Meaningful and Combative May Day March in Cuba http://www.cubanews.ain.cu/2008/0501marchacombativa.htm,
Más de medio millón de capitalinos desfiló por la Plaza Presidió Raúl la celebración
Susana Lee - Granma
La Plaza de la Revolución vibró este jueves al paso firme del más de medio millón de capitalinos, con un combativo desfile por el Día Internacional de los Trabajadores.El General de Ejército Raúl Castro Ruz, Segundo Secretario del Partido y Presidente de los Consejos de Estado y de Ministros, presidió la masiva y organizada demostración que comenzó a las 8 de la mañana y concluyó una hora y cuarenta minutos después.Salvador Valdés Mesa, miembro del Buró Político y secretario general de la CTC, tuvo a su cargo la alocución.El acto estuvo presidido, además, por miembros del Buró Político, el Secretariado y otros dirigentes; participantes en el Moncada y el Granma; familiares de los 5 y Juan Miguel González y su familia; Héroes y Heroínas del Trabajo, fundadores y veteranos de la CTC.Aleka Pagariga, secretaria general del Partido Comunista de Grecia, y más de 1 300 dirigentes sindicales y sociales de 173 organizaciones de 61 países estuvieron entre los invitados.
Solo el esfuerzo creador de nuestros trabajadores puede asegurar el bienestar material y espiritual a que legítimamente aspiramos
Afirmó el Miembro del Buró Político y Secretario General de la Central de Trabajadores de Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa
http://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/2008/05/01/nacional/artic20.html,
MOTHER'S DAY FOR THE CUBAN 5 !!
Join The Popular Education Project to Free the Cuban 5's Mother's Dayfor the Cuban 5 Initiative. Starting from Thursday May 1st-Sunday May11th (Mother's Day) we are calling on people to fax or mail out thisletter to Louise Arbour The High Commissioner of Human Rights of theOffice for Human Rights-United Nations Office at Geneva. We areasking her to intercede on behalf of the Cuban 5's mothers/wives topressure the U.S. government to grant them VISAs to visit theirhusbands/sons! !Due to the U.S. government's denial to approve visas, GerardoHernandez Nordelo and Rene Gonzalez Sehwerert have not seen theirwives since their incarceration! ! Others in the Cuban 5 have not seentheir parents, wives and children with regularity, because the U.S.government has taken prolonged periods of time to issue them visas.The U.S. government?s denial of visitation rights is a cruel andhorrible form of psychological torture. Their rationale for denial isridiculous and baseless; none of these family members are a threat tonational security.Download the pdf format of this letter at the Project website andsend it out: http://www.freethecuban5.com/id12.html,
Give the Cuban 5's mothers and wives the great Mother?s Day gift ofACTION AND SOLIDARITY!!
Grave prison disturbances at Florence and Beaumont...
The following is a letter from Maruchi Guerrero, Antonio Guerrero's sister. We urge you to read it in its entirety. Let us commit ourselves ever more to fight for the Five's immediate freedom.
A letter from Antonio Guerrero's sister Maruchi
http://www.freethefive.org,
Reflexiones del compañero Fidel para CubaDebate:
Una prueba de fuego
Mientras nuestro pueblo el 1ro de Mayo, Día de los Trabajadores, disfruta con júbilo el año en que se cumplirá medio siglo del triunfo de la Revolución y el setenta aniversario de la creación de la CTC, a la hermana República de Bolivia, consagrada a preservar la salud, educar y garantizar la seguridad de su pueblo, le faltan días, o tal vez horas, para sufrir acontecimientos dramáticos.Cuando de todas partes del mundo llegan noticias escalofriantes sobre la escasez y costo de los alimentos, precio de la energía, cambios climáticos e inflación, problemas que por primera vez se presentan al unísono como cuestiones vitales, el imperialismo se empeña en desintegrar a Bolivia y someterla a trabajo enajenante y hambre.En ese país, con los oligarcas de Santa Cruz a la vanguardia, cuatro de sus departamentos de los más fuertes económicamente, aspiran a declarase independientes y han proyectado, con el apoyo del imperio, su programa de consultas populares, en las que los medios masivos han preparado el terreno y la opinión de los votantes con todo tipo de ilusiones y engaños.Las Fuerzas Armadas, en virtud de sus funciones históricas en un país agredido y despojado del mar y otros recursos vitales, no desean la desintegración de Bolivia; pero el plan yanqui, pérfidamente concebido, es utilizar algunos sectores militares antipatriotas para librarse de Evo en aras de la unidad, algo que al apropiarse las transnacionales de las ramas productivas básicas, sería meramente formal. La consigna del imperialismo es castigar y deshacerse de Evo.Es el momento de la denuncia y la verdad.Por no prever y meditar sobre los factores que conducían a una profunda crisis internacional, ¡sálvese quien pueda! parece ser el grito que se escucha en muchas partes del mundo.Para los pueblos y gobiernos de América Latina será una prueba de fuego. Para nuestros médicos y educadores, cualquier cosa que ocurra en el país donde desempeñan su noble y pacífico trabajo, también lo será. Ellos, ante situaciones de peligro, no abandonarán a sus pacientes y alumnos.
