Cuba

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/23115538

from the Cuban online publication CUBADEBATE [contains many photos]
Translated by Irais Maria García Portelles for CubaNews

Dear Friend,

Another hurricane is about to make landfall in Cuba. Hurricane Rafael, now a Category 2 storm, is fast approaching. The ongoing U.S. blockade is exacerbating an already complex crisis, limiting access to essential materials for reconstruction and basic public services—desperately needed to respond to a storm of this magnitude.

Thanks to your incredible support, we surpassed our $150,000 goal for the #LetCubaLive relief campaign and have already sent two life-saving shipments. A third shipment with more generators and supplies will go by air this week.

But this hurricane means the situation is worsening. Cuba needs our help now more than ever. Can you contribute again, even a small amount, to send more emergency aid? Every dollar we send in aid challenges the blockade and shows that we stand with our neighbors in their time of need.

Join us in this urgent effort: peoplesforum.org/cubarelief

(Taken from an email sent to me by The People's Forum. Emphasis original.)

The first and most important factor is the economic, financial and commercial blockade imposed by the United States. This blockade has prevented the island from experiencing normal economic development for several decades.

As a result of the blockade, essential innovations in energy production and transport infrastructure have been put on hold for decades. Cuban engineers and technicians try to keep up with the demands, carrying out maintenance work, repairs and more repairs. But wear and tear is simply taking its toll.

What’s more, since then President Donald Trump reinstated Cuba on the U.S. list of countries supporting terrorism in the final days of his term [2021], no normal international financial transactions have been possible. This adds to the problem caused by the refusal of most major banks to make payments to Cuba, to avoid heavy fines from the U.S. government.

Cuba has been striving for years to switch to renewable energies. But, as you can imagine, this also requires huge investments. Much has already been achieved in the field of solar and wind power. In the meantime, demand for electricity continues to grow. Indeed, in today’s Cuba, air conditioners, washing machines, freezers and refrigerators, rice cookers, televisions, etc. can be found in the remotest corners of the country.

Much of Cuba’s energy is still produced from petroleum. Until a few years ago, Cuba was able to benefit from advantageous trade agreements with oil-producing Venezuela. But these disappeared when that country was subjected to a series of sanctions by the Obama administration from 2014 onwards. In addition, Trump later made financial transactions with the United States impossible.

In October 2023, President Joe Biden relaxed certain coercive measures against Venezuela, before reimposing them starting in April 2024. As a result, Cuba once again has to buy oil on the other side of the world, in hard currency.

In such a situation, it’s obvious that Cuba can barely keep its head above water in terms of energy production. The same would be true for any country faced with such causes.

However, information on this context and the impact of these causes is hard to find in the corporate media. The Belgian newspaper De Morgen, for example, states: “The country is also suffering from U.S. sanctions,” as if this were an incidental detail.

[…]

Clearly, many inflammatory messages are circulating on Cuban social media, spread by those who, for the umpteenth time, think it’s now or never. [Some] people are lobbying for régime change, meaning the end of socialism and the beginning of the neoliberal market.

In this respect, the neighboring island of Puerto Rico is a good example of where energy privatization is leading. LUMA Energy has been causing huge blackouts there for years due to the inefficiency of privatization.

Another example from the region is Ecuador, where power cuts last more than 10 hours a day. These are two countries that don’t have to deal with economic warfare and blockades.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/22048345

By EDITH M. LEDERER
Updated 5:05 PM EDT, October 30, 2024

Source: IEA

Right now, Cuba is facing a severe moment of crisis. Amidst a devastating electrical blackout, a hurricane, and the ongoing brutal U.S. blockade, the Cuban people are facing urgent, life-threatening conditions. As neighbors, we have a responsibility to act and support the Cuban people in this moment of crisis. We aim to raise $100,000 to send essential supplies — generators and food — to the island.

Imagine if your neighbor's home was plunged into darkness, and their family left without food or power. Would you stand by, or would you help? Right now, just 90 miles from our shores, this is the reality for millions of Cuban families. On top of natural disasters and the U.S. government's deliberate attempt to strangle the Cuban economy and limit its ability to trade, the Cuban people are left in a dire situation. We must act now.

The Cuban people are resilient. They've faced over 65 years of a cruel U.S. blockade, but this moment is unique: the triple threat of blockade, hurricane, and blackout makes this moment especially urgent. Entire communities are left without power and resources to make it through the day.

We have a responsibility to help. Donate what you can and rally your community to support this urgent fundraiser for our neighbors in need.

(Taken from an email sent to me by the ANSWER Coalition. Emphasis original.)

Thank you for your incredible support of our Let Cuba Live: Bread for Our Neighbors campaign. Because of your generosity, we successfully delivered 800 tons of flour to produce bread for families in Cuba, offering hope and sustenance during a critical moment.

