Raul Castro warns Cubans to prepare for economic downturn
Raul Castro warns Cubans to prepare for economic downturn
Cubans have been warned to prepare for tough times ahead as the islandbecomes the latest victim of the global economic downturn.By Fiona GovanLast Updated: 3:06PM BST 27 Jul 2008
President Raul Castro on Saturday used a speech to mark the 55thanniversary of the communist uprising to warn that rising fuel and foodprices would take their toll on the nation.
"We must bear in mind that we are living in the midst of a true worldcrisis which is not only economic but also related to climate change,the irrational use of energy and a great number of other problems," he said.
Mr Castro, 77, who officially took over from his ailing older brother,Fidel, in February, had been expected to use the speech on Cuba'snational holiday to announce changes to economic policy but insteadchose to prepare his people for difficulties ahead.
"Regardless of our great wishes to solve every problem, we cannot spendin excess of what we have," he told a ten thousand strong crowd in theCaribbean island's second city Santiago de Cuba.
But he said the country would continue to build its defences against anythreatened invasion by the US.
"Preparations to defend the country are going well," said Mr Castro, whois the nation's top ranking general and was minister of the armed forcesfor nearly 50 years.
"We shall continue paying special attention to defence, regardless ofthe results of the next presidential elections in the United States," hesaid.
The Rebellion Day celebrations two years ago were the last public eventat which Fidel Castro, 81, was seen before he underwent emergencyintestinal surgery from which he has never fully recovered.
Since taking over, the younger Castro has eased restrictions and vowedto change the egalitarian wage system, but opponents to the regimedismiss the reforms as "cosmetic".
Cuba leader makes cautious speech
News AmericasCuba leader makes cautious speech
Raul Castro, Cuba's president, has made a keynote speech as part ofcelebrations to mark 55 years since the communist government took powerin the country.
But Castro did not unveil any dramatic economic and social policymeasures in his televised address on Saturday to mark Revolution Day.
"Despite some expectations from people, Castro did not mention reforms,"Rachel Levin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Havana, said.
"He did acknowledge that some Cubans are going through some seriouseconomic hardship but he said that the Cuban government is really doingall it can and that the country can only really spend what it makes."
Thousands of people filled the streets of Santiago de Cuba, thebirthplace of the Cuban revolution where Raul Castro made his address,to mark the anniversary events.
Patience sought
Castro has already implemented a raft of changes since his brother Fidelstepped down in February, after nearly 55 years as president.
Raul Castro, 77, told the Cuban parliament on July 11 that he wouldexamine social and economic issues in his Revolution Day address.
But Levin said that Castro simply called on Cubans to be patient inSaturday's address.
"He sent a message that people need to tighten their belts but also thatefficiency in the country needs to improve," she said.
"He talked a lot about infrastructure; how the [government] is makingimprovements to roads, water, bridges and so on."
Raul's address comes as analysts look for signs whether Cuba is shiftingtowards a market-based economy after more than half a century of beingunder a command economy.
Castro's government has in recent months allowed Cubans to buy mobilephones and to stay in hotels previously reserved for foreigners.
Supply shortages
Other policy changes, such as the right to own private taxis or farmlandand the lifting of salary ceilings, have been approved but are yet to befully implemented.
Cuba still experiences shortages of power and food but electricaloutages have become rarer and shorter.
Fidel Castro continues to exert significant influence in Cuba [AFP]In his July 11 speech to parliament, Raul Castro permitted vacantfarmland to be placed in private hands.
That policy has been seen as the biggest change since the new presidenttook power, but Washington has called Castro's policies "cosmetic".
The US and Europe has also called on Cuba to release political prisonersand allow Cuban civilians to express dissent.
Vicki Huddlestone, a former US mission chief to Cuba, said Raul Castro'saddress did not contain any significant shifts in policy.
"Raul [was] his usual rather dull, pragmatic self. Probabaly the mostimportant thing that happened today was the location and the celebrationof Fidel," she said.
"I think getting the infrastructure right is inmportant to Cuba and toRaul. It symbolises his commitment to improve the economy. But this isvery much what the Cuban hierarchy wants – slow and steady."
The Revolution Day celebrations are centered on Santiago de Cuba, wherethe Castros and their supporters launched their campaign to overthrowthe previous regime on July 26, 1953.