- Fidel Castro Ruz , Abril 30 de 2008
AN ACID TEST
While our people on May Day, the workers’ day, joyfully celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution, and the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the CTC, the sister nation of Bolivia, fully dedicated to the preservation of health, education, and ensuring the safety of all its citizens, is only a few days, perhaps hours, ahead of going through tragic events.When we listen to the hair-raising news coming from all over the world about the shortage and prices of foodstuffs, the prices of energy, the climate change and inflation, these being problems which for the first time have emerged all at once as crucial issues, imperialism is bent on disintegrating Bolivia and submitting it to alienating work and hunger.Four of the wealthiest departments of that country, headed by the oligarchs of Santa Cruz, hope to declare independence and, with the support of the empire, have arranged their own referendum. Meanwhile, the media have paved the way and shaped up voters’ opinion by creating all sorts of illusions and deceptions.The Armed Forces, faithful to its historic mission, in a country harassed and deprived from an access to the sea and other vital resources, do not favor Bolivia’s disintegration. But the perfidiously conceived Yankee plan is to recruit some anti-patriotic sectors within the military to get rid of Evo in the interest of unity. If transnationals manage to take hold of the basic branches of production, this would be a mere formality. The imperialist motto is to punish Evo and get rid of him.This is the time for denunciation, for speaking the truth.“Everyone for himself!” seems to be the cry resounding all over the world, out of lack of foresight and proper meditation about the events leading to a profound international crisis.This will be an acid test for all Latin American governments and peoples. So it will for all of our doctors and educators who carry out their lofty and peaceful work in that country, no matter what may happen there. Should they face any risky situation, they will not abandon their patients or students. Fidel Castro Ruz - April 30, 2008
Positiva para Cuba Asamblea de Eurolat
LIMA, 1 de mayo.— La Asamblea Parlamentaria Eurolatinoamericana culminada hoy aquí fue muy positiva, afirmó la representante de Cuba en la reunión, Yenielys Regueiferos, quien destacó los temas tratados.La parlamentaria cubana, en diálogo con Prensa Latina, consideró también valioso para su país, un pronunciamiento de solidaridad con la isla, firmado por legisladores progresistas de Europa y América Latina, participantes en la cita iniciada el pasado martes.Regueiferos señaló que el encuentro abordó temas esenciales como las políticas energéticas, acápite en el que los delegados latinoamericanos, con el apoyo de amigos europeos, defendieron los intereses regionales.Esa defensa reivindicó lo mejor para los pueblos latinoamericanos, en función del bienestar social y el mejoramiento de la calidad de vida de los pueblos.En el tema de la pobreza y la exclusión social, destacó el tratamiento de las causas de la pobreza y el llamado a la Unión Europea a que ayuda a erradicar la pobreza.Manifestó igualmente el reconocimiento a una declaración de parlamentarios progresistas participantes que demandó la libertad de cinco luchadores antiterroristas cubanos encarcelados desde hace casi una década en Estados Unidos.El pronunciamiento condenó además el bloqueo económico de Estados Unidos contra Cuba. (PL)
Cartas a la dirección
La correspondencia continúa: llamadas telefónicas, cartas y mensajes electrónicos de muchos lectores en torno a cómo continuar mejorando nuestra sociedad. A partir de la diversidad de criterios y preocupaciones sobre los temas publicamos hoy cuatro opiniones, con las que se puede estar o no de acuerdohttp://www.granma.cubaweb.cu/secciones/cartas-direccion/cart-008.html,
Entrevistas: Naomi Klein: “Es mi contribución a la memoria”
Naomi Klein habla de su libro La doctrina del shock, donde busca demostrar cómo el capitalismo emplea la violencia y el terror contra el individuo y la sociedad http://laventana.casa.cult.cu/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4195&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0,
Meditations on the twists and turns of a poll
By Manuel Alberto Ramy
