Chronicle on Cuba - August 2009

Economy

August 1: President Raul Castro gave Cuba’s National Assembly more bad economic news, saying the government had cut its budget for the second time this year to confront the country's worst financial crisis since the 1990s. He did not say how much had been cut, but said the Cuban economy, battered by the global financial crisis and three hurricanes last year, grew just 0.8 percent in the first half of 2009. He said growth of 1.7 percent was expected for the full year. The combined economic shocks cut income from exports and forced the government to spend more on imports of food and other items, which has depleted the country's cash. As a result, Castro said, "We've been forced to renegotiate debts, payments and other commitments with foreign entities." The plan for next year, he said, calls for Cuba to have a "balance of payments, without deficit" and to put priority on producing products and services that bring hard currency. Castro's biggest reform since taking office has been the decentralization of decision-making in agriculture and putting more land in the hands of private farmers to increase food output. He also has pushed for Cubans to be paid based on their production, with the aim of creating incentives for them to work harder. Castro has also launched a fight against widespread corruption that he says is choking the Cuban economy. Before his speech, the National Assembly approved creation of the comptroller general's office, with powers to audit and control all government and economic activities. (Discurso de Raúl Castro en la clausura de las sesiones de la Asamblea Nacional; Reuters, 2/8/09).

Agosto 1: Las medidas de ajuste económico, que refrenda la Asamblea Nacional (AN), no afectarán al turismo —el número de viajeros ingresados a la isla crece 2,9% anual—, pese al impacto de la crisis internacional, afirmó el ministro del ramo, Manuel Marrero. "En los ajustes que se han hecho en la economía, el turismo no está inserto", pues "hemos reducido los gastos y planificado incrementar los ingresos. Ninguno de los ajustes está destinado a afectar la calidad y los servicios turísticos", dijo Marrero a la prensa, en la primera sesión anual de la AN. "El turismo tiene aprobado un plan de inversiones que se continúa ejecutando", con "la prioridad de recuperar y elevar el confort de las instalaciones y de iniciar" la construcción de otras, añadió. Marrero destacó que el arribo de visitantes "está creciendo a (un ritmo de) 2,9%", pero "la situación económica internacional tiene un impacto en los ingresos" (AFP, 1/8/09).

August 3: Supermarkets and clothing stores in Havana have been closed for inventory, in preparation for their turnover to an Army-managed enterprise, creating much discomfiture among the capital's residents. Establishments like the mall Galerías Paseo were run by the state organization Cubalse but now -- as part of an economic restructure imposed May 26 by Raúl Castro -- they will be managed by the chain TRD Caribe. That chain is part of the tourism conglomerate Gaviota, managed by the Cuban Army. The Spanish newspaper El Norte de Castilla reported that Havana residents are unhappy with the shutdown. "An elderly woman told me that 'according to a shopkeeper, her store didn't open because the man who has to give the order is traveling in Canada. Imagine that!'" the newspaper's Havana correspondent wrote. "Very few can afford to pay 150 euros at one blow to buy their biweekly or weekly supplies," the reporter wrote. "People complain because they are annoyed. In two blocks, two stores are closed, one of which supplies local wholesalers. Five blocks farther down, the Market of 70, one of Havana's biggest, has been closed for five days." Shutdown or no, "one of the priorities for housewives is to put food on the table each day, a pressing drama during the summer vacations," the article said (AFP, The Miami Herald, 3/8/09).

August 4: Venezuela, which offers Caribbean nations low-interest cash to buy its oil under the Petrocaribe alliance, may reduce its commitment to the program, according to a statement on the Jamaica Information Service Web site. South America’s biggest oil producer wants to receive at least 80 percent of the value of oil it sends to Petrocaribe members, Jamaica said. Venezuela now finances as much as 60 percent of the value of shipments with 20-year loans at 1 or 2 percent interest. “The impending changes in the agreement will present grave difficulties,” Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo said in the statement. Petrocaribe includes Central American countries Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and Nicaragua as well as Caribbean nations Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia. Venezuela’s eastern neighbours, Guyana and Suriname, are also members (Bloomberg, 4/8/09).

