Vol. 19, No. 6 June 2011

In the News U.S. experts debate impact of economic

Coming food crisis? reforms approved at VI Party Congress University of Florida’s Bill Messina warns BY LARRY LUXNER had been ignoring the restriction. of chaos as food prices take off ...Page 3 hile the Cuban government eases limits Some 310,000 Cubans are now licensed to on private businesses, moves to cut tax- work in the private sector, according to an arti- Wes for mom-and-pop restaurants and cle in the Communist Party daily Granma. That Let the court decide gradually opens the door further to foreign includes 50,000 people in food production and Supreme Court may rule on Fla. law ban- investment in beachfront golf resorts, Cuba ex- sales, 39,000 working for private businesses and ning academic travel to Cuba ...... Page 4 perts in Washington and elsewhere are equally 14,000 taxi drivers and other transport workers. busy debating what all of this really means. At a recent Inter-American Dialogue break- The current flurry of activity began in mid- fast in Washington, three Cuba experts offered PCC to ‘evaluate’ reforms April, when delegates to the VI Party Congress their opinions on the island’s latest reforms. January 2012 conference to discuss next meeting in Havana approved a long list of lin- “One view is that this really amounts to very step in economic reform ...... Page 6 eamientos or guidelines for economic reforms. little, if anything at all. Cuba has embarked on Proposals to legalize the sale of real-estate reforms at different moments in time, and has and private cars got plenty of media coverage always dismantled them when the economy Brazil eyes sugar sector worldwide, though they haven’t been passed improved. And this time is no different,” said Brazilian giants take a look at Cuba’s neg- into law yet. Nor has a plan to grant small-busi- American University scholar Robert Pastor. lected sugar industry ...... Page 7 ness loans to individual entrepreneurs or create “The second view is that this represents a sea a wholesale market on the island. change and will lead to a very different Cuba. I On the other hand, on May 27, the govern- tend to be both an optimist and a skeptic, especi- Newsmakers ment announced it would allow private restau- ally of government promises and dictatorships.” Mark Entwistle, Canada’s ex-ambassador rants to serve up to 50 diners at a time, up from Pastor, who accompanied former President the previous limit of 20, though many in Havana, has turned his passion for Cuba paladares See Reforms, page 2 into a full-time career ...... Page 8

A veggie comeback Eager U.S. investors eye Cuba potential Vegetables: a bright spot in Cuba’s other- wise bleak farming sector ...... Page 10 from oil to microloans, trade to telecom BY TRACEY EATON The meeting was timely, coming just days Key players to watch he discovery of petroleum off the coast of after Cuba’s Communist Party released the final A blow-by-blow description of who’s who Cuba would “probably impact U.S.-Cuba version of its guidelines for economic reform. Trelations” more than any other single The 313 “lineamientos” call for a larger pri- among Cuba’s leadership ...... Page 12 event of the past 10 or 15 years, says energy vate sector, fewer government subsidies and a maven Jorge Piñón. push toward decentralized decision-making. Business briefs “If oil is found, it will make Cuba energy-inde- Cuban officials make clear they are not aban- doning socialism, but merely “updating” their China to expand Cienfuegos oil refinery; pendent. It won’t depend on Venezuela,” Piñon said. “You’d be sitting at the table with someone economic model and don’t intend to unleash C&T to fly San Juan-Havana ...... Page 14 you can’t push around economically anymore.” capitalism on the island. Piñon was one of eight industry experts who Those plans coincide with the Obama admin- Dissident ‘Antúnez’ spoke at a May 10 conference co-sponsored by istration’s decision to step up “people-to-people” contacts in Cuba and loosen some travel restric- Jorge Luís García Pérez: ‘We’re hostages CubaNews and the law firm Gray Robinson. Fifty business executives attended the event, tions. In fact, changes on both sides of the Flor- of the dictatorship’ ...... Page 15 titled “Changes in the United States and Cuba: ida Straits have heightened expectations among The Impact on Florida.” It was held at Gray U.S. executives hoping to trade with Cuba. CubaNews (ISSN 1073-7715) is published monthly Robinson’s Tampa office, with the participation The Cuban economy has struggled since the by CUBANEWS LLC. © 2011. All rights reserved. of several attorneys from the firm. breakup of the Soviet Union more than two Subscriptions: $479 for one year, $800 for two years. Experts discussed a range of topics including decades ago — and the discovery of oil could For editorial inquires, please call (305) 393-8760 or help Cuba turns things around fast, Piñon said. send an e-mail to: [email protected]. energy, agriculture, telecommunications, travel, trade, real estate and microlending. See Tampa, page 3 2 CubaNews v June 2011 Antonio Blanco, speaking of the Sixth Party fees and money spent while visiting the Reforms — FROM PAGE 1 Congress, said it represents a “milestone” in island,” he said. “The exclusion of this group Jimmy Carter on his recent trip to Cuba, says Cuban history — the last one to be presided from economic discussions is quite odd.” over by the generation that has held power on such reforms would be relatively meaningless Arturo López Levy, a former political ana- the island for half a century. lyst for the Cuban government who now in any other country in Latin America, but “But if the policies now adopted prove to be teaches Latin American politics at Denver that “for Cuba, it’s very significant.” inadequate, the consequences will be very University, said there’s been a dramatic shift Among other things, the Castro regime has significant in the short, medium and long in Cuba from promoting a “battle of ideas” to leased one million hectares of land to 120,000 term for almost everyone involved,” Blanco a focus on making the economy work. farmers, opened up 178 categories of jobs to warned his Washington audience. the private sector and announced that it The FIU scholar cited a recent interview ECONOMIC OPENING, YET POLITICAL CONTROL would lay off more than a million state work- with Pavel Vidal Alejandro, a researcher at “The Party Congress opened the door to ers and eliminate subsidies.” the University of Havana’s Centro de Estudios substantial economic reform, but paradoxical- “More important than these reforms was Sobre la Economía Cuba, whom he called ly elected a very conservative Politburo for its the rationale for the reforms,” he said. “The “one of the best minds in Cuba.” implementation,” he said. “If there’s a mes- “He says that he has a sage to the United States, it’s that the U.S. lot of doubts about the needs to learn to live with this ambiguity. We institutional capacity of will see a move towards important economic Cuba to implement the changes, but at the same time, an iron will to lineamientos, if they are keep the one-party system in place.” really going to be adopt- Asked about the potential real-estate boom ed,” Blanco noted. “Being that could result from the end to prohibitions able to stay in a hotel on the buying and selling of houses and apart- room in your own country ments, López said that “most reformists in and getting a cellphone Cuba would like to open as much as they can, are all positive things, but using houses and cars as collateral for loans the big question is, where to develop private business. But others want is the country going?” to go slower. They are trying to prevent direct sales of cars to people.” WHAT ABOUT THE EXILES? The bottom line, said the academic — who “If we concentrate on has often been criticized for defending the short-term questions like Cuban government — is that “no matter how how many more military much some of them want to liberalize the officers are in the political economy, the leadership is the result of a con- Denver University’s Arturo López-Levy speaks at Inter-American Dialogue. bureau, or how many vergence of the military high command and measures have been party bureaucrats. Cuban economy is inefficient and deficient. adopted, we lose perspective of what’s hap- “Both groups agreee on the convenience of Therefore, what’s needed is an incentives sys- pening in the medium or long term,” he said. preserving the one-party system and the tem, a reduction of the security net to encour- Furthermore, said Blanco, the Castro monopoly on government bureaucracy. And age people to produce.” regime “has a long tradition of shelving and it’s wrong to assume they’re improvising. Pastor suggests that the biggest obstacle to forgetting previous decisions.” They have a plan for at least the next 5 years: implementation of the reforms may come “Vertical mobility in Cuban society has to go on the economic reform track as much from the Cuban people themselves — not to been mostly granted on the basis of personal as they can while keeping political control.” q mention the United States. and ideological loyalties, while Washington-based journalist and photographer “They’ll be losing their jobs, without ration Larry Luxner has edited CubaNews since 2002. cards, without a safety net. There’ll be a lot of creativity and pushback at the popular level, and the gov- e x c e l l e n c e ernment will be worried about that,” he said. were second- ary considera- Cuba to revamp tax system Cuba plans to completely overhaul the IMPLEMENTING THE GUIDELINES tions,” he said. “Fifty years isalnd’s tax system, announced Vladimir Regarding U.S. policy, Pastor says: “I per- after the revo- Requeiro, deputy chief of the island’s Ofi- sonally don’t think the world plays a large role lution, it seems cina Nacional de Administración Tributa- in Raúl’s mindset; he’s not as concerned no one below ria (ONAT), speaking on Cuban state TV. about the U.S. as Fidel is. The problem in the 60 can be Cuba Trade & Investment News, quoting U.S. is that we’re also facing a debate between trusted to take from the 313-point list of guidelines recent- those who say nothing will change until the over key posi- ly approved at the Sixth Party Congress, Castro brothers are gone, and we ought to tions of influ- said new businesses must pay 25% to 50% use everything we can to put pressure on ence. From a taxes on profits, 10% sales or service tax, Cuba — and those who say America’s great- 25% employment tax and 25% social securi- long-term per- AU Professor Robert Pastor est strength is our openness. spective, the ty contribution. “Let’s take advantage of that, not by trying presence of military officers among the lead- Requeiro said tax rates will be according to manipulate through ‘democracy programs’ ership isn’t as disturbing as the complete ab- to income brackets, and that agricultural but rather by opening up the United States to sence of scientists, artists and intellectuals.” producers will benefit from a special tax Cuba. At this moment of transition in Cuba, Blanco said he’s also disturbed by the fact system to stimulate food production. this could encourage the forces of economic that “while much time was spent discussing Most Cubans have never had to pay and political pluralism.” the breakdown of electrical appliances,” no taxes before, the newsletter points out. Pastor added that “this so-called democra- officials are talking publicly about the role of Even so, local economists expect the gov- cy program is absurd. It’s completely ineffec- the Cuban diaspora. ernment to collect hundreds of millions of tual except that it helps the hardliners in “Such an omission is particularly remark- dollars in tax revenue this year from newly Cuba. It serves no other purpose.” able, if you consider that they inject about $2 established private businesseses. Florida International University’s Juan billion a year in remittances, postal packages, June 2011 v CubaNews 3 basic necessities as food. What’s needed is a small businesses an important boost, Tampa — FROM PAGE 1 microlending program, he said, adding that Santandreu told his audience. Venezuela supplies Cuba with more than Cuban authorities have issued 110,000 new John Parke Wright IV, a Florida business- half its petroleum needs. A $77 million oil rig licenses for Cubans to run their own busines- man whose company has been shipping beef is expected to start drilling seven wells off the ses. These people “will need a lot of money.” and dairy cattle to Cuba since 1999, said he coast of Cuba by September or October. If they received just $5,000 each, that would expects Cuban exiles to funnel “hundreds of Three foreign companies have a stake in total more than half a billion dollars in a single millions of dollars” into their relatives’ busi- the project: Norway’s Statoil, Spain’s Repsol YPF and India’s Videsh Ltd. They’ll pay $403,000 per day to operate the rig, capable of drilling 12,000 feet deep.

