ECONOMY-CUBA: A New Model in the Making?

Preparations for the sixth congress of Cuba’s ruling Communist Party (PCC), to be held in late 2009, may speed up the "structural changes" promised by President Raúl Castro and pave the way for a development strategy more suited to present conditions, experts say.

CUBA: Officials Demand Explanations from US on Dissident Funds

The Cuban government demanded that the United States provide explanations for what it described as "obscure ties" between U.S. diplomatic personnel in Havana, "terrorist" groups in Miami and members of dissident organisations, in a case that has further heated up relations between the two countries.

CUBA: Sexual Diversity – the Rainbow Revolution

Nearly 50 years after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, sexual minorities are at last beginning to feel that their voice is being heard and that they can finally take their place in the movement towards a more just and inclusive society.

ECONOMY-CUBA: Does the Ration Book Still Make Sense?

Criticised as one more sign of the failures of socialism, or viewed as a right that should not be given up, the ration book, part of Cuban life for 46 years, could disappear as a result of the transformations needed in the country’s economy.

LABOUR-CUBA: The Challenge of Boosting Productivity

Workers are facing thorny questions related to productivity, wages, participation in decision-making or unemployment at a time when the government is discreetly adopting measures aimed at finally pulling the country out of an economic crisis that has dragged on for more than 15 years.

CUBA: Government Toughens Stance Against Dissidents

The break-up of a demonstration by a small group of Cuban women demanding the release of their imprisoned dissident husbands came just a few days after a government warning that in Cuba there is no space for "subversion" or the dreams of "internal mercenaries."

CUBA: US Visa Programme to Speed Family Reunification

The United States has begun a new programme to reunite Cuban families, which has renewed the hopes of potential migrants from the island who have family members in the United States. The U.S. government hopes to fulfil the goal of issuing 20,000 immigration visas a year, as agreed in a longstanding bilateral treaty.

CUBA: Inklings of Economic Reform

Farmers in Cuba can now buy their own supplies - a departure from a decades-old system clogged with red tape in which the state assigned them inputs, and an important first step towards bolstering food production, say experts.

CUBA-EU: Hopes for Change?

The visit to Cuba by EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, invited by Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque for "exploratory" talks, gave rise to mild hopes of an eventual normalisation of relations between Cuba and the EU.

CUBA: Economic Changes – Not If or When, but How

Cuba’s new government, headed by Raúl Castro, appears to be prepared to take urgent action to tackle complex problems like the country’s dual monetary system and the low wages that fail to stimulate production, in a country that has been in the grip of an economic crisis for nearly two decades.

RIGHTS-CUBA: Havana Signs Treaties – With Reservations

The United States’ hostile policy towards Cuba will remain a hurdle to recognition and respect for certain rights enshrined in the first two international treaties signed by the government of Raúl Castro.

CUBA: How Far Will the Changes Go?

After months of uncertainty and speculation centred on former President Fidel Castro, Cuba’s obsessive spotlight has shifted to the changes needed in the country, and questions about how far the new government of President Raúl Castro will be willing to go.

CUBA: Raul Castro’s Surprising No. 2

Closely following in the footsteps of his brother Fidel, Cuba’s new president, Raúl Castro, defied expectations and took many by surprise by selecting José Ramón Machado, a member of the Communist Party old guard, as first vice president.

CUBA: Raul Shares His Seat with Fidel

Raúl Castro, one of the leaders of the Cuban revolution and a lifelong communist, is Cuba’s new president as of Sunday. But he said he would listen to the views of Fidel, who he described as "not substitutable," as long as his older brother is around.

CUBA: Catholics Celebrate ‘Festival of the Spirit’

Eighty-two-year-old Alba Osorio feels as though she were 50 again. A true survivor, 10 years after the late Pope John Paul II’s visit to Cuba, she is now running back and forth from her house to the parish church, getting ready for what she regards as a new "festival of the spirit."

CUBA: Cuban-Americans React to Fidel’s Resignation

Cuban President Fidel Castro’s decision to resign his political office was met with a wide range of emotions and feelings in Florida, home to the largest Cuban population outside Cuba.

CUBA: Socialism Through the Prism of the Generation Gap

A large majority of Cubans have never lived under any system but the government of Fidel Castro, but one-quarter of the population grew up over the last two decades of economic crisis, a period in which enthusiasm for the achievements of the revolution has been dampened by concerns over day-to-day problems, like difficulties in access to basic products.

POLITICS-CUBA: U.S. Awaits Its Own Transition to Review Policy

Despite Tuesday’s historic announcement by President Fidel Castro that he is retiring from public office, U.S. citizens must await the departure of their own sitting president 11 months from now before Washington’s nearly 50-year hostility toward the Caribbean island is likely to be reviewed. Even then, change is not guaranteed.

CUBA: Raul Castro’s Challenges

Lacking the charisma of his brother but possessing a personality that is perhaps easier for the average Cuban to identify with, Raúl Castro, slated to replace Fidel as Cuba’s new president, will have to push through major economic and political transformations if he hopes to guarantee the survival of the country’s socialist system.

CUBA: Fidel Castro Officially Steps Down

In a decision that could be described as unexpected from someone who has spent nearly 50 years in power, Fidel Castro announced Tuesday that he was resigning the presidency of Cuba and officially handing over power to his brother Raúl, the candidate who took the most votes in the Jan. 20 elections.

CUBA: Cultural Policy Debate Keeps Growing

More than a year after the outbreak of the so-called "e-mail war", the debate on cultural policy has not died down in Cuba. And although the issue is not addressed in the national media, the discussion continues, and is spreading to embrace other aspects of life in this socialist island nation.