New entrepreneurs on the rise in socialist Cuba
Tue, May 24 2011
By Jeff Franks
HAVANA (Reuters) - The salvation of socialism in Cuba is taking some odd turns, with words like "competition," "marketing" and "opportunity" being heard for the first time in decades on the communist-led island.
Under reforms by President Raul Castro, a new entrepreneurial class is developing and with it some new ways of thinking in a country that has long resisted economic change.
The government reported recently that 310,000 Cubans are working legally for themselves, of whom 221,000 have received their licenses for self-employment since last fall, when Castro announced an expansion of the private sector.
The move was part of a broad package of reforms to modernize Cuba's sluggish Soviet-style economy with the goal of saving socialism, installed after the country's 1959 revolution, for future generations.
U.S. President Barack Obama recently dismissed the changes as too small, but on the island 90 miles from the United States many Cubans welcome them and believe they are just the first of many to come.
The reforms are "an opportunity for Cubans, they are a start," said Giselle Nicolas at her new paladar, or private restaurant, La Galeria in Havana's Vedado district.
"I think Cuba is already changing for the better," she said.
In Havana and elsewhere, there is no question the economic landscape is changing.
People are setting up shop in doorways and on sidewalks, selling a variety of items ranging from food to household goods and offering repairs on shoes, cell phones and watches.
They are giving haircuts on their front porches and walking through neighborhoods hawking flowers, pastries and farm products. State-run press reported this week there are now 1,000 independent retailers of construction materials.
The Council of Ministers recently expressed concern about the number of vendors clogging sidewalks and taking away from the beauty of Cuba's historic architecture. They may have to move off main streets and into rented spaces now occupied by moribund state-run businesses, it said.
PALADAR BOOM
The government said 49,000, or 22 percent, of the new self-employment licenses have gone to food vendors, which has touched off a boom in the number of paladares and growing competition among them.
Alejandro Robaina, owner of La Casa, one of Havana's oldest paladares, said the newly crowded market makes it necessary to offer new services and do as much marketing as possible in a country where traditional advertising is almost non-existent.
Since January, he has opened a website for his restaurant (restaurantelacasacuba.com), a blog and a Facebook account to reach out to the privileged few in Cuba with Internet access and to international visitors.
He gives regular customers a discount on their meals and is offering Cuban cooking classes to foreign tourists.
On the blog, he has a photo at La Casa of him, his mother, Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and British actor Clive Owen.
Other paladares are offering 24-hour service, home delivery and frequent-diner plans -- once you've had $1,000 worth of meals, you get a free one worth $100.
"You always have to be one step ahead so the competition doesn't catch up to you," Robaina said. "Let the competition come."
Castro's reforms also aim to infuse new thinking in state-run enterprises.
The government recently took foreign journalists to state-owned plants and agricultural operations in central Ciego de Avila province where workers were paid based on production, not the usual state-set salary given to all whether they worked or not.
Most said they earned double or triple the country's average monthly salary equivalent to $20 and were pleased about it.
"I'm working six days a week, but I am very happy," said one female worker as she cleaned a recently harvested red cabbage.
"The key thing is that the one who works hard gets the benefits," said Jorge Felix Martin Iglesias, overseer of agricultural production for the provincial Communist Party.
STILL COMMUNIST
If all this smacks vaguely of capitalism, there are reminders that Cuba is still communist.
Nelson Blanco, chief executive of a large state-run farming and food processing operation, said his monthly pay was equivalent to about $40, which was less than most of his workers. It was only fair, he explained.
"The worker that does the most physical labor, the most work, is the one that earns most ... the one that's on the land under the sun with his hoe," Blanco said. "I am very much in agreement."
Cuba's malaise is tied in part to state domination of all aspects of the economy, so Castro hopes greater emphasis on private initiative will increase productivity and prosperity.
Castro has said it planned to hand out 250,000 self-employment licenses, but as that number quickly approaches it looks likely to go beyond it. Castro wants to cut 1 million workers, or 20 percent of the workforce, from government payrolls and needs something for them to do.
Whether his reforms will be sufficient to keep socialism afloat is unknown but a Cuban psychologist who asked not to be identified said they had had a positive effect on the population.
"People were dead before," he said. "Now at least they are thinking, trying to come up with ideas for businesses, even if they are small ones."
Government opponents complain that bigger economic changes are needed, along with political reform away from the one-party state now in place.
But there has been little talk of the latter by Cuban leaders and, according to Richard, a newly licensed shoe repairman, no need for it.
"The Cuban cares about partying, dressing well and enjoying life," he said as he worked on a pair of women's shoes. "The Cuban doesn't care about politics or things like freedom of the press."
(Editing by Jane Sutton and Cynthia Osterman)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/24/us-cuba-reform-entrepreneurs-idUSTRE74N6NL20110524
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Bishops see democratic evolution in Cuba
Emilio Aranguren y Juan de Dios Hernández, que se mencionan como posibles sucesores del cardenal Ortega, elogiaron en Uruguay los 'cambios' de Raúl Castro.
****************
El obispo de Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, afirmó en Montevideo que percibe determinados cambios y situaciones en el Gobierno de Raúl Castro, que tiende a una progresiva evolución hacia un Estado más democrático, informó el diario uruguayo La República.
"El país va dando pasos que no son exactamente iguales a los de antes. Esto es un indicador de que es posible que lleguemos hasta una democracia con nuestras características, con un modo de gobernar...", señaló Aranguren al término de la 33ª Asamblea Ordinaria del Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (Celam), donde se renovaron las autoridades del organismo.
A la reunión también asistió Juan de Dios Hernández, obispo auxiliar de La Habana, delegado de la Iglesia cubana ante el Celam.
Aranguren y Hernández se mencionan como posibles sucesores del cardenal Jaime Ortega al frente del Arzobispado de La Habana. Ortega debe renunciar en octubre por límite de edad, aunque se desconoce si el Papa le mantendrá más tiempo en el cargo.
Según el diario uruguayo, Hernández habló con periodistas sobre la celebración del VI Congreso del Partido Comunista.
"Hay un sólo Partido y permanece un solo Partido. Cuando se habla de que en esta democracia tiene que haber diferentes partidos. Entonces, ¿cómo se va caminando hacia allá? Hace cinco años no se escuchaba mucho a quienes opinaban de manera diferente, y hoy se escucha, y se tiene en cuenta, en lo que opina una persona o algún grupo de personas", dijo el obispo auxiliar de La Habana.
'Cambios lentos'
Según los prelados, en la Isla "se vienen implementando cambios, lentos, pero cambios al fin".
Aranguren aclaró que la relación de la Iglesia con el gobierno de los hermanos Castro no comenzó hace un año, sino que en los últimos tiempos se ha dado de diferente manera.
"Esto fue caminando y fueron diferentes encuentros paulatinos. Fue caminando la situación de los presos, siempre con algunos puntos a superar, y a la misma vez se fueron conversando otros temas desde la visión de la Iglesia a través de la doctrina social, y de nuestra permanencia en Cuba en los últimos 500 años", afirmó el obispo de Holguín.
El religioso sostuvo que todavía quedan algunos presos, los que están sujetos al tratamiento del Estado y de la propia Iglesia.
Los dos obispos explicaron que la participación de la Iglesia en el intercambio con el Estado "es algo novedoso, en cuanto a que no se realizó antes de una manera, sobre todo con las máximas autoridades".
Hernández aclaró que la Iglesia viene desarrollando la función de "siempre tirar puentes, procurando para que la diversidad llegue también a los niveles de base. Esto es fruto de la postura que ha tomado la Iglesia en los últimos 50 años".
Uno de los obispos, que no fue identificado por La República, dijo que la población tomó el relevo de Fidel Castro "como algo normal, sin ningún tipo de estridencias", pues "no extraña esa manera de entregar el poder a su hermano Raúl, amén de que está avalado por el Parlamento".
También catalogaron de "inmoral y éticamente inaceptable" el embargo económico de Estados Unidos y señalaron que durante años la Iglesia hizo sentir su voz ante las autoridades norteamericanas para que levantaran la medida, pero sin una respuesta afirmativa del otro lado.
En la Asamblea Ordinaria del Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (Celam) participaron 5 cardenales y 50 obispos de todo el continente.