“Companies wouldn’t spend this amount of TRACEY EATON money if they didn’t think oil was there. If they find oil — and I say ‘if’ with a capital ‘I’ – it could be a gamechanger,” said Piñon, a vis- iting research fellow at Florida International University’s Cuban Research Institute. “When the Wall Street Journal says, ‘Cuba Finds Oil,’ that’s going to change the whole scene,” Piñón told his audience. “It will make the Cuban government much more confident about whatever political position it takes. It will have a major impact on the economy, and it will have political impact too.” U.S. oil giants, for instance, would step up pressure to lift trade sanctions because they will want the same opportunities to make money, he said.

MICROLENDING AND REAL-ESTATE Energy expert Jorge Piñón and microlending maven Emilio Santandreu at a May 10 seminar in Tampa. Emilio Santandreu, manager of Our Micro year. Santandreu suggested that these loans ness in the next few years. Lending, said small-business loans to Cubans could be issued to their Cuban-American rela- Antonio Zamora, co-owner and publisher of will likely soar over the next few years. tives, who would then transfer the money to CubaNews, said one golf and marina project is Cuban-American families now send some relatives on the island. under construction in Cuba and four more are $2 billion per year in remittances to their fam- Such an arrangement would be legal under expected to break ground by year’s end. ilies, but that money is used mostly for such Obama administration rules, and would give “The golf courses and the marinas are going to be very successful,” he said, noting that while Cuba’s economy may have short- comings, state-run entites “have done very UF’s Messina warns of rising food prices well in tourism in a short amount of time.” AMPA — The Cuban government’s Cuban officials know the agricultural sec- It is as if Cuba had two economies, said plans to end monthly food rations tor is weak and are trying to transform it. Zamora, a Miami attorney and founder of the T“could lead to a split in society” as low- Messina is convinced that Cuba’s leaders U.S.-Cuba Legal Forum. wage workers struggle to feed their fami- are committed to making “profound and un- “Everything about Cuba is complicated,” lies, predicts University of Florida resear- precedented” changes, but believes some There are two Cubas: a socialist Cuba, which cher William Messina. government bureaucrats and planners will has nothing to do with what we’re talking about here, and a capitalist Cuba where there The socialist government began supply- resist because they fear losing their jobs. Messina doesn’t think a loosening of U.S. is foreign investment,” he explained. ing subsidized food rations in March 1962. Zamora also spoke about new rules which Messina, speaking at a May 10 event in travel restrictions will have a direct impact on agriculture, but says a jump in tourism will soon let Cubans buy and sell homes. Tampa co-sponsored by CubaNews and the The real-estate opening “is definitely real,” law firm Gray Robinson, said food prices could boost the demand for food products. Increased remittances could also he said. “Not only will Cubans be able to buy will naturally rise when the subsidies are and sell homes, they’ll be able to expand their eliminated. He warned that such price hikes increase food sales and benefit family- owned restaurants. homes and have beach and country homes.” could trigger shortages and civil unrest. “There very clearly is a lot of pent-up Piñón said some major U.S. companies that Food shortages helped spark the Havana demand for food in Cuba,” said Messina. had operations in Cuba before the 1959 revo- neighborhood riots of 1994, leading to the “The issue is the ability to pay. And if they lution are eager to return. And Zamora said exodus of 30,000 Cubans, said Messina. can pay, who benefits? The U.S. agricultural that while these big companies are likely to be “I’m wondering if they might be taking sector? The Cubans? Other players? That compensated for property seized after the re- themselves down that road again. Food remains to be seen.” volution, he doesn’t expect they’ll get much. prices must rise. How will people pay?” U.S. food sales rose to $710 million in “I don’t think [Cuba] will pay more than Eliminating food subsidies without trig- 2008, but have dropped sharply since then. 10%, and they’re going to borrow the 10% from gering social unrest “is going to be a real “Cuba is importing less food in general. the United States,” he predicted. challenge for them,” said Messina, econom- They’re also shifting their purchases to Piñon said some companies won’t be inter- ic analysis coordinator at UF’s Institute of other countries. The reason for that is that ested in fighting for even 10% because that’ll Food and Agricultural Services. they’re getting credit terms from those gobble up time they could be using to re- Cuba now imports 60% of its food supply, countries. They’re in a cash-crunch situa- establish operations and make money. but Messina said “there is no reason for tion. They need to do it. Their decisions are “Westinghouse, Coca-Cola, Firestone, they that” because the island is capable of pro- driven by cash.” all tell us they’ll settle for $1. We’re not going ducing a rich supply of crops and livestock. – TRACEY EATON to get bogged down in the courts while our European competitors are doing business.” q 4 CubaNews v June 2011 US-CUBA RELATIONS High court may rule on Fla. law banning academic travel BY ANA RADELAT Howard Simon, executive director of the While the Florida law’s supporters insist lorida academics who chafe at a contro- Florida ACLU, said he’s heartened the high universities would use state funds to travel to versial state law that keeps them from court has asked the White House for its views Cuba to conduct research, Simon said most of Fconducting research in Cuba may soon on the case, and says that increases the that money comes from private foundations. have their day in court. chances it will be heard. He also said Rivera and his supporters hope The Supreme Court has asked acting U.S. The Solicitor General’s office didn’t respond to target one specific university program — Solicitor General Neal Katyal to file a brief out- to calls requesting comment. But it’s likely to FIU’s Cuban Research Institute — saying “the lining his views on a bill was aimed at shutting it down.” 2006 Florida law that Simon predicted Florida’s colleges would bars public schools and be hurt if the Supreme Court declines to take universities from aca- the case. demic travel to Cuba — “I think it is naïve to think this law would and all other countries LUXNER LARRY end the research of Florida academics on the federal government Cuba,” Simon said. “They would take the considers state spon- grants and go somewhere else outside the sors of terrorism. For state. The bill will just weaken Florida univer- the moment, that list sities and strengthen universities elsewhere.” also includes Iran, Syria Robert Muse, a Washington attorney who and Sudan. specializes in Cuba issues, said the Supreme The travel ban is Court’s request to the Solicitor General is a being challenged by the signal that it may take the case. American Civil Liberties The Supreme Court usually accepts only 60 Union, which repre- to 70 cases each year, fewer than 2% of those it sents faculty members receives for consideration. of Florida International Muse also said Simon and the professors University and other fighting Florida’s law have a good chance of state institutions who Miami’s FIU, whose professors want to pursue academic research in Cuba. getting a favorable ruling in the high court, say lawmakers in Talla- noting that “in the area of foreign affairs, the hassee have overstepped their boundaries. respond to the Supreme Court’s request. Si- federal government pre-empts state law.” q The ACLU lawsuit argues that only the fed- mon thinks the brief will help his case. “I don’t Washington-based journalist Ana Radelat has eral government can establish foreign policy think the administration can allow every state been covering Cuba-related issues on Capitol Hill — and that the Florida law is unconstitutional to make its own foreign policy,” he said. for CubaNews since the newsletter’s birth in 1993. because it tramples on that federal authority. A Florida federal court also said the law is unconstitutional, even though it was upheld last year by the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Pat Buchanan: Time to end the embargo Appeals in Atlanta. onservative pundit and three-time pre- Commenting on the U.S. designation of sidential candidate Pat Buchanan said Cuba as a terrorist-supporting country, ACLU HOPES SUPREME COURT WILL SUPPORT IT Cit’s time for Washington to abolish its McLaughlin said “It’s really quite ridicu- In March, shortly after President Obama 50-year-old trade embargo against Cuba. lous. It’s a slap in the face to us.” announced he would ease restrictions on U.S. Buchanan made his remarks during the Other panelists on the program included travel to Cuba, including academic travel, the Apr. 22 edition of “The McLaughlin Group” CubaNews editor Larry Luxner, conserva- ACLU went to the Supreme Court for help. — a weekly half-hour news program that tive talk-show host Monica Crowley and Rep. David Rivera (R-FL), a Cuban-Ameri- airs on PBS-TV. Newsweek contributing editor Eleanor Clift. can hardliner who sponsored the travel ban, This particular show discussed Cuba in “At this point, to have Cuba on the terror- argues that his home state has a right to limit the larger context of the growing impor- ism list is really irrelevant. And it’s probably the way its public funds are used. tance of Hispanic voters, illegal immigration inappropriate and should be changed,” said “In taking this action, the Florida legisla- and U.S. relations with Latin America. Crowley, who has a program on New York’s ture was responding to the will of Floridians Asked by host John McLaughlin if he WABC-77 radio and is also a Fox News con- who simply do not want their tax dollars and thought Cuba should be taken off the U.S. tributor and Washington Times columnist. public resources used for this type of activity,” State Department’s list of state sponsors of “But in terms of the embargo, 17 years Rivera told CubaNews in an email. “A federal terrorism, Buchanan said “I tend to agree ago President Nixon, shortly before he appeals court has already affirmed the state we ought to lift the embargo” before Mc- died, was the highest-ranking American legislature’s authority to make this determina- Laughlin asked him to clarify his remarks. who called for rolling back the embargo.” tion over the use of taxpayer dollars and “Cuba has done a lot of spying here, but I Crowley, who worked for Nixon and resources. The Supreme Court should follow don’t know of any recent acts of terror wrote two books about the 37th president, suit and respect the will of the elected repre- against the United States,” said Buchanan, said her former boss supported a change in sentatives of the people of Florida.” who campaigned for president as a Repub- U.S. policy “because he believed — and it’s But if the Supreme Court takes the case, lican in 1992 and 1996, and as a Reform the same philosophy as his approach to the odds may be with the ACLU. Party candidate in 2000. China — that if there’s economic liberaliza- The Supreme Court has already ruled that “I would start lifting the embargo,” Buch- tion, that will eventually lead to the desire states don’t have the right to conduct foreign anan said, deriding “Florida politics” as the for political liberalization.” policy. In 2000, for example, the high court reason this policy endures. “I would get To watch the entire McLaughlin episode, invalidated a Massachusetts law that limited some prisoners released in exchange and go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?fea- state purchases from companies doing busi- some benefits for us. But I would lift it, yes.” ture=player_embedded&v=bizLtA9mrkE. ness with Burma. June 2011 v CubaNews 5 POLITICAL BRIEFS CUBA SENTENCES 6 DISSIDENTS TO PRISON TERMS In their own words … The conviction of six dissidents in summary tri- als for doing no more than exercising their funda- “I would welcome real change from the Cuban government ... For us to have the kind of normal relations we have with other countries, we’ve got to see sig- mental rights “highlights the continuing abuse of nificant changes from the Cuban government, and we just have not seen that.” the criminal justice system to repress dissent in Cuba,” according to Human Rights