HavanaReporter

THE
YOUR SOURCE OF NEWS & MORE
A Bimonthly Newspaper of the Prensa Latina News Agency
© YEAR VIII
Nº 9
MAY 16, 2018
HAVANA, CUBA
ISSN 2224-5707
Price:
1.00 CUC
1.00 USD
1.20 CAN

Artists are
Cuba’s Best
Ambassadors

WASHINGTON, D.C.
P. 7

Health & Science

Heberprot-P: On the
Way to a New Market
P. 5
Photo Feature
Havana´s 500th Anniversary
on the Horizon
P. 11
Regional Affairs
The Long Road of an
Old Conflict
P. 12
Sports
U.S. Publishing Company to Print Work Cuban Female Athletes &

on Indo-Cubans Living in Guantanamo P. 6

the 2018 Barranquilla Games
P. 15
 2 TOURISM

The UK focuses on Cuba

By RobertoF. CAMPOS
HAVANA.- The impact that tourism
has on the United Kingdom is one of
today’s most important elements when
addressing trade relations with Cuba. The
fact that other fields are also joining this
sector may well boost these links.
The British authorities thus took
advantage of the European country's
designation as Guest of Honor to the 38th
International Tourism Fair, FITCUBA 2018
-held from May 2 to 5 in Cayo Santa María,
Villa Clara province- to reinforce bonds in
the tourist industry.
British ambassador to Cuba Antony
Stokes declared that the tourist industry
affords many opportunities for bilateral
cooperation, and thanked Cuba for the
designation. AntonySTOKES
Located in the central-northern coast

PHOTOS: PL
of Cuba, Cayo Santa María is one of the
favorite destinations among the tourists
that come to this archipelago, especially
among the British.
In 2017, Cuba welcomed 200,000
British tourists -between five and six
percent more than in 2016 -this figure is
expected to keep rising in coming years,
the diplomat commented.
The fair, Stokes said, served as the
right space to talk about business
opportunities between the two islands.
Cuba is a very special destination for
British people, chiefly because of its culture,
as the two countries have rich traditions in
music, dance and cinema, he added.
The top-level British delegation that
attended FITCuba 2018 addressed topics
of interest between London and Havana,
including tourism and other fields such as
biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.
The British Ambassador also
highlighted the financial advice offered
by the UK to Cuba’s Central Bank
specialists, due to the vast experience
of the City of London Corporation as a
global financial center.
He also referred to the increase of trade
cooperation in developing renewable
energy by using sicklebush (marabou
weed in Cuba), with the construction of a
62-megawatt bio-gas plant in the central
province of Ciego de Ávila.
Bilateral cooperation in college
education was stressed as well, not only
in the field of research but also in English
language teaching.
British tour operators and travel
agencies are operating in Cuba, and there
are two direct flights a week from London
to Havana, Stokes pointed out. Cuban Minister of Tourism ManuelMARRERO

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President: Luis Enrique González.
Information Vice President: Hector Miranda.
Editorial Vice President: Lianet Arias
Chief Editor: Luis Melian
Translation: Dayamí Interian/ Yanely Interián
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Chief Graphic Editor: Francisco González
Advertising: Javier García
Circulation: Commercial Department.
Printing: Imprenta Federico Engels
Publisher: Agencia Informativa Latinoamericana,
Prensa Latina, S.A.
Calle E, esq. 19 No. 454, Vedado, La Habana-4, Cuba.
Telephone: (53)7838-3496 / 7832-3578
Fax: (53)7833-3068
E-mail: thehavanareporter@prensa-latina.cu

