Chronicle on Cuba - May 2006

Domestic Affairs

May 1: Some seven million Cubans —close to two-thirds of the population— took to the streets to participate in May Day celebrations across the island. Huge demonstrations called by Cuba’s Workers Confederation took place in all major towns and cities of the island to reaffirm workers support for socialism. Hundreds of thousands gathered at the Havana’s historic Jose Marti Revolution Square waving multi-colored flags and banners with patriotic slogans, as Fidel Castro presided over the mass gathering. (AIN, 1/5/06)

May 1: Oswaldo Paya, a Cuban pro-democracy activist, has been invited to receive an honorary degree at Columbia University's commencement in May, the university said. Paya said he was honored by the invitation and hoped the Cuban government would let him travel to New York for the May 17 event. "As a Cuban, I feel proud," said the lead organizer of the Varela Project, a petition drive calling for a popular vote on issues including freedom of speech and private business ownership. "This is a recognition of our people and their rights." Paya was to receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Columbia's New York City campus, the university said in a statement. He was chosen because he represents "civic activism, and is a model for non-violent human rights advocacy," said Columbia Professor Gustavo Perez-Firmat. The activist was allowed to travel to Europe in December of 2002 to receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the EU's top human-rights award. But since then, several requests to attend conferences abroad or receive prizes have been turned down by Cuba's communist government, Paya said. (AP, 1/5/06)

May 2: A TV soap opera is generating controversy on the streets of Cuba and attracting a record number of viewers. The reason? It is about what until now has been a taboo for Cuban TV: homosexuality. It seems to be the sole topic of conversation in the workplace and the neighbourhoods, even though many men insist angrily that they do not watch "that telenovela in which a married man 'discovers himself' through a sexual relationship with a male friend". It is the first time that television in Cuba has dared to broach the subject. It never even screened “Strawberry and Chocolate”, a classic Cuban film about the marginalisation of gay people. The soap – “The Dark Side of the Moon” - shows the problems a bisexual man faces in today's Cuba, including his friends' revulsion and rejection by his parents. Actor Rafael Lahera, who plays “Yaser”, says that to broach "such a delicate subject in such a macho society" is an important step for Cuban TV. But playing the leading role has not been without problems. "People think I'm gay," he says. And, he adds, he has been turned down for acting jobs because employers do not want a role to be played by a homosexual. Such discrimination is not unusual in Cuba, where in the 1960s and 70s homosexuals were sent to labour farms. Today, gays and lesbians are socially isolated, the police harass transvestites and the government is refusing to authorise sex changes for transsexuals. (BBC Mundo , 2/5/06)

May 2: Eliécer Consuegra Rivas, president of the illegal Democratic Alliance of Eastern Cuba, remained besieged for more than 80 hours in his home by groups organized by the Cuban State Security Department. The incident occurred as Consuegra was on his way to an event organized in the province of Camagüey and was threatened by nearly 20 individuals armed with sticks and rocks. (Cubanet, 2/5/06)

May 2: Authorities in Cuba, one of the few nations in the world that requires citizens to get official permission to leave the country, have not yet given exit visas to the would-be emigrants mistakenly repatriated by the United States earlier this year. The update refers to "the bridge rafters," as the group of 15 Cubans sent back to the Communist island in January after they reached the support structure of an unused and broken bridge in the Florida Keys are known. Ernesto Hernandez, a member of the group, told the press that they went to the immigration service office in Matanzas, some 100 kilometers (about 62 miles) east of Havana, where they were told that permission had not yet been granted, even though the 30 days involved in the process had elapsed. The members of the group requested the exit permits after obtaining visas from US authorities. (EFE, 3/5/06)

May 3: World dance lovers have been called by their Cuban partners to receive lessons and celebrate workshops about dance on the island, from November 27 to December 1, 2006. With the motto Baila en Cuba (Dance in Cuba) the cultural tourism company Paradiso, officially launched the call, which will include casino, mambo, meringue, and other genres. Havana Libre Hotel and Pabellon Cuba, both in the capital, will be the headquarters of the lessons and workshops given by Maria Teresa Linares, National award winner of music and by Santiago Alfonso award winner of dance. (Prensa Latina, 4/5/06)

May 3: The Cuban central province of Ciego de Avila has reported an infant mortality rate of 4.9 for each thousand born alive during the first months of this year. This result is comparable to that of the most highly developed countries and it is closely related to the high priority the Cuban state extends to women before, during, and after pregnancy as well as its assistance to infants. (Prensa Latina, 3/5/06)

May 3: Nobel Prize in physics in 2000, Russian Zhores Alfiorov, visited the University of Havana, where he had an opportunity to discuss with professors and students from that educational institution. Alfiorov noted that the University of Havana was the first to present him with an honorary doctorate degree -several years before he received the Nobel Prize. He also stressed the importance of increasing scientific cooperation between the research institute which he directs and the University of Havana. University of Havana Rector Dr. Juan Vela said Cuban physics owes much to Alfiorov's research, and that the Russian scholar's visit was a tremendous honor for the Cuban scientific community, Granma newspaper reported. (ACN, 3/5/06)