But Cuba needs us again. The Cuban people are now facing an unprecedented crisis — a triple threat of a devastating hurricane, ongoing blackouts, and the crushing U.S. blockade. Many are without power, people are struggling to rebuild, and families are facing food shortages.

We're launching an urgent humanitarian aid campaign to send generators and food supplies, but we can't do it without you. Your support right now could mean the difference between light and darkness for a family struggling under the weight of the U.S. blockade.

Can you help the Cuban people again? Donate now.

We know how much you care, and we're grateful that you stand with Cuba. By donating, you will help provide immediate relief and send a powerful message of solidarity: that in their darkest and most challenging moments, our neighbors are not alone.

Please donate today and help us deliver life-saving aid to those most affected.

Thank you again for your unwavering support and compassion.

In solidarity,

Manolo De Los Santos

Executive Director, The People's Forum

(Taken from an email sent to me by Manolo de los Santos. Emphasis original.)

We did it! Thanks to your generous donation, today 800 tons of wheat flour have safely arrived in Cuba and will provide bread for millions of people in the provinces of Pinar del Rio, Artemisa, Mayabeque, Matanzas and Havana. This urgent campaign has been months in the making, with hundreds of thousands of dollars donated by over 1,300 people like you to help address this food crisis manufactured by the U.S. government and its blockade against Cuba.

While this critical campaign has succeeded in carrying out this delivery, it wasn't without significant hurdles created by the blockade. In the process of organizing the campaign, we reached out to 14 different grain producers in the U.S. to purchase the massive order but received not a single positive response. In order to successfully complete the delivery, the grain had to be shipped from Turkey and suffered delays because of the U.S. government's policy of extreme and arbitrary harassment of Cuba's foreign trade, which is meant to create desperation for the people of Cuba and has brutal consequences.

The Biden administration in its remaining months before January has the power to swiftly end this crisis of hunger. It could remove Cuba from the "State Sponsors of Terrorism List," an unfounded designation imposed in 2017 by Trump that restricts vital financial and trade transactions.

The "Let Cuba Live: Bread for Our Neighbors" campaign is just one part of the larger fight against the U.S. blockade on Cuba. The people of the U.S. will continue to fight against this brutal blockade and build bridges of solidarity with our neighbors in Cuba. Donations are still being accepted to help offset the costs of this massive delivery—please consider an additional donation, or share with your friends and neighbors. Together we will continue to break the blockade!

In solidarity,

Manolo De Los Santos
The People's Forum

(Taken from an email sent to me by Manolo de los Santos.)

Despite the embargo and the global chaos, Cuban researchers quickly managed to find effective vaccines against COVID-19: Abdalá or CIGB-66, designed by the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and authorized for use by the regulatory authority Cecmed in July 2021 and Soberana 2 or Finlay-FR-2, from the Finlay Institute, authorized for use in August 2021.

National vaccination campaigns began in April 2021. Before that, Cuba had helped foreign countries, including those in the North, by sending doctors free of charge to Italy — to Lombardy in March 2020, then in Sicily and Calabria. This was the first time that Cubans provided treatment in Western Europe. In mid-2020, Cuba accepted France’s request for aid in its overseas departments and sent 2,579 health professionals to 24 countries.

Fifty countries have purchased recombinant interferon alfa 2B, the preventive anti-COVID-19 drug manufactured in Cuba, which has produced millions of doses for Southern countries. In Cuba, the campaign against the pandemic starting in January 2020 mobilized 28,000 medical students who visited 4 million people per day.

• Despite all the difficulties, social progress has never stopped, and the quality of care offered to the population by its free health system has held up. A societal choice is made — cooperation and solidarity in an egalitarian and peaceful society rather than individualism and competition in an unequal and violent society. And this health system is integrated into a vision of harmony between humankind and nature — because the protection of the environment is real, with reforestation, organic farming and more measures.

Cuban researchers have therefore risen to the forefront in the world and, by remaining in the country, choose to serve their people — and often other peoples with their missions abroad. So we say: Gracias a Cuba.

https://youtu.be/xPThlH_Dujs

Not sure if fundraisers are allowed? This was sent to me by the PSL and I thought some of our comrades here might be interested in helping. I'm not personally involved in the fundraiser organization.

Most Cubans understand that it is the protracted U.S. blockade of [the Republic of] Cuba which is causing the severe food, medical and supply shortages, with the aim of forcing Cubans to overthrow their government.

Díaz-Canel accused the U.S. of always looking for justifications and turning things around. He said similar protests in the U.S. and other parts of the world are more severe and more severely repressed, “However, those in Cuba make headlines. Why? Because there is an entire perversity when it comes to dealing with the Cuban problem.” He said the U.S. has shown an “enormous contempt for the Cuban people and the Cuban revolution.”

