Cuba Politics News and Information
I have to admit I was extremely disappointed with the selection of Vice Presidents under Raul Castro. It gave the me and the world a very strong impression that Cuban politics would remain the same since Raul surrounded himself with comrades from La Revolucion.
I have remained skeptical about change in Cuba (as we all should) but I must admit that I am surprised by the rapid fire announcements of new or eased policies in Cuba since Raul became President. All the reforms listed below have been announced in the past 30 days. I have to admit I am surprised and impressed but still skeptical.
I started this post (and will update it going forward) to list the reforms that have been announced since Raul Castro was selected as President of Cuba.
1. February 24 Let’s start with Raul Castro’s acceptance speech
2. February 28 Cuba signs two UN human rights treaties
3. February 29 Raul meets with top Vatican Cardinal and talks about a release of political prisoners with conditions.
4. March 13 Cuba lifts ban on ownership of electronics
5. March 18 Cuba allows farmer’s to buy their own equipment and not just rely on the Cuban government for agricultural supplies, tools and equipment.
6. March 21 Cuba launches emigration web site after hosting a conference talking with Cubans living abroad.
7. March 21 Granma features letters to the Editor
8. March 21 Cuba releases rare economic report that talks frankly about economic life in Cuba.
9. March 24 Cuba moves to decentralize Cuban agriculture economy
10. March 25 Cuba lifts restrictions on Cuba pharmacy sales
11. March 28 Raul Castro allows Cuban people to own cellphones
12. March 31 Cuba allows citizens to stay in tourist hotels.
13. April 1 Cuban farmers receive Cuban land to improve agriculture production.
14. April 3 Cuba to broadcast new foreign information television channel. Not quite sure this qualifies as a reform but I’ll allow it since it fits in the with spirit of reforms.
15. April 8 Cuba restructures the family doctor program Sounds good if the government plans to offer better quality healthcare.
16. April 10 Cuban farmers can have unlimited salaries Wow, what a concept!
17. April 11 Renters will get title of ownership for housing I’d say this is a big move. Sure the military and other good government workers will most likely be the beneficiaries but now we’re up to 17 reforms in seven weeks. QUITE the pace Raul has set for himself. Will the Cuban people demand more or be thankful? What about then the reforms stop. My guess is that Fidel is quite ill and Raul wants to capture peoples’ attention in a positive way so there is no disruption. So, that’s what I’m saying. Of course we have all been wrong about Fidel’s health in the past but all the pieces of the puzzle are in place if you ask me.
18. April 28 In comment #26 below Marc Frank from Reuters reports that Cuba has raised the social security payments to retired workers and court employees. After reading the amount of the pay raises, I think you’ll agree with me and say “So what?”.
19. April 28 In comment #31 below Raul is calling to convene the first Communist Party congress since 1997. Although this may not be a “reform”, I’m going to list it here since it hasn’t been done since 1997 and could very well lead to more posts in this article. I don’t see the date mentioned anywhere.
20. April 29 Death sentences in Cuba commuted so does this mean prisoners can get out of jail for time served?
So, what do you think? When I look at all these “changes” in a short period of time, I have to step back and think that maybe Raul is serious about making changes in Cuba. However, I am waiting to see it before I really believe it. As with most news from Cuba, it’s all propaganda since there is no free press in Cuba so none of this can really be questioned, independently verified or investigated.
I believe gradual changes will continue, emphasis on “gradual”, nothing too radical but enough to keep people from reaching a boiling point. Or perhaps Raul is thinking about his legacy and wants history to record that he was the man who turned Cuba around particulary in the economy and people’s standard of living. Politically and socially I see socialism surviving for another generation.
