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Monday, 12 January 2015 21:54
Will Cuba rejoin the IMF?
The restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States unlocks new prospects for the island’s economy. Some steps, including the removal of the U.S. trade embargo, are prohibited by the Helms-Burton Act, adopted by the U.S. Congress in 1996. But the renewal of Cuba’s membership in the International Monetary Fund is a real possibility. Cuba was one of the IMF’s 40 original members. It was involved in much of the preliminary planning for the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, and had an active delegation there. As early as 1941, Cuba worked together with other Latin American countries in an unsuccessful attempt to establish a monetary role for silver, alongside gold. Later, it helped to secure greater voting rights for small states and a special status for Latin American countries on the IMF Executive Board. After Cuba joined the IMF (and the World Bank) in 1946, it played a positive role in the Fund for the next 12 years. In 1954, it became the 10th country to accept the full obligations of the Fund’s Article VIII, eschewing the use of foreign-exchange restrictions on international trade. In 1956, it took a routine loan from the Fund, repaying it the following year.…
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Saturday, 10 January 2015 21:50
Cuba frees 30 political prisoners
HAVANA, Cuba – At least 30 Cuban political prisoners have been released in the last 48 hours, dissident leaders said Thursday, as Cuba moves towards normalizing ties with the United States. Washington and Havana announced a historic bilateral rapprochement in mid-December in which Cuba agreed to free 53 political prisoners as part of a deal to end a five-decade standoff with the United States. “So far we’re counting a total of 30 releases, including 24 from the UNPACU,” said José Daniel Ferrer, leader of the Patriotic Union of Cuba (UNPACU), a dissident group based in the communist island’s east.
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Monday, 29 April 2013 08:48
Cuba ends half-century ban on pro boxing
HAVANA (AP) -- Cuba is breaking a five-decade ban on professional boxing and joining an international semipro league. Fighters will compete for sponsored teams, box without protective headgear and earn $1,000 to $3,000 a month. The country has a long and storied boxing tradition and is usually a force at international amateur tournaments. This move represents a big step for the island's Communist authorities, who long ago decided pro sports were not in keeping with Marxist social ideals. The new format, the World Series of Boxing, consists of 12 squads from across the globe that square off in a series of five fights using a point system similar to the pros. The World Series of Boxing is organized by the international boxing association known as AIBA. The competition begins in November.
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Tuesday, 21 September 2010 11:13
Embargo is now tighter, Cuba says of U.S. trade
Cuba says the U.S. trade embargo against the island has toughened under President Barack Obama. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez said Wednesday that enforcement of the 48-year embargo, which Havana calls a "blockade," has become stricter in some areas. He said since Obama took office, the United States has levied larger fines and applied sanctions more vigorously. Rodríguez said the embargo has cost the island $751 billion and Obama has not lived up to expectations for U.S. policy toward Cuba. Last year, President Obama called for a new beginning in relations with Cuba and eased restrictions on travel and money transfers by Cuban-Americans to family in Cuba. However, he left the trade embargo in place, saying it is up to Cuba to take the next step. The United States and Cuba do not have diplomatic relations. They have interests sections that are technically part of the Swiss embassies in each other's capitals.
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Tuesday, 21 September 2010 11:10
Cuba faces big reforms as it embraces privatization
Cuba's government plan to lay off half a million state workers and encourage them to move into private sector jobs is part of a sweeping economic reform. Economic experts say Cuba faces several challenges in fostering private businesses. For months, President Raúl Castro has been warning about inevitable layoffs in the state sector, which represents 95 percent of Cuba's economy. He says the state is struggling because too many workers are redundant and have low productivity. Monday, the Cuban Workers Confederation unveiled a plan that includes cutting more than 500,000 state employees by April. The labor union group says the government cannot continue to support entities with inflated payrolls and losses that drag down the island's economy.
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Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:28
Spanish leader sees shift coming in U.S.-Cuba ties
Spain says Cuba's release of dozens of political prisoners would improve its relations with the European Union and the United States and could eventually lead to the lifting of the long-standing U.S. embargo against the Communist-led island. Speaking Wednesday in Madrid, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos told Parliament that the releases would have "political consequences" in U.S. relations with Cuba and prompt a shift in EU policy toward the island. Moratinos' remarks coincided with the arrival of a 12th freed political prisoner in Madrid. Another eight are expected in the Spanish capital this week. Cuba has agreed to release 52 political prisoners in a deal involving Madrid and the Roman Catholic Church.