'Cuando la fe es cultura no se puede aniquilar tan fácilmente'
En una entrevista con el diaro local El País, Juan de Dios Hernández señaló que "el sistema marxista cubano trató de buscar un modelo estalinista que está muy lejos de nuestra cultura, evidentemente".
"Durante décadas ese modelo se impuso a la población y con ello el ateísmo teórico y práctico. Ahí se observa que cuando la fe es cultura no se puede aniquilar tan fácilmente. Al darse una coyuntura favorable todo eso emerge, como está sucediendo en este momento", apuntó el obispo auxilar de La Habana.
Dijo que cada vez la Iglesia tiene "más libertad" en su acción pastoral.
"Ciertamente no es la que quisiéramos, aspiramos a más, ellos lo saben. Pero apostamos por la gradualidad, pienso que en el futuro habrá más posibilidades de que la Iglesia pueda estar en espacios", añadió.
Reiteró lo dicho por el cardenal Ortega en ocasiones anteriores: "La Iglesia no es un partido político, es una servidora del pueblo", y dijo que "ellos (los gobernantes) han captado la importancia del valor espiritual que la Iglesia puede dar en la población"
Hernández negó que actualmente la feligresía sea reprimida por su condición católica. "No, hubo momentos difíciles que en este momento no se producen. No hay represión por la fe. Ellos y el pueblo van dando posibilidades que, según como se expresen las cosas, se van a realizar".
A la pregunta de si los cubanos de a pie están pidiendo más espacios de libertad, contestó que "la gente lo va diciendo de una manera u otra. El mismo presidente ha pedido que la gente se exprese y que lo hará, a veces coincidiendo y otras disintiendo".
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/4873-obispos-creen-que-la-isla-evoluciona-hacia-un-estado-mas-democratico
****************
El obispo de Holguín, Emilio Aranguren, afirmó en Montevideo que percibe determinados cambios y situaciones en el Gobierno de Raúl Castro, que tiende a una progresiva evolución hacia un Estado más democrático, informó el diario uruguayo La República.
"El país va dando pasos que no son exactamente iguales a los de antes. Esto es un indicador de que es posible que lleguemos hasta una democracia con nuestras características, con un modo de gobernar...", señaló Aranguren al término de la 33ª Asamblea Ordinaria del Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (Celam), donde se renovaron las autoridades del organismo.
A la reunión también asistió Juan de Dios Hernández, obispo auxiliar de La Habana, delegado de la Iglesia cubana ante el Celam.
Aranguren y Hernández se mencionan como posibles sucesores del cardenal Jaime Ortega al frente del Arzobispado de La Habana. Ortega debe renunciar en octubre por límite de edad, aunque se desconoce si el Papa le mantendrá más tiempo en el cargo.
Según el diario uruguayo, Hernández habló con periodistas sobre la celebración del VI Congreso del Partido Comunista.
"Hay un sólo Partido y permanece un solo Partido. Cuando se habla de que en esta democracia tiene que haber diferentes partidos. Entonces, ¿cómo se va caminando hacia allá? Hace cinco años no se escuchaba mucho a quienes opinaban de manera diferente, y hoy se escucha, y se tiene en cuenta, en lo que opina una persona o algún grupo de personas", dijo el obispo auxiliar de La Habana.
'Cambios lentos'
Según los prelados, en la Isla "se vienen implementando cambios, lentos, pero cambios al fin".
Aranguren aclaró que la relación de la Iglesia con el gobierno de los hermanos Castro no comenzó hace un año, sino que en los últimos tiempos se ha dado de diferente manera.
"Esto fue caminando y fueron diferentes encuentros paulatinos. Fue caminando la situación de los presos, siempre con algunos puntos a superar, y a la misma vez se fueron conversando otros temas desde la visión de la Iglesia a través de la doctrina social, y de nuestra permanencia en Cuba en los últimos 500 años", afirmó el obispo de Holguín.
El religioso sostuvo que todavía quedan algunos presos, los que están sujetos al tratamiento del Estado y de la propia Iglesia.
Los dos obispos explicaron que la participación de la Iglesia en el intercambio con el Estado "es algo novedoso, en cuanto a que no se realizó antes de una manera, sobre todo con las máximas autoridades".
Hernández aclaró que la Iglesia viene desarrollando la función de "siempre tirar puentes, procurando para que la diversidad llegue también a los niveles de base. Esto es fruto de la postura que ha tomado la Iglesia en los últimos 50 años".
Uno de los obispos, que no fue identificado por La República, dijo que la población tomó el relevo de Fidel Castro "como algo normal, sin ningún tipo de estridencias", pues "no extraña esa manera de entregar el poder a su hermano Raúl, amén de que está avalado por el Parlamento".
También catalogaron de "inmoral y éticamente inaceptable" el embargo económico de Estados Unidos y señalaron que durante años la Iglesia hizo sentir su voz ante las autoridades norteamericanas para que levantaran la medida, pero sin una respuesta afirmativa del otro lado.
En la Asamblea Ordinaria del Consejo Episcopal Latinoamericano (Celam) participaron 5 cardenales y 50 obispos de todo el continente.
'Cuando la fe es cultura no se puede aniquilar tan fácilmente'
En una entrevista con el diaro local El País, Juan de Dios Hernández señaló que "el sistema marxista cubano trató de buscar un modelo estalinista que está muy lejos de nuestra cultura, evidentemente".
"Durante décadas ese modelo se impuso a la población y con ello el ateísmo teórico y práctico. Ahí se observa que cuando la fe es cultura no se puede aniquilar tan fácilmente. Al darse una coyuntura favorable todo eso emerge, como está sucediendo en este momento", apuntó el obispo auxilar de La Habana.
Dijo que cada vez la Iglesia tiene "más libertad" en su acción pastoral.
"Ciertamente no es la que quisiéramos, aspiramos a más, ellos lo saben. Pero apostamos por la gradualidad, pienso que en el futuro habrá más posibilidades de que la Iglesia pueda estar en espacios", añadió.
Reiteró lo dicho por el cardenal Ortega en ocasiones anteriores: "La Iglesia no es un partido político, es una servidora del pueblo", y dijo que "ellos (los gobernantes) han captado la importancia del valor espiritual que la Iglesia puede dar en la población"
Hernández negó que actualmente la feligresía sea reprimida por su condición católica. "No, hubo momentos difíciles que en este momento no se producen. No hay represión por la fe. Ellos y el pueblo van dando posibilidades que, según como se expresen las cosas, se van a realizar".
A la pregunta de si los cubanos de a pie están pidiendo más espacios de libertad, contestó que "la gente lo va diciendo de una manera u otra. El mismo presidente ha pedido que la gente se exprese y que lo hará, a veces coincidiendo y otras disintiendo".
http://www.diariodecuba.com/cuba/4873-obispos-creen-que-la-isla-evoluciona-hacia-un-estado-mas-democratico
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Private farming lifts output in Cuba rice province
02Mar2011
* Rice output increasing in key province: official
* Castro reforms seen spurring rice production
* Private farming now producing most rice in Granma
By Marc Frank
BAYAMO, Cuba, March 2 (Reuters) - Cuba's most important
rice-producing province should more than double output this
year as new private farms and service cooperatives, improved
organization and higher local prices kick in, a senior
provincial official told Reuters on Tuesday.
President Raul Castro's cash-strapped government has
embarked on a program to cut food imports, and rice, which is a
Cuban staple -- and therefore a political matter -- is a top
priority.
The country's 11 million people consume a minimum of
700,000 tonnes of rice a year, one of the highest rates per
capita in the world.
Cuba imported 511,642 tonnes of rice in 2009 at a cost of
$238.5 million, most of it from Vietnam.
"Three years ago Granma produced approximately 17,000
tonnes of consumable rice, in 2010 we reached 27,000 tonnes and
in 2011 we should be at 62,000 tonnes," said Raul Lopez
Rodriguez, the province's vice president for economic affairs.
The eastern province was the site of a huge, state-owned
rice project under former President Fidel Castro, one of nine
in the country, but output rapidly declined with the demise of
the Soviet Union, once Cuba's top benefactor.
Castro's brother is revitalizing the projects, but under
agricultural reforms begun soon after he took over the
presidency in 2008.