May 3: Political scientists, politicians and activists from different parts of the world are meeting in Havana, Cuba, to discuss the work of Karl Marx and contemporary world politics. The meeting has been organized by Cuba's Institute of Philosophy and will be focusing on a number of present day world affairs. Under the theme: "The road leading towards revolutionary power in the 21st Century: classes, social movements and political parties", the meeting will cover among other topics, Marxist thought and the challenges of social development, revolution, change and revolutionary power including the problems of the current capitalist system as well as socialism for the present century. The meeting has so far attracted political professors from countries like Canada, the United States, Brazil, Argentina, China, France, Greece, Sweden, Mexico, United Kingdom, Zambia, as well as Cuba itself. (The Post, 4/5/06)

May 4: Cuba's National Weather Institute predicted that there will be an above-average 15 tropical storms this year, and at least nine are expected to become hurricanes. That's because water temperatures in the Atlantic-Caribbean basin remain warm and there is no sign of a counteracting El Nino phenomenon in the Pacific, said Cuban forecaster Maritza Ballester. The first storm will form in late June or early July, she predicted, with three arising in the Gulf of Mexico. "Everything points to an active season," said Ballester, developer of a mathematical model for predicting hurricanes. (Reuters, 4/5/06)

May 4: The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) said in a press release that Cuban prisoner Emilio Manuel Pérez, arrested and imprisoned along with other fifteen people by the authorities of Havana in July, 2005, has declared himself on a hunger strike. Pérez is determined not to eat any type of food until they improve the conditions of his imprisonment and his rights are respected. (EFE, 4/5/06)

May 5: On World Press Freedom Day, Cuba claimed that its reporters were the freest in the world. "In Cuba (...) we say: we are the freest journalists because we are a part of the people with the most freedom, a country where there is a revolution that is the most just, most ethical and dignified social project that any nation ever had," stated Granma, the newspaper of the ruling Communist Party. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, in 2005 there were 24 imprisoned journalists, the highest figure after China. (Reuters, 5/4/06)

May 6: Fidel Castro presided over the closing ceremony of the Cuban Sports Olympiad. The president of the Cuban Sports Institute, Christian Jimenez, formally declared the event as concluded and described it as “a celebration of sports and solidarity." (AP , 7/5/06)

May 7: According to the most recent statistics presented by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Cuba’s suicide rate is the highest in the entire hemisphere and one of the highest in the world. According to PAHO Basic Health Indicators 2005, in the period 2000-2005, Cuba had a suicide rate of 18.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, well ahead of runner-up Uruguay’s 15.9 and far higher than that of countries like Peru with 2.3 and Guatemala with 1.9. The phenomenon has had a greater impact on groups between the ages of 24 and 45. (El Nuevo Herald, 7/5/06)

May 8: Fernando Martínez Calzadillas, president of the illegal Western Cultural Civic Center (Centro Cívico Cultural de Occidente) was sentenced to 4 years in jail by a military tribunal for the alleged crime of bribery. The trial took place on April 28th, less than twenty-four hours after of his arrest, and Martínez Calzadilla was immediately transferred to the Kilo 5 y medio Prison to serve his sentence. He denied all charges, but the State Attorney of the military tribunal relied on testimony of two witnesses who accused Martinez Calzadilla of selling false documents to some youth who wanted to leave the armed forces. (Puente Informativo, 8/5/06)

May 8: The province of Sancti Spiritus has undertaken its most ambitious housing project yet with plans to building some 7,470 houses in one year. The undertaking is part of a nationwide effort that aims to construct some 100,000 new housing units a year. According to Juan Marcos Mendez, director of the Sancti Spiritus provincial housing system, even though the beginning wasn’t the best (only 253 houses finished in January), a total of 1,351 were built in the first quarter. While still below the programmed figure, it more than triples those built in the first eight months of 2005. The surge, however, has not been equal in all places. While Jatibonico, Fomento, Taguasco and the city of Sancti Spritus lead the way, Yaguajay, La Sierpe, Cabaiguan and Trinidad are so far lagging behind. In Trinidad, for instance, in the first quarter of this year only 11 new homes have been built, barely 1 percent of plans for the year. The province has doubled its production of building materials, but it still is not meeting the demand, especially for masonry work. (Granma, 8/5/06)

May 8: Cuba, along with Uruguay and Argentina, has the oldest population in America. Approximately 15.8 % of Cuban citizens are already over 60 years old and it is expected that two decades from now 25 % of Cubans will belong in the senior citizen category. Three factors seem to influence these statistics: a significant reduction in the birth rate, an increase in the lifespan of the elderly and a large exodus of young people (more than 20,000 a year migrate to the United States alone). These are a part of the conclusions of the “4th Ibero American Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics", which concluded in Havana with the participation of scientists from Latin America and Spain. (BBC Mundo, 8/5/06)