August 5: Daily deliveries of 150,000 liters of milk confirm a five-year steady recovery of the stockbreeding sector in central Villa Clara province as milk production in this region now approaches its best historical levels that date from 1985. Roberto Pérez García, deputy delegate of the Ministry of Agriculture in this province, told the press that a proper handling of cattle, the increase in the number of births and the raise in the purchasing price of milk from producers, are the key factors for this success. At the end of the first half of this year, Villa Clara ranchers reported 300,000 liters of milk more than planned, which allows foreseeing that the year’s collection will be around 45 million liters, the highest amount in the last two decades (ACN, 5/8/09).

Agosto 6: Los ministros de Medio Ambiente de Haití, Cuba y la República Dominicana firmarán en Barahona, en el suroeste dominicano, el Plan de Acción del Corredor Biológico del Caribe, iniciativa ideada para impulsar proyectos medioambientales, sociales, económicos y culturales en la región. El citado plan establece los perfiles de estos proyectos, que se desarrollarán en un espacio geográfico lineal que conecta paisajes, ecosistemas, hábitats y culturas de los tres países, a lo largo de unos 1,600 kilómetros, informó el Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de Santo Domingo. El corredor confiere una categoría especial a 61 áreas protegidas, lo que facilita las inversiones orientadas al desarrollo humano, en particular las que promuevan la reducción de la pobreza, mejora de la calidad de vida, de la educación, y recuperación de zonas de alto impacto humano (EFE, 6/8/09).

August 8: The Camilo Cienfuegos PDV-Cupet Joint Venture Refinery has processed 35 million barrels of oil since its opening in 2008. Pedro Villaroel Guerra, general manager of the facility in central Cienfuegos province, said that 13.5 million barrels have been processed this year, while in 2008 the number was 21.5 millions, Juventud Rebelde newspaper reported. The executive said that the refining goal for this year is being met according to their plan. At the moment, the most important goals they have is the building of four new large tanks, which will increase the refinery’s storage capacity to 80,000 cubic meters (ACN, 8/8/09).

Agosto 8: Cuba mejoró su tasa de natalidad, pero aún es insuficiente para lograr el reemplazo poblacional, indicaron cifras oficiales. "En el 2008 los nacimientos en Cuba aumentaron por segundo año consecutivo: 122.569 nacidos vivos; 10.097 por encima del 2007, y 11.246 más que en el 2006", comentó el periódico oficial Granma, órgano de difusión del Partido Comunista. Precisamente el 2006 había sido el año con menor natalidad de los últimos 50 años. Según el rotativo, la edad promedio de las mujeres para tener el primer hijo se mantiene en valores jóvenes, sobre los 23 años; pero aún así no se garantizó en 2008 el reemplazo poblacional --la sustitución personas viejas o muertas por nuevos nacimientos--, pues las mujeres sólo tuvieron 1,59 descendientes contra los 4,06 que solían dar a luz en 1960. Para lograrlo, cada mujer debía tener 2,1 bebés. Granma basó sus datos en los proporcionados por la Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas (ONE) (EFE, 9/8/09).

August 8: In Cuba, portions for many rationed foodstuffs have been cut -- red beans and chickpeas from 30 to 20 ounces a month, salt by half to about four ounces per month -- while food deliveries to factory, office and school cafeterias have been trimmed, according to official announcements. Harsh police crackdowns on the food black market -- apparently an attempt to ensure that more items reach the legal outlets -- have driven up prices yet left many of the legitimate sales points with shelves oddly bare, Havana residents say. Even foreign businesses are suffering, with the government tightly controlling withdrawals from their accounts. Raul Castro replaced his entire economic Cabinet in March, and just last week the legislature created a comptroller's office to attack official corruption. Yet many analysts in and out of Cuba argue that those belt-tightening moves are far from what's needed to address the crisis. ``Mercurochrome and Band-Aids for deep wounds with heavy bleeding,'' Miami activist Juan Antonio Blanco wrote in his blog, Cambio de Epoca (Epochal Change). Even the official Granma newspaper called the situation ``grave.'' ``The country is again facing a situation as adverse'' as the early 1990s, the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America wrote earlier this year. Cuba's economy shrank by 35 percent after the Soviet Union collapsed and cut off its $4 billion-$6 billion annual subsidies to Havana. Despite early speculation that the reputedly pragmatic Castro would move Cuba toward a Chinese-like ``market socialism system,'' his reforms have remained relatively moderate (The Miami Herald, 9/8/09).