Cuba Remains Committed to its Goals
By WaldoMENDILUZA
HAVANA.- On April 18 and 19, Cubans
experienced emotional days that ended
in the advent of the announced change
of generation in the leadership of their
government, but soon the island went
back to normal.
On April 19, the 58-year old electronic
engineer Miguel Díaz-Canel took on the
post as President of the Council of State
and Ministers during the setting up of
the 9th Legislature of the People’s Power
National Assembly (Parliament). On that
day, the outgoing Cuban leader and
president, Raúl Castro (86), ratified his
support for the newly-elected president.
The speeches Raúl Castro and Díaz-
Canel delivered during the closing session
had a common theme: commitment to
the continuity of the Revolution that
started on January 1, 1959 and which just
two years later, proclaimed its socialist
character.
That day, in addition to electing Cuba’s
new president, all 605 parliamentarians
of the 9th Legislature elected Salvador
Valdés (72) as First Vice President, and
renewed over 40 percent of the members
of the Council of State – a body composed
of 31 members.
“We pledge our commitment to the
continuity of the pro-independence
heroic deed that started in 1868, to the
struggle against the Machado and Batista
dictatorships, to the Sierra Maestra fights
and the attack on the Moncada garrison,
to the 1959 Revolution and to the Bay
of Pigs’ victory,” Ana Teresa Igarza, a
member of parliament from the Bauta
municipality (Artemisa province), told
The Havana Reporter.
PhD Enrique Alemán, coordinator of
the Platform for Interreligious Dialogue in
Cuba, stated that the main objective is to
maintain and strengthen the process that
started almost 60 years ago.
“Our main objective and our major
challenge is to guarantee the historical
continuity of the process ‘for all and for
the good of all.’ There’s no breaking-off
here; this is a renewed follow-up, a touch
of fresh air to what’s been done by the
people and for the people,” he said.
CUBA 3
PHOTOS: PL
BACK TO NORMAL
As expected, Cubans soon went back to normal,
regardless of the campaigns that forecast the fall of the
Revolution or the end of the popular support for it.
“In fact, everybody knows that nothing like that will
happen here. We lost our historical leader, Fidel Castro
(1926-2016), and the Revolution went on. The same
thing will happen now; we will continue moving forward
with Díaz-Canel as president and Raúl Castro as leader of
the Communist Party,” said Alberto González, a 73-year-
old retired man.
A couple of days after the election, the presidents
of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, and Bolivia, Evo Morales,
were welcomed in Cuba. Both presidents traveled to
the country to personally greet Díaz-Canel, who also
received messages of congratulation from dozens of
leaders and personalities from all five continents.
The newly-elected president received messages
from Mexico, Russia, China, Vietnam, Panama,
Seychelles, El Salvador, Colombia, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, Ecuador, Angola, Lebanon, Slovenia, Italy,
Serbia, Nicaragua, Turkey, Myanmar, Kazakhstan, United
Kingdom, Honduras, Iran, Mongolia, Costa Rica and
Guinea Bissau, among other nations.
At the end of April, Havana hosted the Third
International Convention Cuba-Salud 2018, attended
by over 3 thousand delegates from about 100 countries,
including General Director of the World Health
Organization (WHO),Tedros Adhanom.
Similarly, the Havana’s Conference Center welcomed
the Eighth International Ophthalmology Congress
(May 2-4), the International Congress on Soil Sciences
(May 2-4) and the Eighth Latin American Psychology
Congress, opened on May 14.
Earlier, on May 1, millions of Cubans paraded
through the streets of all the 15 provinces of the country
to celebrate the International Labor Day, when they
reaffirmed their support for the Revolution and the
newly-elected president.
About 300 activists from Latin America, Europe,
Asia and the United States participated in the May Day
celebrations on the island and reiterated their solidarity
and support for Cuba´s socialist project.
“Cuba was not, is not and will not be alone,” stated
Dutch IngeHogh, who has visited the island since 1986.
U.S. Cheryl Labash also stated her solidarity with
Cuba and demanded that the U.S. government should
immediately lift the economic, commercial and financial
blockade on the island.
“We are here to support the Cubans and reject
president Donald Trump´s interference in Cuba,” she said.
 4 U.S.- LATIN AMERICA
Trump's In The Dumps in Latin America
By RobertoGARCIA
HAVANA.- U.S. president Donald
Trump’s hostile immigration policies and
persistence in renegotiating the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
among other measures, have brought
the image of the United States in Latin
America into severe disrepute over recent
months.
Migration is one of the most serious
sources of regional discord, particularly
the construction of the wall along the
border with Mexico and his elimination
of the Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) Program, an initiative
implemented in 2012 by former president
Barack Obama.
Trump’s predecessor used DACA to
temporarily suspend the deportation
of about 800 thousand unaccompanied
youths, who will now most probably
be forcefully returned to their native
countries, without any regard for the
human or economic realities involved.
Trump brought DACA to an end in
2017 and set Congress a deadline to
pass an alternative to settle the issue of
the undocumented young immigrants
known as "dreamers", who had arrived
in the US as children. No consensus has
been reached to date, however.
Trump’s unsurprising decision not to
attend the 8th Summit of the Americas, in
Lima (Peru) on April 13-14, is an indication
of the low priority the present White
House incumbent assigns to the region.
The trip was supposedly cancelled
on the pretext of supervising a military
response to the Government of Syria for
an alleged chemical attack in that country.
White House Press Secretary, Sarah
Huckabee Sanders, announced that “the
president will remain in the United States
to oversee the response to Syria and to
monitor developments around the world."
It did not go unnoticed by U.S. political
observers that the cancellation of the
president’s trip to Lima and his official
visit to Colombia came just one day
after the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) raided and seized documents from
Trump’s personal lawyer.
Trump's absence from the recent
triennial regional meeting – the first
time a U.S. president has not attended
since 1994 – saved him from facing
governmental and social organizations
who do not follow Washington’s dictates,
specialists affirmed.
This decision also saved him from
facing some presidents who are loyal to
him but reject his migratory policies, his
hostility and his xenophobic and racist
rhetoric in particular.
For several months now, Trump’s
approval rating in Latin American and
the Caribbean has been at an all-time low
of less than 16 percent. A recent Gallup
poll indicates that more than 63 percent
disapprove of the job he’s doing and his
overall leadership rating in the United
States decreased during his first year
in office from 49 percent in 2016 to 24
percent in 2017.
His situation worsened because he is
the first U.S. president in decades not to
have visited Latin America during his first
year in office.
Trump’s “America first” policy and its
negative effects on his Latin American
neighbors has also affected their views
on Washington, despite the fact that
these countries play an important role in
trade and U.S. security interests.
There is in fact at present an escalation
in the levels of confrontation between
Washington and many countries from
the region, especially from Latin America
and the Caribbean, a situation unlikely
to improve over the short or medium
PHOTOS: Internet
term due to the current White House
occupant’s lack of goodwill and common
sense.
 HEALTH & SCIENCE 5

Heberprot-P: On the
Way to a New Market
By AnaLauraARBESU

HAVANA.- Almost ten years after its
introduction to the market, Heberprot-P, a
Cuban drug designed for the treatment of
diabetic foot ulcer, will soon be available
for Mexican patients – another country that
includes this drug on its list of essential
medications.
The only product in the world used
for the treatment of this disease, this drug
was developed by the Cuban Genetic
Engineering and Biotechnology Center
(CIGB), an entity that was granted the health
license in Mexico in coordination with the
Mexican Federal Commission for Health Risk
Protection (COFEPRIS).
Mexican Health Secretary José Narro
appreciated the work both entities
conducted for this drug to be available
for the Mexican people. “The topic of
communicable diseases is essential, but
diabetes is one of the most serious issues,”
the official told The Havana Reporter.
Narro, a doctor by profession, expressed
his concern about the incidence of this
disease among the population.
Deaths due to this disease surpass one
million in the course of this century, he said.
The figures have increased, and if compared
to last year’s, the number has risen sevenfold.
This is a serious problem that causes other
complications, such as amputations, he noted.
The injectable drug, composed
of recombinant human epidermal
growth factor (EGF) and produced with
biotechnological techniques, has already
spread all over the world. At present, it
is undergoing clinical trials in the United
States, after being endorsed by the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA).
For its application, performed at
ambulatory care facilities, the drug is diluted
in five millimeters of distilled water and
injected in the injuries, at a depth of 0.1
centimeters.
Research on this drug has not ended
yet. A few days ago, Cuban scientist Jorge
Berlanda told the press that work is being
conducted in its reformulation, in order to
attain pharmaceutical ways that are less
aggressive to patients.