Watch. — President Obama, in a May 13 interview with Miami’s WLTV-Channel 23. Four people — Luís Enrique Labrador, 33; David Piloto, 40; Walfrido Rodríguez, 42; and Yordani “How do I look, ladies, how do I look at 80? How many old men of 60 are Martínez, 23 — were sentenced on May 31 in there who aren’t in my shape?” Havana for distributing pamphlets criticizing Raúl — Raúl Castro, talking to reporters on June 2, the day before his 80th birthday. and Fidel Castro, and two human rights defenders in Holguín were sentenced on May 24, charged “The Soviet Marxist-Leninist textbooks used in Cuban universities regarded with “insulting national symbols” and “disorder” anthropology and sociology as bourgeois science. The revolutionary myth col- for public acts that they denied had taken place. lapsed with the crisis which has afflicted Cuba since the 1990s, opening the way They were given sentences ranging from two to for discussion of the country's real problems. The government no longer enjoys five years in prison. the same consensus as in the 1960s. Cubans have lost their motivation; society “With this new round of prosecutions, the is fragmented, with no sense of direction.” Castro government is sending a clear message to — Mario Castillo, who works at the Cuban Institute of Anthropology in Old Havana, dissidents that the status quo has not changed in quoted Apr. 19 in The Guardian. Castillo, 36, is one of the coordinators of the Obser- Cuba,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas direc- vatorio Crítico, a network of young activists that hopes to bring new life to politics. tor at HRW. “Publicly criticizing the government can still earn you a harsh prison sentence.” “Whatever the actions attributed to Bin Laden, the assassination of an The four Havana men were detained Jan. 14, unarmed human being surrounded by his family constitutes an abhorrent act.” when they went to the city’s Plaza de la — Fidel Castro, writing in a May 5 “reflection” in which he also criticized Bin Laden Revolución and threw leaflets into the air with slo- for“international terrorism” and reminded the world that Cuba had expressed soli- gans such as “Down with the Castros.” darity with the United States after the “brutal” Sept. 11 attacks. Said Vivanco: “The dissidents were prosecuted on the basis of their political beliefs, and because “They still don’t want people going for an inclusive beach vacation. That goes they dared to exercise rights that all Cubans against the spirit of the regulations because it props up the regime and doesn’t should enjoy. They should never have even been benefit regular people. But Cuba has so much more to offer than the beaches.” tried, let alone convicted.” — Tom Popper, CEO of tour company Insight Cuba, quoted May 29 in a Detroit Free In early May, a Cuban dissident who died after Press article about newly announced U.S. regulations governing travel to Cuba. an alleged police beating had complained shortly after the confrontation that the police agents had “The Cuban government started off with a bomb by saying ‘we have to lay off “killed” him, said a Baptist pastor who knew him. 500,000 people.’ They should have begun by saying, ‘we are going to create “His face showed an immense pain, and I recall 500,000 new private jobs,’ then, once successful, announce the layoffs. They put him saying, ‘They killed me,’ ” said Pastor Mario the solution before the problem.” Lleonart Barroso, who ran into Juan Wilfredo Soto — , García as the 46-year-old dissident was leaving a Carmelo Mesa-Lago Cuba expert and professor at the University of Pittsburgh. hospital in the central city of Santa Clara. “Raúl Castro has clearly gone to extraordinary lengths to make it clear that Details: Daniel Wilkinson, Human Rights Watch, corruption — particularly at the higher levels — will not be tolerated, signaling 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10118. he means business and higher-ups must sacrifice too.” Tel: (646) 552-8063. URL: www.hrw.org/en/press. — John Kirk, a Latin America expert at Canada’s Dalhousie University. Kirk was RADIO, TV MARTÍ LURES TRAFFIC WITH NEW WEBSITE quoted May 20 in a Reuters story about Cuba’s crackdown on white-collar corruption. News transmitted by the U.S. government to Cuba via Radio and TV Martí is keeping pace with “The lack of confidence Raúl feels in young apparatchiks is based on the fact the times in its use of social networks and multi- he doesn’t understand their impatience or the speed at which they want to media platforms, Fox News reported May 23. accelerate the process [of economic and political change]. The founding genera- The update is being organized by Cuban-Ameri- tion is extremely closed, and this ethic has served to discredit young leaders.” can attorney Carlos Garcia-Perez, who for the past — Eduardo Bueno, professor of international relations at Mexico’s Iberoamerican eight months has directed the Office of Cuba University, speaking Apr. 20 to ABC News about generational change in Cuba. Broadcasting, which seeks to circumvent official Cuban censorship. “If the Spanish government did not have the conditions, because it faces an “We’ve enlivened the web page with more news economic crisis, I don’t understand why it made a deal with the Cuban dictator- and better content. Added to that is our use of ship to send 1,000 persons to a place where there are no jobs.” social networks, because we have to make use of — Ex-Cuban political prisoner Nestor Rodríguez Lobaina, who lives in a Red Cross all media in an integrated way. They all support shelter near Málaga, Spain. He complained to a reporter that he’s run out of tooth- each other,” said Garcia-Perez. “Our mission paste and deodorant, and has been given no money for a haircut since his arrival.. remains the same: trying to keep the Cuban peo- ple informed in the most truthful way possible “For us, the major goal is to prevent these major accidents from happening. about what is happening on the island, in the The companies must show that they meet all international standards.” United States, Latin America and the world.” — Fidel Ilizastigui Pérez, of Cuba’s Office for Environment and Nuclear Safety Nonetheless, the most visible, best-known medi- Regulation, offering public assurances May 13 at an oil safety conference in um is the renovated website, which in the few Trinidad, following U.S. concerns about Cuba’s ability to handle an oil spill. months since its makeover has boosted the num- ber of hits from around 600 to 4,000 a day. 6 CubaNews v June 2011 ECONOMY January 2012 conference to ‘evaluate’ economic reforms BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI ingness to cross this new rubicon, they’ll gain The answer to all three questions: men in ow that the Sixth Congress of the Com- wide recognition and support from within and their early 50s. Most members of the Central munist Party of Cuba (PCC) is over, all outside of Cuba. Committee — from where the next genera- Neyes are on Jan. 28, 2012, when more It’s a rather human reaction to disqualify tion of top leaders will most certainly emerge changes will take place at the PCC’s upcom- the elderly — but Winston Churchill, Konrad — were born after 1959. Two-thirds of Cuba’s ing national conference. Adenauer, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight Eisen- Council of Ministers are 60 years old or less, That conference will “evaluate the Party’s hower, David Ben-Gurion and Deng Xioping and more than two-thirds of Cuba’s provincial work” and “detemine necessary transforma- all proved to be able men well into their 80s. leaders are in their 40s and 50s. tions” to Party statues and structures, accord- For these Cuban leaders (and especially At the January 2012 conference, reported ing to the newspaper Juventud Rebelde. Raúl), this is their final hurrah, and they will Juventud Rebelde, topics are to include “modi- Meanwhile, the implementation phase of try — for practical and historical reasons, not fications in methods and style [of the PCC’s Cuba’s economic reforms will require accel- to mention personal pride — to do their best. functions]; the promotion of women, blacks, erated adoption of laws, norms, codes and One angle that’s frequently overlooked is mestizos and young people to leading posi- regulations that provide a legal basis for the the other leadership already in place or right tions … always based on merit and personal recently adopted lineamientos [guidelines]. behind the “oldies” which already controls an circumstances” and the establishment of five- Those guidelines were published May 9 as enormous share of Cuba’s power structure. year term limits for top party officials. a pamphlet, along with a 48-page tabloid ex- Who runs the Implementation and Deve- Also on the agenda: “strengthening internal plaining them. The two publications together lopment Commission entrusted with putting democracy, reaching out to the self-employed sell for 3 pesos — the equivalent of 12¢. these guidelines into practice? Who com- and workers in the private sector, and inclu- The first draft contained 291 guidelines, of mands the biggest army in Cuba? Who con- sion of the Union of Young Communists in which only 32 were kept entirely; most of the ducts Cuba’s foreign policy? important discussions.” q others were completely modified or merged with others, and 36 new ones were incorpo- rated, for a final total of 313. These guidelines establish a “new econom- Lineamientos: the crucial ones to follow ic model” that has very little to do with Cuba’s ere’s a selection of some of the most chase of equipment and other purposes. economy up until now. Although some central important guidelines (in addition to 10. Fiscal incentives will be put in place planning will remain, the Cuban economy will Hthe “new economic model” described seeking to promote the orderly development now consist of five different sectors: at left) and what they mean for Cuba. of different forms of non-state property and n 1. The state sector based on a central 1. The five sectors of this new model will management. This is aimed at appeasing budget [el sector presupuestado]. be supplied by the market at wholesale complaints about excessive taxation. n 2. State companies, industries, business- prices, including the renting of goods and 11. Similar incentives will be given to enti- es and services [el sector empresarial] which equipment. This implies a radically different ties that contribute to import substitution will now be completely managed — with modus operandi from before, when the state and the diversification of exports. A special absolute autonomy from other state and Party provided everything regardless of results. system of fiscal incentives to promote agri- institutions and agencies — with an eye to- 2. Perfeccionamiento empresarial (PE) will cultural husbandry will be implemented. wards efficiency. Their success or failure will be integrated into the new economic model 12. Foreign investments will focus on depend totally on economic performance. to make the sector empresarial more effi- high-tech, new management skills, import n 3. Foreign investment [sector de la inver- cient. The nearly 1,000 entities now abiding substitution, the expansion of markets, mid- sión extranjera] through different forms of by PE’s financial and organizational premis- and long-term funding and job creation. association with local partners, though no es will be the only ones to transition smooth- 13. The government will continue to pro- details were disclosed on the possibility of for- ly into the new model. mote foreign capital, though emphasis will eign direct investments. This implies a final 3. Industries, companies and businesses be placed on its role as a source for employ- renegotiation of Cuba’s foreign debt and an that fail to meet standards of productivity, ment, considering that only 2% of Cuba’s urgent quest for new investments. efficiency and profitability will be closed for work force is employed in the foreign sector n 4. The cooperative sector, characterized good or transformed into some form of coop- 14. The process of foreign investments as a form of socialist property. erative property, if possible. This will affect will be accelerated. n 5. A vast network of non-state [no estatal] more than 2,500 factories and other state 15. Investment portfolios will be created. property activities such as small businesses, entities that are nearly bankrupt or have not 16. Cuba will meet its financial obligations self-employed people, finqueros, etc. been profitable or productive for decades. and regain credibility. That means the rene- The golden rule connecting each sector will 4. No subsidies will be made available to gotiation and rescheduling of existing ar- be market relations, clearly stated on numer- cover losses. rears followed by a strict policy of payments. ous occasions throughout the guidelines. 