Cubans Celebrate May Day More United

Havana, May 1(Prensa Latina) While millions of people are without a job in the world because of the world economic global crisis, Cubans will celebrate the International Workers Day (May Day) in an embrace for unity, development and in defense of the Revolution.

Every year, the Cuban Workers Federation (CTC) organizes activities and parades in all the municipalities and cities of the country, to which hundred of foreign delegations arrive.

This time the central activity will include a parade, which will begin at the 08:00 local time in the historical Jose Marti Revolution Square, in this capital, where thousands of people divided in blocks will make their presence.

Ready to start will be the representatives of the sector of the public health, artists and scientists, athletes and transport companies... all with the creativity and the push of the workers and intellectuals.

Organizers hope that, like it is habitual, millions of workers and their relatives participate in the activities predicted they will be massive and patriotic, as a reflex of the backup to the Revolution.

CTC Secretary General Salvador Valdés, stated that for the Cubans, to strengthen the indestructible unity around the Revolution, the Communist Party, is an unshakable commitment.

Since the revolutionary victory in 1959, millions of Cubans attend the marches summoned to commemorate the recall day to the Martyrs of Chicago, executed in that American city in 1886 to demand the establishment of the 8-hour labor day.

It is habitual that the population goes very early to the squares where they will carry out the activities characterized by the happiness of the participants, dressed in general with red, blue and white garments and holding Cuban flags.

The attendance of personalities of diverse parts of the world contrasts the Cuban celebrations for May Day with the protest manifestations in other parts of the world.

We will have a grandiose May Day, with the premise that we will make it with rationality, without big expenses, Valdés said, when assuring that participants will transmit a clear message to the world of the unity and solidness of the revolutionary process.

For many people in the island, when the world faces one of the worst economic crises and unemployment reigns in almost all countries, the Cuban workers are blissful of having a labor position for sure, offering tranquillity to their relatives.

According to figures of the International Labor Organization (ILO) they are more than 90 million unemployed people and it is calculated that this year, 51 more million should be added.

ILO noticed that the world can live a persistent labor and employment crisis in the next six or eight years, if urgent measures are not adopted.

ILO specified that the world needs to create some 300 million jobs for 2015 to absorb, at least, the arrival of 45 million people to the labor market every year.

Only in the European Union there are more than 23 million people without work that represent 9.6 percent of the economically active population, the biggest level since January 2000.

Among them, 15.76 million are in the euro area, where the unemployment increased up to 10 percent, the worst figure since August 1998.

Meanwhile, the European Union Conference stated Thursday that in the European eastern countries, the problems with the employment arose starting from the so-called "democratic opening" and of the economic turns toward neoliberalism.

For this institution the factors giving an impact in the increase of misery in that area are due to the fact that having a job does not even mean to be able to satisfy all the needs.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

Cuba Puts Final Touches to Elections

Havana, Apr 23 (Prensa Latina) Cuban voters and authorities are shaping final details for a successful holding of elections on Sunday, April 25.

On that day, at least 8.40 million electors are expected to cast their vote to choose 15,093 delegates to the Municipal People's Power Assemblies (local governments).

In those electoral districts where no candidate gets more than 50 per cent of valid votes, a second round will be held on May 2.

According to official figures, 34,766 candidates have been nominated for their capacities and merits in assemblies attended by 86.84 percent of electors.

Maximum age of most candidates is 50 years, 87.3 percent are high school or university graduates, and 9,190 of them are delegates already, a post for which they get no income.

After a dynamic test or rehearsal four days ago, president of the National Electoral Committee Ana Maria Mari asserted that Cuba is ready.

We verified coordination of work with different entities, regarding communication and notification systems and liaisons, she said.

In opinion of President of the Cuban Parliament Ricardo Alarcon, the whole electoral process has to be carried out with rigour, methodically and in a critical spirit, as demanded by head of State Raul Castro.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

US Tried to Thwart Cuba Revolutionary Triumph

Havana, Apr 16 (Prensa Latina) The US government tried to avoid the triumph of the Cuban Rebel Army in 1958.

The strategic basis of the role then played by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was the stimulation of a "third force" able to get rid of dictator Fulgencio Batista, who no longer guaranteed the protection of US interests on the island.

At the same time, it intended to hinder the displacement of the 26 de Julio Revolutionary Movement headed by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz.

That maneuver was in line with what is known within the CIA as "political action operation," that is, clandestine support for individuals or organizations in third countries better responding to US political and economic interests.

Documents later declassified by the CIA reveal that in December 1958, the agency's Paramilitary Division planned to throw arms from the air.

They could not materialize it because they had planned it for the first days of January 1959, when the dictatorship had collapsed due to the rebel forces' opposition.

Since August 1958, the Department of State had been plotting a political Latina American mediation to avoid the rebel triumph, and had been committed to creating a mediating commission of the Organization of American States (OEA) since October.

An additional CIA alternative was that its old collaborator Justo Carrillo, along with ex Colonel Ramon Barquin, were to head a Military Board to take Batista out of power, as a way not to recognize the Rebel Army as lawful.