Vaccination:
A Cornerstone in Cuba´s Health System
By BettyHERNANDEZ
HAVANA.- Vaccination is
one of the Cuban health
system’s mainstay. The
efforts the government has
made for decades to make
vaccination accessible to all
the population have borne
outstanding fruits, which have
been acknowledged by the
world health organizations.
Before 1959, the only
immunization occasionally
provided in the country was
against tuberculosis, but the
national coverage did not
exceed five percent.
Then, the island became
A WEEK TO
STRENGTHEN DEFENSE
In order to extend access
to adequate immunization all
over the world, April 23 marked
the beginning of the16th
Vaccination week in the
Americas, a campaign officially
opened in Havana that was
attended by senior officials of
the World and Pan-American
Health Organizations, WHO
and PAHO, respectively.
Although this campaign
has been around since 2003,
this is the first time that ‘the
starting shot’ takes place
in Cuba, a country whose
immunization coverage
Director General of the
World Health Organization
(WHO) Tedros Adhanom
recalled that this practice
saves 3 million lives
annually from diseases such
as smallpox and whooping
cough, among others.
Adhanom highlighted
that Cuba is an ideal venue
to “fire the starting shot”
of the Vaccination Week,
as the country not only
provides universal access
to those medications, but
also produces and exports
them.
Through the Genetic
Engineering and
PHOTOS: Internet

the first Latin American exceeds 98 percent. Biotechnology Center

country to eliminate The campaign, conducted
poliomyelitis, and the under the slogan: “Strengthen
immunization coverage your defense! Get vaccines
exceeded 98 percent, with 11 work” – in reference to the
vaccines against 13 diseases. World Football Cup Russia
According to sources of 2018 – is an effort that would
the Cuban Ministry of Public allow the immunization of
Health (MINSAP), 4.8 million 70 million people against
doses of simple or combined dangerous preventable
vaccines are annually diseases, PAHO confirmed.
administered on average, Thanks to the celebration
including the pentavalent of this Week, over 720 million
vaccine, whose all five people have got protected
components are produced in against different preventable
the country. diseases in the last 15 years.
(CIGB), Cuba provides
high-quality vaccines to 44
countries, at an affordable
price, he noted.
The WHO official
appreciated the country
for its example and leading
role in the protection of
children from all over the
world.
He also stressed that
thanks to technological
transfer, the Caribbean nation
has shared its knowledge
with other countries, such
WHO _Director General TedrosADHANOM
as Brazil, China, Iran and
Vietnam, an example of a real
global solidarity.
For her part, director of
the Pan-American Health
Organization (PAHO) Carisse
Etienne noted that Cuba, a
country that provides over
98 percent of coverage, is an
example for the world in the
prevention of diseases.
Until the present, the
country has eliminated
poliomyelitis, neonatal
tetanus, diphtheria, measles,
rubella and the congenital
rubella syndrome, among
other infections.
Vaccination is one of the
most powerful tools science
has to prevent diseases and
save life, Etienne added.
 6 CULTURE
U.S. Publishing Company to Print Work
on Indo-Cubans Living in Guantanamo
Text & Photo by YadiraCRUZ
GUANTÁNAMO, CUBA.-
The English version of the
book “Panchito, Cacique
de Montaña”, will soon
be published with the
collaboration of the New
York-based publishing house
Editorial Campana, announced
José Barreiro, the author.
The work, published
by Casa de las Américas in
2016, collects the testimony
of Francisco Ramírez Rojas
(Panchito), leader of La
Rancheria village, a town
located in La Caridad de los
Indios, in the Manuel Tames
municipality – in Cuba’s
easternmost province.
The text describes the
customs and lifestyle of the
indigenous descendants
living in this region; customs
that are shown through
the experiences of an
octogenarian Indo-Cuban
who according to Barreiro “is
a common person that never
makes up very complicated
stories, although these don’t
lack wisdom and depth.”
This edition in English will
allow people living outside
the country to know about
the history of a population
that for many years was
considered extinct and that
was saved from oblivion
thanks to the persistent work
of researchers such as Cuban
speleologist Antonio Nunez
Jimenez; Eusebio Leal and
Alejandro Hartman, Historian
of Baracoa city, the author
told The Havana Reporter.
Barreiro, a US researcher of
Cuban origin, explained that
the historical stereotypes and
prejudices led to mistakes in
the way the Cuban indigenous
culture was perceived, and
that studies have been
conducted in depth only in
the last three decades.
“The people who searched
for those traces were
expecting to find Indians
with feathers, spears and
loincloths, nothing further
from the truth; there is a
mixture, but heritage is there
and Panchito's testimony is a
proof of that, in addition to his
natural tendency to help and
lead others. That’s what has
made him deserve the title of
cacique,” he said.
Barreiro affirmed that it
is a mistake to believe that
the mixture of races wipes
out identity, as those persons
have their customs, their
perceptions on the world,
based on love and respect for
mother land and father sun,
and the moon and all the stars
to which their singings and
rituals are dedicated.
“When we say Cubans,
we say Taínos; that’s the first
root, to which the African
and the Spanish are added. If
anyone had any doubt about
that, even the genetic studies
show that 35 percent of the
Cubans’ mitochondrial DNA
comes from the Taínos,” he
noted.
For 22 years, the
researcher has toured the
mountain ranges of Cuba’s
east searching for the traces
of the indigenous people,
who, according to him,
preserve the traditions of
their ancestors – which can
be appreciated in their rituals,
food, language and especially
their permanent relation to
nature.
“It was always thought
that there was no trace of the
indigenous culture in Cuba,
but that legacy is alive in
the people who live in those
mountains,” stressed Barreiro.
The work is the result of
the project “La gran familia
Ramírez-Rojas y la herencia
indígena en Cuba” (The
large Ramírez-Rojas family
and the indigenous heritage
in Cuba) Barreiro conducts
with the support of the U.S.
Smithsonian Institution and
the Cuban Antonio Núñez
Jiménez Foundation for Man
and Nature.
PhD Jose Barreiro was
an Assistant Director for
Research and Director of the
Office for Latin America at
the Smithsonian National
Museum of the American
Indian and a member of the
Taíno Nation of the Antilles. He
is also one of the forerunners
of publications on Native
Americans in his country.
In 1994 he first visited the
community La Ranchería,
where some of the last
descendants of the Taínos
indigenous people – most
of whom are better known
by their surnames, Ramírez
or Rojas - still live in Cuba.
Since then, he has devoted
himself to studying and
preserving the legacy of that
family.
The surname Rojas
comes from Manuel Rojas,
nephew of conqueror Diego
Velázquez, who owned all
the northwestern lands of the
eastern part of the country
and the people living there.
Ramírez comes from Miguel
Ramírez, a former bishop of
the Santiago de Cuba village
in 1528, who according to
historians was the first to
conduct massive christening
among the indigenous people
living in the area.
Alejandro Hartman and
José Sánchez, historian of
the Guantánamo city – who
conducts research on the
participation and leading
role of the indigenous people
living in the area in the Cuban
Wars of Independence –
have also collaborated in this
project.
 SPOTLIGHT ON 7