Every day, I read different Cuban and foreign newspapers on the Internet. The Spanish daily El País is one paper I read, not only because of its coverage of soccer, which I love, but also because it reflects diverse opinions that interest me.On Friday the 25th, at 9:33 a.m., as I looked at its Page One, I saw one of those polls that, although they lack scientific value, are conducted by almost all the media. It's a way to take the pulse of interesting subjects. This one dealt with today's Cuba and asked: "Do you think that Cuba is going through some liberalization under Raúl Castro?"At that hour of the morning, 66 percent of the 8,515 respondents had voted YES; 34 percent had voted NO.The people who participate in that type of survey in any part of the world are people with motivation and some degree of information (or disinformation), depending on their sources of news, which generally match the medium that poses the questions.As it happens, El País is not complacent with the government in Havana. In essence, it links changes in Cuba to a political aperture and raises the bar as it does so. However, it works with greater intelligence than that shown by other media, many of them in the United States. Its economic and political militancy is clear, but it does not prevent it from practicing a calculated and technical balance. And it is precisely the "balance," I repeat, calculated and technical, that El Nuevo Herald of Miami cannot replicate.El Nuevo is as definitely militant as Granma, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba, with the difference that the latter says clearly what it is. In other words, Granma does not deceive the reader. El Nuevo does so in practice through the uniformity of its content, except for the content of some of its blogs. Those blogs could become editorial policy in years to come.Secondly, if El Nuevo opened itself to a balanced presentation, the results would send it in a direction unpalatable to the interests it currently represents. It would fail to achieve its objective of homogenizing thoughts and attitudes "for the liberation of the island," and would lose its material support, which is not the same as the first objective but comes out the same.In Miami, the consumers of information and opinion have changed significantly, so much so that they have some of the federal Congresspeople on the brink of the abyss. Why do you think that today, a few months from the Congressional elections, House Bill 671 is about to pass the Florida Legislature?In connection with this Florida bill, explained last week by Francisco Aruca in an interview with Álvaro Fernández, editor of Progreso Weekly/Semanal, I went to Terminal 2 of the Havana airport to poll travelers arriving from the United States.My initial question was, "Do you know what HB-671 is?" The general response was NO. I insisted, with additional prompting: "Could it be a new product to save fuel consumption in your car?" "Is it a rejuvenating pharmaceutical product?" Nobody knew.I was tempted to explain that it is a bill introduced by state representative David Rivera, whose objective is political, looking toward the November election, and whose consequences would be paid by Cuban families in Florida and here. I could have said that it is a formal instrument to gradually eliminate the travel agencies that facilitate contact with the island. But I abstained, because it was not the right time to say it -- and it was not consistent with my role as interviewer.I wonder: if the public were clearly told about the content of that bill and its consequences, what would happen? The basic problem is not the agencies, because they are already under federal supervision from the U.S. Treasury Department, the entity in charge of such affairs.Why isn't a serious analysis made about the subject? The simple answer is that when you pull the thread you untangle the skein, the real motives, the twists and turns, and by doing so you would reveal the fact that the agencies and airlines -- which act legally and can be, and are, investigated by the Treasury Department -- are just a decoy. The actual targets are you, the traveler, and the family reunions. If this were explained calmly and objectively, with pros and cons, then it would be worthwhile to imitate El País by conducting a poll with that question.To a degree, the instrument is aimed at the Congressional elections next November. The forecast is not good for the trio composed of the Díaz-Balart brothers and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Their opponents in the Democratic Party, who support a lifting of the restrictions on family travel and cash remittances, could unseat at least one of them, maybe all three.If we take into account the changes that have happened in the current composition of Cuban emigration, where contact with the family and support for it are the top priority, we can understand why people wrap themselves in the flag of the alleged "liberation of Cuba" as an argument of social compulsion.Finally, some questions for the reader to ponder. Why, if the Treasury Department has already inspected, monitored and controlled travel agencies and airlines, does someone introduce HB-671 in the Florida legislature? Did people in the highest circles of government give the dirty work to "those little Cubans" to deflect the blame for the barbarity they wanted to commit?The situation reminds me of Pontius Pilate: those people wash their hands by handing over the decision to others who are willing to crucify human beings and our most precious possessions: our families, friends and the nation we carry in our hearts.
