They deplored the expulsion of two diplomats from the sisterly Republic of Cuba to the UN by the authorities of the State Department of the United States of America (USA) on September 19, 2019.

They denounced the imposition of new unilateral coercive measures by the US against the people of Cuba. Recently, the US has limited the sending of remittances; restricted banking transactions, banned educational group trips to Cuba and non-conventional blockade actions against fuel supplies to Cuba.

This supremacist policy of aggression has the sole objective of generating a diplomatic escalation that leads to the closure of Embassies in both countries, as well as continuing to tighten the economic, financial and commercial blockade against Cuba.

They stressed that Resolution CP / RES. 1137 (2245/19) of the Organization of American States (OAS) approved on September 11, 2019, is absolutely illegal and in violation of International Law, both in form and substance, for the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has neither been part of the OAS since April 2019, nor has it been part of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance ever since it denounced such Agreement in May 2013.

They stressed that Article 08 of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance is in line with the policy of harassment and economic suffocation that the US Government has been applying against the people of Venezuela in recent years especially in the economic area.

They categorically rejected the threats that the convening of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance Consultation Organ implies to the peace and territorial integrity of Venezuela, as well as the most recent actions that a small group of countries in different multilateral fora have been promoting on this Treaty.

They stated that the only international instance with authority and capacity to declare a situation as a threat to international peace and security and to take action through the use of force is the Security Council of the United Nations Organization (UN).

They reiterated the pacifist vocation of ALBA-TCP, promoting the culture of peace and the right to peace. Also, they rejected any initiative that may go against these principles or put regional peace at risk.

They stressed that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) declared Latin America and the Caribbean as a Peace Zone “in which differences among nations are meant to be resolve through dialogue and negotiation or through other forms of peaceful solution settlement, as established in international law.”

They expressed their concern regarding Climate Change and the historic commitment undertaken by the International Community through the Paris Agreement. Consequently, they rejected the US withdrawal from this agreement, for it evidenced the lack of responsibility by the US administration both with the Planet and future generations.

They stressed the need for aid and cooperation in cases of natural disasters associated with the planet’s climate crisis to be treated ethically. From the perspective of the Alliance countries, the exclusion of countries for political or ideological issues is unacceptable. They reiterated that the principle of equality of the States of the UN Charter should be respected for the convening of meetings on environmental issues that represent a global concern.

The country’s Gross Domestic Product rose in 2018 and this year’s forecast is based on that increase; thus meeting goals will require doing things right and seeking alternatives, exploiting all reserves.

“We are in a tight spot, but in a better position to assume other obligations and responsibilities,” said the Cuban President and urged all economic actors to mobilize our capacity to overcome the obstacles that Washington is determined to create for the Revolution. “The beauty lies in taking on the challenges and overcoming them.”

He pointed out that recent measures adopted imply a change in the approved strategy, to adapt to the new conditions, mainly in the area of food production and distribution, insisting on efforts to conclude agreed-upon investments projects in this sector. “If we can make the agro-food sector more efficient, we can reduce a large percentage of imports.”

He called for thinking with our own heads and listening to the voice of the people, considering initiatives to resolve problems and conflicts, and noted the role the non-state sector can play, as important actors in our society.

We must think as a country, generate ideas, and each of us contribute as best we can to achieve the economic progress we seek, the President said, reiterating that socialism is the only route to ending inequities, by planning distribution and protecting the most vulnerable sectors.

He called for work with intelligence, analytical skill, decency, and dignity, adding, “This is not time to surrender, but to find solutions for every problem”.

Minister of Economy and Planning Alejandro Gil presented a report to the deputies on the performance of the national economy in the first half of the year, characterized by global tariff and financial tensions that impact the country. He pointed out that shortages of high demand products are being resolved, but national production must be defended; exports diversified and increased; imports replaced with domestic products; productive linkages developed; state enterprises promoted; food self-sufficiency and local development advanced; goals set by approved policy for housing met; and sciences put to use in the solution of problems.

To develop the 2020 economic plan, real production capacity and the requirements of national demand must be identified accurately, he said. Foreign investment must be incorporated as a fundamental part of the economy and progress must be made in developing productive and service linkages to replace imports, he emphasized, saying that work is needed on rational and efficient use of energy, and the elimination of theft and illegalities, among other objectives.

He called for efforts to resolve persisting difficulties, including outstanding accounts payable; organizational and supervision problems; as well as salary increases not based on improved productivity.

LEGISLATIVE WORK TO ALIGN LAWS WITH NEW CONSTITUTION

The significance of this National Assembly, to be marked by the approval of three new laws, was also highlighted by the Cuban President during discussion of the proposed Fisheries Law, in the Agriculture and Food Committee.

Deputies will vote on this law during this Third Period of Ordinary Sessions, as well as those addressing National Symbols and electoral procedures. This legislative task, the President noted, is required to develop laws that are consistent with country’s new Constitution.

Discussing the Fisheries Law, the President said, “This is a necessary law, an update was needed, with adjustments to current conditions in the country, and also to comply with agreements Cuba has on the international level.” He emphasized the need to include the private sector that is active in the fishing industry.

He stressed the importance of addressing issues such as scientific research, innovation, and productive linkages, while insisting on the need to further develop fish-farming and return to raising of a variety of species, to increase supply and quality.

The President also highlighted the democratic nature of the consultation process that took place to draft the bill, which was analyzed carefully in fishing communities, noting that the contributions of workers not only enriched the final version, but will also facilitate implementation, once the law is approved.

ELIMINATING BUREAUCRACY AND OBSTACLES IN HOUSNG PROGRAM

Deputies on the Industry, Construction, and Energy Committee analyzed the country’s housing program, described by President Díaz-Canel as fundamental, given its social impact.

He referred to the complex nature of the issue, and noted that government authorities are being held accountable to legislators for the implementation of approved policies, reflecting the seriousness and priority with which this effort is being undertaken, and likewise recalled that reviews of subsidies which deputies conducted led to questions that must be answered.