May 8: Cuba is falling well short of the government's targets for housing construction due to problems with transportation and delays in delivery of materials, the state-run media reported. Between September 2005 and last month, work began on 182,000 units, fewer than half the 380,000 projected by the government, the official Communist Party daily Granma said. The paper noted that of the 119,000 housing units planned for 2006, only 28,196 had been completed as of April 30. "The needs accumulated during the years of the special period (Havana's term for the crisis caused by the loss of subsidies after the collapse of the Soviet bloc) led to an avalanche of (housing) requests that will be satisfied with justice, giving priority to those who contribute most to society," Granma said. More than 52 percent of Cuba's housing stock is in bad shape, according to a government report issued last September. (EFE, 8/5/06)

May 8: Arco Progresista, a coalition of moderate opposition organizations, requested that, to be consistent with its aspiration to integrate the new UN Human Rights Council, the Cuban government amnesty political prisoners and put an end to the harassment against dissidents. In the declaration, AP also called upon the government of Fidel Castro to improve imprisonment conditions and “promote institutional and educational advocacy of human rights.” (AFP, 8/5/06)

May 8: Hassan Pérez Casabona, second secretary of the Young Communist League of Cuba (UJC), was designated president of Habaguanex S.A., replacing Eusebio Leal, Historian of the City, who had led the company since its foundation. (Cubanet, 8/5/06)

May 8: According to Palabra Nueva, a magazine published by the archbishopric of Havana, the Catholic Church will implement a new Pastoral Plan in Cuba from 2006 to 2010, starting on September 8, Day of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patron saint of the island. The goal of the new Pastoral Plan is to give a leading role to the community, wherein the faithful must potentiate their spirituality to participate in the transformation of the Cuban reality, said Ortega. (MartiNoticias, 8/5/06)

May 8: The wife of Cuban political prisoner Nelson Aguiar Ramírez was denied access to the premises of the Cuban Council of State. Dolia Leal, who participates in demonstrations with the Ladies in White demanding the release of her husband, showed up at the offices of the Council of State to turn in a letter addressed to Fidel Castro, but the Council employees refused to allow her to enter the building and to receive the letter. According to Leal, she had to leave without turning in the letter while other citizens were entering the premises without any objections. (Netfor Cuba, 8/5/06)

May 9: For the second time in less than 15 days, the ruling Cuban Communist Party made changes among its top level officials, this time by appointing new secretaries for the provinces of Matanzas and Villa Clara. “At the request of the Political Bureau," the replacements were made in plenary meetings held in both provinces on May 8, according to a press release carried by the official newspaper Granma. In Matanzas, it was decided that Víctor Fidel Gaute be replaced by Pedro Betancourt, a mechanical engineer, until then member of the provincial executive bureau, while in Villa Clara, Omar Ruiz, also a member of the Communist party, replaced Roberto López. The reasons behind these changes were not specified. (AP, 10/5/06)

May 10: Dissident Oswaldo Payá released a blueprint for a new Cuban constitution that would allow free elections and create a system that decentralizes authority. The 170-page document, compiled by Payá's Christian Liberation Movement with input from Cubans on and off the island, contains a blueprint for a modified constitution and new electoral laws and rules of association. Copies of the proposal were released to international journalists exactly four years after Payá delivered to Cuba's parliament the first batch of 25,000 signatures gathered for his Varela Project. Payá's earlier democracy drive gained international recognition and prompted the government to declare socialism "irrevocable.'' The latest document was produced after two years of discussions with Cubans on issues that included education, health, religion, the economy and freedom of expression. Thousands participated in the effort, said Payá, whose group called for a popular vote on the proposed changes. Two keys to the draft constitution are "humanity and reconciliation," Payá said. It does not call for an overhaul of Cuba's social or public services. "Those are things that must be maintained," he said. Reconciliation between political opponents is important because "we know there are wounds," Payá said. "We don't think we have a monopoly on the truth." Propaganda and confiscation of private property are among things prohibited in the proposed constitution. The right to own a business and criticize those in power are among the expanded rights. ''No one can be antagonized because of their opinions or criticisms, even if these are directed against the government, government officials or any other person or sector of the society,'' the document says. [Propuesta de Constitución] (AP, Sun Sentinel, 11/5/06)

May 10: Fidel Castro praised the Cuban community genetics program, which results are being presented at the first International Congress of this specialty, in Havana. Addressing the meeting, Castro was concerned on learning the number of labs existing in the country and how many specialized technicians are working in them. “There is no more humanitarian work,” said the statesman after listening to some of Cuba’s achievements in detecting congenital malformations, the number of experts working in this specialty, and the resources destined to develop the national genetics network. He also spoke of the social workers’ labor in several Battle of Ideas programs of the nation, including the three-year program to identify handicapped people on the island. (Prensa Latina, 11/5/06)