August 10: The Cuba Railroads company (Ferrocarriles de Cuba) will receive 550 carriages produced by the Iranian company Wagon Pars for the transportation of containers, oil and cement, among other cargos. Gholam Reza Razzazi, general director of Wagon Pars, explained that the transaction is valued at $ 60 million, the website of Radio Havana Cuba reported (ACN, 10/8/09).

August 10: Cuba’s Pharmaceutical Entrepreneurial Group Quimefa saved the country 1.4 million dollars during the first semester of 2009, and increased the supply of medicines to the Cuban people. In statements published by Granma newspaper, Ramon Arango,
director of Qimefa’s Quality and Development Department, said the enterprise production program for the period from 2007 to 2012 includes 73 products, of which 31 substitute imports. These include antibiotics; eye, cardiovascular and skin medicaments; as well as anti-inflammatory, anti-asthmatics and anti-parasites. Arango highlighted the efforts to replace medicines that are bought in other countries with similar ones obtained in the island (ACN, 10/8/09).

August 10: President Raul Castro is promoting oxen, the beasts of burden, as a way for the economically strapped communist country to ramp up food production while conserving energy. He recently suggested expanding a pilot program that gives private farmers fallow government land to cultivate -- but without the use of gas-guzzling machinery. "For this program we should forget about tractors and fuel, even if we had enough. The idea is to work basically with oxen," Castro told parliament on August 1. "An increasing number of growers have been doing exactly this with excellent results." The agricultural ministry in late June proposed increasing the use of oxen to save fuel, as Cubans have seen a summer of factories closing and air conditioners at government offices and businesses shutting off to save oil. The ministry said it had more than 265,000 oxen "capable of matching, and in some cases overtaking, machines in labor load and planting" (AP, 10/8/09)

August 12: Representatives of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) member countries are meeting in Nicaragua to discuss details of the Unique Regional Compensation System (SUCRE). The SUCRE will function as a kind of virtual currency for commercial exchange between nations of the group, Prensa Latina news agency reported. In the meeting’s agenda are included topics like the exports’ surplus of the nine ALBA countries (Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and San Vicente and the Grenadines). Likewise, participants will analyze the surplus’ potentials and the import requirements of each member country, which will be included in a
data base. The creation of a regional common currency was approved in an ALBA meeting held last April in Venezuela, where the general regulations for the implementation of a Central Chamber for Compensation, a Regional Monetary Committee and a Reserves and Commercial Convergence Fund were set up (ACN, 12/8/09).

Agosto 12: Las mujeres representan el 46 por ciento de la fuerza laboral en el sector estatal civil, informó Yolanda Ferrer, secretaria general de la Federación de Mujeres Cubanas (FMC). La dirigente reconoció además que "sobre ellas sigue recayendo la jornada interminable que impone el hogar". Según el Panorama Económico y Social de Cuba en 2008, publicado por la Oficina Nacional de Estadísticas, el 49,9 por ciento de los habitantes de la isla son mujeres (IPS, 12/8/09).

Agosto 12: Cuba redujo este mes su consumo de electricidad en 20 mil megavatios por hora, al cumplir el estricto plan de ahorro que aplica desde el 1 de junio, pero el gobierno detectó miles de fraudes "energéticos" en los sectores estatal y residencial. Especialistas de la Unión Nacional Eléctrica (UNE) dijeron que la disminución registrada en los primeros nueve días de agosto representa casi el cinco por ciento del gasto de ese tipo de energía a nivel nacional. Ricardo González, director de Uso Racional de la Energía de la UNE, explicó a la televisión estatal que a excepción de la provincia occidental de Matanzas, con cerca de un 4.0 por ciento de incumplimiento, todas las demás se ajustan a las regulaciones implantadas (Notimex, 12/8/09).