He noted that five provinces, Artemisa, Villa Clara, Holguín, Granma, and Santiago de Cuba, which must make a greater effort to meet projections, even though the pace of construction picked up in May and June.

President Díaz-Canel commented on the contribution academics could make I creating mechanisms to facilitate processes, while highlighting the advances now offered by computerization, that can also speed up procedures and provide better ways to work, organize, and plan.

Also participating in the discussion were Political Bureau members Esteban Lazo Hernández, National Assembly president, and Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, a vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers; as well as Inés María Chapman.

NUMBERS ON AN ESSENTIAL EFFORT

Vivian Rodríguez Salazar, general director for housing at the Ministry of Construction (Micons), said that, as of June 30, 15,252 homes, of the 32,899 planned for the year, have been completed.

She reported that the provinces with the greatest delays in all programs are: Artemisa, Villa Clara, Matanzas, and Granma.

Representative Alicia Alonso Becerra raised the need to review planning procedures, and make the process more realistic, since actual performance depends on various factors which must be taken into account when projecting figures.

Several presidents of Provincial Assemblies referred to steps taken in their territories to promote this program. Reinaldo García Zapata, president of the Havana provincial government, addressed the impact on housing of the January tornado in five of the capital’s municipalities, saying that all damage should be repaired and new housing completed by the end of September, taking into account the possibility of adapting underutilized buildings for housing and rebuilding dwellings in the same location they previously occupied.

AGRICULTURE: A KEY SECTOR

The importance of the agro-food sector was reaffirmed by Salvador Valdés Mesa, first vice president of the Councils of State and Ministers, before deputies on the Agriculture and Food Committee, which analyzed progress on investments projected in the 2019 Economic Plan.

Valdés Mesa praised the projects completed in Cienfuegos, mainly in port facilities, allowing for the transportation of raw materials, both imports for national industry and exports, pointing out that agreed-upon deadlines must be respected in order to meet the plan’s projections.

“Investments should be completed well,” he insisted, and called for efforts to take maximum advantage of productive linkages, so that income from exports can be re-invested in production.

He explained that industrial plants are being built for the manufacture of animal feed using domestic raw materials, since increasing pork production is imperative, to supply national manufacturers of sausages and prepared meats for the population. He called for learning from experience gained in joint ventures, and extending these lessons to other industries in the country.

He spoke of the need for agricultural production to be incorporated within strategies for development of the food industry. He noted that the blockade has put constraints on the investment process by creating obstacles to the acquisition of necessary materials and financing. Given this, we must think about investments carefully and execute them well, to ensure that they are effective, he said.

The Vice President noted that, despite the obstacles, progress is being made on development plans with the greatest impact, such as the Mariel Special Development Zone, megaprojects for tourism and other sectors, which will constitute sources of income for the country in coming years.

In the report presented to deputies it was highlighted that, this year, investments of 91,747,120 pesos were approved for the agricultural-food sector, of which 16,610,000 are destined to modernizing technology, which should have a positive impact on production.

Other issues debated by the deputies in the standing committees were transportation; demographic policy; public services; education; sports; and defense, among other relevant issues.

(Granma)

Don Facundo Bacardi’s heirs crashed drinks on April 17, when both John Bolton and Michael Pompeo announced the full activation of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. It was the longed-for completion of their most perverse project against Cuba, to which they dedicated plenty of resources and lawyers.

“We support the right and ability of those affected to seek justice and prevent further trafficking in stolen property,” the company said in a statement following the Trump administration’s decision to authorize lawsuits in the United States against companies that benefited from properties legally nationalized or confiscated in Cuba after the revolutionary triumph.

In the Bacardi offices, this chapter III and other important parts of the interfering and extraterritorial legislation were essentially written in the early 90′s, which later became known by the names of the two legislators rented to present it to Congress. Hired advisors such as Otto Reich and Roger Noriega worked in the spawn along with lawyers from the bat company and the Cuban American National Foundation.

The essential objective of Bacardi was to strengthen the blockade against a Cuba hard hit by the disappearance of the socialist camp and almost all its commerce, to provoke economic and political collapse, and to punish the revolutionary “audacity” of confiscating for the popular good the properties of the great Cuban bourgeoisie. In addition to codifying the blockade into a single law and taking away from the president (then Bill Clinton) the possibility of truly managing foreign policy towards Cuba.

The Bacardi dreamed of those times when the company was part of the elite that managed Cuba together with the big U.S. companies; those years when Pepin Bosch, head of the company, was one of the most powerful men in the country, became Minister of the Treasury of the government of Carlos Prio Socarras and one of those chosen by Washington to form the provisional government that after Batista’s flight should avoid the arrival to power of the Rebel Army and its leader Fidel Castro.

According to Professor Francisca Lopez Civeira, the CIA and the State Department sent William D. Pawley, a well-known Cuban businessman, to Cuba in December 1958 to negotiate Batista’s departure. “The offer that was prepared for Pawley to present Batista consisted of his resignation and going out with his family to his property in Daytona Beach, his supporters wouldn’t suffer reprisals, and the United States would immediately hand over arms to the provisional government that would be organized, which would prepare free elections in 18 months. That government would be in the hands of a board whose members Pawley would also report to Batista. These were: Colonel Ramon Barquin, General Martin Diaz Tamyo, Major Enrique Borbonet, Jose Pepin Bosch of Bacardi, and a fifth name that Pawley didn’t reveal. The mission would have a secret character”.

What the Bacardi Empire wants to recover

On October 13, 1960, President Osvaldo Dorticos signed Law 890, which established the expropriation of several private properties in the country, with the right to compensation, on the basis of public utility and the and national interest, for a just redistribution of national wealth and to be able to confront the actions adverse to the Revolution of that great bourgeoisie.

Among the companies nationalized since that date were properties of the Bacardi family such as the Bacardi Rum Company, its three breweries and Molinera Oriental S.A.

To understand the influence of the Bacardi family in Cuba’s economic life and the wealth it treasured, it is enough to refer to Guillermo Jiménez’s meticulous book “The Owners of Cuba 1958″. It is said that Jose Maria Bosch Lamarque (Pepin) was one of the 15 most powerful owners in the country.