Artists are
Cuba’s Best
AmbassadorsBy MarthaANDRES
AlexisTRIANA

WASHINGTON.- The Cuban artists are

the island’s best ambassadors, Alexis
Triana, Communication Director of the
Cuban Culture Ministry (MINCULT), said
in Washington during a festival dedicated
to his country.
Speaking at a press conference held
before the festival entitled “Cuban Arts:
From the Island to the World” opened
on May 8, Triana commented that this
event celebrates Cuban art as a bridge.
Attended by some 400 artists, it will close
on June 3.
The Cubanía (“Cubanness”) represented
in every room is the result of our artists,
the MINCULT representative said alluding
to the works on display at the John F.
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,
the festival’s venue.
Triana thanked the authorities of the
center in Washington DC, one of the most
important institutions of its kind in the
United States, by saying that the festival
is a sign of friendship with Cuba.
“We are a peaceful people and the
artists are our best ambassadors,” he
stressed.
“We are building this bridge brick by
brick,” Triana commented, adding that
the same thing happened with the New
Orleans Jazz Festival, which dedicated its
2017 edition to Cuba. In the meantime,
U.S. musicians travelled to Havana last
January to attend the International Jazz
Plaza Festival.
In remarks to The Havana Reporter,
Triana once again thanked the John F.
Kennedy Center’s authorities for allowing
the Cuban artists share the institution’s
spaces.
Different generations of Cuban artists
are exhibiting their pieces for the U.S.
audience in representation of Cuban
culture, he noted.
The MINCULT representative also
praised the fact that artists residing
in other countries and recognized as
Cubans, have graduated from the Cuban
art schools and always honor their
teachers.
This largely owes to the free public
education system that Cuba has
preserved because, even during the worst
crisis, not one single art school closed.
This system makes no distinctions at all as
PHOTOS: DionySANABIA

to the skin color, social standing or beliefs

to admitting students. “Their skills are the
only thing that matters,” Triana said.
“These generations of artists are the
ones that are here as equals,” noted Triana.
8 CULTURE

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

thr@prensa-latina.cu (THR is not responsible for any changes made by sponsoring organizations)

UPCOMING EVENTS

Latin America & Caribbean Theater Cuba´s Cinematheque pays tribute to

Festival, several venues in Havana Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi
(Thru May 21) (May 16-31)

Colorado Party Holds on
to Paraguay´s Presidency
By JulioFUMERO
ASUNCIÓN.- According to polls, Liberal
Efraín Alegre was expected to win the
Paraguayan elections by a comfortable
margin of votes. However, the reality was
far different.
Mario Abdo Benítez, of the Colorado
Party, was the winner of the presidential
elections, by a narrow difference of just
3.7 points over his main opponent, Alegre.
The result was rather striking, as this is
the narrowest difference in a presidential
election held in what Paraguayans call
the ‘democratic era’; that is, after the
overthrow of the dictatorship the country
suffered for over 35 years under Alfredo
Stroessner.
The result is even closer than the 2008
elections, where Fernando Lugo won by
10 percent and put an end to 61 years of
administration by the Colorado Party.
Abdo’s victory now allows the National
Republican Association -Colorado Party
(ANR-PC) to take on power for five more
years, as of August 15 – in order to
postpone the change of direction in the
State policies proposed by the Grand
National Renovated Alliance (GANAR),
which nominated Alegre.
Both candidates to the Government
Palace made a lot of promises during
their election campaigns, some of which
coincided on the sectors they were
addressed to, but conflicting in their
objectives.
It’s still to be seen how Marito – as the
newly-elected president is colloquially
called – will implement the promises he
made, and if he actually does it the way
he said.
For the time being, in his first speech
after the victory, he reiterated the call for
unity in his party, to have their support
while ruling.
This is not strange, as he was the
leader of the ANR-PC dissident faction,
the so-called Colorado Añetete (real, in
Guaraní) movement - a fierce enemy of
the Head of State, Horacio Cartes, founder
of the Honor Colorado Group.
As the Neoliberal candidate did,Benítez
attacked corruption prevailing at all the
levels of the Paraguayan administration,
its institutions and officials.
But on the other hand, ANR-PC was
the party that reached the highest
number of seats in the vote to the Senate,
with 17 – although it lost 3 in comparison
to the current presidency. PLRA, for its
part, maintained all its 13 seats and the
left front Guasu added one – six in total
now, thus becoming the country’s third
political power.
In spite of this result, the Colorado
Party will not have the majority of the
seats needed in the Senate to impose its
position and will then have to negotiate
with other parties to achieve consensus
in favor of its policies, and to support
those of Mario Abdo Benítez.
In relation to the provincial
governments, ANR-PC won in 13 out of 17,
which represents 76.5 percent - and one
more when compared to the elections
held five years ago. PLRA won three and
GANAR one.
The increase of those instances on the
part of the Colorado Party is due to the
fact that they recovered the longed-for
Central department – the smallest but
most populated territory of the country,
with 35 percent of the inhabitants - after
25 years of Liberal hegemony.
Will Marito be different from Cartes
in his much criticized ruling? It’s very
unlikely, because in the end “they are the
same kettle of fish.”
LATIN AMERICA &THE CARIBBEAN
Anti-privatization
Fight in Puerto Rico
Likely to Increase
By NestorROSA-MARBRELL
SAN JUAN.-The escalating privatization
of corporations and public education by
the Ricardo Rosselló pro-annexationist
government in Puerto Rico is up against
the people’s increasing resistance on
different fronts.
On the one hand, teachers, parents
and students are fighting the massive
closing of schools –nearly 500 since
the government took power in January
2017. On the other hand, workers with
the state-run Electric Power Authority
(AEE) are sparing no efforts to prove
that handing the country’s energy
sector over to private interests is a huge
mistake, showing economic studies as
support for their position.
“The people are looking for ways out
to channel their frustration and anger.
They are looking to come together,
and here they have a front to join
their forces,” said trade unionist Angel
Figueroa Jaramillo.
The president of the powerful
Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers’
Union (UTIER), which groups some 4,000
AEE employees, referred to the creation
of the United People’s Front against the
Selling and Privatization of Services.
This front consists of representatives
from different labor sectors and political
movements, who aim at facing the
government in different scenarios.
“Whoever makes any investments
in the country will recover it by any
means; we the Puerto Rican people
will pay for it,” Figueroa Jaramillo said
during a public hearing of the House
of Representatives’ Joint Commission
on Economic Development, Planning,
Telecommunications, Private Public
Alliances, Energy and Government.
9
PHOTOS: Internet
On that occasion, the alliance of
AEE retirees and employees presented
a study by economist José Alameda
saying that, contrary to what the Puerto
Rican government sustains, the cost of
living, trade and industry are likely to
increase.
The decrease in the energy
consumption demand –either because
the electrical appliances use ever lesser
electricity or due to the decline in the
population- does not help reduce the
cost of power generation.
Commenting on the issue, Luis
Vega Ramos, of the opposition Popular
Democratic Party (PPD), told The
Havana Reporter, that, based on
government statistics, the study shows
that the electricity rate is likely to
increase up to $3,500 minimum in the
coming four to five years.
In the meantime, the Rosselló
Nevares government is speeding up the
moves to make the AEE privatization
lawful.
Parents and students, supported by
the communities, are also taking a step
forward by protesting in front of the
schools named on the closure list.
The government already handed
its first school over to Pastor Otoniel
Font for the nominal price of one dollar
annually to have a bilingual school
(Spanish-English) with a fundamentalist
approach, with every student paying
some $700 monthly.
Some of the 283 public schools to
be privatized have modern structures,
including about a dozen that operate
under the Montessori method.
In the meantime, the students will
be crowded together in very poor
schools that are far away from their
homes.
 10 CULTURE