The government has leased fallow state lands, raised prices
paid for rice and other produce, and decentralized decision
making, among other measures.
"Rice is now grown mainly by the non-state sector," Lopez
said.
"The state supplies resources, technological packets (seed,
fertilizer, etc.) under contract," he said, then buys 90
percent of what the farmers produce.
Agricultural services, such as mechanical harvesting, which
just a few years ago were monopolized by the state, are
increasingly being carried out by private agriculture service
cooperatives, he said. That is another Castro reform.
Lopez said higher prices paid for the rice allowed the most
efficient farmers to clear between 80,000 pesos and 100,000
pesos per year, the equivalent of up to $4,000, or 15 to 20
times Cubans' average annual income of 5,300 pesos ($238) per
year.
Arnaldo, who leased 33 acres of fallow land three years ago
in Yara, said he made around 40,000 pesos on each of the two
harvests in 2010, and expected similar results this year, using
mainly contracted services and labor.
"I bought the packet from the state and hired some workers
to help plant," he said. "They have offered me another 16 acres
and I think I'll take it."
Cuba's total rice production was 281,800 tonnes in 2009, up
50 percent over 2008.
But efforts to increase Cuba's rice production faltered
last year as output fell 12.2 percent to 247,000 tonnes.
Lopez attributed the decline to the growing pains of
Castro's reforms and a shortage of resources and water.
He said new equipment had arrived and the resources needed
this year were secured, though drying and shelling capacity
remained limited and the province was working on temporary
alternatives.
"We have an advantage over last year. Currently our water
resources are at 82 percent capacity and at this time last year
they were at 45 percent," he said.
(Editing by Jeff Franks and Walter Bagley)
* Rice output increasing in key province: official
* Castro reforms seen spurring rice production
* Private farming now producing most rice in Granma
By Marc Frank
BAYAMO, Cuba, March 2 (Reuters) - Cuba's most important
rice-producing province should more than double output this
year as new private farms and service cooperatives, improved
organization and higher local prices kick in, a senior
provincial official told Reuters on Tuesday.
President Raul Castro's cash-strapped government has
embarked on a program to cut food imports, and rice, which is a
Cuban staple -- and therefore a political matter -- is a top
priority.
The country's 11 million people consume a minimum of
700,000 tonnes of rice a year, one of the highest rates per
capita in the world.
Cuba imported 511,642 tonnes of rice in 2009 at a cost of
$238.5 million, most of it from Vietnam.
"Three years ago Granma produced approximately 17,000
tonnes of consumable rice, in 2010 we reached 27,000 tonnes and
in 2011 we should be at 62,000 tonnes," said Raul Lopez
Rodriguez, the province's vice president for economic affairs.
The eastern province was the site of a huge, state-owned
rice project under former President Fidel Castro, one of nine
in the country, but output rapidly declined with the demise of
the Soviet Union, once Cuba's top benefactor.
Castro's brother is revitalizing the projects, but under
agricultural reforms begun soon after he took over the
presidency in 2008.
The government has leased fallow state lands, raised prices
paid for rice and other produce, and decentralized decision
making, among other measures.
"Rice is now grown mainly by the non-state sector," Lopez
said.
"The state supplies resources, technological packets (seed,
fertilizer, etc.) under contract," he said, then buys 90
percent of what the farmers produce.
Agricultural services, such as mechanical harvesting, which
just a few years ago were monopolized by the state, are
increasingly being carried out by private agriculture service
cooperatives, he said. That is another Castro reform.
Lopez said higher prices paid for the rice allowed the most
efficient farmers to clear between 80,000 pesos and 100,000
pesos per year, the equivalent of up to $4,000, or 15 to 20
times Cubans' average annual income of 5,300 pesos ($238) per
year.
Arnaldo, who leased 33 acres of fallow land three years ago
in Yara, said he made around 40,000 pesos on each of the two
harvests in 2010, and expected similar results this year, using
mainly contracted services and labor.
"I bought the packet from the state and hired some workers
to help plant," he said. "They have offered me another 16 acres
and I think I'll take it."
Cuba's total rice production was 281,800 tonnes in 2009, up
50 percent over 2008.
But efforts to increase Cuba's rice production faltered
last year as output fell 12.2 percent to 247,000 tonnes.
Lopez attributed the decline to the growing pains of
Castro's reforms and a shortage of resources and water.
He said new equipment had arrived and the resources needed
this year were secured, though drying and shelling capacity
remained limited and the province was working on temporary
alternatives.
"We have an advantage over last year. Currently our water
resources are at 82 percent capacity and at this time last year
they were at 45 percent," he said.
(Editing by Jeff Franks and Walter Bagley)
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Cuba Notes Practical Steps Not Taken by the Obama Administration
Following is the introductory section of Cuba's annual documentation of the impact of the unilateral US embargo in preparation for the scheduled UN debate. It cites numerous reforms that lie within the exclusive authority of the Executive which the Obama Administration has declined to initiate, in effect Cuba's commonsense road map for the US if it wishes to achieve a more normal relationship.
CHAPTER I. THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: CONTINUED POLICY OF THE ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA
On March 28, 2009, US Vice President Joseph Biden, in the framework of the Summit of Progressive Leaders in Chile, made a press statement that the government of that country would not lift the embargo on Cuba. On April 7th of the same year, Robert Wood, the State Department spokesperson declared at a press conference: “I think that we have been very clear that we do not consider this is the right time to lift the embargo”.
On April 19, 2009, David Axelrod, Obama’s advisor, replied in an interview on CBS-TV when asked if the White House had any thoughts about lifting the “embargo”: “...we are far from that”.
That same day, President Obama’s economic advisor Lawrence Summers declared on an NBC-TV interview when referring to the lifting of the embargo: “That is not something for tomorrow and it will depend on what Cuba is going to do, Cuba knows what it should be doing for some time now, and it depends on them in terms of their policies, their democratization and all the steps they might take (...) it is a topic that will be decided on the basis of Cuba’s conduct”.
It is evident then that the US government does not harbour any intention of producing a change in its policy towards Cuba, or of complying with the reiterated resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly that ask the government of that country to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. On the contrary, the US government continues holding on to inacceptable interfering conditions and demands as a condition for a change of policy towards Cuba.
Despite having considerable support in Congress, the press, public opinion and the business sector, that transcended any preceding consensus in American society regarding policy towards Cuba, something that would have allowed him to act with a high level of autonomy, President Obama has stayed well below the expectations created by his speech about the claims from different sectors in American society and the international community, as well as his prerogatives to change significant policy aspects, even without intervention from Congress.
By virtue of those prerogatives and if such political will for that were to exist, President Obama would have had sufficient authority to significantly make the embargo against Cuba more flexible. In that sense, and without the need for mediating congressional approval, the President would have been able to issue a broad range of permits to authorize the following measures:
* Substantially expand travel by Americans and foreigners residing in the US by a broad interpretation of the 12 categories for travel established by law (for example, expansion of educational travel, permits to participate in professional conferences, academic, scientific, student, cultural, sports, religious exchanges and authorization of humanitarian projects, just to name a few).
[These categories are: travel for official government business, foreign governments or international organizations; family travel; educational travel; religious; for public presentations, sports competitions and exhibitions; travel for activities in support of the Cuban people; for humanitarian projects; trips for private foundation, research institute or educational activities; travel for export, import or transmission of information or informative materials activities; and travel for activities relating to the export of agricultural products.]
* Eliminate limits on travel associated expenses such as accomodations, food and local transportation that Americans and Cubans residing in the US can make when they visit Cuba (Americans, including Cuban-Americans, after the amendment to the Budget Act for the 2009 fiscal year, cannot spend more than the limit set for travel expenses abroad for US government officials, today set at 179 USD per day).
* Eliminate the prohibition on use of credit and debit cards, personal cheques, travellers’ cheques, issued by both US and third country banks.
* Broaden the list of US airports authorized to operate charter flights to Cuba (at the present time, there are only three approved: Miami, New York and Los Angeles).
* Permit ferry service between the US and Cuba.
* Authorize all US travel agencies to organize trips to Cuba, or make the requisites and procedures in force more flexible so that travel agencies may obtain the necessary permits for this activity (today there are some 150 agencies authorized to do so, via specific licences).