May 12: Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, leader of the illegal Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, said she was told that she would not be allowed to leave her house in Havana on May 20, Cuban Independence day. Last Independence Day, Roque helped organize an unprecedented assembly of about 200 members of country's opposition movement. She was imprisoned in 2003 and released the following year for medical reasons. In recent weeks she has complained of harassment, including an attack on April 25, when she reported that she was punched by a man outside her home. In a letter Roque wrote to a Cuban lawyer, she said a group of people she did not know who gathered outside her home told her she would no longer be able to receive packages. "The manner in which the government wants me to live my life is unbearable...'' she wrote in the letter. (AP, 12/5/06)

May 13: Ladies in White, wives and relatives of Cuban political prisoners, demonstrated along two kilometers of Havana’s streets paying tribute to Cuban mothers on the eve on Mother’s Day. Over 15 women dressed in white walked with flowers in their hands from Laura Pollán’s home to 23 and I in El Vedado, where they laid a wreath under a commemorative plaque to Leoner Perez, mother of Cuba’s national hero Jose Marti. (AFP, 14/5/06)

May 13: Cubanet correspondent Odelín Alfonso was held for a few hours at a National Revolutionary Police station in the Havana district of Arroyo Naranjo after being arrested with his wife on their return from a meeting organised by the Ladies in White. Two days before the meeting, a member of the State Security (the political police) had told him not to attend. He has been fined for “resistance and outrage.” (RWB, 17/5/06)

May 15: Fidel Castro furiously denied a story in Forbes magazine that he was worth $900 million and said he would step down if the magazine could prove the assertion. The financial magazine ranked Castro as the seventh wealthiest ruler in the world in its annual tally of the "Fortunes of Kings, Queens and Dictators." Castro went on television brandishing a copy of the US-based magazine to tell Cubans the story was a "repugnant slander" by a capitalist publication. With Communist Cuba's Central Bank governor at his side, Castro challenged Forbes to prove the allegation. "If they can prove that I have a bank account abroad, with $900 million, with $1 million, $500,000, $100,000 or $1 in it, I will resign," he said at the end of a four-hour broadcast. "It is so ridiculous to say I have a fortune of $900 million, a fortune with no heirs. What would I need all that money for, if I will soon be 80 years old? Castro, in power since a leftist revolution in 1959, says his net worth is nil and that he earns only 900 Cuban pesos ($40) a month. (Reuters, AP, 15/5/06)

May 15: A group of Cuban migrants sent home after reaching an abandoned bridge in the Florida Keys said they are becoming frustrated waiting for final Cuban government approval to leave for good. Members of the group were traveling from the central province of Matanzas where they live to Havana, where they will seek an appointment at the US Interests Section, migrant Ernesto Hernandez said by telephone. "It has been 48 days, we have the US visa, we have passports," said Hernandez. He said all they lack now is the "white card," the exit permit that Cubans must get from the communist-run government to leave the island. The 14 members of the group applied for the exit permits about six weeks ago at Cuba's migration office in Matanzas province. Hernandez said the approval process generally takes 15 days. (AP, 15/5/06)

May 16: Fidel Castro attended the launching of the book "Cien Horas con Fidel” (A Hundred hours with Fidel), a compilation of talks the Cuban leader held with Spanish journalist Ignacio Ramonet between January 2003 and December 2005. A panel made up of Castro and Ramonet, accompanied by the Minister of Culture, Abel Prieto, and book publisher Pedro Alvarez Tabío, was in charge of the book launch. The international press was not invited to attend the event. (EFE, 16/5/06)

May 17: The president of the National Assembly of the People’s Power of Cuba, Ricardo Alarcón, denied that the succession of Fidel Castro “should be a taboo topic" in the island since, he explained, "it is regulated in the Cuban Constitution." In his opinion, the Commander in Chief’s position as head of government will be aptly filled by “any of the many leaders born before or after (the revolutionary victory of 1959),” who already have “20 years of replacing experience.” Alarcón admitted that it is a natural fact of life that some day Castro will pass away. “I do not believe in human cloning, I think that every person is replaceable (...) the question would be what will come after Fidel’s generation (...) and this generation has been giving way to other generations for a while now.” At the moment, according to Alarcón, "in Cuba there are thousands of leaders much younger than Fidel that were born with or after the revolution and who already have 20 years’ worth of practical leadership experience (....) we (the Cubans) know who they are, although there’s no mention of them in the foreign press." (Europa Press, 17/5/06)