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Monday, 24 May 2010 09:43
Castro, Church Discuss Political Prisoners
By Patricia GroggHAVANA (IPS) - Talks between the government of President Raúl Castro and leaders of the Catholic Church in Cuba may alleviate internal tensions and lead to the release of political prisoners, although the dialogue should be extended to include other social sectors in the country, religious leaders and analysts told IPS.Castro met Wednesday with the archbishop of Havana, Cardinal Jaime Ortega, and with the head of the Cuban bishop's conference, archbishop Dionisio García, to discuss "matters of common interest" and the "favourable development of relations between the Catholic Church and the Cuban state," according to official sources.The meeting, requested by the Church, went on for over four hours, and touched on topics like conditions of prison inmates and the Ladies in White, who hold a peaceful protest march every Sunday demanding the release of their husbands and sons, who they consider political prisoners.In early May the cardinal successfully interceded with the authorities for the silent protests to be allowed without hindrance.
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Monday, 05 April 2010 11:08
U.S. House May Pass Cuba Export Bill in April, Peterson Says
By Jonathan J. Levin March 31 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives may pass a bill next month that would ease restrictions on agricultural exports to Cuba and lift a ban on travel to the island, the measure’s sponsor said. Congressman Collin Peterson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said he needs backing from one more lawmaker to assure the panel will pass the legislation. He expects to secure that pledge after Congress’s Easter recess, and for the measure to get approval by the full House. “Cuba used to be one of our big markets,” Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, said in a telephone interview yesterday. The bill “would help us get those markets back.”
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Monday, 29 March 2010 10:50
Cuba Readies for U.S. Tourists With Golf Courses, Luxury Hotels
By Jonathan J. Levin March 26 (Bloomberg) -- Cuba’s hotels could manage a sudden influx of 1 million American tourists if the U.S. Congress lifts its 47-year ban on travel to the Communist island, Tourism Minister Manuel Marrero said. Additionally, the Caribbean nation is set to expand its capacity of about 50,000 rooms, with groundbreaking scheduled for at least nine hotels in 2010, Marrero said. About 200,000 rooms may be added in the “medium to long-term,” he said. Cuba is also seeking investment partners for 10 golf courses and luxury hotels aimed at Americans, according to a ministry official.“I’m convinced that today, with the available capacity, we could be receiving the American tourists without any problem,” Marrero said in an interview yesterday in Cancun, Mexico where he was attending a conference of 40 American and Cuban tourist industry representatives. The tourism industry meeting comes as the U.S. Congress considers a law that would lift the ban on travel to Cuba.
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Travel to Cuba
Thursday, 25 February 2010 15:30
Betting On Thaw In U.S./Cuba Relations
By Ben Dummett Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Leisure Canada Inc. (LCN.V) hopes to start construction before the end of the year on what would be Havana's first hotel/conference center built to North American building standards, expecting a continued thawing in Cuba-U.S. relations to spur an influx of visitors to the Caribbean island. Located on the beach in the area of Havana known as Embassy Row, Leisure Canada's Monte Barreto development will consist of a 750-suite hotel, a conference center and vacation club, including a fractional ownership component. It will be built to Florida hurricane standards, and meet the room size and other standards used by the Hiltons and other well-known hotel operators, said Robin Conners, Leisure's chief executive.
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Thursday, 24 December 2009 09:48
End the U.S. embargo of Cuba
The Seattle Times editorial board calls for the end of the U.S. embargo of Cuba. SEN. Maria Cantwell calls our attention to a law, signed by President Obama, allowing Cuba to buy U.S. farm produce and pay after the goods are shipped. The law reverses a Treasury ruling during the Bush years that Cuba had to pay in advance ˜ a ruling that stopped the trade altogether. This page favors the new law, which will allow a few of our state's farmers to make a little bit of money. But we would go much further. We would end altogether the embargo, which was imposed under President Kennedy almost a half-century ago.
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