They succeeded in 1959, carrying Fidel Castro into power. Fidel heldpower firmly until July 2006, when ill health prompted him to hand powerto his younger brother.
Source: Al Jazeera and agencieshttp://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/07/20087271341291688.html
Cuba hopes to enjoy more fruits of its own labor
Cuba hopes to enjoy more fruits of its own labor
A campaign to reduce the country's dependence on imported food isencouraging Cubans to grow their own.By CAROL J. WILLIAMS, Los Angeles TimesALTAHABANA, CUBA
Speckled chickens in Geraldo Pinera's garden will be on his family'sdinner table soon, stewed with herbs and tomatoes and garnished withcreamy slices of the avocados now ripening on a pair of spindly trees.
Pinera, a member of a 25-family farming cooperative in this villageoutside Havana, tends a private half-acre plot tucked between thestate-owned mango orchards where he works a day job. He raises guava,passion fruit, sweet potatoes and poultry to augment a $20 monthlyincome and the government ration of starches.
Like other Cuban families, the Pineras are eating more fruits andvegetables as a result of a national campaign to boost food output andcurb costly imports. Their efforts represent a small but significantstep toward the government's goal to vastly reduce its dependence onmore efficient foreign producers, especially for favorite foods such asrice, meat and dairy.
President Raul Castro spurred the planting of idle lands around citieswith a series of reforms in recent months aimed at improvingself-sufficiency. The moves included making land available free to thosewilling to till it and easing a strangling national bureaucracy thatonce controlled a farmer's every step, from seed procurement to sales price.
Castro has unleashed an ambitious effort to lift output of high-ticketitems, raising prices paid to meat and milk producers and freeinggrowers from obligations to sell their food to the state.
He has made seeds, tools and fertilizers available through a new networkof country stores and challenged a population that is 80 percent urbanto grow what it eats.
http://www.startribune.com/world/25919054.html?location_refer=World:highlightModules:1
Castro silent on hoped-for reforms
Castro silent on hoped-for reformsLast Modified: 27 Jul 2008Source: PA News
President Raul Castro has warned Washington that Cuba will stay focusedon defence regardless of who wins November's presidential election.
But he failed to announce more changes to the Communist system during amajor address.
Mr Castro, a four-star general, instead highlighted the past as he spoketo thousands of cheering supporters in front of the Moncada militarycomplex, where rebels led by his brother Fidel launched an attack 55years ago and planted the seeds for the 1959 Cuban revolution.
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/world/castro+silent+on+hopedfor+reforms/2361702
Blimp surveys for smugglers in Florida Straits
Blimp surveys for smugglers in Florida Straits9 hours ago
MIAMI (AFP) — A mainstay at sporting events and rock concerts, anairship once used to survey mass revelry on land is currently scanningthe open waters of the Florida straits for drug smugglers and illegalmigrants.
The 197-foot (60-meter) Skyship 600 blimp, adorned with a US flag whereit once wore an advertisement for Fuji Film, is part of a joint US Navyand Coast Guard pilot program to introduce airships to theirsurveillance of the straits.
The blimp, leased by the US government at a cost of 1.6 million dollarsfor the six-week trial, is equipped with radar, infrared cameras andother sensors to help vessels at sea track boats smuggling illegalmigrants or drugs in the waters separating the tip of Florida and Cubasome 90 miles (145 kilometers) away.
It also is being tested as a means of aiding in search-and-rescuemissions and hunting down environmental rule breakers.
The project, which kicked off on July 4, has yielded positive results,according to Coast Guard officials at Naval Air Station Key West, theblimp's home for the duration of the six-week program testing itsefficacy in surveying the seas.
"So far we are very happy with the results we are getting," said CoastGuard spokesman Ensign Matthew Meinhold, noting the blimp has been inthe air almost every day since its initial launch.
Meinhold noted one of the advantages of using a blimp to scan the oceanas opposed to conventional fixed-wing airships or helicopters is theextended amount of time a blimp can remain in the air.
The Skyship 600 can fly 16-hour missions at 3,000 feet (914 meters)while burning only 10 gallons (38 liters) of fuel per hour. Howevermissions usually last about eight hours, said the ensign.
Meanwhile, the Navy's P3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft, commonly usedin the straits, burns between 600 and 700 gallons (2,270 and 2,650liters) of fuel per hour and flies significantly shorter missions.