Bosch, married to Enriqueta Schueg Bacardi (one of the main heirs of the Bacardi family) was the President and Shareholder of the Bacardi S.A. Rum Company, the most important in its sector and the third among the main non-sugar industries in terms of the number of workers. He was also President and shareholder of Brewery Model S.A in Cotorro municipality, subsidiary of the Bacardi S.A. Rum Company and one of the 3 breweries and malt Hatuey; he had interests in Central Brewery S.A in Manacas Villa Clara (also of the Bacardi group); owned the Motel Rancho Club in Santiago de Cuba; member of the Cuban group that controlled 20% of the Intercontinental Corporation of Hotels S.A, tenant of National Hotel; President and Owner of Minera Occidental Bosch S.A., which operated in Matahambre, Pinar del Rio; owner of important actions in Petrolera Transcuba S.A; shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Cuban Bonding Company; Member of the Board of Directors and Shareholder of The Trust Company of Cuba, the most important bank in the country; one of the main shareholders of Fomento de Obras y Construcciones S.A, owner of the FOCSA building; and President of the private club La Torre, located in one of the penthouses of the FOCSA building itself. He lived in one of the most imposing mansions of the Country Club.

Another of the family, Facundo Bacardi’s great-grandson, Emilio Bacardi Rosell, although less powerful than Pepín, was a Family Owner of Bacardí Rum Company S.A; Principal Owner of Miguel & Bacardi Ltd, a holding that controlled several urban and interurban bus routes in Santiago de Cuba, distributed Good-Year car parts and rubbers and sold imported rubber mattresses, cushions, pillows and irons in Havana; he was also the Owner of Urbanizadora Colinas S.A. Companies.
His brother Daniel was First Vice President and Shareholder of Compañía Ron Bacardi S.A. and First Vice President and Shareholder of Molinera Oriental S.A., the main property of the Bacardi family.
In the foundation of the Law of Nationalization was established:
WHEREAS: It is evident that such development can only be achieved through proper economic planning, progressive increase and rationalization of production, and national control of the country’s basic industries.
WHEREAS: Many of the big private companies in the country far from assuming a conduct consistent with the objectives and of the revolutionary transformation of the national economy, have followed a policy against the interests of the Revolution and economic development, the most evident and notorious signs of which are have been sabotage to the production; the extraction of the cash without adequate reinvestments; the exaggerated use of the means of financing without the use of one’s own operating capital with the ostensible purpose of accumulating cash and investing it in the foreigner after clandestine obtaining of foreign currency, and the abandonment of the direct management of the factories which, in many cases, is the result of a the intervention by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. In preventive avoidance of the labor crisis that the closure or the production decrease can create.
WHEREAS: Such conduct is even more definitely against the interests of the Revolution because it occurs in spite of the fact that the country’s consumption has increased considerably, and because of Consequently, the internal market for these companies has been extended.
WHEREAS: The economic development of the Nation has required, as an unavoidable condition, the radical transformation of the structure of our foreign trade, for which it has been possible to imposed the national control of imports by means of the functioning of the ” Cuba’s Foreign Trade Bank and it is obvious that the subsistence of big business importers that operate under the sole stimulus of profit and loss as intermediaries in the distribution mechanism do not have to be already play a role in the national economy, it constitutes an important obstacle to the implementation of the new foreign trade policy.
WHEREAS: The revolutionary process imposed the need to make laws whose content of popular benefit tended to liquidate the privileges of certain economic groups which, reacting violently, ignored and violated those laws, even going to the extreme of financing with badly acquired moneys to counterrevolutionary groups in frank alliance with the international financial imperialism and constitutes the best response to those activities that the Revolutionary Government, with its serene courage, enact the laws necessary to the defense and consolidation of the Cuban Revolution.

The coconut’s water source
In the long list of plans to overthrow the Cuban Revolution has been not a few times the shadow of the Bacardi clan. As Tom Gjelten points out in his book “Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause,” “…Mr. Bosch and several other members of the extended Bacardi family, including Jorge Mas Canosa, a Miami tycoon and construction businessman, led the Cuban exiles’ efforts to overthrow Castro. Their footprints range from participation in the failed mercenary invasion defeated in Playa Giron in April 1961, through the financing of missions to bomb Cuban oil refineries and the creation and sustenance of the terrorist organization Cuban Representation in Exile (RECE), to the more than five million dollars spent in the 1990s on anti-Cuban lobbyists and corrupt politicians such as former House representative Tom DeLay or far-right extremist Jesse Helms, the arming of the illegal Section 211 and the financing of different subversive plans against Cuba.
Such an anti-Cuban offensive has an important epicenter in the early 1990s when Cuba opened to foreign capital and the French company Pernord Ricard teamed up with CubaRon to found the Havana Club International joint venture. Bacardi saw the birth of a powerful competitor to its dominance in the world spirits market, particularly rum, which had to be stopped.
By the time their properties were nationalized in 1960 and the Bacardi family left the country, hoping to return soon to recover that huge wealth, and the company had a good part of its capital and assets, including the brand, settled in other countries. They had distilleries in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Later they would also open operations in the United States, Bahamas and Spain and even a distillery in Brazil. Five years later it was already legally established in Bermuda. Little by little, between divisions and family unions, the company grew to become the world’s largest seller of alcoholic beverages, with a portfolio of rums, vodkas and even tequilas, but the company’s jewel was Bacardi rum; almost absolute owner of the market for years.
But Don Facundo’s heirs knew that Cuba’s molasses and alcohol are unmatched when it comes to producing rum. The modest joint venture created in 1993 began to make its way into the world market with Pernord Ricard. When it was founded in November 1993, Havana Club Internacional had just six employees, and now has more than 600. From selling fewer than 300,000 cases of rum (nine liters), in 2018 it sold more than 4.6 million cases in some 120 countries.
Although it can’ t be marketed in the United States, the world’s biggest spirits market with sales of 44 billion dollars, the Havana Club is increasingly known, praised and awarded in the rest of the world.