* Authorize travelers visiting Cuba to buy Cuban products and take them to the US for personal use or as gifts, and eliminate the limit on their value (up to the present time they can only take information materials, including art objects).
* Eliminate the prohibition on Cuban companies to participate in the transportation of US visitors to and from Cuba, or Cuban visitors to and from the US.
* Permit certain bank relations, such as correspondent banks and the opening of accounts by Cuban entities in US banks to facilitate agricultural exports.
* Eliminate the prohibition that prevents vessels transporting agricultural products to Cuba from carrying goods in our country even though their destination may be a third country.
* Expand the list of products that may be exported to Cuba to include, for example, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, agricultural equipment and even wooden furniture and objects manufactured with materials having animal or vegetal origins.
* Permit broader forms of collaboration in the development, marketing and supply of medicines and biomedical products originating in Cuba.
* Authorize the importing of medicines and medical products of Cuban origin and the payments corresponding to the Cuban exporters.
* Authorize the export of medicines and medical equipmentbb that may be used in the manufacture of Cuban biotechnological products.
* Instruct US representatives in international financial institutions not to block the authorization of loans or other financial facilities to Cuba.
* Loosen up or eliminate the prohibition on using the dollar for Cuba’s international transactions.
* Permit foreign subsidiaries of US companies to carry out certain transactions with Cuba, such as financial services, insurance, services and investments (The Torricelli Act prohibits commerce in goods but not the mentioned transactions).
* Lift the two prohibitions established in the Torricelli Act regarding vessels: the one forbidding entry to US ports for 180 days by vessels from third countries that have carried goods to Cuba; and the one making it impossible for vessels carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba to enter US ports (the Torricelli Act and regulations for its implementation authorize the president to issue licenses for that).
*Exclude Cuba from the list of states sponsoring international terrorism. This list was first published in 1982 under the Reagan administration and has remained in effect until today. It involves the application of certain sanctions.
[Among the sanctions being applied to a State sponsoring terrorism, according to the list drawn up by the US, are: the prohibition on financial transactions without a permit, the prohibition on financial and direct technical aid by the US government, the prohibition on exports of certain goods such as heavy industrial products, high tech equipment, and products having dual usage, the prohibition on transfer of munitions, and the prohibition on granting temporary visas to nationals of the country without special decision of the Secretary of State.]
http://www.cubavsbloqueo.cu/Informe2010/InformeIngles/1.html
CHAPTER I. THE ADMINISTRATION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: CONTINUED POLICY OF THE ECONOMIC, COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL EMBARGO AGAINST CUBA
On March 28, 2009, US Vice President Joseph Biden, in the framework of the Summit of Progressive Leaders in Chile, made a press statement that the government of that country would not lift the embargo on Cuba. On April 7th of the same year, Robert Wood, the State Department spokesperson declared at a press conference: “I think that we have been very clear that we do not consider this is the right time to lift the embargo”.
On April 19, 2009, David Axelrod, Obama’s advisor, replied in an interview on CBS-TV when asked if the White House had any thoughts about lifting the “embargo”: “...we are far from that”.
That same day, President Obama’s economic advisor Lawrence Summers declared on an NBC-TV interview when referring to the lifting of the embargo: “That is not something for tomorrow and it will depend on what Cuba is going to do, Cuba knows what it should be doing for some time now, and it depends on them in terms of their policies, their democratization and all the steps they might take (...) it is a topic that will be decided on the basis of Cuba’s conduct”.
It is evident then that the US government does not harbour any intention of producing a change in its policy towards Cuba, or of complying with the reiterated resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly that ask the government of that country to put an end to the economic, commercial and financial embargo against Cuba. On the contrary, the US government continues holding on to inacceptable interfering conditions and demands as a condition for a change of policy towards Cuba.
Despite having considerable support in Congress, the press, public opinion and the business sector, that transcended any preceding consensus in American society regarding policy towards Cuba, something that would have allowed him to act with a high level of autonomy, President Obama has stayed well below the expectations created by his speech about the claims from different sectors in American society and the international community, as well as his prerogatives to change significant policy aspects, even without intervention from Congress.
By virtue of those prerogatives and if such political will for that were to exist, President Obama would have had sufficient authority to significantly make the embargo against Cuba more flexible. In that sense, and without the need for mediating congressional approval, the President would have been able to issue a broad range of permits to authorize the following measures:
* Substantially expand travel by Americans and foreigners residing in the US by a broad interpretation of the 12 categories for travel established by law (for example, expansion of educational travel, permits to participate in professional conferences, academic, scientific, student, cultural, sports, religious exchanges and authorization of humanitarian projects, just to name a few).
[These categories are: travel for official government business, foreign governments or international organizations; family travel; educational travel; religious; for public presentations, sports competitions and exhibitions; travel for activities in support of the Cuban people; for humanitarian projects; trips for private foundation, research institute or educational activities; travel for export, import or transmission of information or informative materials activities; and travel for activities relating to the export of agricultural products.]
* Eliminate limits on travel associated expenses such as accomodations, food and local transportation that Americans and Cubans residing in the US can make when they visit Cuba (Americans, including Cuban-Americans, after the amendment to the Budget Act for the 2009 fiscal year, cannot spend more than the limit set for travel expenses abroad for US government officials, today set at 179 USD per day).
* Eliminate the prohibition on use of credit and debit cards, personal cheques, travellers’ cheques, issued by both US and third country banks.
* Broaden the list of US airports authorized to operate charter flights to Cuba (at the present time, there are only three approved: Miami, New York and Los Angeles).
* Permit ferry service between the US and Cuba.
* Authorize all US travel agencies to organize trips to Cuba, or make the requisites and procedures in force more flexible so that travel agencies may obtain the necessary permits for this activity (today there are some 150 agencies authorized to do so, via specific licences).
* Authorize travelers visiting Cuba to buy Cuban products and take them to the US for personal use or as gifts, and eliminate the limit on their value (up to the present time they can only take information materials, including art objects).
* Eliminate the prohibition on Cuban companies to participate in the transportation of US visitors to and from Cuba, or Cuban visitors to and from the US.
* Permit certain bank relations, such as correspondent banks and the opening of accounts by Cuban entities in US banks to facilitate agricultural exports.
* Eliminate the prohibition that prevents vessels transporting agricultural products to Cuba from carrying goods in our country even though their destination may be a third country.
* Expand the list of products that may be exported to Cuba to include, for example, insecticides, pesticides, herbicides, agricultural equipment and even wooden furniture and objects manufactured with materials having animal or vegetal origins.
* Permit broader forms of collaboration in the development, marketing and supply of medicines and biomedical products originating in Cuba.
* Authorize the importing of medicines and medical products of Cuban origin and the payments corresponding to the Cuban exporters.
* Authorize the export of medicines and medical equipmentbb that may be used in the manufacture of Cuban biotechnological products.
* Instruct US representatives in international financial institutions not to block the authorization of loans or other financial facilities to Cuba.
* Loosen up or eliminate the prohibition on using the dollar for Cuba’s international transactions.
* Permit foreign subsidiaries of US companies to carry out certain transactions with Cuba, such as financial services, insurance, services and investments (The Torricelli Act prohibits commerce in goods but not the mentioned transactions).
* Lift the two prohibitions established in the Torricelli Act regarding vessels: the one forbidding entry to US ports for 180 days by vessels from third countries that have carried goods to Cuba; and the one making it impossible for vessels carrying goods or passengers to or from Cuba to enter US ports (the Torricelli Act and regulations for its implementation authorize the president to issue licenses for that).
*Exclude Cuba from the list of states sponsoring international terrorism. This list was first published in 1982 under the Reagan administration and has remained in effect until today. It involves the application of certain sanctions.