"Our maritime domain awareness is improving" with the use of the blimp,said Meinhold.
Considering the Coast Guard in Key West is responsible for patrolling55,000 square miles (142,449 square kilometers) of sea, any effort toimprove the view of that region is welcome, he added.
The blimp's powerful cameras can monitor activity on ships with largedecks or open cockpits and even read the names of some of the largervessels.
So far, the blimp has helped track down at least one vessel used forsmuggling migrants from Cuba. According to Coast Guard officials, 26Cuban migrants were found at sea July 12 with help of the airship.
The boatpeople were interdicted by the Coast Guard after being alertedby their new overhead surveillance partner and eventually repatriated toCuba.
The blimp does have its drawbacks, being that it is much slower thanfixed-wing airships and helicopters, clocking a maximum speed of 57miles per hour (92 kilometers per hour), preventing it from trackingfaster-moving smaller vessels.
George Spyrou, president of Airship Management Services, the companyleasing the blimp to the government, said the advantages of blimpsurveillance far outweigh its limitations, noting that other governmentshave purchased blimps for use by the military.
In 1993, the British government purchased one of his company's blimpsfor surveillance over Belfast during a period of heightened tensions inNorthern Ireland.
Closer to Florida, the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad and Tobago isusing the sister vessel of the Skyship 600 to "monitor criminalactivity" both on and off-shore, said Spyrou.
The US government has yet to commit to contracting the Airship blimpbeyond the six-week test run.
"I think they need to analyze the results of the trial first," he said.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g7LM-xMovM7I-WjAqHrViL_zmnYQ
Florida Travel Agents Fight Higher Bond on Cuba Trips
Florida Travel Agents Fight Higher Bond on Cuba TripsBy CARMEN GENTILEPublished: July 27, 2008
MIAMI — Teresa Aral, a travel agent in South Florida, was greatly relieved after learning she did not have to pay the state a quarter of a million dollars to keep booking trips to Cuba. For now, at least.
Ms. Aral, along with 15 other agents providing charter flights to Cuba, filed a lawsuit in Miami against the State of Florida, challenging a new law requiring them to post a one-time $250,000 bond and disclose the names of clients in order to continue their business with Cuba. But earlier this month, a federal judge temporarily lifted the measure while he considered its legality.
"I'm very grateful that at least the judicial branch of government here is still working," Ms. Aral said after the ruling.
Cuban-Americans are allowed to visit the island every three years and must obtain visas through the federal government.
Despite the recent ruling, the legal battle between the travel agents and Florida lawmakers over the cost of doing business with the Raúl Castro-run government, which controls all aspects of commercial air travel into Cuba, is far from over.
Before the measure was signed into law in June by Gov. Charlie Crist, a Republican, all travel agencies were required to pay the state a one-time $25,000 bond.
State Representative David Rivera, a Republican from Miami and a Cuban-American, who sponsored the bill, said the travel agents providing Cuba trips should post a larger bond to cover the cost of "reasonable oversight" of those doing business with a "terrorist government."
Mr. Rivera said the law was an "antiterrorism bill" that requires any Florida travel agent who provides direct flights to any country on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism to pay the bond. Since there are no direct flights from Miami to any other countries on the list critics say the law was intended to regulate travel to Cuba.
Mr. Rivera said the bond would be used to investigate any agency accused of violating the law regulating travel to Cuba, though the legislation does not specify what constitutes a violation.
Mr. Rivera said the law was designed to protect customers from price gouging and "unscrupulous travel agents."
"Every business in Florida is regulated," Mr. Rivera said after the July 1 decision by the judge, Alan S. Gold of Federal District Court. "So travel agents that deal with terrorist governments don't deserve an exemption from the regulations." The case is to return to court in September.
Ira Kurzban, a lawyer for the travel agents who brought the suit, said the law was more about Florida politicking rather than protecting consumers.
"This law was conceived for no reason other than to placate a small group of Cuban-Americans out of step with the Cuban community," said Mr. Kurzban, who also said it was unconstitutional and "attempts to embroil the State of Florida in foreign policy."
Some legal experts agree, saying the law oversteps the bounds of state authority.
"States simply can't decide they want to have their own foreign policy," said Bernard H. Oxman, an international law professor at the University of Miami.