Eliminate competition
In the threatening shadow of the exquisite Havana Club, the owners of Bacardi turned to the arsenal of tricks and dirty tricks that they have learned well in the fierce market where they have managed to impose themselves (1) and in their dark involvement in the aggressive plans against Cuba.
They first managed to approve Helms-Burton in 1996, one of whose objectives was to intimidate foreign investment in Cuba.
Then, in 1997, the Arrechavala family was “bought” the supposed ownership of the Havana Club brand for $1.25 million, an act of no real value since the owners had abandoned the brand more than 30 years ago and had therefore lost their intellectual property.
They then generously financed Iliana Ross, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Bob Menendez, Coney Mack, Tom DeLay and other anti-Cuban legislators to impose on Congress a perch on the Omnibus Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1999, codified as Section 211, which provided that no U.S. court shall recognize rights to trademarks and trade names used on property nationalized or confiscated by the Revolution; which paved the way for the blatant attempt to steal the most recognized brand of legitimately Cuban rum.
Finally, they went to a Federal Court in New York for a judge, on the basis of 211, to declare null and void the U.S. registration of the Cuban trademark Havana Club, registered by CubaExport in 1976 and seamlessly renewed ever since. In turn, it granted Bacardi use of the mark on U.S. soil, which has since led them to sell a “Havana Club Made in Puerto Rico” in some of their U.S. markets, particularly Florida, in a deceptive commercial act.
From that moment on, there were several judicial disputes over the use of the mark, until, in January 2016, due to the influence of the Obama administration’s change of policy towards Cuba and the overwhelming international rejection of Section 211 due to its aberrant nature, the U.S. Patent Office announced the re-registration of the Cuban mark in favor of CubaExport, with the possibility of requesting a ten-year renewal.
The news made the Bacardi clan obscure. The company immediately went out to declare its surprise that the Obama administration “has taken steps to allow the Cuban government to attempt to resurrect this dead record. Further back came the pronouncements of the political lieutenants: Ileana, Marco Rubio, Mario Diaz-Balart, Bill Nelson, throwing their darts at the White House.
Despite brand recognition (remember that the U.S. has more than 6,000 recognized brands in Cuba), the sale of Cuban rum is still prohibited by the blockade laws and the current section 211. Bacardi continues to sell its apocryphal version of Havana Club in the U.S. despite being technically violating the registered trademark. However, for the time being, the Havana Club brand has its Cuban origin recognized in the U.S. and thousands of bottles of Cuban rum have traveled to U.S. soil in the last three years in the luggage of U.S. visitors to Cuba.
As the top executive of Havana Club International Jerome Cottin-Bizzone pointed out in an interview with CBS a couple of years ago: “In Cuba we know how to be patient. Look, all the rum around us, all these barrels. These are years and years of aging. Years and years of dedication. We know that one day we will be able to sell our rum, Havana Club, the real Cuban rum made in Cuba, and that the American consumer will have the opportunity to enjoy it.
“Consumers in the United States drink 40 percent of the world’s rum, which explains why barrels are being piled up in Cuba in preparation.

A subversion cocktail

The Bacardi Corporation doesn’t know how calm it is about Cuba. The era of financing anti-Cuban terrorism may be behind us; now funds are destined for influence and subversion programs.
In that perverse communion of give-me I give you that is American politics, Bacardi is a notorious donor to the federal and state of Florida election campaigns, while receiving conspicuous contributions from the U.S. budget for his Foundation.
A recent report by journalist Tracey Eaton in his Cuban Money Project reveals how the Bacardi Foundation has been one of the institutions benefited with part of the more than 22 million dollars that the Trump administration has allocated to subversive projects against Cuba since 2017.
In the current report, Eaton estimates at $ 288,283 the money Bacardi received from USAID for projects related to the item “companies”. Already in November 2018, Eaton indicated that USAID had given the Bacardi Family Foundation $1,553,494 to work in the “promotion of democracy” in Cuba.
What did Bacardi use that money for? According to Tracey Eaton’s investigation, this money has been used to finance the counterrevolutionary campaign “Cuba Decide”, dedicated to sabotage the 2017-2018 electoral process in our country. Subversion dollars sprayed with Bacardi also reach a digital medium that presents itself as “independent” (14 and a half), directed by mercenary Yoani Sánchez. Other cultural projects, the artistic production company Matraka (which organized the Festivals in the Rotilla beach) and actions of influence in the religious space through EchoCuba, have also been benefited by the Bacardi Foundation.
The approval this week in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress (pending a vote in the Senate) of another 20 million dollars for subversive programs against Cuba in the fiscal year 2020 budget must have provoked effusive applause and another new toast at Bacardi’s headquarters.

Cuba doesn’t accept changes
Bacardi dominates a large part of the world market for spirits. But the Havana Club breaks new ground for its quality. The molasses and alcohol of Cuban sugar cane, the spirit of our lands, and the knowledge of our master rum makers give an exclusive touch to the great rums that are made here.
In the aforementioned CBS program, the journalist goes out on the street and offers domino players drinks from Bacardi’s Havana Club. The reaction of one of the men was clear: “It’s good,” she said, “but the Cuban is of better quality.
For his part, the manager of the Sloppy Joe´s Bar valued: “The color is different, the seal is different” and looking for its counters exclaimed: “This is the real Havana Club. The symbol»
And no political orthodoxy or nonsense, but I don’t trade a good drink of Havana Club or exquisite Santiago rum for Bacardi.
Bacardi’s “Cuban flavor” is being called into question. You can understand the company’s current general manager, Facundo L. Bacardi, when he told EFE a few years ago: “We are waiting for the moment when we can return. We’ll know when the time is right and we’ll be ready.
Over there they with their frustrations. What is certain is that a return will be neither by Helms-Burton nor by Yoani Sanchez. A sip of Havana Club, please!

