on export revenue will be offset by a similar moderation in oil import prices. (Fluctuations in the sugar price will have relatively little effect on Cuban performance.)

We assume that economic ties with Venezuela will continue to flourish, and that the supply of capital goods and new credits from China will not wane.

The most dramatic risks are obvious: political collapse, a US invasion or a political upset in Venezuela would all cause severe economic upheaval. But the risk of any of these occurring is low. A radical reduction of US economic sanctions is also relatively distant, although it may be more likely. But the assumptions that need most careful consideration, because alternatives are much more probable, concern economic policy. What would be the impact if the government were to introduce more far–reaching reforms following the debates? And how might sudden changes in prices or the exchange rate affect economic performance?

Cuban growth is currently being held back by relatively limited inflows of foreign capital (despite the recent increase in credits from China and Venezuela) and lack of dynamism of the domestic economy. In recent months there have been indications that the opening to foreign investment may be widened. The overall framework, in which each potential investor has to gain explicit government approval, does not seem to be under review, but the range of types of partnership may be about to grow. This could bring a new wave of investment in tourism and infrastructure. More importantly, it has the potential to lead to a broader insertion of the Cuban economy into the global market. It suggests that whereas current links are restricted to a few sectors, a much broader range of goods and services might become more internationally integrated. The impact of such a reorientation of foreign investment policy might be felt first in export growth, past experience has shown that the secondary effects, in terms of technology transfer and diversification from the initial activity, could be greater.

Within the domestic economy, the debates have clearly revealed an appetite for experimentation with new forms of business activity, with greater autonomy and more use of market signals to provide incentives. While privatisation is not on the agenda, price adjustments could be used to encourage more efficient use of resources and to improve the link between wages and productivity.
A change in the way the food chain is organised could transform the agricultural and food retail sectors. Other sectors, including services, might also be reanimated by broad price and enterprise reforms.



An important barrier to the using prices, wages and profit as drivers to improve productivity has been the dual currency system. Our forecast assumes that it will remain in place for the next five years, but this scenario is looking increasingly unlikely. The distortions created by the use of two currencies not only hamper economic efficiency but also account for much of the income inequality and contribute to corruption. It seems that the balance in the calculation of risk and benefit is shifting, making it possible that the monetary authorities might take a radical step. The economic consequences would depend on the manner of the reform. At best, unification could provide a strong boost to economic dynamism. If coupled with realignment (and possibly some liberalisation) of prices, it would lift the real incomes of peso earners and stimulate a strong supply response with little impact on inflation or the external balance.

The Economist Intelligence Unit´s forecast is constantly under review. It aims to present the most likely scenario, and at the moment it envisages a slowdown in growth over the next five years. But conditions and prospects will change even in the absence of radical political upheaval. In the coming months, economic policy debates will need to be watched carefully for signs of new initiatives. With its highly educated workforce and improving infrastructure, Cuban growth potential is strong. It is possible that, with bold policy measures to remove some of the obstacles, a new economic take–off could be approaching.

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