Erik Miller, the lawyer for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates the state's travel agencies, said at the court hearing that the law "does not invade the province of federal status."
"There's not interference with foreign affairs," Mr. Miller said. "It only regulates in-state transactions."
Cuban leader warns of austerity
Cuban leader warns of austerity
Cuban President Raul Castro has warned that Cubans must be prepared for the consequences of the current global economic crisis.
He said that developing countries had already felt the effects of rising fuel and food prices.
The speech was part of the celebrations marking the 55th anniversary of the beginning of the communist revolution.
President Castro had been expected to announce new economic policies, but in the event did not do so.
He has already introduced significant changes in the country since succeeding his ailing brother, Fidel, in February.
The president recently announced a move to allow some private farming and relaxed limits on mobile phones and computers.
'Excessive prohibitions'
Speaking for 48 minutes, President Castro warned the crowds that the economic austerity suffered in recent years would not be helped by increases in world food prices.
"The revolution has done and will continue to do whatever is possible to continue to advance and reduce to the bare minimum the inevitable consequences of international crises to our people," he said.
"But we must explain to our people the difficulties and thus prepare them to deal with them."
Raul Castro also had a message for Cuba's ideological enemy, the United States.
"We shall continue paying special attention to defence, regardless of the results of the next presidential elections in the United States," said the president.
Since taking over from his elder brother, Raul Castro has made available more unused state land to private farmers, eased restrictions on mobile phones for ordinary citizens and allowed some workers to seek legal titles for their homes.
RAUL CASTRO'S REFORMS 2008February – signs two human rights agreements at the UNMarch – lifts ban on Cubans staying in tourist hotelsMay – lifts ban on private ownership of mobile phonesJune – announces plans to abandon salary equalityJuly – decrees state-controlled farm land can be leased to private farmers and co-operatives
He has also signed UN human rights accords and announced that workers can earn productivity bonuses, doing away with the egalitarian concept that everyone must earn the same.
Mr Castro delivered his speech to a crowd of some 10,000 people at the parade grounds of Santiago's historic Moncada army barracks, where he and his brother led a fruitless rebel assault exactly 55 years ago.
Both men were jailed for the attack, but did of course eventually go on to seize power from the then Cuban leader, Fulgencio Batista, on 1 January 1959.
"When we attacked the Moncada, none of us dreamed of being here today," the president told the crowd.
The Rebellion Day celebrations two years ago were the last public event at which Fidel Castro was seen before he underwent emergency intestinal surgery. He has since appeared only in official videos and photographs.Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/americas/7527362.stm
Published: 2008/07/27 02:38:52 GMT
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7527362.stm
Raul Castro fails to announce reforms in Cuba
Raul Castro fails to announce reforms in CubaPosted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2008By WILL WEISSERTAssociated Press Writer
SANTIAGO, Cuba –President Raul Castro warned Washington that Cuba would keep its defenses up no matter who wins November's U.S. presidential election, but failed to announce any new changes to the communist system during a speech Saturday.
In a 48-minute Revolution Day address, Castro also told Cubans to prepare for tough times ahead as rising oil and commodity prices take a toll on the island's economy.
Amid anticipation that he would use the speech to unveil fresh reforms, Castro instead focused on the past as he spoke to thousands of supporters in front of the Moncada military complex, where a band of rebels led by he and his brother Fidel launched an attack 55 years ago, planting the seeds for the 1959 Cuban revolution.
"When we attacked the Moncada, none of us dreamed of being here today," Castro said in Santiago, 535 miles southeast of Havana, the de-facto capital of the island's eastern half.
He warned of more economic austerity for the already poor island and commanded Communist Party leaders to fulfill the promises they make to the Cuban people.
"Regardless of our great wishes to solve every problem, we cannot spend in excess of what we have," Castro said.
And he vowed that Cuba would remain prepared for any potential U.S. attack regardless of who wins the U.S. presidential vote, which pits Barack Obama against Sen. John McCain.
"We shall continue paying special attention to defense, regardless of the results of the next presidential elections in the United States," Raul said.
Perhaps showing his age, the 77-year-old president ended the speech by mistakenly dedicating the 59th anniversary of the Moncada attack to his brother, Fidel. He then laughed at himself, noting that this year actually marked the 55th anniversary of the event.
It was at a commemoration of this anniversary two years ago that Fidel Castro was last seen in public. He underwent emergency intestinal surgery five days later and has only appeared in official videos and photographs since.