The U.S. President is definitely obsessed with Cuba and Venezuela, leading him to be irrational, compulsive, monothematic, and rude, repeating absurd arguments that are not believed even in his own country.
Cuba has exposed these and many other slanders invented in Washington, with reason and truth on our side. The only troops we have in Venezuela are the Cuban doctors in our army of white coats, helping to save millions lives there, as do thousands of others in many parts of the world. Our teachers and professors are also working in the Bolivarian nation, serving as coordinators and advisors to missions that have raised the quality of education in that country and taken it to the most remote places. There are art instructors who rescue and reinforce national and Latin American identity, and athletes who work in the recruitment and training of talented young Venezuelans, to represent the country in international competitions.

Trump’s aberrations, like as those of his advisor John Bolton – another pathological liar – unwittingly show who is really responsible for the situation in Venezuela: the same people desperately attempting to economically asphyxiate the Cuban people, to subjugate us with hunger and diseases, discredit the will and love that our collaborators spread, and debase the very essence of solidarity.

- Cuba has 48,000 health professionals cooperating in 66 nations of the South, more than all rich countries together. Only in Venezuela, Cuban cooperation has helped save 1.5 million lives, in 12 years.

- The Henry Reeve Medical Brigade, specialized in natural disasters and severe epidemics, was recognized in 2017 by the World Health Organization, for serving more than 3,500,000 people in 21 countries.

- More than 4,000,000 individuals with limited resources, from 34 countries, have been provided eye surgery free of charge, through Operation Milagro.

(Cubainformación)

The facility, which affiliated with to the Mármoles Oriente basic enterprise unit, is currently in the final stages of a thorough process of technological upgrading and has activated its two manufacturing lines and offers conditions to accept blocks of various types of this stone extracted in different parts of the country.
Director of this facility José Miguel Rodríguez told Granma International that they had so far processed some 4,000 square meters of Red Campiña marble, from Cienfuegos, and Siboney Gray, from the Isle of Youth. They are also waiting for the advance of mining development in the new local quarry of Roca Valle rock, to add it as an exportable item.

Three years after the lasts shipments abroad were made, the factory currently accumulates ready-made productions in order to respond immediately to the possible demand once the the Siboney exporting company, of the Ministry of Construction, has defined the possible destination markets.
Rodríguez pointed out that Crema Valle has historically been the most demanded among Cuban marbles, and that the current assortments -especially the 40-by-40-centimeter veneer slab- are destined for national investments in tourism, public health and other sectors. Hence, its incorporation into the line of exportable slabs will depend on the increase of extraction works in quarry.

Once the traditional mine was depressed, he explained, the recent opening of a new deposit will create the conditions to reach, by the end of the year, a potential monthly production of one thousand cubic meters of rock. The new deposit is currently at 30% of its potential, and the industrial combine only requires 850 square meters, which equals some160 blocks of 15 and 20 tons each.

The reinsertion of the Granma industrial combine in the export market, together with the search for alternatives to take advantage of the rocky residuals in the manufacture of construction materials are in accordance with agreements of the last governmental visit to the province that could be fulfilled in the short term; especially after the completion of investments planned both in the industry and the quarry.

(Granma)

Lazo, also a Party Political Bureau member, made this comment during the final minutes of a meeting on various topics to be discussed before and during the upcoming Third Period of Ordinary Sessions of the National Assembly’s Ninth Legislature, July 13-14.

The war the U.S. is waging against us is meant to drown us economically, Lazo stated, thus we must respond with initiatives, calling for the revival of approaches taken during the difficult years of the 1990s. He also reiterated the need to change the widespread mentality of importing.

Plenary sessions of the National Assembly will be held, and standing committees will meet to discuss the specific topics for which they are responsible.

An analysis of the draft Electoral Law is planned, while proposed laws addressing national symbols and fishing will also be discussed.

Lazo concluded his remarks saying, “To the fight, onward to victory.”

(Granma)

These questions and many more were raised during a dialogue with Orisell Richards Martínez, PhD., professor at the Law School of the University of Havana. Knowledgeable beyond her 33 years, she insists on speaking of the engagement of all citizens in this process because that is the right path to an Electoral Law – to any law.

“The new Constitution is impregnated, from its first article on, with this spirit of participation and takes to a new dimension Marti’s maxim ‘with all and for the good of all’,” she says.

- Why is a new Electoral Law needed?

First, the current Constitution establishes in its First Temporary Provision that, within the six months after the approval of the new Constitution, the National Assembly of People’s Power must approve a new Electoral Law, which is a binding mandate, considering the supremacy of the Constitution itself, as established in Article 7.

This temporary provision refers to the election of representatives to the National Assembly of People’s Power, its president, vice-president and secretary; the National Electoral Commission, provincial governors and deputy governors, representatives to the municipal assemblies of the People’s Powers, their presidents and vice-presidents.

Furthermore, the new structure of the state as defined in the Constitution, requires an Electoral Law that establishes the mechanisms for the organization and guarantees of this process.

Likewise, there are positive experiences of previous electoral processes that need to be reflected in the law. Other processes must be overhauled, expanded or simplified, so the final law reflects our reality in the most coherent way possible, without ignoring the complexity of electoral processes.

- Given Cuban electoral history, what do you think should remain unchanged in this law?

The law must maintain, in the first place, what the Constitution establishes in Article 204, where it expresses that all citizens with the legal capacity, have the right to intervene in the direction of the state, either directly or through their elected representatives to organs of the People’s Power and to participate, for that purpose, as provided for by law, in periodic elections, plebiscites, and popular referendums, which shall be by free, equal, direct, secret ballot vote. Each elector has the right to only one vote.

It should also maintain the essence of municipal elections regarding proposal, nomination, and election of delegates by the direct vote of the people. This first stage is essential to democracy, because the municipality is the level closest to the elector. It is a good place to inspire learning and improvement of electoral processes.

Other elements that should remain unchanged, among others, are the principles guiding these processes that have characterized our electoral system, such as the inclusion of grassroots representatives which can reach up to 50% of the deputies in the National Assembly.

- Which processes should the new law expand or simplify?