5. The sector empresarial will be free to 17. An “appropriate legal framework” will If fully implemented by 2015, Cuba’s econo- make decisions regarding funds, salaries, be created. This implies an update and revi- my and society will look very different than and proceeds. sion of the current Investment Law. The new they do today. And subsequently — as even 6. All economic entities will begin paying wording suggests much more dynamic ini- Marxists would have to admit — a new set of territorial taxes to local governments. tiatives vis-â-vis foreign capital markets. political arrangements will have to emerge in 7. Cooperatives will be an option for every 18. Mechanisms will be designed to chan- the not-too-distant future to accommodate type of economic activity. nel import-export demands and potential Cuba’s increasingly diverse society. 8. Cooperatives will enjoy full ownership that will emerge from the non-state sector. Repeated objections have been raised that and control their economic destiny, from in- 19. The government will establish and ex- key positions still remain in the hands of the come to the distribution of proceeds. pand Special Development Zones and pro- “generación histórica” (those who led the 9. Banking services will be offered to mote Cuban ventures and alliances overseas Cuban Revolution for more than 50 years and cooperatives and the non-state sectors, both in order to better position Cuba globally. are now in their 70s and 80s). of which may open accounts for the pur- Yet if these aging leaders show their will- – DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI June 2011 v CubaNews 7 AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURE BRIEFS HIGHER PRICES LURE FARMERS BACK TO SUGAR More Cuban farmers are opting to grow Brazilians mull sugar sector projects sugar cane due to higher prices and other in- BY VITO ECHEVARRÍA who owned sugar-growing lands before Fidel Castro’s expropriations are likely to threaten centives being offered by the Sugar Ministry s Cuba’s once-powerful sugar sector as part of plans to revive the depressed crop, has fallen into neglect, sugar conglom- legal action against these companies. Cuban- American attorney Nicolás J. Gutiérrez Jr., industry sources told Reuters. Aerates from Brazil are taking a closer Sugar may no longer be king in Cuba, where look at revamping the island’s sugar industry. president of the Miami-based National Association of Sugar Mill Owners of Cuba, it once accounted for 90% of export earnings Talks now under way could soon result in but today brings in only 5% of hard currency. says his group is watching Brazil and will With international prices expected to remain an agreement under which Brazilian compa- assert his members’ rights. nies operating in Cuba won’t be subject to high, however, the cash-strapped Castro “It is darkly ironic that the Brazilian would- regime is showing a new interest in the sector. future nationalization by the Castro regime. be traffickers are seeking guarantees from Cuba’s mighty sugar sector has seen pro- “The ministry is clearing and plowing land, their own government that the Cuban regime providing seed and some other services to in- duction fall from a high of more than 8 million will not do to them exactly what it did to us,” tons in 1989-90 to just 1.2 million tons during dividuals who lease fallow state acreage under said the lawyer, a founding partner of Miami’s a government program begun in 2008,” said a its latest harvest (see article at right). Gutiérrez, Zarraluqui & Franco law firm. Reflecting the seriousness of Brazilian local sugar expert who asked to remain anony- Gutiérrez’s personal stake in this issue mous. “Mills have more than doubled what interest in Cuban sugar, Brazilian corporate stems from his own family and its loss of lawyer Beno Suchodolski was hired by three they pay for cane to 100 pesos ($4) per ton.” sugar properties in Cienfuegos province dur- The expert said prices remained too low, but major sugar and ethanol firms to study the ing the revolution. Over the years, Gutiérrez feasibility of such investments. free startup services put sugar at an advan- has represented the Sánchez-Hill family, for- tage over other crops where new farmers Although the lawyer declined to name mer owners of the Santa Lucía sugar planta- those three companies, he did tell the São were expected to clear and bring land into pro- tion and other lands near Holguín. duction with little, if any, government support. Paulo business newspaper Valor Econômico Gutiérrez and his group aren’t the only that liberalization measures by President To date, the agriculture ministry has grant- ones fired up over the idea of Brazilians mov- ed 128,000 leases covering 1.2 million hectares Raúl Castro could stimulate Brazilian invest- ing in on their confiscated lands. ment in Cuba’s sugar industry. (2.9 million acres), with another 700,000 The powerful Fanjul brothers, whose for- hectares (1.7 million acres) being offered. Laws to promote investment in the sugar tune was built on pre-revolutionary Cuban The government is expected to liberalize the sector are expected to be in place by this sugar and who have since rebuilt their sugar program this month by expanding the acreage August or September. empire in Florida and the Dominican an individual can farm, significantly extending Assuming the Brazilians actually invest in Republic, are also keeping an eye on whatev- the 10-year lease, and allowing homes and Cuba’s sugar sector, relatives of Cuban exiles er the Brazilians end up doing. q other structures to be built on the land, among other measures. Output was around 1.2 million tons of raw Cuba guards its dwindling cork palms sugar this year, a bit higher than the 1.1 mil- BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA lion-ton 2010 season, but still miserably low. ike many other islands around the world, Cuba’s state-owned sugar industry hopes to Cuba is home to a large number of boost production to 2.4 million tons by 2015. Lunique species of plants that thrive — or “The agriculture ministry is prioritizing cane barely survive — thanks precisely to the pro- and pointing out its advantages when people longed isolation of their ecosystems. come in seeking land,” one insider said, add- More than 60% of Cuba’s flora is endemic to ing that thousands of new farmers were opting the island, meaning that these plants can’t be to grow sugar and existing ones to switch over found anywhere else on Earth but Cuba — or add it, without being more specific. sometimes confined to a few acres of land on a hill, a peak, an outcrop of rocks or a valley. Hidden in the dense, hilly barely accessible FARM GROUP URGES END TO ACOPIO MONOPOLY forest of western Cuba, the cork palm, known Orlando Lugo Fonte, president of Cuba’s National Association of Small Farmers in the botanical world as Microcycas calocoma, is one of those unique jewels — maybe the (ANAP) — a group affiliated with the Cuban best-known of all endemics of Cuba. Communist Party — is insisting on doing For this reason, the , as it’s away with the much-hated state food distribu-

ARMANDO PORTELA palma de corcho known in Spanish, is strictly protected by tion monopoly known as Acopio. Cuban environmental laws. “If in Cuba there is private and diversified production, you can’t have monopolized distri- is considered a survivor of the M. calocoma bution,” Lugo told the daily Juventud Rebelde. Jurassic period which managed to escape ex- “We have to look for many ways of buying and tinction for 150 million years. It is currently selling. If you ask me, it must be direct.” listed as a “critically enangered” species as a Farmers must sell their entire quota to Aco- result of habitat loss. pio. Excess crops may be sold directly at road- Only 1,000 to 6,000 of these palms are side stands; selling to private middlemen is believed to exist in the wild, and they are forbidden, though the practice is widespread. perennially threatened by forest fires, wood- “If a cooperative wants to sell products and cutting, poaching and hurricanes. wants a sales point, let them have it,” said Experts say their numbers are shrinking at Lugo, whose ANAP represents small farmers an alarming rate. An elusive bug that plays and member-owned cooperatives. “If a hotel the role of pollinator for this plant has become wants to buy a product from a coop, why can’t scarce as a result of the widespread use of it do so? Why do they have to do it forecedly Cork palm at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami. pesticides in agriculture. q through a company?” 8 CubaNews v June 2011 NEWSMAKERS Canada’s Mark Entwistle offers expert advice on Cuba BY LARRY LUXNER ism contributes nearly $2.5 billion a year to Packages that include round-trip airfare the Cuban economy — and that since 1990, from Montreal or Toronto, seven nights in a ost career foreign-service officers rise Canada has been the single most important tourist-class hotel, and meals, tours and trans- up the ranks of the diplomatic serv- source of tourism to Cuba, sending more visi- fers are available for as little as $600 per per- Mice, serve as ambassadors in three or tors to the Caribbean island than all other son double occupancy. Yet the Canadians who four countries and end their careers in their countries combined. go to Cuba rarely speak Spanish and have lit- late 60s or early 70s, often retiring to write In fact, Canadians comprised 555,872 out of tle interaction with ordinary Cubans outside their memoirs or play golf in Florida. the 1,179,963 vacationers who visited Cuba designated tourist sectors. Mark Entwistle chose a different path. during the first four months of this year, “They tend to stay in the beach areas and After representing Canada as ambassador in Havana from 1993 to 1997, he quit the for- eign service at the age of 41 and made Cuba his career instead. “I retired from the foreign service after my Havana posting, largely because I saw the LARRY LUXNER potential Cuba offered. So I built a consulting business for myself specifically focused on Cuba, and I now work with foreign compa- nies, including U.S. companies preparing to go back there at some point in the future.” As president of Chibas Consulting Inc., Entwistle travels to his favorite island eight to 10 times a year. Before his Cuba posting, he served in the Soviet Union (from 1986 to 1989) and spent the three years before that as a Canadian diplomat in Israel. The Montreal-born consultant also served a couple of years as press secretary for for- mer Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. During his time in Havana, he said, “I had extremely good relations with my American Former Canadian diplomat Mark Entwistle advises investors to focus on tourism, agriculture and mining. colleagues, and the Cubans knew that. The fact is, we’re friends with both countries. Ob- according to Cuba’s Oficina Nacional de Esta- visit small towns around those areas. What viously, one is infinitely more important to us dísticas, making it likely that the final number they don’t tend to do is go to Havana, where economically than the other one, but we have for 2011 will top one million. you find Europeans and other Latins, but rela- a long-standing relationship with Cuba based “It seems almost rare to encounter a Cana- tively few Canadians,” Entwistle said. on respect, even where we don’t agree with dian who has not visited Cuba,” notes Arch Traditionally, most Canadian visitors to Cuba them on everything.” Ritter, a Cuba expert at Ottawa’s Carleton had come from French-speaking Quebec, Entwistle, 55, spoke with CubaNews in Tor- University, noting on his blog that foreign- though that’s changing — thanks to regular onto following a May 30 lunch organized by exchange earnings from Canadian tourism charter flights from places like Calgary, the Canadian Council for the Americas and were likely around $882 million for 2008 (cal- Winnipeg and Vancouver to tourist magnets titled “Cuba Libre: Is now the time to invest?” culated as 37.6% of total tourism earnings of such as Varadero and Holguín. $2.347 billion). “In the high season, you probably have 50 CUBA’S 3 TARGET SECTORS Ritter added that “if one takes both Canadi- charters now from western Canada to Cuba Absolutely it is, he says, though some sec- an tourism plus Canadian merchandise im- every week. This is a very important market tors are clearly more accessible than others. ports, mainly nickel, from Cuba into consid- segment for the Cubans,” he explained. “Some people think Cuba is some kind of eration, Canada contributed about $1.6 billion “What has been frustrating about Canadian middle kingdom or isolated country. It’s not,” in 2008, a substantial proportion of Cuba’s for- tourism from a pure business model is its pro- he told us. “It’s a market of largely untapped eign-exchange availability.” file — sun and sand — so the margins for tour potential.” Why are Canadians so drawn to Cuba? we operators are minimual. There’s been a long- Despite the fact that Cuba has identified asked Entwistle. standing interest in Cuba to diversify the specific areas of the economy as its priorities, “The winter,” he replied dryly. But it’s not product and make it more valuable.” says Entwistle, potential foreign investors fre- just that, he insisted. “There’s an affinity quently take a kind of shotgun approach. between the two countries. Partly it’s history, PLENTY OF TOURISTS, BUT NO INVESTMENT “They think, ‘here’s a country with minimal dating from when ships from Nova Scotia Also frustrating, he said, is the fact that access to global capital, therefore they’ll want would send down fish and bring back rum.” “there’s virtually no Canadian investment” in to do everything under the sun.’ There’s an Entwistle explained: “Canadian banks Cuba’s tourism sector since Delta pulled out assumption that maybe the Cubans are vulne- helped finance the sugar industry, and the Ro- in the late 1990s. rable,” he told us. “But in reality, the Cubans yal Bank of Canada opened a Havana branch “Canada supplies the bodies, but does not have very explicit ideas of what their national in 1898 even before it had any in Toronto. In invest in the tourism sector, which has always priorities are. If you listen to them carefully, its heyday, before 1959, RBC had about 60 been ironic from a Cuban point of view. The they’ll tell you what they’re interested in.” branches in Cuba. And the Bank of Nova Sco- Cubans have long tried to encourage Canadi- Entwistle focuses on three specific sectors tia [now Scotiabank] had over 40 branches.” an investment because it would be so logical.” of interest, reflecting realities on the ground: It also helps that Cuba is an incredible trav- One project getting lots of headlines lately tourism, agriculture and mining. el bargain for Canadians, whose dollar is cur- is a $410 million joint venture between Cuba’s This is an obvious choice, given that tour- rently trading at around US$1.03. See Entwistle, page 9 June 2011 v CubaNews 9 the frenetic activity of the mid-90s, but it’s “For the longest time, Cuban agriculture Entwistle — FROM PAGE 8 come back on the radar screen.” was closed to foreign direct investment as a It’s worth noting that the CCA luncheon at strategic sector,” he told us. “There were en- state-run Grupo Palmares SA and Ottawa- which Entwistle spoke was co-sponsored by claves like the Israelis working in citrus, but based Standing Feather International Inc. In Barrick Gold, one of Canada’s largest gold ex- in general, the sector was not open. That April, the partners signed a memo of under- ploration firms (Barrick is investing more than changed roughly two years ago.” standing to build a golf course community at $3 billion in the nearby Dominican Republic). Entwistle said he’s now working with a Guardalavaca, in the province of Holguín. Also worth noting was the complete ab- Canadian distributor that has annual sales of Estancias de Golf Loma Linda Golf, occupy- sence of Sherritt at the event. The Toronto- $125 million and operates around the world. ing a 520-acre site, is to include an 1,200 lux- based company — whose main office is two “They’ve seen the strategic potential for ury villas, bungalows and apartments, as well and a half miles up Yonge Street from where Cuba in the future to supply mostly fresh as an 18-hole golf course, a commercial center the conference was held — keeps a very low fruits and vegetables, specifically for export,” and a 170-room boutique hotel. Rooms at that profile with regard to its Cuba activities. he said, declining to name the company. “The hotel will go for $200 a night, reported the That’s because Sherritt’s top executives ultimate goal is to move beyond purchase of product to a dedicated joint production facili- ty. The idea is to hedge production against “The timelines and the processes will be careful and meticulous. things like freezes in Mexico or Florida.” The project specifically targets tomatoes, I think the trend is toward greater economic liberalization peppers and cucumbers using drip-irrigation technology. Exactly where in Cuba the project of the domestic economy — but in a very step-by-step process will be located and how much will be invested where each step is assessed before they go to the next one.” in the project is still undetermined. “This would be interesting,” said Entwistle, — MARK ENTWISTLE, PRESIDENT OF OTTAWA-BASED CHIBAS CONSULTING INC. “because it hits agriculture across three seg- ments: producing for export, supplying the next level down in quality — the tourism sec- New York Times, and the residences are likely would be arrested if they ever stepped onto tor as import substitution, and that produces to average $600,000 each. U.S. soil, due to that company’s violation of hard currency — and sending increased pro- Standing Feather’s shareholders are mem- Title IV of the 1996 Helms-Burton Act, which duction into the domestic Cuban market.” bers of a Canadian Indian tribe. Entwistle was punishes foreign companies from “trafficking a key participant in the venture but is no long- in confiscated property” of U.S. entities. ENTWISTLE: BE REALISTIC ABOUT CUBA er, for reasons he declined to discuss publicly. “The reason there’s a Title IV punitive As ambassador, Entwistle said he met Fidel Entwistle is, however, involved with Old action against Sherritt is because Sherritt’s Castro 28 times and probably spent 100 hours Havana’s boutique Hotel Saratoga — “the sin- nickel mine is operating on property subject with him. “Fidel used to stop by the resi- gle best hotel in Cuba,” he calls it — because to a U.S. certified claim. The claim holder, Entwistle advises the board of Coral Capital Freeport McMoRan, objected, but Sherritt dence. I used to get phone calls at midnight Group, which partly owns the hotel. has made a strategic decision that this is a from the switchboard of the president’s office part of doing business,” Entwistle explained. because he wanted to see me,” he recalled. MINING: BACK ON THE RADAR SCREEN “I’m a Canadian citizen, so I’m not gov- “Regardless of what one might think of him, this guy’s a historic figure, a skilled ora- Mining is one sector of Cuba’s economy erned by the regulations. I’m not an agent for U.S. companies, but I do give advice, and I’m tor. You feel you’re in the presence of history, that hasn’t gotten much attention but is likely a guy who took a ragtag bunch of guerrilla to as the island’s cash-strapped government not involved in any business that is defined as trafficking in confiscated Cuban property.” fighters and, helped by the collapse of the increasingly turns to foreign investment. Batista army, took control of Cuba.” “In 1995-96, there was an invasion of Cana- Another key area for potential investment is agriculture, says Entwistle. He added: “I don’t think even Fidel imag- dian juniors looking for kind of mineral, kick- ined that we’d be here in 2011 and that he ing the tires, drilling holes. They were all over wouldn’t be fully in control of the country. But the place. We probably had 20 joint ventures,” Sherritt issues Cuba forecast his health prevented that, and he’s adapted.” Entwistle told CubaNews. “I was going to the Sherritt International, Cuba’s largest for- Under the leadership of Fidel’s 80-year-old Ministry of Basic Industry once a month to eign investor, said in its 4th-quarter report brother Raúl, economic changes are indeed joint-venture signing ceremonies. Then the it expects moderate production declines in transforming Cuba. But Entwistle warned Bre-X mining scandal happened, and that — nickel (-2%) and cobalt (-2.9%), and sharper that investors must have a realistic under- combined with a global retraction — caused drops in oil (-7.1%) and electricity (-18.7%). standing of what’s happening on the island. the capital market to dry up for mining.” Even so, the Toronto-based company is “The Cuban political leadership has said By the late 1990s, all the Canadian junior boosting capital investments on the island. pretty clear that the way they’ve been doing mining companies had left, unable to finance Sherritt will pour $50 million into its Moa things is no longer sustainable. There will their activities. The glaring exception was nickel joint venture in Cuba this year, up have to be changes; there have already been, Sherritt International, the largest single for- from $40 million in 2010. Also, Sherritt and and there will be more. The Cubans are mak- eign investor in Cuba (see box at right). joint-venture partner Cubaníquel are “re- ing adjustments to make sure it works better. “For a period of 14 years, the mining sector viewing options for completion of the People should be wary of reading something was barren — no activity at all. No Canadians Phase 2 expansion and the construction of into those decisions that isn’t there. These came. They were involved in other parts of the sulphuric acid plant at Moa,” it said, the world. Cuba fell off the radar screen.” reforms are not intended to radically restruc- adding that these projects are not included ture the Cuban system.” But two years ago, commodity prices sud- in capital spending projections for 2011. denly started to rise, and base metals became “The timelines and the processes will be Sherritt expects to invest $100 million in careful and meticulous,” he added. “I think more attractive again. Cuban oil operations, up from $53 million “Canadian companies have started to come the trend is toward greater economic liberal- in 2010. The rise is mainly due to eight ization of the domestic economy — but in a back, looking for lead, zinc and copper. The new on-shore wells planned for this year. Chinese have an insatiable demand for cop- very step-by-step process where each step is Investments in its power assets in Cuba assessed before they go to the next one.” q per, so prices are being pushed up. We’re just will be $158 million this year, up from $20 now seeing gold exploration companies com- million in 2010, the company reported. Washington-based journalist and photographer ing around. The mining sector is not close to Larry Luxner has edited CubaNews since 2002. 10 CubaNews v June 2011 AGRICULTURE Vegetables: Reason for hope amid a bleak landscape BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA atively low cost and in small plots close to lb per year in 1994 to 147 lb in 2009; cassava uban agriculture is rampant with exam- consumers. Such staples included roots, from 22 lb to 59 lb in 2006. Total vegetable ples of consistent failures, unsuccessful tubers, plantains, spices and garden vegeta- consumption went from 69 lb per year in 1994 Cpolicies and wasteful management — bles, from cassava to cucumbers, garlic and to 383 lb in 2003, the highest in decades. but one bright spot over the past 15 years is eggplants. For some strange reason, potatoes have tra- edible vegetable cultivation. The results came fast. Between 1995 and ditionally been considered a sensitive prod- Over this same time span, other crops like 2000, per-capita output of veggies tripled from uct, and the government does not allow it to citrus, rice, coffee, tobacco and cattle (all ana- below 88 lb per year to 265 lb. By 2005, it had be sold or produced freely by farmers. lyzed by CubaNews from December 2010 to quadrupled to 352 lb, guaranteeing — at least State farms and cooperatives grow potatoes now) have been devastated to the point where it’s hard to foresee any genuine recovery. After hitting rock-bottom in the early 1990s, the government rushed to introduce reforms to boost food production. LARRY LUXNER LARRY By 1993, food intake dropped to 1,863 calo- ries per day nationwide from 2,900 calories a few years earlier, as acknowledged by the Ministry of Public Health (see CubaNews, March 1998), while for a large part of the pop- ulation it was below 1,500 calories a day. Things got so bad that an outbreak of optic neuropathy, a malnutrition disease affecting nearly 50,000 people, hit Cuba. The weight of newborn babies fell and nourishing mothers also lost weight. It was the worst part of the euphemistically called Special Period.