Manuel Alberto Ramy is Havana bureau chief of Radio Progreso Alternativa and editor of Progreso Semanal, the Spanish-language version of Progreso Weekly.
Cuba announces shift of farm management to local level
In an effort to boost its troubled agricultural sector, Cuba announced a major shift in the management of the country’s farms, which are to be placed under the control of over 150 local delegations rather than the national government. The move was announced in Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party.On Thursday, Granma reported that the management of the farms has moved from the national government’s Agriculture Ministry to the municipal level. The decision-making will now be handled by 169 new local delegations. The reform also involves the elimination of 104 departments which have been deemed unnecessary."The municipal agriculture delegations — an organizational process that has just concluded — will assume the responsibility for the functioning, development and control ... of agricultural production," Granma said. The move is intended to "stimulate agricultural production, perfect its sale and increase the availability of food and, in this way, substitute imports."President Raúl Castro, who succeeded his brother Fidel in February, has made agriculture one of the top priorities for Cuba. At a meeting with Communist Party leaders earlier this week, Raúl called food production "a matter of maximum national security". In past weeks, Raúl has said he wants to promote the decentralizing of food production, which he believes will decrease the country’s dependency on foreign imports.Officials estimate that government mismanagement has resulted in 51 percent of Cuba’s arable land becoming underused or uncultivated. Also, Cuba imported $1.7 billion worth of food in 2007, a number that is expected to reach over $2 billion this year.The announcement came as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in Havana for the annual May Day parade. Raúl Castro attended the parade, but did not speak, instead choosing to smile and wave from a podium as marchers streamed past. The event lasted only 2 hours, a large departure from previous years. Before Raúl’s presidency, Fidel Castro’s speeches themselves sometimes lasted close to 2 hours, and the parades often featured singing or skits.Although Raúl did not speak at the parade, Salvador Valdés Mesa, head of the Cuban Workers Confederation, used his speech as an opportunity to promote economic efficiency and productivity. "It is fundamental to concentrate efforts on increasing production and productivity, above all of food," he said.http://studentpa.info/spip.php?page=sommaire,
Socialist Cuba: Slander and reality
http://www.workers.org/2008/editorials/cuba_0508/,
Stores Hint at Change Under New Castro http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/02/world/americas/02cuba.html?_r=1&ref=americas&oref=slogin,
Don't Lecture Cuba ( washingtonpost.com > Opinions )
I strongly take exception to the harsh and aggressive tone of the April 28 editorial bashing Cuba and elevating Colombia as "democratic." I visited Colombia in December, going to Barranquilla, Cartagena and Santa Marta. I saw many poor areas on these cities' outskirts. Millions of Colombians live in shacks because of the government's undemocratic practice of removing poor and powerless people from land they occupy and leaving them to fend for themselves. Cuba is managing its economy and is making incremental changes and reforms within its socialist and human-needs-oriented system. The U.S. government and The Post shouldn't lecture Cuba when we have our own problems with the economy, the budget, health care, infrastructure and our moral standing in the world. BOB SNYDER
Committee of elders
From The Economist print edition
Raúl institutionalises a gerontocracyNo political relaxation from Raúl WHEN Fidel Castro had an important announcement to make, it would typically come during an hours-long speech to a government-organised rally of hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Cubans. Raúl Castro, his younger brother and successor, prefers the neat and tidy habits of a bureaucrat. This week, three days before the traditional May Day demonstration that is one of the set pieces of the Cuban revolutionary calendar, Raúl quietly took several bureaucratic steps to institutionalise his rule. At a meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Communist Party he announced that a long-overdue party congress will take place at the end of next year. This will presumably see Raúl replace the ailing Fidel as first secretary of the party, just as he succeeded his brother as president of the Council of State in February. Until then, at least, Raúl seems to want to underline that he heads a collective leadership. He unveiled a new executive committee of the Politburo. These decisions, he said, mark the end of a period of “provisional” leadership which began when Fidel Castro turned over his powers and underwent abdominal surgery in July 2006.Party congresses have normally been held every five years or so, and have often been used to signal important decisions. At the last one, held in 1997, Raúl was proclaimed as Fidel's successor. The next one, Raúl suggested, would be dedicated to ensuring that Cuban communism outlives its “historic leaders”.But for now he is relying on them. The new seven-man executive committee has an average age of 70. It duplicates the senior leadership of the Council of State. The only younger member is Carlos Lage, who is in charge of the economy and who is aged 56. Raúl also recalled José Ramón Fernández, an 84-year-old, as a super-minister for the troubled education system. Since becoming president, Raúl has taken cautious steps to allow more private farming and eased a few petty restrictions that burden Cubans' everyday life. These have included lifting the bans on ownership of some consumer purchases, such as mobile-phone connections. There has been no relaxation of political control. The message from the party would seem to be that there is not likely to be any—at least before the congress. Raúl has avoided building up a younger leadership. Yet oddly, by freezing the gerontocracy in place, he has made his new regime look impermanent.