August 13: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's move to close golf courses is similar to what his mentor Fidel Castro did shortly after the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Castro ordered military barracks to be built on most of the golf courses that once catered to high-rollers.
But golf was still played in Cuba. In a 1962 publicity stunt, Castro played a round with Che Guevara, who had been a caddy in his Argentine hometown before he became a guerrilla icon. According to Castro, The New York Times reports, it was meant to make fun of then-US president Dwight Eisenhower. But Castro lost the round of golf to Guevara, and was so angry that he fired the journalist who wrote about his defeat. Golf courses are now making a comeback in Cuba under Raul Castro's government because the country needs revenue from tourists (Toronto Star, 13/8/09).

August 13: Cuban thermoelectric plants will be using for the first time reinforced-polyester and fiberglass pipes in their water cooling systems. On its digital edition, Ciego de Avila’s local TV network reported that the Indalecio Montejo enterprise of the province has produced more than one hundred of those parts to replace molten iron and gummed steel pipes through which water pulled out from the sea circulates, which are very vulnerable to the marine environment once they loose their lining. General director of the enterprise Orelvis Meneses said the required accessories have successfully passed the trial phase in the ’10 de Octubre’ power plant located in the coastal municipality of Nuevitas, Camaguey, while others are ready to be installed in the thermoelectric plants of Renté, in Santiago de Cuba; Mariel, in Havana, and in the one in Cienfuegos (ACN, 13/8709).

Agosto 14: Ecuador y Cuba suscribieron acuerdos para ampliar preferencias arancelarias y mejorar las condiciones de su intercambio comercial. La cancillería ecuatoriana informó en un comunicado que durante una cita en Quito, el viceministro de Comercio Exterior e Integración de Ecuador, Julio Oleas, y su par cubano, Orlando Hernández Guillén, mejoraron el Acuerdo de Complementación Económica bilateral ya existente y que amplió sus ventajas. El documento firmado por los funcionarios contempla la ampliación de preferencias arancelarias recíprocas, la reducción de obstáculos técnicos al comercio, medidas sanitarias y fitosanitarias, entre otros puntos. También reafirma la necesidad de fomentar la "ampliación y diversificación del comercio bilateral" y la promoción de actividades productivas complementarias que contribuyan "al desarrollo de las economías" de ambos países (AP, 14/8/09).

Agosto 15: Cuba eliminó al 100% las importaciones de gases clorofluorocarbonados (CFC) que agotan el ozono a fines de 2008, y actualmente adopta medidas para "reconvertir" y "sustituir" sus sistemas de refrigeración, informó el semanario oficial Opciones. La reducción de las importaciones fue un "gran reto" para la isla, cuyo consumo de CFC ascendía a más de 1,000 toneladas anuales cuando firmó en 1987 el Protocolo de Montreal, mediante el que 191 países acordaron eliminar en un 95% el uso de esos gases, comúnmente utilizados para refrigeración. Tras un proceso de "reducción paulatina" Cuba logró cerrar el 2007 con menos de un 90% de importaciones de CFC, y en 2008 solo se comercializaron unas 74 toneladas (EFE, 15/8/09).

August 17: Cuba’s new technological advances in the production of vaccines and other medicines were presented to Ethiopian authorities and specialists with the Health and Nutrition Institute of this North African nation. During a meeting with Ethiopian experts, the Cuban ambassador in Addis Ababa, Clara Pulido, spoke of the work of Cuban scientific institutions such as the Finlay Institute and also about the Program to Eradicate Malaria in Africa by the Havana-based LABIOFAM institution. During the meeting, both sides ratified their interest in increasing cooperation in the production of medicines in Ethiopia (ACN, 17/8/09).