They failed to accomplish those objectives

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

Cuban Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura Meets with Palestinian Foreign Minister

Cuban Vice President José Ramón Machado Ventura met with the Foreign Minister of the Palestinian National Authority, Dr. Riad N.A. Malki, who sent a message from Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas to Cuban President Raul Castro Ruz.

During the fraternal meeting, Machado Ventura reiterated Cuba’s unswerving solidarity with the just cause of the Palestinian people in its struggle to become an independent state and condemned the repeated aggressions perpetrated by the Israeli government against the heroic and long-suffering people of Palestine.

For his part, Dr. Riad N.A. Malki thanked the Cuban people for their support of the Palestinian struggle, and reaffirmed his people’s determination to achieve the creation of a national Palestinian state, consisting of the territories within the borders of 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, as well as the return of the Palestinian Diaspora.

Also present for Cuba was Bruno Rodriguez and Jose Enrique Enriquez, director for North Africa and the Middle East of the Cuban Foreign Ministry. Palestinian Ambassador to Havana Akram Mohammad Rashid Samhan was also present at the meeting.

http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/

Tsunami Threatens Cuba

Shortly after 5:00 p.m., January 12, a helicopter flying over the coastal zone of Baracoa brought unease to this city. In just 20 minutes, the word “tsunami” spread like wildfire among the citizens of Baracoa, causing people to look for safe shelter.

The 7.0 magnitude quake that hit Haiti at 4:53 p.m. —whose epicenter was only 18.45 km north from the capital Port-au-Prince— was also felt in the eastern Cuban provinces.

A few minutes later, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for the area, including the Cuban coastal zone; where people were quickly put on alert to cess out the highest places to evacuate.

Although the Cuban National Center for Research on Earthquakes concluded that the likelihood of the tsunami hitting Cuba were minute, no one was willing to take the risk.

According to the head of “La Voz del Toa” CMDX information department Atmer Suárez Hinojosa, Baracoa citizens quickly reacted to the call to evacuate the city.

Municipal Defense Council President Eudis Romero Suárez said that the evacuees had come back to their homes although they have been told to remain on alert.

Municipal Assembly Vice President Freider Fuentes Vidal said that apart from the helicopter flying over Baracoa, fire-fighters, police officers, among others, contributed to the evacuation.

In the Cuban province of Guantánamo, very near to Haiti, people were immediately informed about the tsunami and civil defence measures were put into place.

Baracoa inhabitants have every reason to be afraid about devastating waves. Firstly, horrific images of a huge tsunami hitting the Indonesian island of Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia, India and other areas on December 26,2004 causing 280,000 casualties spread all over the world. Then, in March 2008, an unexpected swell, caused by a strong anticyclone on the north coast of Cuba, brought about considerable damages in Baracoa: more than 400 houses damaged or completely destroyed, as well as damage to sidewalks, drains, parks, markets, etc.

In addition, in September 2008, waves higher than 5 meters hit Baracoa destroying the La Punta fortress, built in the 18th century to preserve the city from the enemy.

Fortunately, it was just a warning. Anyway, Baracoa citizens showed to be prepared for events like this one.


http://www.juventudrebelde.co.cu/

Tribute to Cuban Heroine Celia Sanchez

Havana, Jan 11 (Prensa Latina) Dozens of Cuban citizens gave tribute to Cuban revolutionary heroine Celia Sanchez in the 30th anniversary of her death.

Different generations of Cubans went up to the Pantheon of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) in the Colon Cemetery in Havana to pay tribute to this revolutionary fighter Monday.

The walk was headed by Lazara Mercedes Lopez, first secretary of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC) in the Cuban capital; and Ana Judith Area, first secretary of the Union of Young Communists in Havana.

Celia Sanchez was one of the first women to take arms against the Batista dictatorship until the triumph of the Cuban Revolution.

She participated in the preparation of the Granma expedition and together with Cuban clandestine leader Frank Pais, she organized the farmers of the zone to support the expedition.

She came to Cuban land on December 2, 1956 with the group of 82 men headed by Fidel Castro to start the war. On March 19, 1957, she climbed the Sierra Maestra Mountains and became a member of the Rebel Army, being the main promoter of the Mariana Grajales Female Platoon.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

Cuba: Provincial Elections Committee Begins Work

Havana, Jan 9 (Prensa Latina) The Provincial Elections Committee (CEP) will begin working on Saturday after being formed in every Cuban province, where there will be held partial elections to vote for delegates to the Municipal Assemblies.

Elections will take place next April 25 and May 2, in second round, in case that any candidate achieves less than 50 percent of the issued valid votes.

According to the law, the CEP has to designate the members of the Municipal Electoral Committee and to control the elections in electoral districts.

Last January 6, the Cuban Vice President of the Council of State and Ministers Ramiro. Valdes headed the swearing-in ceremony of the National Election Committee (CNE) for the partial elections to vote the delegates to the Municipal Assemblies.

The members of the committee promised to fulfil the task loyal before leaders of the Communist Party of Cuba, mass organizations and military entities in the Jose Marti Memorial.

Ana María Mari Machado, Rubén Pérez Rodríguez and Alina Balseiro Gutiérrez will act as president, vice president and secretary respectively.