There are stages in the electoral processes, such as the swearing in ceremony for example, that become too formal sometimes, and since they have been previously valued, they are extended unnecessarily. They should be revisited in the new law.

However; in accordance with constitutional guidelines, which establish information and transparency as basic precepts of the organization and functioning of the state, there are other processes, such as those developed through candidacy committees, for example, that should become more visible.

In this sense, processes such as the pre-selection of candidates should be developed in line with this guideline: On what principles is it based, what are the control mechanisms regulating it, to ensure selection of the best proposals and to inform the people.

Likewise, the Constitution also defines the permanence of electoral structures. Even though there are constitutional principles that clearly establish the organization of this body at all levels, the law should broaden other aspects such as the number of members; how many will be full-time staff members; and what is the content of their work between elections, for example.

It also should guarantee, in line with its mission, the reliability, transparency, speed, publicity, authenticity, and impartiality of the processes of democratic participation, which implies a great responsibility.

The benefits that the permanent character of these structures implies should be emphasized from the standpoint of control and follow-up of processes, professionalization, and the promotion of a culture of engagement.

We should not only focus on electoral participation but also on plebiscites, referendums, popular consultations, as the Constitution establishes in Article 80. Even in immediate procedures such as the Eleventh Temporary Provision, which mandates, in a period of two years, the drafting of a Family Code, its submission to popular consultation and a referendum.

This law will also have the authority to stipulate how the election and revocation of electoral bodies will proceed: it must regulate the number of representatives to the National Assembly, in order to increase its functionality without undermining its ability to represent the people and its efficiency in action. It also should explain, for example, how the relationships between the public, permanent Voter Registry and the National Electoral Council will work.

Moreover, there are some positive practices that should be reflected in this new law, such as the participation of supervisors and collaborators in the electoral process, without overlooking the basic principles for their registration, as well as their training.

- And once the law is passed, what will happen?

We will be witnessing a new scenario for everyone and for the way information is provided to the people in electoral processes. Then a process to elect and create the new state bodies will ensue, which is essential to organize and legitimatize these structures, and to implement the main transformations taking place in the country.

The Constitution’s temporary provisions and its foundational precepts can be taken as a guide for what should be established related to the election of the highest positions in the state and government including governors, deputy governors, and mayors.

- The country’s highest authorities have insisted on the inclusion of universities and the legal sector in the legislative process demanded by the new Constitution, how do you evaluate this relationship in this case?

There are new experiences these days in the field of relations between researchers and decision-makers that are very innovative and this is a fundamental step forward in overhauling the legal system in general. In the field of elections, specifically, there are research results that have been used as references in making some modifications, which is highly significant in the current context.

However, even though the new Electoral Law will reflect the current state of affairs in Cuba and reforms introduced in the structure of the state, we cannot talk, in any way, of a finished product. The transformations that could take place in the future, as part of the ongoing process of democratic consolidation in our society, will also have a legal framework.

INSIDE THE PROPOSED ELECTORAL LAW

The new law has 16 titles, 45 chapters, 32 sections, five final provisions, six transitory ones, with a total of 290 articles.- Proposed is the creation of a National Electoral Council and electoral councils at the provincial and municipal levels, to exercise their functions permanently. – Two periodic elections are recognized: municipal votes for the election of delegates to Municipal Assemblies of People’s Power, their presidents and vice presidents; and national elections for deputies to the National Assembly, its president, vice president, secretary, other members of the Council of State, and the President and Vice President of the Republic. – Proportional representation for the election of deputies to the National Assembly of People’s Power is to be modified, reducing the total number of deputies elected by 131, although maintained is the principle that 50% of deputies are elected delegates to municipal assemblies.- Proposed is the simplification of procedures to verify the validity of elections to Municipal Assemblies and the National Assembly, establishing that this is the responsibility of electoral authorities. – The Council of State will include 21 members, from among whom the leadership will be chosen.- The swearing in of the President of the Republic is to be incorporated within the ceremonial constitution of the incoming National Assembly.

- The proposal establishes that elections for provincial governors and deputy governors be held simultaneously throughout the country, and establishes guidelines for this process.

- Electoral Councils at all levels are to control the preparation and updating of the Voter Registry.- Provisions are incorporated for plebiscites in relation to voting abroad, as established in current law for referendums. – Sentencing guidelines for “electoral crimes” are more severe and it is established that they will eventually be incorporated into the new Penal Code.- Municipal Electoral Councils are expected to participate in processes that take place to revoke the mandate of a delegate, which implies modifications to the relevant current law (No. 89/99) – Salary regulations for members of electoral structures are proposed.- The draft law further develops the principle that the vote is free, equal, direct and secret; grants the constitutional right that each citizen has to elect, be elected, and be listed in the Voter Registry; nominate and be nominated as a candidate for delegate to the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power; as well as participate in electoral processes and file related legal complaints.

Honorable Karen Cumming, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana;

Honorable Peter David, President of the Council for Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) of CARICOM;

Ambassador Irwing LaRocque, Secretary-General of CARICOM;

Distinguished Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Heads of Delegations;

It is with great satisfaction that we are attending this meeting between brothers and sisters.

I appreciate the hospitality offered by the authorities of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the CARICOM Secretariat, which have made every effort to guarantee the success of this meeting. I would like to convey fraternal greetings to the distinguished Ministers and Heads of Delegations as well as our appreciation for their attendance, which shows the willingness to advance CARICOM relations with Cuba even further

This Sixth Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Caribbean Community and Cuba is a propitious occasion to exchange on the development of our bilateral relations.

The consistency of these meetings evidences, beyond any question, the strength of our relations.

The Caribbean and Cuba share a common history and face similar challenges.

Cuba reiterates its permanent commitment to cooperate and share its modest achievement with the Caribbean. We feel we have a permanent debt of gratitude with CARICOM for its historical and fraternal support to Cuba. The courageous attitude of the first four independent Caribbean nations, which was soon followed by all the others once they managed to achieve their independence, will never be forgotten.