May 17: Cuban medical researchers said that they have found the only effective solution to date for treating advanced diabetic foot ulcers and avoiding the lower-limb amputations that are often required. The director of commercial development at the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center, Ernesto Lopez Mola, said at a press conference that the institute's international patent for its drug CITOPROT-P had been accepted by Australia, Singapore and South Africa for treatment of the condition. He said that the development of the product focused on patients with category 3 and 4 ulcers, the most severe on the Wagner scale. "There is no alternative to CITOPROT-P in the world at this time," he said, adding that the treatment includes ulcers with neuropathic and ischemic origins and had a 56 percent success rate in patients treated in Cuba. (EFE, 17/5/06)

May 17: The director of the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (CIGB) of Cuba, Luis Herrera, questioned a study carried out in Germany that proclaimed the ineffectiveness of the cholesterol-lowering drug policosanol (PPG), produced and distributed by the island. “Not everything that is published on internet is true," said Herrera in reply to questions on the results of a study by researcher Heiner Berthold, from the University of Colone. (AFP , 17/5/06)

May 19: Cuban scientists have unveiled a new infant pentavalent vaccine that protects against hepatitis B, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria and haemophilus influenza type b, according to Prensa Latina. Known as Heberpenta, the new vaccine has been developed by scientists from the research institute Instituto Finlay and the Bioproducts National Centre (Biocen). The new product combines five antigens and has proved to be safe and efficient during clinical trials. (Global Insight Daily Analysis, 19/5/06)

May 19: Martha Beatriz Roque, leader of the illegal Assembly to Promote Civil Society in Cuba, disclosed a letter that she sent to her attorney Amelia Rodríguez Calá, from the “Salvador Allende“ law firm, in downtown Havana, in which she requests her attorney to intervene to put an end to the harassment that she is subjected to or make the necessary arrangements for her to return to the penitentiary establishment where she will serve out the remainder of her sentence. Roque, who received a 20-year prison sentence during the crackdown against political dissidence of 2003, is under medical extra penal license due to health reasons. (MartiNoticias, 19/5/06)

May 21: Fidel Castro said that camping facilities in Cuba do not have a profit motive but are instead geared for the population’s educational and recreational benefit. The Cuban leader addressed a celebration for the 25th anniversary of the Popular Camping Program, attended by leaders of the Young Communist League, university students, social workers among others. Castro pointed out that the program provides Cubans with a well organized and healthy way to enjoy their holidays. The Cuban leader praised the work of the personnel in charge of the program, mainly young people. He noted: "We are attending to this recreational activity and we will continue to do so and better," adding that the population will also have more knowledge and culture. (ACN, 21/5/06)

May 21: The Cuban national civil defence exercise for the reduction of disasters ‘Meteoro 2006’ took place nationwide to organize and check the planning of measures to face the risks caused by hurricanes and heavy rains. Hundreds of thousands of people participated in this exercise organized by the Provincial, Defense Councils, Municipal and Area groups and work subgroups, State entities and social institutions, members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, political and mass organizations and the population of the areas. Among the main objectives was the raising of preparedness for the execution of administrative orders, decisions and plans with a view to the reduction of disasters; to increase the preparation of workers and the population in general to reduce the vulnerabilities of each place, and to face the effects of meteorological phenomenon. (Granma, 22/5/06)

May 21: Dr. Eduardo Bernabe Ordaz, director of the Havana Psychiatric Hospital for more than 40 years, passed away in the Cuban capital, due to a chronic kidney malfunction. Dr. Ordaz, born in 1921 in the Havana locality of Bauta, was a member of the Cuban Society of Psychiatry and Psychology, as well as other international organizations. For four decades, he revolutionized the treatment of mentally disabled patients, bringing them out of isolation and abuse so they could participate in society. Cuban exiles in the United States and other Castro critics have alleged the hospital has used torture tactics against political dissidents. Cuban officials have called the claims "ridiculous." Ordaz also served as a delegate to the Cuban Parliament from 1976 to 2003. He was buried at Havana's historic Colon Cemetery, in a sanctuary for members of the Armed Forces. Hundreds attended, including other revolutionary commanders such as Ramiro Valdes and Guillermo Garcia. (Granma, The Miami Herald, AP, 21/5/06)

May 23: Experts from 29 countries gathered in Cuba to attend the third International Symposium for Fighting Vectors, a Pan-American conference which analyzes the control of disease-carrying insects. Specialists from Cuba's National Hygiene and Epidemiology Agency, and the National Workers Health Institute will give details of Cuba's progress in fighting these disease carriers. The meeting was designed to fight Aedes Aegypti and other malaria- and dengue-fever carrying mosquitoes. The two diseases strike more than one million people each year. The meeting, which is being held in the city of Varadero, 134 km east of Havana, is being attended by the Cuban public health minister, representatives of the Pedro Kouri Institute and the Pan-American Health Organization. (Xinhua, 23/5/06)