I agree with J Perez, keep in mind that more than anything Raul will work to ensure the survival of the current system. It seems to me that there are enough ways to “tweak” government policies but stay away from large scale change that might endanger the status quo. I believe that Raul will work to make as many of these superficial changes (such as eliminating some of the “exessive prohibitions” that he’s spoken about) as he can to give the impression of gradual change. Simply ending bans on certain goods and services (which we see with DVD players, computers, supposedly toasters and whatnot) will elevate the image of the government in the eyes of some people. Don’t expect anything drastic until the end of the embargo, especially in areas such as human rights. Raul’s ultimate upside would be if he could negotiate exactly this; if a democratic president and congress in the U.S. moves to begin breaking the embargo down and enters in some negotiations with Cuba this would be a huge boost to Raul’s power. I’m not predicting this will happen, but it’s basically the best-case scenario as far as I can see.
So the Cuban people can now have cellphones. Great. I understand that monthly plans and minute rates are among the most expensive in the world and the coverage outside of Havana is terrible.
So, can the Cuban people afford cellphones? No.
Will their conversations be monitored? Of course.
Is this another positive step for freedoms of the Cuban people? Yes.
Is this more propaganda since the reality is that people cannot afford cellphones? Unfortunately I’m afraid the answer is yes.
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I don’t disagree with you, but of course this is the irony of people demanding more products to be sold on the market. In a poor country like Cuba it’s a moot issue for the vast majority of people who can’t afford these items. It would be the same issue for traveling; if you remove the tarjeta blanca it would be a nice change but most people still wouldn’t be able to afford it. Is it propaganda? I guess it could qualify as that, but I would say it is an example of the Cuban government finally responding to some of the consumer desires of the population. Consumerism was something that Fidel constantly battled against and I don’t think that it’s quite as important an issue as other things in society, but clearly the average person on the island is eager to have access to goods that the rest of the world has enjoyed for the last 50 years.
Cubans allowed to check into hotels for foreigners
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5giXikyTzxXfQ3xWe_mXlP6g5LNkA
Tambien en español
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2008/03/31/internacional/1206939710.html
Thanks Nacho,
Another positive step towards economic reforms allowing Cuban citizens to stay in Cuban hotels.
There is also much speculation about Cuba raising the valuation of the national peso which is what Cubans receive for salary payments. The currency of low value could eventually be brought up to be on par with the Convertible peso that are used by tourists and “dollar stores” that sell goods most Cubans cannot afford.
Next I would like to see citizens have the freedom and financial opportunity by way of loans to own and operate their own small businesses like Cuban paladar or casa particular owners, chauffeur, taxi and concierge services, website designers, tour guides and so much more. Let Cubans opt out of the government employment restrictions and food rations in exchange for their economic freedoms because right now, few can afford these new reforms.
Next I would like to see Cubans to have the freedom to travel abroad and then the freedom to organize. Of course the release of political prisoners without forcing them to leave for Spain I would be very encouraged. This would be first on my wish list but it’s last here because I put them in order of how I think Raul might roll them out.
Do I dare add democratic elections to my wish list?
Lastly, I am surprised and impressed that all this has been done without many comments or even Reflections from Fidel Castro.
Fidel must be spinning in his grave 
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The Wall Street Journal’s John Lyons just wrote Cuba’s Opening Marks Shift Away from Fidel and it’s a good summary of all the recent changes.
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I guess the AP reads the Havana Journal 
By The Associated Press 1 hour, 47 minutes ago
Since becoming president on Feb. 24, Raul Castro’s government has dropped some restrictions on daily life. Cubans can now:
• Legally own cell phones.
• Stay in luxury hotels or pay to use their gyms, hair salons and other facilities.
• Visit resort beaches that had previously been reserved for tourists.
• Rent cars.
• Buy DVD players and other appliances; computers are to go on sale soon.
• Cultivate unused state land with cash crops such as coffee and tobacco. Farmers will also be permitted to buy supplies at state-run stores without special permission.
And the government could soon:
• Let Cubans travel freely nationwide — and possibly internationally.
• Increase buying power of the peso, the currency most Cubans are paid in.