PER-CAPITA OUTPUT TRIPLES IN 5 YEARS At that time, over 80% of Cuba’s croplands were leased to new cooperatives. The govern- Shoppers inspect potatoes at a peso-only outdoor produce market in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. ment created vast schemes including the in numbers — nearly one pound of veggies within tight rules, mainly in the red soils of organization of urban agriculture and trying per day per person. Havana and Matanzas provinces. Output is to get soldiers involved on a massive scale. unstable, however. After averaging 48 lb per The tight grip over individual sale of food Roots, tubers and plantains, all key staples was eased, and private people could for the in the Cuban diet, soared in production over capita annually from 1980 to 1994, potato pro- first time sell those forbidden avocados from that time, as did production of cassava, plan- duction rose to 65 lb from 1996 to 2005, only their own backyard. tains and tomatoes. to drop to 43 lb in the 2006-09 period, with a The “Programa Alimentario,” as this effort The average per-capita production of plan- fall to 27 lb in 2007, the lowest per-capita pota- was dubbed, focused on production of tradi- tains, for instance, jumped from as low as 18 to production since 1974. tional staples that could be grown fast, at rel- lb in 1989 to 149 lb in 2008; tomatoes from 17 See Vegetables, page 11 June 2011 v CubaNews 11

Vegetables — FROM PAGE 10 Two kinds of price-controlled state markets coexisted in an effort to restrain farmers’ profits. State-run markets ruled and supplied by Cuba’s Revolutionary Armed Forces became increasingly popular thanks to their much lower prices, though with less quality and diversity than the farmers’ markets. State-run stores also sold some products — mainly potatoes — through the old ration sys- tem at controlled prices. Costs and sustainability of those efforts were never on the table, but it might be assumed that a system resting on underpaid draftees to grow food on a permanent, mas- sive scale might temporarily work for a war- like besieged economy but would not be enough to create wealth on a lasting basis.

REFORMS COULD JUMP-START PRODUCTION By the early 2000s it became obvious that the new production models were losing steam only a decade since their inception. A deadly mix of hurricanes, droughts, inter- national market price hikes, decreasing exports from the island, the persistence of the decision-making, production quantities and The success of the Manicaragua-Cabai- initiative-devouring centralized apparatus and variety, distribution chains, domestic trade, guán belt — just to mention one example poor management by authorities had a devas- income, investment and competence. repeated all over Cuba — was brief, however, tating effect on Cuba’s agriculture. Insofar reforms in agriculture have been as the government’s egalitarian priorities put When the food import bill jumped to $2.26 more cautious than audacious, given that the an end to individual prosperity and the mar- billion (or 15.9% of all purchases abroad) in government has been more worried about kets were closed. 2008, authorities finally raised the red flag and preventing private people from making This time, it remains to be seen if Cuba’s demanded immediate solutions. money than lifting all obstacles to farming. agriculture authorities will adapt new, creative That response may have come with the Anecdotal references abound proving the initiatives, unafraid of boosting the fortunes of guidelines issued after last April’s Sixth positive impact the short-lived period of open prosperous farmers amidst widespread pover- Communist Party Congress in Havana. farmers’ markets in the early 1980s had on ty — or if orthodox views will keep Cuba on In general terms, authorities agreed to let consumption. the same failed path. q cooperatives grow, help vacant lands produce Those familiar with the standards of living This is the 7th and last in a series of articles on and increase agricultural yields. These vague- in the countryside at that time remember well various aspects of Cuba’s agriculture industry by ly exposed intentions plus occasional speech- how good houses and improved roads popped Havana-born Armando H. Portela, a contributor es or stories on the official media make hard up all throughout central Cuba, thanks to to CubaNews since the newsletter’s birth in 1993. to figure out how fast — if ever — agriculture farmers who freely traded in garlic, black Portela has a Ph.D. in geography from the Soviet will be freed from the heavy state burden in beans and dairy products. Academy of Sciences and resides in Miami, Fla. 12 CubaNews v June 2011 POLITICS Key players in Cuba’s leadership: Rising stars to watch BY DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI munism. His parents were very close to He’s been a member of the Politburo Com- aúl Castro, 80, is running Cuba now, and Raúl’s wife, Vilma Espín; some say Raúl has mission for many years now. been like a father to him. José Ramón Machado Ventura, also 80, MIGUEL DÍAZ-CANEL BERMÚDEZ. In the eyes Ris next in command. On Apr. 19, Mach- In the 1990s, Raúl named him head of the of the “históricos” he was always considered ado — who had been first vice president of General Staff, replacing Ulises Rosales del “a brilliant kid.” Cuba since February 2008 — was named sec- Toro and bypassing many other top generals. A leader in the UJC (Young Communists) ond secretary of the Cuban Communist Party. Highly professional and in excellent physi- and an electrical engineering graduate, Díaz- Here’s a look at the other members of cal shape, López Miera could also be a strong Canel was soon promoted to party cadre in Cuba’s Politburo, in no particular order: candidate to replace Regueiro. his native Villa Clara and by the late 1980s , 74. A became first secretary of the provincial party; RAMIRO VALDÉS MENÉNDEZ, 79, a “historico” RICARDO ALARCÓN DE QUESADA “histó- whose guerrilla credentials date back to the rico” in a special way, Alarcón is the only one later on, he reached that same position in the 1953 Moncada Barracks attack in Santiago de without guerrilla credentials (he was a Catho- much larger province of Holguín. In both Cuba, Valdés was a founding member of the lic student leader in the underground strug- positions, Raúl Castro showered public recog- 26th of July Movement, and has been a gle). Very much supported by Raúl from the nition on him. Politburo member since 1965. beginning, he joined the Ministry of Foreign A few years ago, he was appointed minister But in recent years, he’s reinvented him- of higher education — a surprise because self. In August 2006, he was named minister everyone thought he’d take over a party posi- of informatics and communications. Now a tion rather than an administrative one. technocrat in the fields of IT and business, Díaz-Canel is the only survivor of the group many younger Cubans see him as a “godfa- of young leaders from the early 1990s; this ther” and sponsor, surrounded by a first-class select group also included Lage, Pérez Roque, team of experts. Robinson, Valenciaga and others. Valdés has been exposed to, and influenced MARINO MURILLO JORGE, 50. Considering by, the reforms in China, having traveled he’s not a “histórico” at all or a young UJC or there many times over the last 30 years. He’s party leader from the ‘80s or ‘90s — and that said to be in excellent physical shape. he doesn’t have a university degree — Murillo’s rise to power has been spectacular. ABELARDO COLOMÉ IBARRA, 71, is among Raúl Castro’s best and closest friends. Smart, He excelled as a civilian worker at the efficient and sharp, he has top leadership Armed Forces’ Perfeccionamiento Empresa- experience in both the Revolutionary Armed rial team, then was suddenly named minister Forces (FAR) and the Ministry of Interior of economy and planning. He wasn’t even a (MININT). As minister of interior for the last member of the CC at the time. 20 years, he has modernized MININT’s struc- Ricardo Alarcón talks to CubaNews in May 2004. Murillo is entrusted with leading the com- mision in charge of drafting the major ture and direction. Affairs in 1962, becoming close to Raúl Roa, Colomé Ibarra has traveled repeatedly to changes and reforms to be included in the lin- Carlos R. Rodríguez and others. eamientos. China, and is in excellent physical shape. He’s Cuba’s ambassador to the United Nations a who took part in the Santiago de During this last congress, Murillo was ap- “historico” for more than 20 years, Alarcón also served pointed to the Politburo and given the rank of Cuba uprising in November 1956 as a teenag- as deputy minister and later minister of for- er and was close to Ramiro Valdés in the ‘60s. vice-president. He is indeed the most notable eign affairs until his 1993 appointment to “rising star” coming out of this congress. LEOPOLDO CINTRA FRÍAS, 69, is a “histórico” head the National Assembly. from the days of the Sierra Maestra; he joined Alarcón is Cuba’s top troubleshooter on AMONG MEMBERS OF THE SECRETARIAT the revolution when he was only 16. He’s a U.S. affairs, and an intellectual and excellent Víctor Fidel Gaute López and Olga Lidia veteran of many overseas missions including debater. When Alarcón talks, people listen. Tapia Iglesias have very similar backgrounds. Angola (1976 and 1988), and a university gra- During the 4th Party Congress, he was the Both are in their 40s, and both were provin- duate who achieved the highest scores at the CC candidate who got the most votes — even cial UJC and party leaders (Guate López in best Soviet military academies. more than Fidel and Raúl. Alarcón now has a Matanzas and Tapia Iglesias in Pinar del Río). Highly experienced in capitalist economies huge task ahead of him: to prepare all the leg- Both were chosen for their excellent per- and perfeccionamiento empresarial, Cintra islation, and reforms to the constitution der- formance to be members of the new party Frías is one of the most respected military ived from the lineamientos, as well as oversee- secretariat. leaders in Cuba. He is extremely dedicated, ing Cuba’s decentralization process. Misael Enamorado Dáger, 58, is an engi- discreet and low-profile. He’s also visited , 67, not a neer by profession. After a successful career China several times, and is the most likely ESTEBAN LAZO HERNÁNDEZ “históri- co” but active in the PCC since the late 1960s as head of two important industries in Las candidate to replace Gen. Julio Casas Reg- Tunas and as a UJC leader and party cadre, ueiro as minister of the FAR. in his native Matanzas. Although lacking in educational back- he was promoted