Carlos Acosta to Be Decorated with the

Queen Elizabeth II Award in London
By MarthaSANCHEZ
HAVANA.- The United Kingdom
Royal Academy of Dance will
decorate Cuban dancer Carlos
Acosta with the Queen Elizabeth
II Coronation Award, the company
directed by the dancer announced
through a press release.
By granting such an award, the
institution hopes to acknowledge the
role of the former London Royal Ballet
leading dancer as one of the most
influential figures in dance today.
The ceremony will take place
on October 15 at the Mandarin
Oriental Hyde Park, in London.
A press release published on
the website of the British entity
says that the Cuban is “a source
of inspiration to dancers around
the world,” and also highlights “his
extraordinary career as a renowned
dancer, and now choreographer
and artistic director.”
The announcement also
praises that, through his work and
management, Acosta helps young people Marie Rambert, Frederick Ashton, Additionally, Royal Academy Chief Acosta’s career both as a dancer and
to have access to dance– an endeavor Antony Tudor, Kenneth MacMillan, Executive Luke Rittner noted that the now as a choreographer and artistic
that according to the press release is also Rudolf Nureyev and The Royal Ballet decision to honor Acosta with the director speaks for itself, Rittner said.
at the heart of the Academy’s mission. Company. entity’s most prestigious distinction was Acosta founded a company in his
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation “It’s an honor to join this prestigious unanimous. home country on April 2016 with the
Award is an honor annually granted, list of dance leaders, many of whom I The Royal Academy of Dance and purpose of offering comprehensive
since 1953, to people who have made a have drawn inspiration from and had Carlos Acosta share a common goal: shows that go from the contemporary to
valuable contribution to ballet and dance. the opportunity to work with during my to inspire and nurture young dancers the neoclassical styles, without leaving
The award has been granted to career,” said Acosta on knowing he had around the world, and to make dance as aside other dance expressions, styles and
personalities such as Ninette de Valois, been selected to receive this award. accessible as possible. periods.

U.S. & Latin

American Art at
Cuba’s National
Fine Arts Museum
By RachelPEREDA
PHOTOS: Courtesy of the Museum

HAVANA.- The permanent halls Also on display

dedicated to U.S. and Latin American
art will reopen soon at the National Fine
Arts Museum of Cuba, the institution
announced.
Curator Carlos Vicente Fernández
told The Havana Reporter that those
spaces had been used for international
exhibitions but will now return to their
original functions.
The museum’s U.S. collection consists
of 26 pieces made between the 18th
and 19th centuries, featuring portraits,
landscapes, still life and gender scenes.
The main pieces include a portrait of
George Washington made at the end of
the 18thcentury by Gilbert Stuart, who
is considered the most important U.S.
portrait painter of that time.
will be works made
in the middle of
the 19th century by
painters from the
Rio Hudson School,
which is of great
significance to the
romantic landscape painting movement
in the United States.
Likewise, the collection includes “El
Paseo del Prado de La Habana” (Havana’s
Prado Walk), an impressionistic painting
made by Childe Hassam, who came
to Cuba to provide the U.S. press with
evidence about the Independence War.
In the meantime, the Permanent Latin
American Art Hall will bring back pieces
from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mexico, the
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Brazil
made between the 17th & 19th centuries.
These works are chiefly religious but
the urban Mexican landscape is also
represented.
According to the museum’s specialists,
most of the pieces are anonymous, because
this was one common element within the
region’s artistic movement at that time.
Nevertheless, the collection features
one rococo painting: the representation of
the Virgin by Puerto Rican José Campeche,
the country’s most important painter of
the 18th century.
Other important authors from that
period are Joseph de Paéz and José Alcíba.
The exact date of the halls’ reopening
has not been officially announced but the
public are already getting ready to visit
these important halls of Cuba’s National
Fine Arts Museum, a place where universal
culture exhibits its most diverse sides.
 PHOTO FEATURE 11