May 23: Marta Arjona, who chaired the National Council of Cultural Heritage in Cuba, died in Havana. Born on May 3, 1923, Arjona devoted her life to the defense of the Cuban identity and cultural legacy. She was an outstanding ceramist and sculptor, and an advocate of the Cuban revolution. In a recent interview, she said her greatest contribution to new generations has been to arouse their interest in museums and the preservation of the Cuban heritage and history. The Doctor Honoris Causa for Arts is one of the highest recognitions Marta Arjona received. (Prensa Latina, 23/5/06)

May 24: Following a proposal by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party's Central Committee, Cuba´s Council of State has appointed Gladys Maria Bejerano Portela as audit minister. Portela had been serving as vice minister of that sector since 2001, and will replace Lina O. Pedraza Rodriguez, who will be promoted to other responsibilities at the Central Committee, Granma daily reported. (Prensa Latina, 24/5/06)

May 24: Despite recent moves by the Communist government against other sectors of the island's small "self-employed" community, vendors of used books around one of this capital's most emblematic plazas are betting on staying put, saying their presence adds cultural cachet to the historic downtown. Starting in the 1990s, the independent book dealers or street vendors proliferated on the island, especially in Havana, after being granted licenses to operate on their own, rather than working for the state. The booksellers set up their wares in the park in the center of the Plaza de Armas, now also known as "La Plaza de los Libros" (Plaza of the Books). (EFE, 24/5/06)

May 24: Torrential rains caused flash floods that demolished dwellings and killed seven people in Havana. Firefighters recovered the bodies of Josefa Fundora, 62, and a second person. Both were swept away when a creek blocked by debris suddenly overflowed in the district of Marianao in western Havana. "I was sleeping when the water rose and almost took me," said neighbor Antonio Avila, 84, an invalid who had fought in Fidel Castro's guerrilla force in the 1950s. "Luckily, a young man helped me leave my house." A resident who asked not to be named said the houses destroyed next to the creek had been declared uninhabitable 20 years ago but authorities had failed to provide alternative housing. The victims lived in Havana’s municipalities of Marianao, Center and Old Havana, Lisa and Cerro. The downpour came as Cuba prepares for another busy hurricane season. Casualties from natural disasters are rare in Cuba due to the Communist government's effective civil defense system. (Reuters, Granma, 24/5/06)

May 24: Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas, on an open-ended hunger strike since January 31, was submitted to minimum access surgery to extract blood and air out of his left lung, reported his mother, Alicia Hernández. Fariñas remains in critical condition at Arnaldo Milián Castro Hospital, in Santa Clara. Refusing food or water in demand of free access to Internet, he is being administered medication and hydrating fluids intravenously. (EFE, 24/5/06)

May 24: Cuba's first satellite platform for radio and TV broadcast will cover five channels and five radio stations and bring telecommunication to new zones of the country for the first time, especially in mountain areas. Recent investments allowed the installation of satellite receptors and parabolic antennas in social institutions with joint work by Radio Cuba and Telecomunicaciones de Cuba (ETECSA). Specialist Maria Cristina Bravo, of Copextel Marketing and Communications Division, said the platform airs broadcasts of Cubavision, Cubavision International, Tele-Rebelde, Canal Educativo and Educativo 2. (Prensa Latina, 24/5/06)

May 24: Cuban models twirled turquoise ribbons and flaunted papier-mache topped in a fashion show that paid homage to the art behind Cuba's long tobacco tradition. Designs inspired by Cuban cigar labels ranged from earthy to extravagant, seductive to serene in the "Art and Fashion" show, which aimed to blur the line between the two. "This is the art of dressing, the portable art," said Jesus Frias, a designer and an organizer of the event held in a cozy theater inside Havana's National Museum of Fine Arts. The models acted and danced on stage as they showed off the designs, each spending several minutes in the spotlight accompanied by opera, rock and traditional Cuban music. (AP, 25/5/06)

May 24: Cuban human rights activist, Juan Carlos Gonzalez Leiva, denounced that he is suffering constant and systematic acts of provocation and threats to his person and his home by Cuban State Security. The activist and his father were awakened suddenly when a huge stone was violently thrown against the gate of their house in the city of Ciego de Avila. According to testimony by Juan Carlos, a post of military personnel that constantly keeps a vigil on him has been established facing his house. When he walks through the streets of Ciego de Avila, State Security agents threaten to beat him up, they shout insults at him, and chant pro-governmental slogans at him, humiliating him publicly. Gonzalez Leiva was incarcerated without a trial and suffered physical and psychological tortures for 26 months for having peacefully demonstrated along with other members of the Cuban Foundation of Human Rights at a hospital in Ciego de Avila where an independent journalist who had been brutally beaten by forces of State Security was taken. (Netfor Cuba, 29/5/06)