[Among the sanctions being applied to a State sponsoring terrorism, according to the list drawn up by the US, are: the prohibition on financial transactions without a permit, the prohibition on financial and direct technical aid by the US government, the prohibition on exports of certain goods such as heavy industrial products, high tech equipment, and products having dual usage, the prohibition on transfer of munitions, and the prohibition on granting temporary visas to nationals of the country without special decision of the Secretary of State.]
http://www.cubavsbloqueo.cu/Informe2010/InformeIngles/1.html
Friday, September 3, 2010
Interview with Esteban Morales
Interview with Political Scientist and Internationalist Esteban Morales
Red Alert against Corruption
“I am one of those who think that sometimes it is healthier for us to recognize our shortcomings ourselves than for the enemy to throw them back in our face, or save them up against us, which is worse,” asserted Cuban political scientist and academician Esteban Morales during an interview with the International Press Service (IPS), reproduced by Cubanow. http://www.cubanow.cult.cu/pages/articulo.php?sec=40&t=2&item=8662
Patricia Grogg
“I still view corruption as an extraordinary danger to the country, since its “corrosive power” makes it a matter of “national security,” emphasized Esteban Morales, who was expelled from the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) after making his warnings public.
Morales appealed to the PCC, an option he’s entitled to according to the statutes of that Party, which is the only political party recognised in Cuba.
“A commission has to analyse the appeal and make a decision. If I am not satisfied with the answer, I can take the case as far as the Party Congress. I will continue to appeal, because I think I have reasons to do so,” he told the IPS news agency.
Meanwhile, he remains very active as an academic and researcher, although he will retire in September from the teaching staff at the Center for Hemispheric Studies on the United States (CEHSEU) of the University of Havana, which he helped found and to which he has devoted a large part of his professional life.
“I'm retiring at 68. I'll have more time and more freedom for my academic and research works,” added this doctor of Science and Economics and an expert on Cuba-U.S. relations, as well as the author of essays, books and numerous articles on the no less delicate issue of racism in his country.
IPS: After your separation from the PCC was made public, you preferred to avoid contact with the press, especially the accredited foreign press. What made you change your mind and agree to this interview?
EM: I think that clearing up certain points is healthy. Some people have said I was a privileged person, a state security (secret service) agent, and now I want to say these things. They will never find my privileges, because I have none. As for being a security agent, if I were, I would be proud of it, because in Cuba that is an honor.
My curriculum vitae speaks for me. I am a true academic, not an invented one. I have written dozens of works, not always on straightforward subjects, as well as doing a lot of teaching, lecturing at conferences and acting as an academic adviser. If anyone has any doubts, they only need to enter my name into Google.
Others have taken delight in the idea that I might change sides and go over to the 'dissidents.' Perhaps the counter-revolution, lacking as it is in leadership, thought that I would fill that gap for them. People who really know me know that that's impossible, and that I'm a firmly committed revolutionary. Furthermore, I have never had any pretensions to leadership or sought to be center stage.
IPS: Have you never wavered in your political convictions?
EM: No, never. Even the sun has its spots; different appraisals are always possible. I may have given room for wrong interpretations, although the spirit of my texts is clear and anyone can see they were written from a revolutionary stance.
I was a revolutionary before I was a party member, and I will continue to be one. It’s a political affiliation I decided over 50 years ago, my free choice. I have never liked to play the lying game.
I am not paralysed by what has happened. I will simply be much more careful when expressing myself and writing, but I won't stop doing it, as an intellectual who the Revolution has trained to warn with honesty about things that can damage us, and that is what I have always done. These are the risks one has to take.
IPS: Doesn't the fact that you were punished after publicly expressing your views on corruption and the risks it poses for the country's political and social stability contradict President Raúl Castro himself, who on August 1st said that unity 'is nurtured and harvested within the broadest possible socialist democracy and in open discussion of every issue, however sensitive, with the people'?
EM: I believe debate and criticism are encouraged by Raúl and the party leadership. But there may be circumstances in which someone at some level does not quite agree.
I would say that the process of exercising a critical approach is much more complex than the mere decision to do so. It has to do with the structures, with individuals and the different ways in which some people understand things sometimes. Or perhaps part of what I said could have been said in a different way. There's a big gap between intentions and the way they are put into practice.
IPS: What do you think is most worrying about corruption?
EM: Its corrosive effect from the moral point of view. When morality and ethics are affected, the prestige of our political system is undermined and everything goes downhill. That's why I agree with those who say corruption is a national security problem.
However, it won't be solved just through more inspections and paperwork, but by being very much on the alert and continuously creating mechanisms to prevent it, so that people who handle money and resources are constantly brought to book. Our country's assets really do belong to the people, it's not just talk.
IPS: You are very well known for your writings on the United States, its relations with Cuba, and racism. What prompted you to write about corruption, an issue that, according to some government sectors, encourages “campaigns to discredit” the country if ventilated in public?
EM: I wrote those articles because I believe these are the dangers we are facing now. I have a motto: amid the situation we have lived all these years, I think that whoever wants to be a revolutionary has to wage his own war, fight his own battles and run whatever risks there are. Otherwise, he should just stay home, under the bed.
The claim that the enemy will take advantage of things does not immobilize me either, because it isn't the enemy that is going to solve the problem for us, quite the opposite. I am one of those who think that sometimes it is healthier for us to recognize our shortcomings ourselves than for the enemy to throw them back in our face, or save them up against us, which is worse.
IPS: Whom are you referring to when you say 'enemy'?
EM: We cannot close our eyes to the fact that, since the late 1980s, the focus of the U.S. policy towards Cuba has changed. Nowadays, everything that is happening internally on the island is being observed and monitored by US politicians and especially by the US special services.
It is in this context that I view the problem of corruption, which I still see as an extraordinary danger.
Translated by Brenda Sheehan
Red Alert against Corruption
“I am one of those who think that sometimes it is healthier for us to recognize our shortcomings ourselves than for the enemy to throw them back in our face, or save them up against us, which is worse,” asserted Cuban political scientist and academician Esteban Morales during an interview with the International Press Service (IPS), reproduced by Cubanow. http://www.cubanow.cult.cu/pages/articulo.php?sec=40&t=2&item=8662
Patricia Grogg
“I still view corruption as an extraordinary danger to the country, since its “corrosive power” makes it a matter of “national security,” emphasized Esteban Morales, who was expelled from the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) after making his warnings public.
Morales appealed to the PCC, an option he’s entitled to according to the statutes of that Party, which is the only political party recognised in Cuba.
“A commission has to analyse the appeal and make a decision. If I am not satisfied with the answer, I can take the case as far as the Party Congress. I will continue to appeal, because I think I have reasons to do so,” he told the IPS news agency.
Meanwhile, he remains very active as an academic and researcher, although he will retire in September from the teaching staff at the Center for Hemispheric Studies on the United States (CEHSEU) of the University of Havana, which he helped found and to which he has devoted a large part of his professional life.
“I'm retiring at 68. I'll have more time and more freedom for my academic and research works,” added this doctor of Science and Economics and an expert on Cuba-U.S. relations, as well as the author of essays, books and numerous articles on the no less delicate issue of racism in his country.
IPS: After your separation from the PCC was made public, you preferred to avoid contact with the press, especially the accredited foreign press. What made you change your mind and agree to this interview?
EM: I think that clearing up certain points is healthy. Some people have said I was a privileged person, a state security (secret service) agent, and now I want to say these things. They will never find my privileges, because I have none. As for being a security agent, if I were, I would be proud of it, because in Cuba that is an honor.
My curriculum vitae speaks for me. I am a true academic, not an invented one. I have written dozens of works, not always on straightforward subjects, as well as doing a lot of teaching, lecturing at conferences and acting as an academic adviser. If anyone has any doubts, they only need to enter my name into Google.
Others have taken delight in the idea that I might change sides and go over to the 'dissidents.' Perhaps the counter-revolution, lacking as it is in leadership, thought that I would fill that gap for them. People who really know me know that that's impossible, and that I'm a firmly committed revolutionary. Furthermore, I have never had any pretensions to leadership or sought to be center stage.
IPS: Have you never wavered in your political convictions?
EM: No, never. Even the sun has its spots; different appraisals are always possible. I may have given room for wrong interpretations, although the spirit of my texts is clear and anyone can see they were written from a revolutionary stance.
I was a revolutionary before I was a party member, and I will continue to be one. It’s a political affiliation I decided over 50 years ago, my free choice. I have never liked to play the lying game.
I am not paralysed by what has happened. I will simply be much more careful when expressing myself and writing, but I won't stop doing it, as an intellectual who the Revolution has trained to warn with honesty about things that can damage us, and that is what I have always done. These are the risks one has to take.