Havana´s 500 ͭ ͪ Anniversary on the Horizon

Text & Photos by TinoMANUEL
HAVANA.- The Cuban capital will
celebrate its 500th birthday in 2019,
an occasion that means a lot to the
Cuban authorities and people, who
take pride in its wonders, beauties
and the cosmopolitan ambiance
that the tourist industry is now
expanding.
Listed among the Seven Wonder
Cities of the World, Havana’s
beauty, hustle and bustle and the
people’s traditions largely justify
that designation and many other
acknowledgments.
Its very well preserved urban
landscape, thanks to the Office of
Havana City’s Historian Eusebio Leal
and the serious intentions of the
Tourism Ministry and other entities,
bestows Havana with a Babel-
like atmosphere when it comes
to languages, understanding and
people from different origins.
Officially founded in 1519
under the shade of a leafy ceiba
tree, the Cuban capital of Havana
has suddenly become a largely
cosmopolitan city full of travelers
from around the world eager to
explore it.
Cuba, and Havana as the
essence of essences, exhibits a
large blend of people, whose main
cultural heritage is attributed to the
Spanish and Africans, but where
the influences of Chinese, Haitian,
German and French can be seen as
well.
José Martí International Airport
of Havana received 72 percent of
the tourists 2017, reports say. This is
one of the reasons why local efforts
aim at providing it with appropriate
infrastructure, mainly hotels.
The Villa of Saint Christopher of
Havana, its real name, was founded
on November 16, 1519 near the
Carenas Port, after it had been
initially located on the country’s
southern coast.
Visitors describe the first
settlement founded in the island’s
west as a great place, due to its
monuments and patrimonial values
preserved along almost 500 years.
With the peculiar attraction of a
city invaded by pirates in 1555 and
by a British fleet in 1762, its walls
and palaces still contain sections,
stones and traces of great value to
travelers.
Havana’s riches were rewarded
by the UN Education, Science and
Culture Organization in declaring it and tourism. As many as 47 percent
a World Heritage Site in 1982. of the country’s hotels are located
The Cuban capital comprises in Havana –Cuba has more than
732 square kilometers and has 61,000 rooms in nearly 300 hotels.
15 municipalities. Of them, nine We can now refer to an old
are totally urban and 4.5 square Havana and a modern Havana,
kilometers belong to the old ranging from wide to narrow
district. streets, each of them with a very
Its economy is connected with particular lively nature, casting a
industrial activity, trade, services spell on all visitors alike.
 12 REGIONAL AFFAIRS

L AT I N A M E R I C A & C A R I B B E A N

Why is Gas so Important to Bolivia?

By LauraBECQUER
LA PAZ.- Analysts attribute the
sustained economic growth
registered in Bolivia to three
main elements: gas, saving and
public investment.
The first is essential to maintain
the economic stability, because it is
the result of the nationalization &
later industrialization implemented
by the Evo Morales government.
According to figures by the
state-run Yacimientos Petrolíferos
Fiscales Bolivianos (Bolivia’s Fiscal
Oilfield Company, YPFB), some
$11.18 billion were invested in
the hydrocarbon sector between
2006 (after the nationalization)
and December 2017. Likewise,
some $12.68 billion are expected
to be invested by 2020.
The country’s prosperity
largely owes to the
prospecting, exploitation &
commercialization of natural
gas, which presently stands
out as the driving force of the
Bolivian economy.
Bolivia’s daily gas production
is estimated at 59 million cubic
meters, and its proven reserves
account for 11 trillion cubic feet,
according to the Hydrocarbon
Ministry’s latest official
certification (2013-2016).
The interest shown by
renowned companies such
as Russia’s Gazprom, Spain’s
Repsol and Brazil’s Petrobras
in investing in Bolivia, has also
provided a major boost to the
sector.
Of the 20 new oil service
agreements reached so far, eight
are for the southern department
of Tarija, where the country’s
largest natural gas reserves are
located.
YPFB executive manager
Oscar Barriga recently signed
a contract with Canada’s
Cancambria Energy Company
to prospect nonconventional
gas in the Bolivian Chaco
through a technique known as
'fracking.'
In addition, a law was passed
to explore and prospect the
Iñiguazú area, which involves
YPFB Chaco, YPFB Andina,
Repsol, PAE and Shell, with an
investment worth $900 million.
The current promising
outlook is enhanced with the
recent discovery of a natural
gas reserve that would increase
the production up to 20 million
cubic feet daily in Los Monos
field, Tarija Department, Gran
Chaco province.
When President Morales
gave the good news to the
country, he stressed that having
nationalized the country’s
natural resources was no
mistake at all, nor was having
reactivated YPFB.
All of these projects
are complemented by the
commercial side of the operation,
for example, construction of
an Ammonia and Urea Plant in
Cochabamba department.
Inaugurated on September
14, 2017, it is the first
petrochemical plant built in the
country to produce fertilizers,
with noticeable results already
on the domestic market and
those of Brazil, Argentina,
Paraguay and Peru.
This is the first 100 percent
petrochemical megaproject
operating in the country which,
according to local authorities,
marked a point of inflexion by
changing the image of Bolivia
from mere consumer to well-
known exporter.
The prospecting, exploitation
and commercialization of gas
and its byproducts has provided
Bolivia with an income of $35
billion over 12 years with Evo
Morales as president.