May 24: Fidel Castro acknowledged that the intense rains that fell in Havana the day before had dealt the Cuban capital a "hard" blow. The downpours deluging the city flooded low-lying areas, transformed dozens of streets into rivers, washed away garages and homes, paralyzed traffic across a good part of the city and forced the evacuation of hundreds of people. "I understand that there have been some (fatalities) as a result of that sudden phenomenon that didn't give us time to do anything at all," Castro said at the beginning of a special television speech in which he focused on denouncing the US strategy vis-a-vis the Communist island. Castro said that the rains caused the Quibu River in western Havana to rise some seven meters (almost 23 feet). "The water rose very quickly, causing effects of different types (…) the wind, the water. Some automobiles remained in the [underground parking lots] with no time to move them," he added. (EFE, 24/5/06)

May 24: Cuban writer Leonardo Padura was granted a Brigada 21 Award with his novel, 'La neblina del ayer' (“Yesterday’s mist”). According to the jury, Padura’s novel was the best in Spanish language. Brigada 21, an organization aimed at paying tribute to black literature, will grant its awards during a ceremony held at the Negra y Criminal bookstore, in Barcelona. (Europa Press, 24/5/06)

May 24: There's hardly a spot on Cuba untouched by its slavery past, not unlike most Caribbean islands. Ports where African slaves were brought in or taken away, fortresses built with their sweat and tears and sugar mills where they labored to fuel the economy dot the island. Later came the caves where runaway slaves found refuge and plazas that hosted rebellions. An international effort sponsored by UNESCO aims to identify and preserve these sites in such places as Cuba, Jamaica, Aruba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. The project, called "Sites of Memory on the Slave Route," hopes to turn the sites into cultural tourism destinations and show the world the influence Africans and their descendants have had in the region. "The African mark is the one that defines Cuban culture," said Miguel Barnet, a renowned Cuban writer and ethnographer. "Of course we have a significant Spanish influence with the language and all, but what really characterizes us, what really makes us different, is, without a doubt, the presence of the African element." The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization project "tries to recognize the history of the 20 million Africans who contributed their culture even though they came (to the Americas) as hostages," Barnet said. (AP, 25/4/06)

May 25: The director and the assistant director of the Security and Protection Agency at José Martí international airport remain under arrest at Villa Marista, head office of the Department of State Security, under suspicion of embezzlement and repeated theft. Roberto A. Fernández Rodríguez and Liván Tápanes, the director and assistant director, respectively, of the company in charge of airport security, are accused of having stolen 18 thousand dollars, a Lada vehicle, 90 tires, several mattresses and other articles. (Cuba Verdad, 25/5/06)

May 26: Fidel Castro described as excellent the assistance offered to the Pakistani people by the medical brigade of the Cuban Henry Reeve Contingent that returned from the Asian nation. The Cuban Revolution leader welcomed the last group of Cuban doctors who returned to Havana at José Martí International Airport. The Cuban doctors assisted the victims of the earthquake that hit the Asian nation last October 8, 2005. Also present at the airport were Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque, Deputy Health Minister Gonzálo Estevez and other government officials. (CAN, 26/5/06)

May 26: Academics and intellectuals who live in Cuba and proclaim themselves supporters of the current sociopolitical system have begun to question publicly the validity of “statist socialism” in a post-Fidel era, while acknowledging the possibility of a return to capitalism in the island. Such proliferation of critical analysis of the present and the immediate future of Cuba, a country where the local media does not usually cover these topics, has struck analysts and diplomats in Havana as significant. According to local experts, “it is unknown whether the considerations of these academics are the reflection of their own personal views and social analysis or of those of high-ranking Cuban officials who seek to create favorable subjective conditions for the future.” (Milenio, 26/5/06)

May 27: Cuba appointed Jose Hernandez Bernardez as the new Light Industry minister in place of Estela Dominguez Ariosa, who held this post since October 2003. An official note published on Granma daily points out that the Council of State's decision, proposed by the Politburo of the Communist Party's Central Committee, aims at strengthening that ministry's work. The new official, 55, was the Economy and Planning vice minister since February 2003 and previously president of the Assembly of Peoples' Power in southern-central Cienfuegos province. (Prensa Latina, 27/5/06)

May 28: Life expectancy in Cuba is reaching 80 years, according to health specialists in the 4th International Conference on Satisfactory Longevity, which took place in Havana in the National Hotel. Doctor Eugenio Selman-Houssein Abdo highlighted the conditions developed in Cuba to maintain good quality of life conditions, including nutrition, health, physical activity, culture, motivation and the environment. "Cuba guarantees education and healthcare free of charge, full access to sports and culture. We also have a high-quality health infrastructure that includes 430 multi-disciplinary teams for gerontology services and a pharmaceutical industry that produces 80 percent of the medications used in the country," Selman stated. (Prensa Latina, 28/5/06)