IPS: Doesn't the fact that you were punished after publicly expressing your views on corruption and the risks it poses for the country's political and social stability contradict President Raúl Castro himself, who on August 1st said that unity 'is nurtured and harvested within the broadest possible socialist democracy and in open discussion of every issue, however sensitive, with the people'?
EM: I believe debate and criticism are encouraged by Raúl and the party leadership. But there may be circumstances in which someone at some level does not quite agree.
I would say that the process of exercising a critical approach is much more complex than the mere decision to do so. It has to do with the structures, with individuals and the different ways in which some people understand things sometimes. Or perhaps part of what I said could have been said in a different way. There's a big gap between intentions and the way they are put into practice.
IPS: What do you think is most worrying about corruption?
EM: Its corrosive effect from the moral point of view. When morality and ethics are affected, the prestige of our political system is undermined and everything goes downhill. That's why I agree with those who say corruption is a national security problem.
However, it won't be solved just through more inspections and paperwork, but by being very much on the alert and continuously creating mechanisms to prevent it, so that people who handle money and resources are constantly brought to book. Our country's assets really do belong to the people, it's not just talk.
IPS: You are very well known for your writings on the United States, its relations with Cuba, and racism. What prompted you to write about corruption, an issue that, according to some government sectors, encourages “campaigns to discredit” the country if ventilated in public?
EM: I wrote those articles because I believe these are the dangers we are facing now. I have a motto: amid the situation we have lived all these years, I think that whoever wants to be a revolutionary has to wage his own war, fight his own battles and run whatever risks there are. Otherwise, he should just stay home, under the bed.
The claim that the enemy will take advantage of things does not immobilize me either, because it isn't the enemy that is going to solve the problem for us, quite the opposite. I am one of those who think that sometimes it is healthier for us to recognize our shortcomings ourselves than for the enemy to throw them back in our face, or save them up against us, which is worse.
IPS: Whom are you referring to when you say 'enemy'?
EM: We cannot close our eyes to the fact that, since the late 1980s, the focus of the U.S. policy towards Cuba has changed. Nowadays, everything that is happening internally on the island is being observed and monitored by US politicians and especially by the US special services.
It is in this context that I view the problem of corruption, which I still see as an extraordinary danger.
Translated by Brenda Sheehan
Monday, August 23, 2010
Catholic Church Addresses Dissident Complaints
Church in Cuba responds to open letter from dissidents
Havana, Cuba, Aug 23, 2010 / 10:11 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Havana issued a press release on August 20 in response to an open letter recently sent to Pope Benedict XVI by a group of Cuban dissidents. The archdiocese said its statement was in response to the uproar among Catholics concerning the letter, “which contains offensive content toward the Church in Cuba.”
The letter
The open letter from the dissidents was signed by 165 people, many of whom are Catholic and have been involved in the Varela Project. Many are also family members of the prisoners who “desperately want” the regime to disappear.
The dissidents stated that they are not in agreement with “the position the Cuban Church hierarchy has taken in its intervention in support of political prisoners,” which they call “unfortunate and embarrassing.” They believe that if the bishops had offered the “right mediation,” they would have listened to “the complaints of both sides” and would have reconciled them.
“However,” they continued, “the solution of exile, accepted by those who have been unjustly imprisoned for seven years only because of their ideas, only benefits the dictatorship,” as this “exodus” prevents them from continuing in their struggle for democracy in Cuba.
The response from the archdiocese
The press release from the Archdiocese of Havana pointed out that when the Church “accepted the mission of mediating between the family members of the prisoners ... and Cuban officials, it knew that this mediation could be interpreted in different ways, provoking various reactions: from insults to defamation, to acceptance and even gratitude. Remaining inactive was not a valid option for the Church because of her pastoral mission,” the statement said.
The archdiocese also noted that “the Church’s actions supporting respect for the dignity of all Cubans and for social harmony in Cuba has been ongoing for 20 years” and “has never and will never be based on political tendencies, whether of the government or of the opposition, but rather on her pastoral mission.”
The statement also indicated that “the Church in Cuba will not divert her attention from that which motivated her to act in this process: the humanitarian complaint from families who have suffered from the incarceration of one or more of their members.”
Demonstrating the Pope's awareness of the situation, the archdiocese quoted Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, who recently remarked that the crucial role assumed in the Cuban dialogue process by Cardinal Jaime Ortega and by Archbishop Dionisio Garcia, the president of the bishops’ conference, was possible because of the evident fact that the Catholic Church is profoundly rooted in the nation's people and is interpreted in the light of their spirit and their expectations.
The statement continued citing Fr. Lombardi, who said that the Church in Cuba “is not a strange reality, she does not escape in difficult times. She bears the sufferings and brings hope, with dignity and patience, ... but without trying to increase tensions or exacerbate feelings.”
She does this, he added, “with the constant commitment to opening paths to understanding and dialogue.”
The archdiocese concluded its statement again quoting Fr. Lombardi, who said the Holy See “supports the local Church with its spiritual solidarity and international authority,” and that “the Holy See has always declared itself against the embargo, and thus is united with the people in their suffering.”
The spokesman then spoke of the Church's willingness “to support any perspective on constructive dialogue ... with patience, important progress has been made in this direction. We all want it to continue.”
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church-in-cuba-responds-to-open-letter-from-dissidents/
Havana, Cuba, Aug 23, 2010 / 10:11 am (CNA).- The Archdiocese of Havana issued a press release on August 20 in response to an open letter recently sent to Pope Benedict XVI by a group of Cuban dissidents. The archdiocese said its statement was in response to the uproar among Catholics concerning the letter, “which contains offensive content toward the Church in Cuba.”
The letter
The open letter from the dissidents was signed by 165 people, many of whom are Catholic and have been involved in the Varela Project. Many are also family members of the prisoners who “desperately want” the regime to disappear.
The dissidents stated that they are not in agreement with “the position the Cuban Church hierarchy has taken in its intervention in support of political prisoners,” which they call “unfortunate and embarrassing.” They believe that if the bishops had offered the “right mediation,” they would have listened to “the complaints of both sides” and would have reconciled them.
“However,” they continued, “the solution of exile, accepted by those who have been unjustly imprisoned for seven years only because of their ideas, only benefits the dictatorship,” as this “exodus” prevents them from continuing in their struggle for democracy in Cuba.
The response from the archdiocese
The press release from the Archdiocese of Havana pointed out that when the Church “accepted the mission of mediating between the family members of the prisoners ... and Cuban officials, it knew that this mediation could be interpreted in different ways, provoking various reactions: from insults to defamation, to acceptance and even gratitude. Remaining inactive was not a valid option for the Church because of her pastoral mission,” the statement said.
The archdiocese also noted that “the Church’s actions supporting respect for the dignity of all Cubans and for social harmony in Cuba has been ongoing for 20 years” and “has never and will never be based on political tendencies, whether of the government or of the opposition, but rather on her pastoral mission.”
The statement also indicated that “the Church in Cuba will not divert her attention from that which motivated her to act in this process: the humanitarian complaint from families who have suffered from the incarceration of one or more of their members.”
Demonstrating the Pope's awareness of the situation, the archdiocese quoted Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, who recently remarked that the crucial role assumed in the Cuban dialogue process by Cardinal Jaime Ortega and by Archbishop Dionisio Garcia, the president of the bishops’ conference, was possible because of the evident fact that the Catholic Church is profoundly rooted in the nation's people and is interpreted in the light of their spirit and their expectations.
The statement continued citing Fr. Lombardi, who said that the Church in Cuba “is not a strange reality, she does not escape in difficult times. She bears the sufferings and brings hope, with dignity and patience, ... but without trying to increase tensions or exacerbate feelings.”
She does this, he added, “with the constant commitment to opening paths to understanding and dialogue.”
The archdiocese concluded its statement again quoting Fr. Lombardi, who said the Holy See “supports the local Church with its spiritual solidarity and international authority,” and that “the Holy See has always declared itself against the embargo, and thus is united with the people in their suffering.”
The spokesman then spoke of the Church's willingness “to support any perspective on constructive dialogue ... with patience, important progress has been made in this direction. We all want it to continue.”