Díaz-Canel said the U.S. “resorts to a policy of maximum pressure, which has two fundamental elements, through economic asphyxiation to provoke a social explosion that breaks the unity of the Cuban people with the revolution,” and “social media intoxication,” which is what happened on March 17.

Díaz-Canel ended: “Let them try to bring us down. They’ll see what will happen to them. The revolution is very solid, and the Cuban people are very aware of what it would mean to lose the revolution.”

Havana, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) The 1st International Biennial of Political Humor will take place in Havana from June 1 to 30, 2024, the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC) announced.

According to the announcement, the Ministry of Culture, the National Council of Plastic Arts, and the Cuban magazine La Jiribilla invite artists, illustrators, cartoonists, and humorists from all over the world to participate in the event.

The text stated that the contest aims to explore the effects of globalization and related phenomena from the political humor perspective.

The central theme will be the fight against neo-fascism.

The works, in digital format, should be sent to bienalhumorpoliticocuba@gmail.com. The attached files should be in a JPG format, with a 300 dpi resolution, not less than 2400 pixels on the longest side.

The author’s identity and location information (name, pen name, country, title, address, e-mail address, and phone number) must be included.

The selected works will be printed and exhibited in the leading and side exhibitions of the Biennial.

Moscow, Jan 26 (Prensa Latina) Cuba's Ambassador to Russia, Julio Garmendía, stressed that the relations between the two nations are of strategic allies at the bilateral and international levels.

During his opening speech at the reception devoted to the 65th anniversary of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, the Cuban ambassador outlined the development of national historiography from January 1959 to the present.

He also highlighted the more-than-six-decade ties between Moscow and Havana since the friendship offered by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) when Cuba, according to Fidel Castro, was facing, perhaps, the most complex period of the war unleashed by the United States against the people.

Garmendía argued that it would take time to explain the years of unconditional support, to which he detailed that both Governments signed significant documents in 2023 to boost direct investment of Russian capital in the Cuban economy.

The diplomat told the attendees at the meeting that despite those complex times, Cuba currently faces an unprecedented tightening of the blockade that the United States has maintained for more than 60 years. The inclusion in the illegal list of countries sponsoring terrorism that complicates Cuba’s commercial and financial activity, the challenges in international logistics, and the rise in the prices of food and other products worsen the internal situation in Cuba.

Other factors, including media war, incitement to the so-called regime change, and other subversive events, also add to the list of actions against the Cuban Revolution.

Russian First Vice Chairman of the State Duma Ivan Melnikov, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, and Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin chaired the event.

Havana, Jan 25 (Prensa Latina) The first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and president of the Republic, Miguel Díaz-Canel, expressed his willingness to strengthen ties with the Communist Party of Spain (PCE), the Presidency informed on Thursday.

At a meeting with PCE Secretary General Enrique Santiago Romero at the Palace of the Revolution (seat of the Executive) on Wednesday , Díaz-Canel referred to the need for joint work on issues of international interest.

I think that there are many global issues; that we have to be sharing ideas; above all, visions from our positions, especially in view of the media manipulation of issues related to the visions of the leftist, socialist, communist parties, and also for the Third World, the Cuban president said.

The head of State also referred to the environment, or the necessary energy transition, which he considered essential, and to which poor countries do not know what their paths with solutions can be.

In this regard, Santiago Romero noted that capitalism is incompatible with the workers’ rights, with a dignified life, and “today it is already clear that this is “incompatible with the maintenance of life on the planet, of ecosystems, and is a risk of destruction for the human species.”

Havana, Jan 25 (Prensa Latina) President Miguel Díaz-Canel met with José Miguel Mejía, general secretary of the United Left Movement (MIU) party and Minister for Regional Integration Policies of the Dominican Republic, national television informed.

During the meeting on Wednesday at the Palace of the Revolution, the seat of the Government, the head of State expressed satisfaction with this new visit to Havana of the political leader and member of the Dominican Executive, who visited Cuba in 2022.

Díaz-Canel considers Mejía “a great friend of Cuba.”

The president was interested in the program conducted by Mejía in this capital and sent a greeting to his Dominican counterpart, Luis Abinader, to whom he reiterated the invitation to visit Cuba officially when his agenda allows it.

Both leaders acknowledged the MIU’s historic position in supporting Cuba and its solidarity against the economic, commercial, and financial blockade of the United States imposed on Cuba, which has lasted for more than 60 years and is currently being tightened.

Roberto Morales, a member of the Political Bureau and Secretary of Organization of Cuba’s Communist Party (PCC); Emilio Lozada, head of the International Relations Department of the PCC Central Committee; and Juan Carlos Frómeta, an officer of the same party, attended the meeting.