to first secretary of the ALVARO LÓPEZ MIERA, 66, was only 14 years ground, Lazo has distinguished himself for party in Las Tunas and then to Santiago de when he joined the guerrillas as a teacher in being a highly efficient grass-roots organizer. Cuba, where his performance was publicly Raúl Castro’s Second Front. In 1961, he joined In the early 1970s, he started working closely praised. the military and became one of the most suc- with Machado Ventura. The latter promoted Appointed in 1991 as one of the youngest cessful students in Cuban military history, ris- him to first secretary of the PCC in Santiago members of the Central Committee, he was ing from lieutenant to colonel. He fought in de Cuba and to the Politburo. In 1994, he named to the Politburo in 1997 but expelled missions in Ethiopia, Angola and Vietnam. became first secretary of the party in the city for undisclosed reasons. Yet the fact he López Miera is considered extremely of Havana. remains in the Secretariat indicates that he’s knowledgeable, influenced by European cul- Currently, Lazo supervises two important still a crucial player. ture and familiar with the ideas of Eurocom- departments at the CC, Ideology and Culture. See Leadership, page 16 June 2011 v CubaNews 13 ORGANIZATIONAL CHART OF CUBA’S LEADERSHIP: THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND ITS TOP OFFICIALS 14 CubaNews v June 2011 existing lines and a loan for the moderniza- published by the official Communist Party BUSINESS BRIEFS tion of Cuba’s health care system. newspaper Granma on June 7, Marambio Reuters reported that the projects would “took advantage” of his position “to defraud HEALTH-CARE SECTOR SEES 14% FALL IN JOBS likely be financed by China’s Export-Import the Cuban government for his own benefit, Tens of thousands of Cubans are no longer Bank, using Venezuelan oil as collateral. forging and deliberately concealing informa- employed in the island’s widely praised health Other Chinese officials meeting with Raúl tion and bribing Cuban officials to go along care system, says AP, quoting a study included Zhu Zhixin, vice-president of the with his shady business dealings.” released by Cuba’s Oficina Nacional de National Commission on Development and Cubana de Aviación, Cuba’s flagship airline, Estadísticas. Reform; Zhong Shan, China’s deputy trade was the focus of speculation of all kinds after Overall employment in the sector fell 14% in minister, and Chen Yuan, vice-president of the the country’s top aviation official, Gen. 2010 to about 282,000, compared with 330,000 China Development Bank. Rogelio Acevedo, was sacked as president of the previous year, when the government After Venezuela, China is Cuba’s top trading the Cuban Institute of Civil Aeronautics in warned of the need to slash redundant jobs partner, with bilateral trade reaching $1.8 bil- March 2010. among less-skilled medical workers. lion last year, up from $1.5 billion in 2009. The government report on the trial — The biggest change was a 34% reduction in whose date is not mentioned — provides the technicians and auxiliary workers, from COURT SENDS 14 CUBANA OFFICIALS TO PRISON names of each of the people found guilty, and the sentences they were given. 134,000 to 88,000, it said. The report did not A Havana court handed down sentences of explain the drop, but said the category includ- However, the list does not include Acevedo, three to ten years to 14 officials and employ- ed employees such as pharmaceutical, X-ray who was to be assigned to “other tasks” after ees of Cubana de Aviación airline and a and dental assistants. he was found to be allegedly running a side There were only slight changes in numbers tourism agency jointly owned by Chilean business chartering Cubana jets for personal for highly skilled medical workers such as investors and the Cuban government, in a profit, the state reported in March 2010. doctors, nurses and pharmacists, AP said. corruption case that was veiled in a shroud of Acevedo is a veteran revolutionary in the Cuba prides itself on providing free, univer- secrecy, Inter Press Service reported. guerrilla struggle led by Fidel Castro in the sal health care despite its economic problems. In addition, Chilean businessman Marcel 1950s and later played a prominent role in But state-run media said last year that the Marambio, president of the Sol y Son tourism Angola’s 1975-2002 civil war. government needed to cut “inflated payrolls” agency, was found guilty in absentia. He was State media said the defendants were con- in health care. Among examples cited then sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud, victed because they received “cash bribes and were ambulance bases with many drivers for bribery and falsification of documents. personal perks” but did not provide details a single vehicle, clinics with more workers According to the government communiqué about what they provided in exchange. than patients per shift, and X-ray technicians who performed only a few scans each month. CHINA TO EXPAND CIENFUEGOS OIL REFINERY C&T to offer Puerto Rico-Cuba flights Cuba, which has begun to enact Chinese- iami-based C&T Charters plans to In addition to San Juan, it also plans to like economic reforms, is moving closer to offer flights between Puerto Rico add Cuba service from Chicago and Beijing with the signing of 13 agreements that Mand Cuba as early as next month. Atlanta in coming months. include a massive refinery expansion, new Gary Gonzalez, the company’s vice-pres- For its Puerto Rico service, González loans and a five-year cooperation plan, reports ident, told CubaNews that C&T — in busi- says C&T will utilize Boeing 737-400 and China’s Xinhua news agency. ness for the last 19 years — will fly once a Boeing 737-800 jets capable of accommo- “The Chinese government supports compe- week from San Juan to Havana and back. dating 140 to 160 passengers, depending tent Chinese enterprises in seeking new Later on, as traffic ramps up, C&T will on configuration. opportunities for cooperation and investment add flights to and from Santiago de Cuba Airfare for the San Juan-Havana flight in Cuba,” said Vice President Xi Jinping dur- in order to accommodate the large num- — which is around three hours and 20 ing a recent meeting with Raúl Castro. bers of Cuban exiles in Puerto Rico whose minutes — will cost in the neighborhood Xi, slated to become China’s president in families are originally from Oriente. of $700 round-trip, though that’s subject to 2013, praised the Sixth Party Congress in Ap- “We wanted to start service from Puerto change. Since Santiago de Cuba is much ril as a key event that “determined the direc- Rico in June, but that won’t be possible,” closer than Havana, flying time will proba- tion of the future development” of Cuba. he told us. “There’s a lot of red tape for a bly be an hour less. On Jun. 5, the two countries signed a letter new airline and it’s taken a little more time “We’ll be flying directly from five cities. of intent that calls for a doubling of the than we thought. We will begin maybe at When you add up that amount of hours, Cienfuegos refinery’s capacity from 65,000 to the end of July, and at the latest, August.” the airline we use will obviously give us 150,000 barrels a day. Direct air service between the two Car- better prices than if we fly only from Puer-- Reuters — which puts the cost of the expan- ibbean islands hasn’t existed for decades. to Rico,” said González. C&T is still dis- sion at $6 billion — reported that it’ll be a What makes it possible now is the cussing which airline it will contract. three-way agreement among Cuvenpetrol (the Obama administration’s decision in March The charter official said his company Cuban-Venezuelan joint venture that owns the to authorize 10 U.S. airports — including has already received all the permissions it refinery); China Huanqiu Contracting & San Juan — to offer charter flights to needs from local Puerto Rican authorities Engineering Corp., a unit of state oil entity Cuba, in addition to the three “gateways” as well as the Cuban government, and that CNPC, and the Italian subsidiary of Technip, already authorized to do so: Miami, New C&T will open a San Juan office 10 to 15 a French oil engineering company. York JFK and Los Angeles. days before it actually starts flying. Not much else is known about the deal, González says C&T flew around 60,000 “Even though we haven’t started our though Huanqui and Cuvenpetrol have also passengers to Cuba last year and has 22% advertising campaign, we have had so agreed to build a regasification plant near the of the U.S.-Cuba charter market — mak- many phone calls from people wanting to Cienfuegos refinery; the idea is to process liq- ing it the largest of eight charter compa- go,” he said. “A lot of Cubans living in uefied natural gas (LNG) from Venezuela for nies flying from Miami. Puerto Rico want to visit their families.” use in Cuban power plants. C&T currently offers daily flights Details: Gary González, C&T Charters, CNPC has also signed an accord to expand between Miami and Havana, and twice-a- 932-B Ponce de León Blvd., Coral Gables, cooperation with Cubapetroleo. Other agree- week flights to and from Camagüey, as FL 33134. Tel: (305) 445-3337. Fax: (305) ments signed in Havana include a new line of well as a weekly New York-Havana run. 445-3355. Email: [email protected]. credit from China, a restructuring of two June 2011 v CubaNews 15 POLITICS Dissident Antúnez: ‘We’re hostages of the dictatorship’ BY TRACEY EATON Cuban authorities say money from the U.S. Clara province. He said Cuban police keep emocracy aid from abroad helps Cuban has created a “fabricated” dissident move- him and other dissidents under constant sur- dissidents endure police harassment, ment. García and other activists deny that. veillance to try to isolate them and make Dhostility and 24-hour surveillance, said Anti-government activists often lose their them appear to be common criminals. activist Jorge Luís García Pérez. Dissidents’ homes resemble outposts for Life for dissidents and political prisoners is the political police, he said, because govern- “as hard as you can imagine,” García said in ment agents take up residence around the an interview in Havana. “There is a repressive homes and keep the democracy activists atmosphere up and down the country.” under watch. García, nicknamed “Antúnez,” stands out García said the surveillance makes getting among Cuban dissidents for his fierce resist- around “an odyssey.” ance to the government and the high price he Lately, he said, police in a red Russian- has paid for it. He’s spent 17 years and 38 made Lada sedan have been