The island was able to control the coronavirus, but the dearth of tourists in the pandemic’s wake strangled an economy already damaged by mismanagement and U.S. sanctions.
Full article by The New York Times here.
Vicki Huddleston on US-Cuba Tensions and Relations
El Enjambre, is a podcast by El Toque about Cuban reality in the Twitter universe. It recently interviewed US diplomat Vicki Huddleston, who spoke about US-Cuba relations, and other related topics.
Full article by the Havana Times here.
Government orders curfew in Havana and other strict measures to fight coronavirus spread
Havana will be placed under a strict curfew starting Sept. 1, as the government struggles to contain a coronavirus outbreak that threatens the island’s recovery from the worldwide pandemic.
Full article by the Miami Herald here.
Economy tanking, Cuba launches some long-delayed reforms
With its airports closed to commercial flights and its economy tanking, Cuba has launched the first in a series of long-promised reforms meant to bolster the country’s struggling private sector.
Full article by The Washington Post here.
Cuba to scrap ‘too restrictive’ private-sector activities list as economic pressures grow
Cuba’s Communist government said late on Thursday it would scrap a list that sets out a tight definition of business activities permitted in the island nation’s fledgling private sector, a move seen boosting self-employment, small firms and start-ups.
Full article by Reuters here.
Strapped for Cash, Cuba Turns to US Dollars
The series of new measures include the introduction of special “dollar stores,” an increase in domestic agricultural production to reduce dependency on imports, wholesale stores for owners of cafés, restaurants and other businesses, and long-awaited expansions for small- and medium-sized businesses.
Full article by the Startup Cuba here.
Cuban Radio Show “Stirs Things Up” with Three Sad Topics
A tongue-in-cheek reference to the “powders” in Afro-Cuban religion and their effects kicked off the show “Three sad topics”, the latest episode from El Enjambre, space where people discuss what is being said about Cuba on Twitter, but without losing this “relaxed” attitude that defines us good Cubans.
Full article by Havana Times here.
Cuba is slowly losing a lifeline as Venezuela collapses
With fuel shipments dwindling, long lines at gas stations have been a fact of life for most of the summer, and in recent days they have become a fixture at bus stops because routes have been suspended to conserve diesel.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel appeared on state television last month to announce austerity and energy-saving measures in the face of what he called “temporary” shortages.
Article by Los Angeles Times here.
Cuba feels the pinch of the Trump administration’s travel restrictions.
Trump, in a June 2017 speech in Miami, declared his new policies toward Cuba would bypass “the military and government to help the Cuban people form businesses and pursue much better lives.”
Many Cubans say, however, that their private businesses have slowed to a crawl as many relatively free-spending Americans are removed from the visitor mix.
Article by Los Angeles Times here.
By way of Twitter, Senator Rubio wants direct access to Cubans on the island.
In a new age of Cuban connectivity, Senator Marco Rubio is using Twitter to start a direct conversation with Cubans living on the island.
In his first tweet Thursday, under the name @MarcoRubioCuba1 , Florida’s republican senator told his more than hundred new followers the Cuba policies he supports in the United States Senate are motivated by one objective: so the Cuban people can elect its leaders the same way others countries do in the Western Hemisphere.
Article by WPLG Local 10 News here.