The Long Road of an Old Conflict

GUATEMALA CITY.- One kilometer
By MaitteMARRERO on either side of the Sarstoon River
marks the imaginary border between
Guatemala and Belize, two countries
with a very old territorial, maritime
and insular claim that is being taken
to the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) to finally be settled.
What is known as the adjacency
zone –something like “nobody’s zone”-
is the scenario of a frequent escalation of
tensions and deaths. Guatemala claims
those waters as its own, while Belize
says that they are shared jurisdiction.
Almost half of the Belizean
territory –some 12,000 square
kilometers including several islands
and keys- are included in the claim to
the former British colony; therefore
posing a threat to its existence, even
though the latter is willing to solve
the case peacefully.
The details about the dispute
are aplenty, and date back to 1783,
when Spain granted the first lands to
Great Britain, which later breached
agreements with Guatemala. Then
in 1991, Guatemala recognized
Belize’s Independence but without
renouncing the disputed area.
The more serious attempts to
resolve the conflict were made in
2008 at the Organization of American
States headquarters, where the
two countries signed a special
agreement to take the dispute to the
International Court of Justice.
A simultaneous referendum was
to be held on October 6, 2013, but it
was suspended because the Belizean
authorities conditioned its lawfulness
to it being voted by 60 percent of the
population.
Another opportunity arose in May
2015, when the two countries’ foreign
ministers signed an agreement
saying that the popular consultations
needed not to be simultaneous
and there would be no limit to the
number of votes.
Hence, the Guatemalan vote
on April 15 was marked by an
information campaign led by
President Jimmy Morales, who asked
the population to vote because it
was an affair of State inherited from
previous administrations.
The government chiefly insisted
on the need to delimit the border
to thus have more opportunities for
trade and diplomatic exchanges in
the future, though access to the sea
appears to be in the background of
the bilateral dispute.
Many citizens cast their votes
hoping they will immediately recover
a territory that they consider to be
theirs, because in some history books
Belize still appears to be part of
Guatemala.
The results of the plebiscite
evidenced a poor participation:
26 percent. However, the Electoral
Supreme Court and Morales himself
agreed to say it was a success
compared to previous referendums.
The excessive amount of money
spent in the voting (some $41
million) generated fierce criticism in a
country with more pressing needs to
invest in high-quality education and
job generation.
Not to mention the millions
needed to pay the lawyers that will
take the case to the ICJ, which could
take between five and ten years to
announce a definite decision that
cannot be appealed.
Meanwhile, Belize has confirmed
that a referendum on the issue will
be held on April 10th, 2019 once the
electoral lists are updated, a process
currently underway, according to
diplomatic sources.
The case will be brought to the ICJ
in the Hague only if the Yes vote wins
in the two countries.
While the case is settled, the
Morales government should generate
some wealth in the adjacency zone,
because they talk more about the
prevailing conflict than the extreme
poverty affecting the Guatemalans
who live near the disputed Sarstoon
River.
 ECONOMY 13

Business Fair Promotes Development

of the National Economy
By TeyuneDIAZ the joint ventures and the
self-employed workers, in
HAVANA.- Cuba´s 5th Business Fair, order to move forward in
attended by all sectors of the national the process of conciliation
economy, has the purpose of effectively of goods, demands and
increasing the substitution of imports services, in the context
and improving the country’s industrial of the Economic Plan for
capacities. 2019.
The meeting, held from May 7 – 23 at Similarly, it allows to
the Expocuba fairground, gathers all new have a wider knowledge
forms of state management, in addition on the production lines
to cooperatives, self-employed workers that are part of the
and foreign companies operating in the national economy, as
country. well as to promote new
One of the main objectives of this fair products, services and
is to foster the capacity of the national export items, and to
industry in view of the local demand, manage inventories based
First Deputy Minister of Economy and on the plan’s logistics.
Planning (MEP) René Hernández told the On the possible
press. outcomes of the meeting,

Compared to last year’s edition, this
event includes new features, such as a
stronger relationship with universities; an
application for cellphones – distributed
through the Cuban Telecommunications
Company ETECSA - that provides details
on the fair, and the attendance of foreign
entities settled in the country, as already-
mentioned, noted the official.
The deputy minister explained that
this is an appropriate occasion to identify
the potential of the state-run companies,
Hernández said that it
allows MEP specialists to
identify in a short term
the economic actors that best represent
the society – a feedback that facilitates
a better understanding from the macro-
economic point of view.
The official added that the fair
also contributes to the exchange of
experiences between producers and
those who buy their products, something
that in previous occasions allowed
reducing the import of products that
were made in the country. In this sense,
he referred to examples related to the
tourism sector, the agribusiness, and the
light and military industries.
In line with the above, almost all the
furniture used today in the tourism field is
produced in the country, as well as part of
the clothing and cleaning products.
PHOTOS: PL
The Expocuba Central Pavilion lodges
all the entities linked to the industrial
activity, including the light and military
industries, as well as the non-agricultural
cooperatives related to this sector.
The Business Fair also includes
workshops, where elements related to
the work principles and scope are taught,
in view of the 2030 development goals.

U.S. Cruise Ship Victory I Docks in Cuba

HAVANA.- The U.S. cruise ship
Victory I made its first stop in
Cuba at Havana’s Sierra Maestra
Cruise Ship Terminal after
circumnavigating several provinces
of the country, a sign of the island’s
increasingly favorable image as a
safe destination.
With capacity for 200
passengers, it is the first cruise ship
run by Victory Cruise Lines to dock
in Cuba. Its voyage started in
Santiago de Cuba province,
followed by Sancti Spiritus
(Trinidad), Cienfuegos and Havana,
and continued on to Miami.
The arrival of Victory I gives
continuity to U.S. cruise lines’
operations in Cuba, despite
the economic, commercial and
financial blockade imposed by
the United States against Cuba for
more than 55 years.
In remarks to The Havana
Reporter, Victory Cruise Lines
chairman Bruce Nierenberg said
that ever since the shipping
company was founded at the end
of 2015, they have always wanted
to include Cuba as one of their
destinations. The reasons are
several: the proximity to the United
States, the boat’s special features to
sail around the coasts, and the time
the ship is docked in every city,
which allows passengers to tour
the localities, he said.
With an itinerary of
approximately nine days,
passengers get to know the island
by staying a couple of days in every
city, commented Nierenberg, who
added that the passengers are
eager to know the Cuban culture,
history and food.
The small communities that
welcome the cruise passengers are
the most benefitted from this kind
of trip, noted Nierenberg.
The first voyage to Cuba was
a positive surprise to all, from the
crew to the passengers. The Cuban
authorities were always very kind
when the cruise ship arrived,
hotel manager Luis de Souza told
The Havana Reporter.
Cuba and Victory Cruise Lines
have a promising future ahead, he
commented.
The Victory I left the Havana
port on May 5, setting a course for
Miami. They plan to return to Cuba
by the end of October, in November
and in January.
In 2016, four companies had
the approval to make this kind of
trip to Cuba: Carnival Cruise Line,
Royal Caribbean Cruise, Norwegian
Cruise and Pearl Seas LLP, and now
Victory Cruise Lines. (PL)
 14 ECONOMY