Agosto 19: La Aduana de Cuba exigirá que los 50 habanos que se permite a los viajeros sacar de la Isla sin factura de compra, estén contenidos en cajas originales, cerradas y selladas, según una resolución. La nueva disposición, fechada el 10 de julio y que estableció 90 días para su puesta en vigor, sustituye a otra de 2007 que permitía llevar al exterior hasta 50 puros, en cajas, sueltos o en mazo, sin factura ni otros requisitos. Ahora deberán estar "contenidos en envases originales, cerrados, sellados y con el holograma oficial establecido, exigencias sin las cuales no se autoriza la exportación", subrayó el texto. Según el documento, se podrá exportar sin fines comerciales hasta 20 unidades de puros sueltos (las cajas son generalmente de 25) sin papeles ni otros requisitos; y se mantienen los requisitos de denominación de origen para cantidades superiores a 50 habanos (AFP, 20/8/09).

August 20: Cuba increased its output of diesel and fuel oil in the first half of the year, but gasoline production fell dramatically, according to refining statistics released by the government. Fuel oil rose 10.5 percent to 1.4 million tonnes, while diesel jumped 25.3 percent to 646,000 tonnes, the National Statistics Office reported on its website. Gasoline dropped 36.1 percent to 232,000 tonnes, the statistics office said. Kerosene, liquid gas and lubricant oils also declined significantly, while there was no information provided for jet fuel and other products. There was no official explanation for the mixed performance (Reuters, 20/8/09).

Agosto 24: Unos 9,000 empleados del turismo cubano fueron reubicados en otras labores debido a la temporada baja de la industria y la crisis económica internacional, informó el semanario Trabajadores. Aunque "no es nada exclusivo este año'', pues se trata de una medida tradicional en estos meses para cerrar capacidades hoteleras y disminuir gastos en la etapa baja de visitantes, "ahora se agudiza por los efectos de la crisis económica internacional'', subrayó la publicación. Los 9,000 empleados, declarados "interruptos'', representan el 10,4% de los 85.800 trabajadores del turismo y son reubicados en otros puestos de trabajo, la mayoría dentro del propio sector, o en tareas "socialmente útiles en actividades priorizadas'', dijo Pedro Tejeda, dirigente sindical (AFP, 25/8/09). 

August 25: Some 200,000 tourists arrived in Cuba in July, a 6 percent increase as compared to the same period of 2008, according to an announcement made by the Cuban National Office for Statistics (ONE). This growing trend is reflected on the report, which shows a steady increase over the last three years, that is, from July 2006 to July 2009. There was a 3.1% growth in the number of tourists coming to Cuba from January to July this year, when the figure of visitors to the island totalled some 1.5 million. This represents another 47,000, as compared to the first seven months of 2008, thus becoming the period with the largest number of arrivals to the country (ACN, 25/8/09).

August 25: Agriculture, one of the sectors of Cuban economy hit the hardest by the passage of three hurricanes in 2008, is now showing signs of recovery, as reported by the National Office for Statistics. There has been a 7 percent increase in production as compared to last year, now amounting to 1,050 million tons. This represents an increase of 68,000 tons, mainly due to the sowing of vegetables and root vegetables of a faster growth. Among plants with the most outstanding results we find tomato, with a 38.5 percent increase -the best in recent years; garlic, 8.2 percent; and pumpkin, 3.9 percent. Other products registering significant growth are sweet potatoes, 37.1 percent; and potatoes, 49.0. Meanwhile, crops needing more time for harvest showed a decrease, like
banana, which registered a 51.8 percent reduction (145,000 tons). Other crops have not recovered yet, including corn, orange and grapefruit, which have a significant weight in Cuban exports (ACN, 25/8/09).

Agosto 26: Los procesos erosivos en curso en las playas cubanas provocan un retroceso de entre uno y 1,20 metros de la línea de costa por año, según un estudio en 140 zonas de ese tipo en la isla, realizado por el Instituto de Oceanología del Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente. Ese deterioro se debe a la extracción ilegal de arena para fines constructivos, los daños a los ecosistemas productores de arena y el cruce de viales por áreas costeras (IPS, 26/8/09).