• Reduce restrictions on free enterprise that would allow more Cubans to start their own small businesses.
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Yes, I am sure they read the Journal. It is a great summary.
This is the lastest from Cuba today
http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN08356018
Cuba reorganizes family doctor program
We are on the same wavelength. I just posted added it as #15 above.
I am reading about infrastructure construction projects across Cuba on a grand scale like water canals, power plants, roads and the like but not so much in the main stream news.
So, with the help of contributors like nacho, this page is the place to stay informed about Raul’s reforms in Cuba.
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So, now we are up to #16 reform in about six weeks. Quite the pace of reforms even though many are meaningless for one reason or another.
In #16, this Cuban man says “There is no reason to fear someone earning lots of money if it really is due to their work”.
Hmmm, who else does one usually make money?
I guess making more money based on the quality of your work is a foreign concept in Cuba. Too bad really but I’m sure they’ll get the hang of capitalism.
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16 - really comes as a surprise but a welcome one
Ownership from renting is the largest step. However, you don’t really own something unless you have the right to sell it to someone/anyone else. I understand renters often swap apartments with other renters. So, perhaps we should refer to #17 as “rentals with property taxes” until the day they are allowed to sell to ME - a guy in Florida.
I am most appreciative of your informational article. I haven’t heard a chirp about this from the pathetic MSM...it’s really pretty darn big news.
17- It was expected because most people renting from goverment, the deal was for 20 or 25 years. Again, what’s the point of owning if you cannot sell? Unless number 18 is the chance to sell your house
17 changes since Feb 24, all I can say is WOW!!!
Nacho posted a link to the original decree in his blog post. Look for La resolucion aqui.
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All ,the so called reforms are ain’t enough, to bring Cubans standard, to an acceptable level;the reppresion is there,every day,every single hour,No political freedom to set new political parties to the future cuban political
scenario.In the economical ground they are moving just avoiding and facing a
political turmoil,but this one is coming sooner or later.To get a certain level
of recognition for the next american stablishment is for sure a precious goal
for the cuban dictatorship,however,it seems to be a moon dream,b/c any in power in America will have many hot points to face and Cuba is not a big priority and in any possible scenarios,the cuban tyranny will have to make political reforms,which they could never do.About Castro presence,the fact is that he is very ill,with confusion,forgetfulness,with a very difficult speech ability,without charisma and his inner circle in disarray.-
Ralph, I think people in both the U.S. and Cuba should be examining the relationship between the two countries. It is pretty ridiculous that we are 90 miles apart, the U.S. has a military base on the island, and there are millions of Cubans living in the U.S. but there are almost no diplomatic relations between the two countries. If I was Cuban I might focus my criticism on the Cuban government, however, as a U.S. citizen I truly believe it is my responsibility to advocate for my government to move to end the embargo and work towards a normalization of relations. It is hard to find people outside of the Cuban American right wing crowd who truly supports the full embargo. We must continue to pressure the American politicians to not bend to the will of a small minority of Republican fundraisers, but instead work to improve relations. The Cuban government is making some symbolically important, if superficial changes. We should take this as a positive and the next U.S. president should at the least set up a behind-the-scenes team to begin some type of diplomatic meetings, low-level and secretive if need be, between envoys of both nations. I feel sure that the current administration is not doing this, and U.S. Cuban relations of the last 8 years have suffered as a result of Bush’s misguided and naive foreign policy.
As always it seems impossible to know at this point what Raul’s motivation really is and how much of the proposed changes will reach the Cuban people. What will become transparent is how the Cuban people respond to the news and how these changes shift their view of their lives and aspirations for the future. Will defections and sea lauches to the United States go down? Will the people really feel hopeful or will they live exactly how they have been.
Tempting the Cuban people with reforms that dont really trickle down to their tangible benefit will feel like more of the same to them and may breed a new frustration. As example Cubans with access to foreign funds already can get electronics and cell phones. How will those without access to dollars get a cell phone? They wont!
