Chronicle on Cuba - October 2004

Highlights

Domestic Affairs: The wife of an ailing Cuban dissident achieves her goal of getting her husband transferred from prison to a Havana hospital, after staging a public protest in a city park. The Cuban government fires its minister of Basic Industries. Fidel Castro falls after leaving the stage at a graduation ceremony, fracturing a knee and arm.

Economy: Cuban authorities announce the closing of 118 companies, the reduction of the workday by half an hour, the halting of various production plants, and a daily six-hour blackout plan as some of the steps taken by the government to stem the island's serious electricity crisis. Cuba announces that US dollars will no longer be accepted at businesses and stores on the island.

Foreign Affairs: Spain's new envoy to Cuba criticizes the European Union's policy toward the island and says Madrid would work to thaw relations with Fidel Castro's government. The Spanish and the Dutch governments express outrage after one Spanish and two Dutch deputies were arrested and deported from Havana. Spain calls on the European Union to help Cuba negotiate entry into the Cotonou Agreement.

US-Cuba Relations: The State Department's decision to deny visas to 65 Cuban scholars seeking to attend a conference in Las Vegas draws protests from Congress and academia. The UN General Assembly votes overwhelmingly against the four-decade-old American economic, financial and commercial embargo against Cuba.