August 26: Cuban plans to produce around 70,000 tonnes of unrefined nickel and cobalt this year are behind schedule, official media in Holguin province reported, apparently due to hurricane damage sustained in 2008. Local Television Cristal said on its website that one of the country's three nickel plants, all located in the eastern province, was forecast to produce 6,000 tonnes below its capacity and that in another it was "possible" it would reach full production. The information came out in reports about a visit to Moa, Holguin by state officials to inspect two of the plants. "Jorge Cuevas Ramos, First Secretary of the Holguin Communist Party, congratulated workers for their efforts to make up lost production," Television Cristal reported on its web page as he toured repair work. "These improvements along with other investments are key to leaving behind lagging output in 2009 and resuming next year the productive levels of this industry of transcendental importance for the Cuban economy," Cuevas stated. Cuba produced 70,400 tonnes of unrefined nickel and cobalt in 2008, after averaging between 74,000 and 75,000 tonnes during much of the decade. Nickel emerged as Cuba's biggest export earner in 2000 with almost all output destined for Canada, Europe and China (Reuters, 27/8/09).

August 27: President Raul Castro inaugurated the first stage of the East-West water transfer project in eastern Holguin province, which will benefit several eastern Cuban territories. The first stage of the project includes the reservoirs known as Biran, Nipe, Gibara, Colorado and Naranjo, canals and pipes that connect these reservoirs; which are part of a strategic plan to draw water from where it is abundant to sites where it is scarce, according to a report by Cuban TV. The first stage of the work will guarantee drinking water reserve for Holguin city in the event of drought and although the urban area has been guaranteed all the necessary water, its distribution still needs improvement. During the visit to Holguin Raul was accompanied by Revolution Commander Ramiro Valdes, Construction Minister Fidel Figueroa, Rene Mesa and other officials. They also visited a site where the largest work in the East-West water transfer project – a reservoir named Mayari-- is being built (ACN, 28/8/09).

August 29: President Raul Castro corroborated the advancement in eastern Santiago de Cuba province of an investment project aimed at rehabilitating the water supply system in order to improve the vital service for the population. Addressing the water shortage that became a distressing problem for the Santiago people, Raul said that the city will be the first urban area in the country to fully meet its drinking water needs by the first half of 2010, according to joint plans agreed to by the Construction Ministry, the National Institute of Water Resources and the provincial government, except for three communities that will have that problem completely solved by 2011. At present the aqueduct has been rehabilitated and works are targeting pipes that guarantee stable water supply; also underway is the rehabilitation of water distribution networks in the city.
During his visit to Santiago, Raul also learned about ongoing reconstruction works in apartment buildings, particularly improvement of roofing conditions, electricity meters at homes as well as the setting up of phone services and other services (ACN, 29/8/09).
 
Agosto 30: Con un intercambio que supera los 2,200 millones de dólares, China se consolida como el segundo socio comercial de Cuba detrás de Venezuela, indicó el director general del Centro de Comercio Exterior de China, Wang Junten. En ese intercambio, todavía es pequeño el número de productos que la isla exporta a China, afirmó el funcionario chino. Por su parte, Miriam Martínez, directora de Ferias y Exposiciones de la Cámara de Comercio de Cuba (CCC), destacó que el comercio de La Habana con Pekín equivale al 12% del intercambio total de la isla. Martínez se refirió a la próxima participación de Cuba en la Feria de Importación y Exportación del gigante asiático. La bolsa comercial, también conocida como la Feria de Cantón, se celebra desde 1957, y sesionará del 15 octubre al 4 de noviembre venideros en la ciudad de Guangzhou. Según la funcionaria cubana, ese evento será una plataforma idónea para el "lanzamiento" de productos de la Isla en el mercado chino, así como para ampliar y diversificar las exportaciones (Notimex, 30/8/09).