Un estilo firmado por las convicciones
Por: Luis Sexto
http://www.juventudrebelde.cu/opinion/2008-05-02/un-estilo-firmado-por-las-convicciones/,
Y también a Fidel
La humanidad necesita la cartilla de racionamiento
Celia Hart
http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66837,
Posada Carriles: Terrorismo Made in USA
videos http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66688,
Govt waives dues on Cuba
New Delhi (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- -- Government today approved waiving of Rs 347 crore payable by Cuban companies to firms in India for imported goods. "The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave its approval for waiver of dues of Indian companies on Cuba amounting to Rs 347 crore," Finance Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here. The move will facilitate resumption of credit facilities, insurance cover by EXIM Bank and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India to Cuba and enhance bilateral trade and investment, he said. Indian companies CIMMCO Birla Ltd, PEC and Hiralal Printing Works had exported goods to Cuban companies. EXIM bank had extended credit facilities to Cuban buyers and CIMMCO Birla Ltd. While the exporters had received some amount, most of the dues remained unpaid by Cuban companies.
Changes in Cuba? By Salim Lamrani
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/17483,
The New Cuba
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/05/01/couricandco/entry4063342.shtml,
CBS Calls Fidel Castro 'Revolutionary Hero,' Touts Brother's Reforms as 'New Era' http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080501153402.aspx,
Cuba announces farm overhaul on May Day
The Associated Press - HAVANA (AP) — Cuba announced a major shake-up of its troubled farm sector on May Day, shifting control of the island's farms from officials at the ...Social Reforms In Cuba Only Extend So Far CBS NewsCuba urges economic gain, work at May Day rally ReutersRaul Castro overhauls Cuba's farm bureaucracy guardian.co.ukCBS News - The Associated Pressand 309 news articles
Gutiérrez critica a Cuba por falta de gremios independientes
Univisión - WASHINGTON (AP) - En el Día Internacional de Trabajo, el secretario de Comercio Carlos Gutiérrez criticó a Cuba por la falta de sindicatos independientes. ...Raúl Castro, en el centro de las marchas en Cuba por el 1º de Mayo InfoBAE.comExtranjeros desfilan en Cuba atraídos por mística revolucionaria Reuters América LatinaCuba se acostumbra a los primeros de mayo sin discursos largos y ... Unión RadioPrensa Latina - La Voz del Interiory 314 artículos relacionados Fidel Castro sigue en el poder de Cubaelcentinelacatolico.org - Sin embargo, y es oportuno decirlo, en la Cuba de Fidel, el régimen se sostiene bajo la plataforma de un Partido Comunista que no da muestras de una ...Nos envían desde la Isla boletín oficialista Por Cuba Cuba NuestraCuba convoca a desfile de 1 de Mayo "unidos" a Raúl y al Partido ... UnivisiónPrimero de Mayo: Cuba es una gigantesca lectura para el mundo Ahora CubaBohemia - Juventud Rebeldey 490 artículos relacionados
Bolivia on the brink of civil war
The oligarchy rejects any type of negotiation
http://progreso-weekly.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=448&Itemid=1,
Entrevista con Fernando Lugo, presidente de Paraguay
"La prioridad es que los indígenas no sigan muriendo de hambre" http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=66838,
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