L AT I N A M E R I C A & C A R I B B E A N

Growing Awareness of Sustainable Development Challenges

By MariaJuliaMAYORAL

HAVANA.- As many as 20 of the 33

Latin American and Caribbean countries
today have top level multidisciplinary
institutions with their sights set on
implementing the 2030 Agenda toward
Attaining Sustainable Development.
It is “a concrete step toward a new
development model;” however, “there
are still some gaps, challenges and
backwardsteps” that must be faced, said
Alicia Bárcena, the executive secretary
of the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
By the end of this year, 19 regional

governments are expected to have
presented their Voluntary National
Reviews on this topic before the UN High
Level Political Forum (HLPF) based in New
York. Some of these governments will be
presenting it for the second time.
This was confirmed at the Second
Meeting of the Forum of the Countries
of Latin America and the Caribbean on
Sustainable Development held at the
end of April in the Chilean capital, with
the attendance of representatives from
28 countries and 35 nongovernmental
organizations.
Experts from several UN agencies,
intergovernmental organizations, the
private sector and the civil society
attended as well.
It is well known that poverty,
inequalities, the high global debt and the
reduction of international cooperation
levels threaten the Sustainable
Development Goals, it was said during
the forum.
According to ECLAC, the poverty
index in Latin America grew from 28.5
percent in 2014 to 30.7 percent in 2016,
while extreme poverty increased from
8.2 to 10 percentage points in the same
period.
More than 100,000,000 people still
live in slums, warned Bárcena, who
also highlighted the negative effects
connected with dangerous climate
changes.
From 1990 to 2013, she exemplified,
more than 43,000 persons died and
some 126 million others were affected
by disasters of different magnitudes in 16
countries, largely resulting from climate
change-related phenomena.
The region is also called to fight tax
evasion proficiently and rapidly -which
is estimated to reach some $340 billion
annually, equivalent to 6.7 percent of the
Gross Domestic Product- the UN agency
noted.
Therefore, it is imperative to
strengthen regional integration and
propose new agreements intended to
eradicate the financial, technological and
commercial asymmetries, it added.
The forum was “a good move. The
exchange was open and sincere,” with the
active participation of the civil society of
nations, said Cuba’s first Deputy Foreign
Trade and Investment Minister Ileana
Núñez.
PHOTOS: Internet
Despite the difficulties, the progress
so far attained by Latin America and
the Caribbean in fulfilling the 2030
Sustainable Development Agenda
represents “a lesson to the world, because
19 countries will present their reports to
the HLPF and three of them will do so for
the second time, Bárcena sustained on
the closing day.
The forum stressed the need to
speed up the pace for implementing and
increasing awareness of the Sustainable
Development Goals, taking into
consideration that the region exhibits the
most unequal distribution of wealth in
the world.
The participants also proposed linking
the private sector’s incentives with long-
term national public investment goals,
with the objective of reducing equality
gaps and all forms of poverty.
Likewise, they highlighted the
importance of mobilizing foreign
financial resources and creating the
capacities needed for the development,
transfer and spreading of eco-friendly
technologies.
Taking the road toward a new and
more sustainable development model
requires not only political work and
approach but also an open and solid
multilateral system, together with
alliances and institutions that promote
policies on the international, national,
regional and local levels, the ECLAC
executive secretary summarized.
 SPORTS 15

Cuban Female Athletes &

the 2018 Barranquilla Games
By AdrianMENGANA
HAVANA.- The Cuban female athletes
stand out more than ever in a wide range
of sport disciplines. For that reason, their
participation in the Barranquilla 2018
Central American and Caribbean Games
are not an exception.
Over 20 percent of the medals Cuba
has won in different sport events have
the hallmark of women, especially in judo,
track & field and volleyball.
In the Central American and Caribbean
Games, the Cuban female players have
won 850 medals out of a total of 3,071 –
which accounts for 28 percent.
In the forthcoming games, to take
place in the Colombian city of Barranquilla
from July 19 to August 3, the female track
and field athletes will play an essential
role in Cuba’s aspirations to retain the first
place reached in such competitions since
Panama 1970.
Pole-vaulter Yarisley Silva, Olympic
runner-up in London 2012 and world
outdoor champion in Beijing 2015,
stands out in that group, as well as
discus throwers Denia Caballero – world
champion in Beijing 2015 – and Yaimé
Pérez, and heptathlon player Yorgelis
Rodríguez – who could win two medals:
one in heptathlon and another one in
long jump.
Long-distance runner Rose Mary
Almanza also has a shot at the podium
in 800 and 1,500 meters, in addition to
shot-putter Yaniuvis López, finalist in the
London 2017 World Championship.
Judo is another sport discipline that
can contribute a high number of medals,
especially through players Maylín del
Toro (63 kg), Onix Cortés (70 kg), Kaliema YarisleySILVA
Antomarchi (78 kg) and Idalis Ortiz (+78
kg) – the latter, a three-time Olympic
medalist and six-time world champion.
The women basketball team is a
favorite for the title, which they also won
in Veracruz 2014. If successful, this would
be their 11th crown in the competition.
Meanwhile, the handball team will try
to win its 4th title in these events and the
field hockey squad hopes to bring home
its 5th gold medal.
Track cycling will also make a
contribution to the Cuban delegation
through the Keirin and Omnium
modalities, as well as individual and
team sprint and pursuit – disciplines that
will be represented by Lisandra Guerra, LisandraGUERRA
Marlies Mejías and Arlenis Sierra, world
cup medal holders. In Veracruz 2014, the Cuban female
Furthermore, sport shooters Eglys athletes won 106 medals out of the 253
de la Cruz – Olympic bronze medalist the Cuban delegation brought home.
in Beijing 2008 – Dianelys Pérez and Of those, 44 were gold, 28 silver and 34
Laina Pérez are also included, as well as bronze, which accounted for 41.9 percent
wrestlers Lianna de la Caridad (57 kg) of the total.
and Yudaris Sánchez (69 kg); beach volley Mejías stood out as the best female
players Leila Martínez and Maylén Delis; athlete of the delegation by winning
rowers Yariulvis Cobas, Aimé Hernández five titles in cycling: road, Omnium, team
and Yislena Hernández, and pentathlon sprint (with Guerra), and individual and
player Leidy Laura Moya. team pursuit. IdalisORTIZ
16