The CNE has to ensure that the elections system's principles and regulations apply correctly around the country, said the President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Ricardo Alarcon.

He highlighted that the voluntary participation of the electors in the next April-May elections will be a demonstration of real democracy.

Delegates have to guide their electors in order to protect and improve the Revolution's work that has withstood the blockade and aggression for more than 50 years.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

Why is it the 52nd year of the Revolution?

Granma has received numerous calls from readers questioning why 2010 is being defined as the 52nd Year of the Revolution when we have just finished celebrating the 50th anniversary of that historic event.

This is something that we have explained before on previous occasions, but which always needs to be clarified again.

So as to clarify these concerns, we should say that the name chosen is correct because in effect, from this January 1st our revolutionary process will begin the 52nd year of its existence, although the anniversary will be celebrated on the same day in 2011.

Perhaps the following example will help to better explain the issue. When a baby is born, its first year begins from the moment he is born, that is to say, it includes that and every one of the 364 days that follow until s/he celebrates their first birthday. And from that moment onwards begins their second year.

This logic indicates that during the course of 2010, we are in the 52nd Year of the Revolution.

Of course, the names of the past two years appears to have created confusion but if we analyze the situation using the previous explanation, this should serve to clarify the years and the anniversaries: 2008, was the 50th Year of the Revolution and 2009 was the 50th anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution.

The agreement by the National Assembly of People’s Power is that the denomination of the years will continue by consecutive numbers except if there is any event or special commemoration that should be highlighted for its exceptional nature. This was what occurred in 2009 which should have been Year 51 of the Revolution if we had not celebrated the extraordinary 50th anniversary of the Triumph of the Revolution.


http://www.granma.cu/

UNICEF: Cuba free of severe child malnutrition

THE United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has confirmed that Cuba is the only country in Latin America and the Caribbean to have eliminated acute child malnutrition, thanks to the efforts of its government.

In its report "Tracking Progress on Child and Maternal Nutrition," quoted by the Cubadebate website, UNICEF says that some 146 million children under 5 in the underdeveloped world live in a state of wasting levels of malnutrition, in contrast to the reality of Cuban children.

In that respect, the reports says that the percentages of underweight children are 28% in Sub-Saharan Africa; 17% in the Middle East and North Africa; 15% in East Asia and the Pacific, and 7% in Latin America and the Caribbean. The picture is completed by Central and Eastern Europe, with 5%, and other underdeveloped countries with 27%.

Cuba, however, does not present problems of acute child malnutrition, thanks to the efforts of the state to improve the alimentation of its population, especially the most vulnerable groups.

To the country’s satisfaction, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has likewise recognized that Cuba is the nation with the most advances in Latin America in fighting malnutrition.

The Cubadebate article added, nevertheless, that Cuba is not exempt from shortcomings, difficulties and serious limitations, fundamentally because of the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States during the last 50 years. (AIN)

Translated by Granma International



http://www.granma.cu

Cuban Council of State Has Two New Vice Presidents

Havana, Dec 21 (Prensa Latina) Revolution Commander Ramiro Valdes and Gladys Bejerano are sitting today as newly elected Vice Presidents of the Cuban Council of States.

Valdes, also Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Information Technology and Communications, and Bejerano, who is the Republic's General Comptroller, were elected on Sunday to their new posts.

On the closing day of the 4th Period of Sessions of the Parliament, the Cuban deputies also elected Marino Murillo, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Economy and Planning, and Liudmila Alamo, First Secretary of the Young Communist League, as members of the Council of States.

Also elected by secret ballot as members of that body were Isis Diez, Kirenia Diaz and Sergio Rodriguez.

http://www.prensa-latina.cu/

Cuba and Venezuela sign $3.2bn trade deal

Cuba's President Raul Castro and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez are signing economic co-operation deals worth $3.2bn (£1.96bn).

The documents cover 285 accords in areas including energy, sport and technology.

The new deals will give Venezuela a greater involvement in oil exploration off the Cuban coast.

Cuba also agrees to buy more than $400m (£246m) worth of Venezuelan goods, including food, tyres and clothes.

The BBC's correspondent in Havana Michael Voss says the agreement will provide an economic lifeline to the communist-run island.

'Historic'

The signing comes a day before Cuba hosts a summit of the regional political and economic bloc, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of America (Alba), which was founded by the two nations five years ago as a radical alternative to America's free trade policies in the region.

Our correspondent says there is speculation that Fidel Castro may attend the summit.

The 83-year-old met President Chavez on Saturday but has not been seen in public for three-and-a-half years.

Mr Castro said the agreements were "historic".

Our correspondent says the deals also underscore Venezuela's role as Cuba's closest political and commercial ally and comes as Raul Castro struggles to cope with the global economic crisis.

The island has suffered a sharp decline its revenues from tourism as well as mineral and tobacco exports.

Venezuela - an Opec member - is already an important source of energy and trade to the Caribbean island, which repays part of its oil bill by providing the services of 40,000 professional workers.

Last year trade between the two countries was at around $5.26bn (£3.23bn) last year, the Reuters news agency reported.

www.bbc.co.uk