Cuba and the Caribbean have developed strong historical relations. The CARICOM-Cuba mechanism has decidedly and effectively contributed to strengthen our relations.

Hardly a few weeks ago, we inaugurated a monument in remembrance of the Caribbean National Heroes at a park in downtown Havana, as a symbol of the friendship that unites us and an expression of the Cuban peoples admiration for and recognition of the men and women who turned this group of countries into a community with dignity, an independent foreign policy and a voice of its own. That monument reflects the feelings of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruz for what he considered to be his closest friends, for he asserted, and I quote: “No circumstances will ever change the interest and willingness of Cuba to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation with the sister nations of the Caribbean. We will spare no effort to achieve regional integration and the unity of our peoples”.

Cuba reiterates its willingness to continue strengthening its relations with all CARICOM member countries.

We are pleased about the results achieved so far by the Regional Center to Encourage the Development of Children, Teenagers and Youths with Special Educational Needs Associated to Physical Disabilities. Cuban and Guyanese professionals have offered physical and occupational therapy to 103 persons; speech therapy to 158 persons; and have taught 98 pedagogy and 16 psycho-pedagogy training courses. A total of 56 pedagogical guidance sessions were offered to teachers and directors. We believe that all CARICOM countries can make a better use of this joint effort for the benefit of those in need.

We likewise express our disposition to find joint solutions so that the Regional School of Caribbean Arts based in Jamaica can start working. In the first two stages of the implementation of this project, Cuba contributed with the design of the study programs and curricula. We have received the excellent news that the Government of Jamaica will purchase a plot of land and will contribute funds for the construction of the school. We reiterate our commitment to continue supporting the creation of the school in Jamaica together with CARICOM and its member countries.

Our country will continue to support CARICOM’s fair claim for compensation for the horrors of slavery and the genocide perpetrated against indigenous populations.

We reject the decision not to take into account the real situation and needs of the Caribbean and that cooperation is arbitrarily adapted based on the statistics whereby its member States are classified as middle income countries.

The persecution, threats and sanctions against the financial systems of some of our countries, which are being accused of maintaining non-cooperative jurisdictions, is both immoral and harmful.

The vulnerability of our nations to the effects of climate change is disturbing.

It is precisely in this area where we have been taking important steps during the last few years. Several cooperative agreements have been signed, namely, one between the Civil Defense authorities of our country and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) in December of 2017 in the context of the Sixth CARICOM-Cuba Summit and, more recently, in Saint Lucia, a Declaration of Commitment to strengthen he hydro-meteorological early-warning systems in the Caribbean. We have also hosted in Cuba, with a high level of acceptance and usefulness, several international events to discuss the most recent international experiences in natural disaster risk mitigation, which have been attended by specialists from the most important national agencies of our countries.

We should also move forward together in our economic and commercial relations, for which we confirm our entire disposition.

Esteemed Ministers and Heads of Delegations:

This meeting is taking place at a moment when peace in our region is being jeopardized. We have the duty to reaffirm our commitment with Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, as was stated in the Proclamation approved by the Heads of State and Government at the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held in Havana.

Only in a climate of mutual respect and confidence shall we prosper as a region.

Only integration shall lead us down to that path.

Peace admits no ambiguities. It can not be said that all options are on the table, when one of them, the one that is most needed, has been rejected; and that is dialogue.

We welcome CARICOM’s decision, in view of the threat of use of force and foreign interference, to ratify its stand and defend the validity of the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and International Law.

We are gathered at a moment when attempts are made to re-establish the implementation of the Monroe Doctrine, which is opposite to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

I would like to reiterate to you our gratitude for your firmness in denouncing the US Government’s authorization to activate Title III of the Helms-Burton Act so that lawsuits can be filed at the courts of that country against Cuban or foreign entities that legally engage in commercial business or investments in properties that were once nationalized in Cuba in full adherence to national and international laws, as was recognized by the US Supreme Court ruling on the Sabbatino case.

The Helms-Burton Act is arbitrary and is also an outrage and an insult against the sovereignty of Cuba and of third States.

There is an attempt to suffocate the Cuban economy and place our people on their knees through scarcities and hardships, but I can assure you that such an attempt will fail.

We recognize your resolute and irrevocable decision to join us in rejecting the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against our country and the fair claim to put an end to it.

Esteemed Ministers and Heads of Delegations:

Let us all engage in a deep discussion about our views, convinced that our brotherhood and friendship are indestructible.

Thank you, very much.

(Cubaminrex)

The explanatory commentary and editorial published in Cortex on Oct. 9 and 13, 2018, is timely, given that the U.S. has, for quite some time, been ratcheting up its rhetoric against Cuba. The commentary and editorial in this new scientific publication appears as we approach the U.N.’s Oct. 31 vote on the blockade, when Washington is increasing its hostility toward Cuba, perhaps to justify its vote at the U.N. against lifting the blockade. The U.S. has desperately attempted to find pretexts to provide a basis for the alleged sonic attacks, for which the U.S. State Department directly or indirectly blames Cuba.

My article on this issue was published in teleSur on Sept. 4, 2018, based on an exclusive interview with Robert D. McIntosh, one of the two scientists from the Department of Human Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K., whose joint study with Sergio Della Sala challenged the U.S. State Department-commissioned University of Pennsylvania report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The interview with McIntosh was based on the report that was published in the European Journal of Neurology and found echo at the time among some mainstream media, such as The Guardian (U.K.).

In the scientific report they notably demonstrate, as quoted in the article, that the University of Pennsylvania report was “lacking in scientific rigour,” “unreliable” and “unsound.” The acceptable professional approach for cognitive tests is to measure individual performance compared with others in the population. And what is the standard measure accepted by the profession? A person must score in the bottom five percent to be considered impaired. The threshold needs to be this low to take into account a variety of factors. One is that only a very small proportion of the population is deemed to be impaired according to professional standards.

Yet, the University of Pennsylvania report arbitrarily defined the threshold at forty percent to be considered impaired, meaning that ipso facto four in 10 who take the test will be “impaired.” Thus, the Edinburgh scientists concluded in an understatement that “the 40% threshold is hardly a detail.”