May 29: The Cuban National Peoples' Power Assembly (Congress) will carry out in June a series of national and international activities, including the ordinary session period on June 10 at Havana's International Conference Center. In the meeting, Cuban deputies, assembled in 10 permanent commissions, will analyze the situation of sectors they represent and the work done prior to the session, as well as draw their own conclusions. (Prensa Latina, 27/5/06)

May 29: The Cuban rowing duo of Karl Aguilar and Serguei Torres won a gold and silver medal at a World Cup Rowing competition that ended in Duisburg, Germany. Aguilar and Torres won the 1,000 meter event, defeating the Polish team of Tysynski-Tonsky and the Hungarians Metka-Joob. The other Cuban duo, Aldo Pruna and Raidel Ramos finished fourth. (Granma, 29/5/06)

May 30: As human rights group Amnesty International launches a global campaign to try to halt censorship of the internet by governments, BBC correspondents report from some countries where web users face difficulties. Cuba has vowed to be a force to be reckoned with in the digital era. Thousands of Cubans are being trained in a new school for computer technology on the outskirts of Havana. Free computer clubs have been set up across the country. Even the smallest rural schools are being provided with their own terminals. But at the same time the government is working hard to prevent its citizens from surfing the net without restraint. Shops in Havana might appear to sell high-quality computers, but actually making a purchase is impossible for Cubans without special approval, which is rarely granted. Similar restrictions are in place for anyone who might want to open up an account with the state internet service provider. Exceptions include senior government officials, academic researchers, and foreigners. Thousands of Cubans get around their governments restrictions and access the internet via the black market. User IDs and passwords are sold by state employees whose jobs give them legal access. Some log on via home made computers built from smuggled parts. A legal alternative is to go to one of the cyber cafes that are being set up across the country. But these have another barrier - cost. Half an hour surfing the web costs around $3. That might be comparable to the price in other parts of the world, but in Cuba, where the average salary is $15 a month, it is substantial. (BBC, 30/5/06)

May 30: Elderly Chinese immigrants still walk the streets of Havana's ''Barrio Chino,'' or Chinatown, where they play mahjong and eat lunch together, practice tai chi and read magazines from their homeland. There are just 143 natives of China currently registered in Havana -- most of them men, according to Cristina Nip, a descendant who runs Chinatown's social work program. After decades on the Caribbean island, they say they feel just as Cuban as Chinese. Of the latest flood of immigrants who came to Cuba more than 50 years ago, many have never gone back to visit China, others just once or twice. In 2003, the Cuban and Chinese governments hosted a trip home for five of the immigrants, and plans are in the works to organize visits for about a dozen more, Nip said. (AP, 30/5/06)

May 30: With an evening of verse at the hands of a dozen of poets reciting in different languages, the Eleventh International Poetry Festival got underway in the Basilica Menor of the San Francisco de Asis church in Old Havana. Simultaneously, dozens of poets share their work with the public at the provincial offices of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba (UNEAC). UNEAC is sponsoring this event, which is part of the Proyecto Cultural Sur (South cultural project). A number of events took place prior to the inauguration of the poetry festival —dedicated to employing metaphors and verse to save Humanity. (Granma, 30/5/06)

May 31: Frail and fed through an intravenous tube, hunger-striking Cuban dissident journalist Guillermo Farinas finished a fourth month defying communist authorities and demanding Internet access even to his death, relatives and dissidents say. The 42-year-old journalist and opponent of Fidel Castro's rule is in hospital in the central province of Villa Clara where he is rejecting solids and liquids, sustained only by an IV solution, they said. Over four months his weight has plunged from 78 to almost 50 kilos (172 to 110 pounds), they added. Fellow dissidents have pleaded urgently with him, in a letter signed by 100 of them, not to keep endangering his life. But he vowed in a letter he released five days ago, that: "My hunger strike will continue until my death unless Cuban authorities give me the right" to get on the internet and obtain information freely.  In the letter from Farinas released by dissidents, Farinas pleaded with the new United Nations human rights council to sanction Cuba for denying Cubans the right to communicate and seek information freely. "I demand that the Castro government instal Internet in my home to set a precedent, as all Cubans want to communicate freely with the civilized and democratic world," wrote Farinas. Dissident sources say this strike was his 20th protest hunger strike. (AFP, 31/5/06) 

May 31: Cuban health authorities approved the use of the first monoclonal antibody obtained from transgenic plants in the country, the Cuban News Agency (ACN) reported. The Center for State Control of Medication Quality (CECMED), attached to the Ministry of Public Health, gave the green light to the use of the Cuban-made monoclonal antibody, as a reagent in the purification of the active pharmaceutical ingredient of the vaccine against hepatitis B (Heberbiovac-HB). The antibody, which is produced by the Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Center (CIGB) in Havana, contributes to reducing the cost of vaccines. The CECMED certifies that both the monoclonal antibody and the new process to produce it follow nationally- and internationally-accepted quality standards for the pharmaceutical industry. (Prensa Latina, 31/5/06)