The Moncada attack was a disaster, with many assailants killed and most of the rest captured. But it launched a movement that brought Fidel Castro to power when President Fulgencio Batista fled the country.
Since taking office five months ago, Raul Castro has made changes his older brother eschewed – opening more unused state land to private farmers, legalizing cell phones for ordinary citizens and allowing some workers to seek legal title to their homes.
Some Cubans hoped he would use the speech to ease restrictions on international travel or announce other incremental reforms, but none came.
While both Castro brothers were born in Cuba's east, Raul, five years younger that Fidel, seems happiest there.
"Raul is a man of the people and Santiago is full of his people," said Elizabeth Trumpeta, 42, an administrator at a government shoe repair shop. "He can go to Havana, live and work there, but he has Santiago in his heart."
Yet Fidel Castro – not Raul – is featured on Revolution Day posters affixed to houses and businesses across Santiago. With a broad grin, he hoists a rifle skyward before a picture of the Moncada barracks, now a museum attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually.
Some Cubans say their hopes for change under the new government are fading.
"There are a lot of people on the street who talk about change, but we haven't had even one economic or political reform that counts, nothing we hoped for with Raul," said Oswaldo, a 69-year-old retired construction worker. He declined to give his last name, saying, "Being able to openly criticize things is something else we can only hope for."
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/americas/cuba/story/619229.html
Castro: Defense is priority
CUBA | REVOLUTION DAY
Castro: Defense is priorityFor Cuba's Revolution Day, President Raúl Castro returned to the site that was the birthplace of the revolution led by his brother, Fidel.Posted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2008By WILL WEISSERTAssociated Press
SANTIAGO, Cuba –President Raúl Castro warned Washington that Cuba would stay focused on defense regardless of who wins November's presidential election.
But he failed to announce more changes to the communist system during a major address Saturday night.
Castro, a four-star general, instead highlighted the past in a 48-minute Revolution Day speech to thousands of supporters in front of the Moncada military barracks, where rebels led by his brother, Fidel, launched an attack 55 years ago and planted the seeds for the 1959 Cuban revolution.
''When we attacked the Moncada, none of us dreamed of being here today,'' Castro told the crowd in Santiago, 535 miles southeast of Havana, the biggest city in Cuba's eastern half.
He warned of more economic austerity for the already poor island in the face of rising food prices, but also used the speech to command Communist Party leaders to put Cuba's house in order and fulfill promises they make to the people.
MESSAGE TO U.S.
And he put the United States, which also hoped for greater change under his regime, on notice.
''We shall continue paying special attention to defense, regardless of the results of the next presidential elections in the United States,'' Raúl said.
Perhaps showing his age, the 77-year-old president ended the speech by mistakenly dedicating the 59th anniversary of the Moncada attack to his brother, Fidel. He then laughed at himself, noting that this year actually marked the 55th anniversary of the event.
It was at a commemoration of this anniversary two years ago that Fidel Castro was last seen in public. He underwent emergency intestinal surgery shortly afterward and has only appeared in official videos and photographs since.
The Moncada attack was a disaster, with many assailants killed and most of the rest captured. But it launched a movement that brought Fidel Castro to power when President Fulgencio Batista fled the country in 1959.
Since taking office five months ago, Raúl Castro has made changes his older brother long opposed — opening more fallow state lands to private farmers, legalizing cellphones for ordinary citizens and allowing some workers to seek legal title to their homes.
Some Cubans hoped he would use the speech to ease restrictions on international travel or announce other incremental reforms, but none came.
While both Castro brothers were born in Cuba's east, Raúl, five years younger than Fidel, seems happiest there.
''Raúl is a man of the people and Santiago is full of his people,'' said Elizabeth Trumpeta, 42, an administrator at a government shoe repair shop who lives across the street from Moncada.
FIDEL IS HAILED
Yet Fidel Castro — not Raúl — is featured on Revolution Day posters affixed to houses and businesses across Santiago. With a broad grin, he hoists a rifle skyward before a picture of the Moncada barracks, now a museum attracting more than 100,000 visitors annually.
The crowd chanted ''Fidel! Fidel! Fidel!'' and ''Long live Fidel!'' throughout Saturday night's speech.
Some Cubans say their hopes for change under the new government are fading.