The article in teleSur wrapped up as follows: “The University of Pennsylvania to date has never responded

to the very specific issue of the 40% criterion, even though a very important portion of the U.S. State Department’s retaliatory measures against Cuba is based on the 40% baseline.”

Since its publication, the University of Pennsylvania JAMA authors have since been forced to deal with the challenge from Scotland by publishing another article in JAMA. However, in addition to the University of Edinburg professors’ response to the University of Pennsylvania rebuttal in JAMA, other scientists from Europe and the U.S. also published their respective views in that U.S.-based scholarly journal. The steam was building up.

Thus, the above-mentioned scientists joined together to publish, on Oct. 9 and 13, an explanatory commentary and editorial in the prestigious European-based international scientific journal Cortex. Founded in 1964 by Ennio De Renzi, it is devoted to the study of cognition and of the relationship between the nervous system and mental processes, particularly as reflected in the behaviour of patients with acquired brain lesions, normal volunteers, children with typical and atypical development, and in the activation of brain regions and systems as recorded by functional neuroimaging techniques.

In the introductory commentary, the two University of Edinburg original pioneers (Della Sala and McIntosh), in this quest for truth relating to the questionable methodology, are joined by the following:

– Roberto Cubelli, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy

– Jason A. Kacmarskic, Health Psychology Section, Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, Colorado, USA

– Holly M. Miskeyd and Robert D. Shurad, Mental Health and Behavioral Science Service Line, Salisbury Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, North Carolina, USA

The title of the commentary in Cortex says it all: “Cognitive Symptoms in U.S. Government Personnel in Cuba: The Mending Is Worse than the Hole.” The six scientists write that they have strongly criticized the University of Pennsylvania procedures as being inconsistent with any normal professional practice for evidence-based neuropsychology (Della Sala & Cubelli, 2018; Shura, Kacmarski & Miskey, 2018) and with statistical logic (Della Sala & McIntosh, 2018). They were therefore not shocked that the University of Pennsylvania study found all six patients to be “impaired.” They write that, when one employs the 40 percentile, 40% of people will fail each test and the chances of anyone passing all the tests without an impairment being diagnosed are negligible.

The stinging commentary points out that the University of Pennsylvania authors did not defend their “idiosyncratic” choice of a 40th percentile threshold. Rather, they implied that they used some other standard. In the same tone, they write that they are unsure what this ambiguous and unclear response means.

With a literary twist, they make their point by stating, “An old Venetian saying seems very apt here: ‘Xe pèso el tacòn del buso’ – the mending is worse than the hole.” The University of Pennsylvania specialists have attempted to devise an indefensible threshold for impairment reported in the original paper with a less coherent argument of their criterion in the rebuttal. Thus, the Cortex authors conclude in a doubtful manner that only two things are clear: first, the universally accepted criterion for cognitive impairment was misrepresented in the original University of Pennsylvania paper; and second, the neuropsychological data put forward does not support the conclusion that whatever happened in Cuba resulted in persistent cognitive decline.

The actual editorial published by the Cortex editorial board is titled “Responsibility of Neuropsychologists: The Case of the ‘Sonic Attack,’” Cortex Editorial Board.

In referring to the two contradictory statements, the original one and the rebuttal to the contending scientists from Europe and the U.S., both published by the University of Pennsylvania in JAMA, the Cortex editorial board takes up an important moral issue that affects the outside real world and the media: that the statements are not scientifically based.

The Cortex editorial writes that several ensuing critical comments in JAMA, from the scientists referred to above, underscored important and obvious glitches in the technical approach and resulting analysis and interpretation of the cognitive deficits reported in their JAMA paper. Seemingly aghast at this approach, the Editorial goes on to show that the University of Pennsylvania-based response to these criticisms was not to defend or explain the original methods, but to claim that the methods used were in fact different from those stated in the original paper (Hampton, Swanson & Smith, 2018). “The two descriptions of the methods, which are both highly questionable, cannot both be true: either what was reported in the original paper is false, or what is stated in the rebuttal is false (or possibly both).”

This editorial is concerned with the higher-level issue of how such self-contradictory statements could come to be published at all, let alone in an internationally recognized journal such as JAMA. One cannot allow, they write, such disoriented and incompatible explanations of process and scrutiny from being uncontested. Otherwise, it results in “a slippery path for science, and [is] dangerous for society at large.” Proving information about cognitive impairments, unsupported by science, “invites media coverage that may lead to widespread public misconception about the nature of this phenomenon.”

The Cortex editorial board appeals to neuropsychologists and all scientists to concern themselves with this case because of its wider implications. Cortex is straightforward: the University of Pennsylvania authors of the JAMA report “should now either publish an official erratum, to explain their actual methods clearly and unambiguously, or they should retract the original paper.”

It is my sincere hope that the international scientific community will respond even further to take up this case to show the arbitrary nature of the U.S. government actions against its own embassy in Havana, the Cuban mission in Washington, D.C., and the American and Cuban peoples affected by this incident.

What will the reaction of the U.S. State Department be in light of this latest scientific challenge?

Arnold August is Canadian author and journalist. His books include Democracy in Cuba and the 1997-1998 Elections (1999), Cuba and its Neighbours: Democracy in Motion (2013) and Cuba-U.S. Relations: Obama and Beyond (2017). As a journalist his articles appear in many web sites. He collaborates with teleSur. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Web site: www.arnoldaugust.com

The ceremony took place at Rafael María de Mendive Elementary School, inaugurated today 150 years after the country’s national hero, José Martí studied at the site.

Education Minister Ena Elsa Velázquez, Havana City Historian Eusebio Leal, Vietnam’s ambassador in Cuba, Nguyen Trung Thanh, and other guests attended the opening of the school that bears the name of Martí’s teacher.

The City Historian’s Office was recognized its work on the building’s renovation, originally the San Pablo College, preserving its colonial features and even some pieces of furniture from the 19th century used by Mendive.

(Prensa Latina)