following him days in prison, prompting some fellow dissi- around. Police have told him he is forbidden dents to call him “Cuba’s Nelson Mandela.” from traveling to other cities, including García, 46, said he didn’t set out to become Holguin, Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba. an anti-government activist. On Mar. 15, 1990, “We’re hostages of the dictatorship. We he spontaneously grabbed the microphone need to ask permission to enter or leave our during a public event and yelled, “Commu- Anti-government activist Jorge Luís García Pérez. own country,” complained García, who point- nism is an error!” jobs and have no way to support themselves, ed out that he has no intentions of leaving. He He wound up in prison for that and for sab- García said. Dissidents struggle to cover their said while dissidents need aid from abroad, otage after allegedly setting a sugarcane field expenses, including the cost of traveling to Cubans must be left to determine their future. on fire. García escaped prison in 1992 but was visit other activists. “The freedom of Cubans must be decided caught within a day. That and other offenses García believes U.S. financial support for among Cubans.” added time to his original six-year sentence Cuban dissidents dropped off after Barack And to be successful, he said, activists must — and he wasn’t freed until 2007. Obama was voted into office in 2008. He said occupy and gain control of the streets. “It’s a difficult life,” he said, but the cause is Obama is a “good president,” but but that his “That’s the place for the fight,” which he “just.” And assistance from Cuban “brothers predecessor, George W. Bush, was more described as non-violent. “We promote civil in exile” is vital, he said. “Thanks to that help, direct about aiding the democracy movement. disobedience [and] civil resistance as a we’ve been able to survive.” García lives in the town of Placetas in Villa method of struggle.” q ‘Cincuenta años de la economía cubana’ worth reading BY ARMANDO H. PORTELA large mass of intellectuals, scientists and pro- rule of condemn the pre-Castro economy fessionals faithful to the socialist principles while lavishing praise on post-1959 changes. frank analysis of the Cuban economy forming the pillars of our society. But in the end a patient reader will find over the past half-century, written from “To trust their criticism, accept the dis- Ainside the island, would have been hard here and there interesting and surprisingly to imagine just a few years ago. crepant reasoning as another of many possi- frank points of view that not so long ago were However, hardships and the timid winds of ble points of view and do not diminish the perhaps heard only around the kitchen table, reform coming from above have opened the work of the revolutionary social and econom- or at best, in classified, official documents. way for a study ic sciences, but all of the contrary.” Details: Instituto Cubano del Libro, Editorial that finally un- For those who still remember what preced- de Ciencias Sociales, Calle 14, #4104, e/ 41 y 43, veils some of ed Mikhail Gorbachev’s perestroika in the mid Habana. Email: [email protected]. the incongru- 80s, those words sound strikingly familiar. ences of Cuba’s “Cincuenta años de la economía cubana” planned econo- (ISBN 978-959-06-1239-8, Editorial de Ciencias C-CAA, Otto Reich move offices my — which Sociales, La Habana, 2010) is a 405-page jour- Caribbean Central American Action — a sank after the ney guided by 11 authors through Cuba’s eco- D.C.-based advocacy group for private-sec- collapse of the nomic strategies and management, economic tor economic development in the Caribbe- Soviet bloc two structure by sector, transformations and pro- an Basin — has moved its headquarters to decades ago. spective routes, monetary policies, agricul- the Ronald Reagan Building. CCAA’s new Even so, the ture over the past 50 years, the relationship address is 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, authors don’t between social and economic development, Suite #700, Washington, DC 20004. Tel: scorn the Cas- food consumption and theration system, and (202) 204-3050. URL: www.c-caa.org. tro regime, but finally demographics and geography. Otto Reich Associates LLC also has new rather give an On this journey through the Cuban econo- digs at 1350 I Street NW, Suite #275, Wash- unusually hon- my, the authors — including well-known ington, DC 20005. Tel: (202) 333-1360. est, careful view of developments, pointing to economists and geographers — generously Email: [email protected]. the inevitable necessity of adapting to the pre- support their studies with statistics from past Reich will share his new office with Car- vailing trends of the modern world. decades not always available for general use. denas Partners LLC, a lobby shop headed To the authors’ credit, the book’s prologue Personal styles apart, the essays in this by attorney Al Cárdenas, chairman of the makes a candid statement: “Mean-spirited book may be more or less clear in the often American Conservative Union and former people and renegades may come and go, but cryptic language of Cuban criticism from chairman of the Florida Republican Party. they will always be isolated cases within the within; they generally observe the unwritten 16 CubaNews v June 2011

EUSEBIO LEAL SPENGLER, official historian of Leadership — FROM PAGE 12 the City of Havana, is a respected intellectual, CARIBBEAN UPDATE cultural promoter and top-notch entrepre- Other politicians to keep an eye on include: neur. His most successful achievement: the You already know what’s going in Cuba, JAIME CROMBET HERNÁNDEZ-BAQUERO. An restoration of Old Havana — a project much thanks to CubaNews. Now find out what’s engineer and leader in the FEU, UJC and admired by foreign visitors. A man of inde- happening in the rest of this diverse and Communist Party from the ‘60s through the pendent and constructive ideas who fights fast-growing region. ‘80s, he has served as party first secretary in against dogmatic and outdated approaches, Subscribe to Caribbean UPDATE, a Camagüey, Pinar del Río and the city of Leal could be a strong future candidate for monthly newsletter founded in 1985. Cor- Havana. Hernández-Baquero headed Cuba’s key positions like minister of culture. porate and government executives, as well civil mission in Angola in the mid-1970s. as scholars and journalists, depend on this GLADYS BEJERANO PORTELA has spent more publication for its insightful, timely cover- He is said to be honest and efficient, and is than 40 years as a party cadre, dealing mostly age of the 30-plus nations and territories of supported by Raúl. One of his daughters — a with economic affairs and the former the Caribbean and Central America. microbiologist by profession — is married to province of La Habana. Dedicated, honest and When you receive your first issue, you former foreign minister Felipe Pérez Roque. very straightforward, she’s been praised pub- have two options: (a) pay the accompany- At some point, he could replace Alarcón. licly by Raúl for her audits — which have kept ing invoice and your subscription will be processed; (b) if you’re not satisfied, just ERNESTO MEDINA VILLAVEIRÁN, a key techno- many a bureaucrat awake at night. crat, very close to Francisco Soberón, former Her recent appointment as general comp- write “cancel” on the invoice and return it. troller, member of the new Central Commit- There is no further obligation on your part. president of Cuba’s Central Bank. In June The cost of a subscription to Caribbean 2009, he was named as Soberón’s replace- tee and vice president of the Council of State makes her a crucial player to watch. UPDATE is $277 per year. A special rate of ment, and more recently, he was appointed to $139 is available to academics, non-profit the Central Committee. COL LUÍS ALBERTO RODRÍGUEZ LÓPEZ-CALLEJAS organizations and additional subscriptions in his late 40s, is considered a brilliant econo- mailed to the same address. CARIDAD DIEGO BELLO, a philosophy gradu- ate in college, had some experience as a pro- mist and organizer. He’s been the right-hand To order, contact Caribbean UPDATE at fessor, but more so as an expert on religious man of Gen. Julio Casas Regueiro for more 116 Myrtle Ave., Millburn, NJ 07041, call us affairs, since she was a cadre at the UJC and than 20 years and one of the chief architects at (973) 376-2314, visit our new website at at the Department of Religious Affairs, which of perfeccionamiento empresarial. www.caribbeanupdate.org or send an He’s the son of DG Rodríguez del Pozo, email to [email protected]. We accept she has headed since the early 1990s. Visa, MasterCard and American Express. In those days, many people perceived her head of FAR’s medical services division. As to be very narrow-minded and dogmatic. But such, his family is quite close to Raúl Castro, 20 years later, she’s proven herself to be effi- though Luís Alberto’s current position is cient enough to remain at this sensitive job — widely perceived as based on his own merits. especially since the 1998 visit of Pope John Due to FAR’s prominent role in the economy, Paul II and the recent negotiations between he’s a very influential player. the Cuban government and the Catholic BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ PARRILLA, a 1983 law Church over political prisoners. school graduate, went on to be come a pro- fessional leader in the UJC and editor of ROLANDO ALFONSO BORGES, a FAR colonel Editor until the early 1990s, is a political officer in Juventud Rebelde newspaper in the early n LARRY LUXNER n charge of the Central Political Directorate at 1990s; after a stint at the United Nations, he was appointed to replace Roberto Robaina as Washington correspondent the General Staff. Named to the Central Com- n ANA RADELAT n mittee in 1991, he later took over its Ideolog- Cuba’s foreign minister. Now 53, he became one of the youngest members of the Central Political analyst ical Department, where under Raúl’s guid- n DOMINGO AMUCHASTEGUI n ance, he led some serious ideological battles Committee when he was appointed in 1991. q against researchers and intellectuals — in Former Cuban intelligence officer Domingo Feature writers particular those at the Centro de Estudios de n TRACEY EATON n Amuchastegui has lived in Miami since 1994. He n VITO ECHEVARRÍA n America. These battles led to extensive criti- writes regularly for CubaNews on the Communist n DOREEN HEMLOCK n cism and widespread discontent. Party and South Florida’s Cuban exile community. Cartographer n ARMANDO H. PORTELA n

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