Chronicle on Cuba - April 2007

Highlights

Domestic Affairs: The first results of a study commissioned by the government on property in Cuba will be known within three years. The closing of the magazine "Vitral" sparks a debate between the Catholic hierarchy and its parishioners. Representatives of the Cuban opposition publish the document "Unity for Freedom," which proclaims their unity in the pursuit of common goals. Two dissidents are sent to prison after summary trials; and seven others, including Jorge Luis Garcia Perez (Antunez), are set free.

Economy: New legislation on workplace discipline and work schedules goes into effect. Cuba's tourism industry is in a steep fall. Cuban authorities describe current sugar harvest as "tense and difficult". Germany favors the expansion of trade and economic relations with Cuba. Businesspeople from Cuba and Iran meet in Havana. The Ministry of Planning and the Economy dismisses rumors that the government might be considering a change of policy in terms of state property.

Exile Community: A new poll shows a divided Cuban American community on US sanctions toward Cuba. Cuban journalist and writer Raul Rivero wins the prestigious Ortega y Gasset Spanish journalism award.

Foreign Affairs: The Spanish Foreign Minister completes a controversial two-day visit to the island. Fidel Castro debates with the Brazilian government on the production of ethanol. A member of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo meets separately with both Fidel and Raul Castro in Havana. Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs arrives in Cuba on an official visit. Vice President Carlos Lage heads the Cuban delegation to the fifth Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas in Caracas. A seven-member parliamentary delegation from Iran arrives in Havana.

Security: Namibia's Minister of Defence meets with Raul Castro in Havana.

Terrorism: Cuba harbours the sixth round of peace talks between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army.

US-Cuba Relations: Fidel Castro blasts US President George W. Bush's biofuel plan as "genocidal". The Cuban government issues an official statement against an order by a US federal judge setting anti Castro militant Luis Posada Carriles free on bail.