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/church-in-cuba-responds-to-open-letter-from-dissidents/
Monday, August 9, 2010
Cardinal Ortega's Washington Speech and Interview
Cardinal Ortega of Havana, Cuba Receives Knights Highest Award
* By Randy Sly
* 8/6/2010
* Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The Knights of Columbus Presented its Gaudium et Spes Award to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino
During the States Dinner, Tuesday evening, of the Knights 128th Supreme Convention, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presented the order's highest award, the Gaudium et Spes Award, to Cardinal Ortega of Havana for his tireless witness to the Gospel and his persistent defense of religious freedom.
Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori and Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson congratulate Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino of Havana, Cuba, Gaudium et Spes Award honoree.
WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - At the States Dinner, Tuesday evening, for the Knights of Columbus 128th Supreme Convention, the order awarded its eighth Gaudium et Spes Award to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino of Havana, Cuba.
Cardinal Ortega, 74, was born in Jaguey Grande, Matanzas, Cuba. After studying at seminaries both in Cuba and Quebec, Canada, he was ordained a priest in 1964. Like many of his fellow-priests, he was arrested and spent a period of time in prison for his faith.
He was appointed as the Bishop of Pinar del Rio and received episcopal consecration in 1979. Appointed Archbishop of Havana, in 1981, he was named to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1994.
The citation read at the dinner stated, "For nearly 30 years as archbishop, our honoree has guided the Cuban Church through often rough waters. But in January 1998, a new era of hope dawned when he welcomed Pope John Paul II to his country. During that apostolic visit, Pope John Paul II asked for Cuba to open itself to the world and for the world to become more open to Cuba, as he underscored the central place that the Catholic faith has played in the lives of the Cuban people."
In his acceptance speech, Cardinal Ortega said it was "a duty to publicly say special words of gratitude for the services rendered by the Knights of Columbus in favor of our Church in Cuba. You, dear Knights of Columbus, have actualized the motto of this year's convention, I am My Brother's Keeper.
"Regardless of the distance and the differences in our social or political systems, you have been brothers to the Cuban Catholics and have shown us your solidarity."
Reflecting on the fact that the Knights of Columbus founded its first Cuban council in 1909, the Cardinal brought an optimistic report concerning the current work among the laity.
"I must say that the laymen of Havana are already organizing groups of men who wish to join the Knights of Columbus in the various parishes. I now convey to you an entreaty on their behalf and a very especial invitation from the Archbishop.
"I can assure you that nowadays the situation is more favorable for the action of charity services characteristic of the Knights of Columbus in the Cuban Church.
"Plenty of social works for the elderly people, for disabled children, parochial workshops to help those with learning difficulties, for youngsters and adults who wish to learn humanities or the Church Social Doctrine, etc., are some of the possibilities for a social presence of the Church in Cuba, which is exceeded by these efforts also carried out by numerous Mission Houses that gather communities of 60, 70 or even 100 people in family homes.
"Many times, these communities are looked after by catechist laymen who prepare the faithful to evolve from evangelized communities to Eucharistic communities. In my Archdiocese several of these communities have turned into parishes. Now we must build parish churches. We have already achieved some permits to build them, but our Church is poor and needs help."
Cardinal Ortega also indicated a new level of cooperation desired by the Cuban government with the Church.
"Lately, the Cuban government, responding to our request, has asked us to mediate between the political prisoners' relatives and the government authorities in order to know their proposals. In this way a process began, which has led to the recent announcement that fifty-two convicts, considered prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, will be released in a period of three to four months. More than twenty of these prisoners have already traveled to Spain.
"These discussions conducted by the Church have been unprecedented, and they bring about a new situation of social appreciation for our Catholics. We hope that this process of dialogue, in which we are immerged now, ends successfully. We ask you to pray for this cause and for our Church in Cuba."
According to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Headquarters, the Gaudium et Spes ("Joy and Hope") Award was named for the landmark 1965 document that was released as part of Second Vatican Council. It is the highest honor bestowed by order and is awarded only in special circumstances to individuals of exceptional merit. The award recognizes them for exemplary contributions to the realization of the message of faith and service in the spirit of Christ. The Award comes with an honorarium of $100,000.
First given in 1992, when the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta was named as the recipient, the award has only been given eight times. Others who have been honored include Cardinal John O'Connor, former Archbishop of New York; the late Cardinal James Hickey, former Archbishop of Washington DC; Cardinal William Baum, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C. and Major Penitentiary of the Vatican; and Archbishop Michael Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
-----
Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=37720
***************************
Prisoner releases, ongoing talks with Castro give Cuban cardinal hope
Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana speaks in an interview with Catholic News Service. He was in Washington to attend the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention. (
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The release of the first 20 of 52 political prisoners the Cuban government has promised to set free is a hopeful sign for the country, said Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino.
While the government's release of prisoners certainly is popular in Cuba, where dissatisfaction with the economy and other issues has been growing, Cardinal Ortega told Catholic News Service Aug. 2 that the main benefit to the Castro government has been improved foreign relations. Cuba's treatment of political opponents has long been a key element in the nearly 50-year U.S. economic embargo of the nation.
"In the internal life of Cuba, this is not very important," Cardinal Ortega said. "But for foreign relations, it's very important."
Cardinal Ortega was in Washington to accept the "Gaudium et Spes" Award from the Knights of Columbus. It is the fraternal organization's highest honor.
The cardinal said Cubans have been especially grateful to the Catholic Church for its role in the prisoner releases. He said that as he went out to buy something for his trip to the U.S., "many, many people stopped me on the street, saying 'thank you, Cardinal.'"
He said before he and the president of the Cuban bishops; conference, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez of Santiago met with President Raul Castro in May, tensions in Havana were threatening to become as volatile as they were around the 1980 Mariel boatlift. Then, at a time of economic downturn, the government opened the port of Mariel to all who wanted to leave Cuba, and boats from the United States quickly arrived to help them. About 125,000 Cubans ultimately resettled in the United States as a result of the Mariel releases.
Cardinal Ortega explained that he asked to meet with Castro amid a crackdown this spring on weekly silent marches by wives and mothers of political prisoners, known as the Ladies in White, who want freedom for their relatives. The usually quiet marches that begin after Sunday Mass were met by counter-protesters -- allegedly brought in by the government -- who shouted and blocked the women, harassing the group for hours.
"It was beginning to look like the time of Mariel," said Cardinal Ortega. "It was causing instability."
After several weeks of this, Cardinal Ortega said, he wrote to Castro. The letter went out on a Monday and by Thursday, he had been contacted by a government official, seeking to arrange a meeting with the Ladies in White. At that meeting, the women asked for relatives who were imprisoned far from their homes to be moved closer to their families and for the release of those who were in poor health. Those requests soon were being met, and the counter-protesters stopped harassing the women on the weekly marches.
"After that first meeting, we began a conversation (with the government)" said Cardinal Ortega.
After a follow-up meeting with Castro in July, the cardinal announced that Castro had promised to release a group of prisoners who had been held since a 2003 crackdown on political opposition.
Cardinal Ortega said he met with diplomats at the U.S. Interests Section, which serves in place of an embassy for some government functions. He said he was told the prisoners could not come immediately to the United States. The U.S. "wanted to take a low profile," he said, adding that the diplomats told him requests for political asylum would have to be processed individually.
In the meantime, the Spanish government agreed to allow the ex-prisoners to go to Spain, though nearly all would prefer to resettle in the United States, where they have relatives, the cardinal said. Some have said they would refuse to be sent out of the country, and it remained unclear whether that would affect their release. Cardinal Ortega added that he expected the remainder of the 52 to be released in the next couple of months.
He said the Cuban people's biggest current frustration is the weak economy. Castro announced some economic changes in a July 31 speech opening the biannual session of Parliament, including scaling back controls on small businesses, allowing more self-employment and laying off unnecessary government workers.
The cardinal said he had not read Castro's speech yet, but that he found the announcement encouraging.
Beyond their economic struggles, the cardinal said a high priority for most Cubans is that they have better means of communicating within the country and beyond. While people are allowed to use the Internet, for example, it's quite costly and runs poorly because of inadequate infrastructure, he said.
"To communicate easily with their relatives and to be able to go to the U.S. for visits and then return to Cuba," that's what people want, the cardinal said.