''There are a lot of people on the street who talk about change, but we haven't had even one economic or political reform that counts, nothing we hoped for with Raúl,'' said Oswaldo, a 69-year-old retired construction worker. He declined to give his last name, saying, “Being able to openly criticize things is something else we can only hope for.''
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U.S.-Cuba tourism could shake up region
THE OPPENHEIMER REPORTU.S.-Cuba tourism could shake up regionPosted on Sun, Jul. 27, 2008BY ANDRES OPPENHEIMERaoppenheimer@MiamiHerald.com
For years, I have thought that Mexico and most Caribbean countries want Cuba to remain a dictatorship subject to U.S. travel sanctions for as long as possible, because an eventual opening of U.S. travel to Cuba would badly hurt their own tourism industries.
But now, I'm beginning to wonder whether that's true for all of Cuba's competitors.
After reading a new study by the International Monetary Fund, I can't help but conclude that Mexico would stand a lot to lose by an opening of U.S. tourism to Cuba, but many Caribbean islands would not suffer at all. On the contrary, the study says overall tourism to the Caribbean would increase by up to 11 percent.
The study, ''Vacation Over: Implications for the Caribbean of Opening U.S. Cuban Tourism,'' was published by the IMF as a ''working paper'' by its economist, Rafael Romeu.
It comes at a time when an opening of U.S. travel to Cuba looks increasingly plausible in the near future. Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is vowing to relax U.S. travel restrictions on Cuban Americans if he is elected. And, independently of U.S. policy, Cuba's ruling gerontocracy is not likely to be able to maintain the status quo for many years — if anything else because President Raúl Castro is 76, and his No. 2, José Ramón Machado Ventura, is 77.
According to the IMF study, ''an opening of Cuba to U.S. tourism would represent a seismic shift in the Caribbean's tourism industry,'' and would “increase overall arrivals to the Caribbean.''
This is because there would be a massive surge in U.S. tourism to Cuba, which would overwhelm Cuba's hotel room capacity and drive Canadian and European tourism currently vacationing in Cuba to be redirected to neighboring countries.
As a result, ''the region would enjoy a period of sustained demand,'' it says. “In the wake of this change, some countries would potentially stand to lose U.S. tourists but would gain new non-U.S. tourists.''
Currently, the biggest tourism destinations in the Caribbean, in addition to Puerto Rico, are the Dominican Republic, with 2.2 million foreign visitors a year; Mexico's resort of Cancún, with nearly 2 million tourists; the Bahamas, with 1.4 million tourists; Cuba, with 1.3 million, and Jamaica, with 1.2 million. The figures reflect annual arrivals between 2000 and 2004, and have since gone up somewhat, Romeu says.
But an opening of U.S. tourism to Cuba would shake this mix immediately, because an estimated 3 million to 3.5 million American tourists would flock to Cuba, the study says.
Much of it would be because traveling to Cuba — in addition to being a novelty — would become substantially cheaper. Currently, the cost of traveling from the U.S. to Cuba for Cuban Americans and others exempted from travel restrictions is equivalent to that of traveling to Australia.
According to the study, there would be winners and losers from an opening of U.S. tourism to Cuba:
• Mexico's resort of Cancún, which relies heavily on U.S. tourists, would be a net loser. It would lose 614,000 American tourists, while it would gain only 93,000 non-U.S. tourists.
• The Bahamas, which also relies heavily on U.S. tourists, would lose 499,000 U.S. tourists, while gaining 36,000 non-U.S. tourists.
• The Dominican Republic, which has a highly diversified tourism base, would be a net winner. It would lose 318,000 American tourists, while gaining nearly 400,000 non-U.S. tourists.
• Smaller islands such as Martinique, Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and other countries with strong ties to European countries would also be net winners. Barbados, for instance, would lose 48,000 American tourists, but would win 64,000 non U.S, tourists.
''It won't be a disaster for many countries, because many of them will more than offset the loss of U.S. tourists with a greater influx of European and Canadian tourists, with whose countries they have age-old cultural ties,'' Romeu told me in an interview.
My opinion: Interesting stuff. I don't know whether Mexico — the biggest loser in an eventual opening of U.S. tourism to Cuba — is currently cozying up with Cuba's dictatorship because it wants to maintain the status quo for as long as possible.