The hope I have is that the younger people and those looking to better their lives now will start to mobilize and “test” these reforms by trying to take advantage of any that may benefit them if only slightly. Most of these reforms will not benefit the vast majority of the people and so I also sense that the temptation to demand more reforms that actually will benefit the Cuban people may be a “pandora’s box” Raul may have unintentionally opened.
We have always sensed that Raul was more progressive than Fidel on economic issues. Maybe these reforms will also begin to inspire younger assembly members to speak up and test how far he may go.
If Obama is elected and more liberalized foreign investment is allowed in Cuba I believe this will be the best opportunity to support real changes in Cuba. Lets note that changes though slow and modest ARE happening. Its simply a matter of time until the momentum tips toward greater shifts at a faster rate.
AP
A former Cuban consul who once fled the island using a fake passport is asking authorities to let Cubans travel abroad without government approval.
Pedro Anibal Riera Escalante made the request to parliament on Tuesday.
Expectations are high that President Raul Castro’s government may drop the travel requirements.
Riera in 2000 used a false Mexican passport to board a commercial flight from Havana to Mexico, but was denied asylum and sent him back to his homeland. He got a five-year prison sentence and is now free.
Riera claims he was a top anti-CIA intelligence official for Cuba for 25 years. He was consul to Mexico from 1986-91.
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El Pais is reporting today the possible ease of restrictions to travel abroad for Cubans
In Spanish
The only links in English I could find Luis M Garcia and at Babalu Blog
The main stream media is picking up this story now but simply quoting this El Pais newspaper who quotes sources in the Cuban government.
So, still a rumor at this time. I’ll add to Raul’s reforms when it is more official.
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Here’s a great summary of Raul’s reforms from COHA.
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From nacho
Wilfredo Cancio’s story in Sunday’s El Nuevo Herald claims that more reforms are in store. His reporting is based on anonymous government sources in Havana who said the following changes are on the way:
* ending the requirement for Cubans to obtain an exit permit to travel abroad;
* “free rental” of homes to Cubans and foreigners (this can already be done by Cubans who obtain a license and pay tax accordingly; it’s not clear if the license requirement, the tax, or both will be done away with);
* unrestricted sales of privately owned cars; and
* ending restrictions on internal migration, which mainly affects Cubans moving to Havana.
According to the article, other ideas are under study, such as increasing the Cuban peso’s value against the convertible peso, from 24:1 to 19:1, easing restrictions on Cuba’s small entrepreneurs, and initiating government sales of cars – Ladas for 9,000 convertible pesos.
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About 13; better medical care. I only have to reffer to the movie Sicko of Michael Moore.......
Good for you Hans - you only had to write 15 words to fully illustrate you’re a complete buffoon. People from all over the world come to the United States for medical care. The only ones complaining are socialist and losers who want someone else to pay for their care. Which are you?
Keep drinkin’ that commie Kool-Aid but be careful what you wish for!
By Marc Frank | Reuters
Cuba said on Sunday it could not afford to increase wages for government workers, but it would raise social security payments.
About 90 percent of the Cuban economy is controlled by the state, which employs the vast majority of people and provides all pensions through the social security system.
May 1, International Workers Day, is a major holiday in Communist Cuba and expectations were high among health and education employees that state wages would be increased to mark the date.
The expectations were fueled by an announcement in local media this month, which said Cuba was revamping the state wage system to create more incentive by allowing workers to earn as much as they can.
But a government statement published on Sunday by all state media made it clear that some wage earners would have to wait for better economic times.
“It is not possible right now to increase salaries of all sectors, because the country does not have the resources necessary,” the statement said.
“Increases will be granted by sector and priority, always after a rigorous evaluation of the economic and financial conditions.”
However, judges, court personnel and employees in the district attorney offices will receive raises, the statement said.