* By Randy Sly
* 8/6/2010
* Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The Knights of Columbus Presented its Gaudium et Spes Award to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino
During the States Dinner, Tuesday evening, of the Knights 128th Supreme Convention, Supreme Knight Carl Anderson presented the order's highest award, the Gaudium et Spes Award, to Cardinal Ortega of Havana for his tireless witness to the Gospel and his persistent defense of religious freedom.
Supreme Chaplain Bishop William E. Lori and Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson congratulate Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino of Havana, Cuba, Gaudium et Spes Award honoree.
WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - At the States Dinner, Tuesday evening, for the Knights of Columbus 128th Supreme Convention, the order awarded its eighth Gaudium et Spes Award to Cardinal Jaime Ortega y Alamino of Havana, Cuba.
Cardinal Ortega, 74, was born in Jaguey Grande, Matanzas, Cuba. After studying at seminaries both in Cuba and Quebec, Canada, he was ordained a priest in 1964. Like many of his fellow-priests, he was arrested and spent a period of time in prison for his faith.
He was appointed as the Bishop of Pinar del Rio and received episcopal consecration in 1979. Appointed Archbishop of Havana, in 1981, he was named to the Sacred College of Cardinals in 1994.
The citation read at the dinner stated, "For nearly 30 years as archbishop, our honoree has guided the Cuban Church through often rough waters. But in January 1998, a new era of hope dawned when he welcomed Pope John Paul II to his country. During that apostolic visit, Pope John Paul II asked for Cuba to open itself to the world and for the world to become more open to Cuba, as he underscored the central place that the Catholic faith has played in the lives of the Cuban people."
In his acceptance speech, Cardinal Ortega said it was "a duty to publicly say special words of gratitude for the services rendered by the Knights of Columbus in favor of our Church in Cuba. You, dear Knights of Columbus, have actualized the motto of this year's convention, I am My Brother's Keeper.
"Regardless of the distance and the differences in our social or political systems, you have been brothers to the Cuban Catholics and have shown us your solidarity."
Reflecting on the fact that the Knights of Columbus founded its first Cuban council in 1909, the Cardinal brought an optimistic report concerning the current work among the laity.
"I must say that the laymen of Havana are already organizing groups of men who wish to join the Knights of Columbus in the various parishes. I now convey to you an entreaty on their behalf and a very especial invitation from the Archbishop.
"I can assure you that nowadays the situation is more favorable for the action of charity services characteristic of the Knights of Columbus in the Cuban Church.
"Plenty of social works for the elderly people, for disabled children, parochial workshops to help those with learning difficulties, for youngsters and adults who wish to learn humanities or the Church Social Doctrine, etc., are some of the possibilities for a social presence of the Church in Cuba, which is exceeded by these efforts also carried out by numerous Mission Houses that gather communities of 60, 70 or even 100 people in family homes.
"Many times, these communities are looked after by catechist laymen who prepare the faithful to evolve from evangelized communities to Eucharistic communities. In my Archdiocese several of these communities have turned into parishes. Now we must build parish churches. We have already achieved some permits to build them, but our Church is poor and needs help."
Cardinal Ortega also indicated a new level of cooperation desired by the Cuban government with the Church.
"Lately, the Cuban government, responding to our request, has asked us to mediate between the political prisoners' relatives and the government authorities in order to know their proposals. In this way a process began, which has led to the recent announcement that fifty-two convicts, considered prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, will be released in a period of three to four months. More than twenty of these prisoners have already traveled to Spain.
"These discussions conducted by the Church have been unprecedented, and they bring about a new situation of social appreciation for our Catholics. We hope that this process of dialogue, in which we are immerged now, ends successfully. We ask you to pray for this cause and for our Church in Cuba."
According to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Headquarters, the Gaudium et Spes ("Joy and Hope") Award was named for the landmark 1965 document that was released as part of Second Vatican Council. It is the highest honor bestowed by order and is awarded only in special circumstances to individuals of exceptional merit. The award recognizes them for exemplary contributions to the realization of the message of faith and service in the spirit of Christ. The Award comes with an honorarium of $100,000.
First given in 1992, when the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta was named as the recipient, the award has only been given eight times. Others who have been honored include Cardinal John O'Connor, former Archbishop of New York; the late Cardinal James Hickey, former Archbishop of Washington DC; Cardinal William Baum, former Archbishop of Washington, D.C. and Major Penitentiary of the Vatican; and Archbishop Michael Sabbah, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem.
-----
Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=37720
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Prisoner releases, ongoing talks with Castro give Cuban cardinal hope
Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino of Havana speaks in an interview with Catholic News Service. He was in Washington to attend the Knights of Columbus Supreme Convention. (
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The release of the first 20 of 52 political prisoners the Cuban government has promised to set free is a hopeful sign for the country, said Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino.
While the government's release of prisoners certainly is popular in Cuba, where dissatisfaction with the economy and other issues has been growing, Cardinal Ortega told Catholic News Service Aug. 2 that the main benefit to the Castro government has been improved foreign relations. Cuba's treatment of political opponents has long been a key element in the nearly 50-year U.S. economic embargo of the nation.
"In the internal life of Cuba, this is not very important," Cardinal Ortega said. "But for foreign relations, it's very important."
Cardinal Ortega was in Washington to accept the "Gaudium et Spes" Award from the Knights of Columbus. It is the fraternal organization's highest honor.
The cardinal said Cubans have been especially grateful to the Catholic Church for its role in the prisoner releases. He said that as he went out to buy something for his trip to the U.S., "many, many people stopped me on the street, saying 'thank you, Cardinal.'"
He said before he and the president of the Cuban bishops; conference, Archbishop Dionisio Garcia Ibanez of Santiago met with President Raul Castro in May, tensions in Havana were threatening to become as volatile as they were around the 1980 Mariel boatlift. Then, at a time of economic downturn, the government opened the port of Mariel to all who wanted to leave Cuba, and boats from the United States quickly arrived to help them. About 125,000 Cubans ultimately resettled in the United States as a result of the Mariel releases.
Cardinal Ortega explained that he asked to meet with Castro amid a crackdown this spring on weekly silent marches by wives and mothers of political prisoners, known as the Ladies in White, who want freedom for their relatives. The usually quiet marches that begin after Sunday Mass were met by counter-protesters -- allegedly brought in by the government -- who shouted and blocked the women, harassing the group for hours.
"It was beginning to look like the time of Mariel," said Cardinal Ortega. "It was causing instability."
After several weeks of this, Cardinal Ortega said, he wrote to Castro. The letter went out on a Monday and by Thursday, he had been contacted by a government official, seeking to arrange a meeting with the Ladies in White. At that meeting, the women asked for relatives who were imprisoned far from their homes to be moved closer to their families and for the release of those who were in poor health. Those requests soon were being met, and the counter-protesters stopped harassing the women on the weekly marches.
"After that first meeting, we began a conversation (with the government)" said Cardinal Ortega.
After a follow-up meeting with Castro in July, the cardinal announced that Castro had promised to release a group of prisoners who had been held since a 2003 crackdown on political opposition.
Cardinal Ortega said he met with diplomats at the U.S. Interests Section, which serves in place of an embassy for some government functions. He said he was told the prisoners could not come immediately to the United States. The U.S. "wanted to take a low profile," he said, adding that the diplomats told him requests for political asylum would have to be processed individually.
In the meantime, the Spanish government agreed to allow the ex-prisoners to go to Spain, though nearly all would prefer to resettle in the United States, where they have relatives, the cardinal said. Some have said they would refuse to be sent out of the country, and it remained unclear whether that would affect their release. Cardinal Ortega added that he expected the remainder of the 52 to be released in the next couple of months.
He said the Cuban people's biggest current frustration is the weak economy. Castro announced some economic changes in a July 31 speech opening the biannual session of Parliament, including scaling back controls on small businesses, allowing more self-employment and laying off unnecessary government workers.
The cardinal said he had not read Castro's speech yet, but that he found the announcement encouraging.
Beyond their economic struggles, the cardinal said a high priority for most Cubans is that they have better means of communicating within the country and beyond. While people are allowed to use the Internet, for example, it's quite costly and runs poorly because of inadequate infrastructure, he said.
"To communicate easily with their relatives and to be able to go to the U.S. for visits and then return to Cuba," that's what people want, the cardinal said.
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