But I wouldn't be surprised if there is a link between tourism and politics in the Caribbean — which would explain a lot of things that sometimes seem hard to understand.
http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/columnists/story/619076.html
Be ready for tough times, Raul Castro tells Cuba
Be ready for tough times, Raul Castro tells CubaBy Ray Sanchez | Sun-Sentinel.com Havana Bureau9:25 PM EDT, July 26, 2008
SANTIAGO DE CUBA – Returning to the birthplace of the Cuban revolution for the island's biggest political event, President Raul Castro Saturday night prepared Cubans for tough times ahead.
"As much as we desire to resolve all of our problems, we can't spend more than we have," Castro said under a slight drizzle on a humid night. "To make the best of what we have, it is indispensable to save on everything, most importantly fuel."
Castro, 77, only the second president of Cuba in the past half century, in the past year has taken modest steps away from the strict communist line followed by brother Fidel, the once-all-powerful leader who ruled the island since 1959.
But his 48-minute speech Saturday offered few hints of where he intended to take the country. He focused instead on local aqueduct and road repair projects as well as the past achievements of the revolution.
"We must bear in mind that we are living in the midst of a true world crisis which is not only economic but also associated with climate change, the irrational use of energy and a great number of other problems," he said.
Castro said the passage of time since the revolution had taught Cubans to learn from the past.
"We must take advantage of every minute and learn fast from every experience, even from our mistakes," he said.
Wearing his trademark eyeglasses and military uniform, Castro announced that Santiago would be the site of festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban revolution next January.
And in an appeal to hard-line party leaders, the former defense minister said Cuba would continue to build up its military "regardless of the outcome of the next presidential election in the United States."
The holiday commemorates the July 26, 1953, attack on the Moncada barracks in the southeastern city of Santiago. The attack by the Castro brothers and a ragtag group of guerrillas failed but was the beginning of the revolution that eventually ousted Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
To chants of "Viva Fidel! Viva Raul!" Castro took the podium before the hulking army barracks, now a school. Thousands of flag-waving, red-shirt-clad Communist Party loyalists began chanting Fidel's name an hour before the event.
Saturday, the yellow-and-white building was draped with a giant Cuban flag and the image of the 81-year-old Fidel Castro, who stepped down in 2006 after surgery for a mysterious intestinal illness.
The younger Castro took over provisionally for Fidel in July 2006. Since taking power officially last February, he has sought to put his own stamp on the country.
In recent months, he has allowed Cubans with enough money to buy cell phones and computers, which had previously been restricted. He has allowed them to rent cars and visit tourist hotels. He also has taken the limits off state salaries, allowing for productivity bonuses.
In one of his more significant reforms, Raul Castro has opened more unused state land to private farmers in an attempt to reduce food imports and revive the sluggish agricultural sector. Though he hinted at "structural" reforms last July 26, those changes have yet to materialize.
Cubans have mostly embraced the modest changes even as they complained that giving them access to consumer items did little to boost state salaries, which average about $20 a month.
"We need to change in order to advance," said Manuel Segarra, 68, a retired telephone company worker seated a few rows from the podium where Castro spoke. "I feel reborn and very proud be here, where our revolution started."
After the speech, Migdalia Wilson, a 31-year-old social worker, said Castro's message was clear. "We need to conserve and get ready for hard times," she said. "But that will make us stronger."
This year's festivities coincided with carnival in Santiago, where thousands of residents party late into the night. One partygoer, Eusebio Ramirez, 40, said most Cubans had little reason to celebrate.
"Every year things get worse," he said. "The government needs to turn this around quickly. People are fed up."
Castro has disappointed some Cubans who had expected significant changes once he took power. He has always deferred to his brother and appears reluctant or unable to take major actions until Fidel dies, analysts said.
A larger-than-life figure, Fidel Castro wields great influence. But it is equally clear that Cubans have prepared themselves emotionally for life without him.
While Raul moves toward consolidating his rule, some sectors of the Cuba's leadership appear reluctant to roll back the elder Castro's decision in 2003 to centralize the economy again and restrict the small-scale private enterprises that emerged in the 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union.
In 2006, Fidel Castro led thousands of party faithful in cheers to celebrate the Moncada attack. It was the last time he was seen in public.
Ray Sanchez can be reached at rlsanchez@sun-sentinel.com.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-cuba-0726,0,6742116.story
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