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I hope the sugar workers go next. Increasing salaries, pensions will be a way of empowering the peso against the CUC before any revaluation/change of currency.
Let’s keep an eye on May Day speeches if Raul goes for it
Also, is it just me or have you also noticed that most recent public images of Raul show him in civilian clothes?
Needless to say it’s an interesting time.
Nacho I have to admit I am interested in seeing the photos of Raul that you mention…
Any idea how much social security payments are supposed to go up?
BBC today says that pensions will go up by up to 20%, whatever that means in real terms in Cuba. That BBC also shows Raul in plain clothes (I think)
When he was named president, he was also wearing a suit
And here in in a recent meeting with the former PM of Malaysia.
Nacho,
GREAT digging and GREAT html code
So, Raul is all business… interesting.
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Raul Castro to convene Cuba congress
Associated Press
President Raul Castro announced Monday that Cuba will convene its first Communist Party congress since 1997 — a major gathering that could chart the island’s political future long after he and his older brother Fidel are gone.
The congress follows a series of minor social changes the younger Castro has decreed to make life easier and less restrictive for ordinary Cubans.
“We have worked hard in these past few months,” the president said during a Central Committee gathering aired on state television. The Communist Party must establish guidelines, including for “when the historic generations are no longer around,” he said.
Castro also announced that he had commuted death sentences for several inmates, but that capital punishment would remain on the books in Cuba.
Fidel Castro, 81, has not been seen in public since July 2006, when he first fell ill and relinquished interim powers to the 76-year-old Raul. He stepped down as president in February, but officially remains head of the party as its first secretary.
His post could be awarded to someone else during next year’s congress.
The congress also likely will replace some officials of the 25-member party Politburo.
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I think this will be closely watched...I wonder when the congress will be.
AP also writes that the Congress is scheduled for the second half of 2009, no dates yet.
I was hoping more changes will take place before that.
Also interesting, Raul will commute death sentences of several inmates, including the two Central Americans involved in the Havana hotel bombings of the 90s and the death of an Italian tourist. He also defended death sentence in Cuba’s penal code
Official newspaper Granma has this note about the Congress (only in Spanish)
I just added reform #20 above about the death sentences being commuted. Does this mean prisoners can get out of jail for time served?
Also, this line from the article:
“This decision was not undertaken because of pressure, but as a sovereign act in line with the humanitarian and ethical conduct that has characterized the Cuban revolution from the start,” he said.”
Really?
Anyway, I guess this is a good step towards releasing political prisoners. C’mon Raul… you can do it. It’s okay, let your people be free.
Do you want to be a hero or just another brick in the wall? The wall that is sure to fall down just like the buildings in Habana Vieja.
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From the same AP article
“The congress also likely will replace some members of the party’s select 24-member Politburo and the larger policy-making Central Committee it heads.”
Does this mean that Fidel will be replaced as 1st Secretary of the Communist Party? He might have stepped down as President, but he is still number one at the Partido Comunista.
“Castro, who wore a white tropical dress shirt, said the commutation of the death sentences was a gesture of good will, but he did not say how many prisoners would be affected.”
So no military dress code for Raul then?
Also, while there was no mention of political prisoners, there was a note this week about the release of Julián Antonio Monés Borrero in the blogosphere.
More in Spanish in the site PayoLibre.com
Right, no mention of political prisoners. I guess they are more of a threat to the government than criminals.
With regards to Fidel being replaced… I understand that this Congress won’t happen until late 2009. I doubt Fidel (and maybe even Raul) will not be around that long.
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More details about Raul Castro’s latest changes by RUIT FERREIRA and WILFREDO CANCIO ISLA from El Nuevo Herald
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Blog The Cuban Triangle writes about a story in Mexican paper El Universal adding to the rumor that Cuba will eliminate the tarjeta blanca exit permit requirement and make other changes in migration policy.
The story from El Universal here in Spanish
