May Day, observed by many countries on May 1, is a holiday celebrating the achievements of the labor movement and especially commemorating the successful fight for the eight-hour work day. It is a day for celebration, but also for political protest, like the pro-immigrant and pro-worker immigration reform rally in Los Angeles I had the […]
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a collection of nations whose mission is to protect members’ sovereignty “against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.” Associated countries account for 2/3 of the members of the United Nations and around […]
A local Cuban newspaper in Ciego de Ávila reported this week that Cuba’s population has been declining for several years: between the end of 2005 and the end of 2008 the population shrank by about 7,100. The article ascribes the change to declining fertility coupled with the natural aging of the Cuban people. Indeed, average […]
Even without a particularly welcoming response from the highest Cuban authorities (and without any reciprocal policy moves), the State Department is quietly moving forward with the administration’s plans to gradually change policy toward Cuba, by opening channels of dialogue with Cuban diplomats in the United States and testing the waters to see what other steps […]
The recent outbreak of swine flu—so far most serious in Mexico but also in the United States and several other countries—is causing global concern, and Cuba is taking its own precautions to try to make sure the illness does not reach the island. The state is limiting flights to Mexico (there are usually 4 flights […]
The Houston Chronicle highlighted some striking figures this week that are worth repeating: Cuba has a population of 11.4 million and an average monthly income of $17; the island lost 10% of its GDP last year in the damage caused by Hurricane Ike; but there were only 7 fatalities on the island caused by the disaster. This […]
Foreign investors and businesses in Cuba are getting worried as the state-run banks on the island explain that they have little foreign currency for withdrawals and international transfers. Could the country be near insolvency? On top of low nickel prices, the hurricanes at the end of 2008, and the current global economic downturn, declaring insolvency […]
In a Wall Street Journal piece this week, Jorge Castañeda suggested an intriguing solution to the U.S.-Cuban relationship problems. The obstacle halting further progress in changes to current policy, as many see it, is one of principles: if Obama were to lift the embargo unilaterally, he would be sending a message about democracy and human […]
I attended a highly informative talk last week given by Lou Pérez, a University of North Carolina Professor of History and specialist on 20th century Cuba. In a week with so much activity revolving around Cuba, the United States and the hemisphere, he managed to skirt current events and instead delve into the historic relationship […]
One of the perceived obstacles in the way of changing current U.S. policy toward Cuba is the Cuban-American community in the United States, largely localized (and certainly most vocal) in Miami-Dade County in Florida. It was only two years ago that the Miami-Dade County school board voted to ban the book Vamos a Cuba, a […]
This weekend leaders from across the Americas have made their way to Trinidad and Tobago for the fifth meeting of the Summit of the Americas to discuss the future relations between nations in North and South America, the Caribbean and between others interest groups in the region. The Summit is often the centerpiece for inter-governmental […]
At the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad today, President Obama dealt with the issue of Cuba tactfully and, I think, in a way that will please leaders of many Latin American countries. He said that the United States is on a path toward changing the nature of its relationship with Cuba. The implication was […]
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