Cuban voters back liberalized family code

Yahoo – AFP, September 26, 2022 

Cubans voted to legalize same-sex marriage and adoption as well as surrogate pregnancies in a referendum over the weekend, the communist country's electoral officials said Monday. 

Preliminary results indicate an "irreversible trend," with 66 percent of votes counted so far in favor of the government-backed change, electoral council president Alina Balseiro said on state television. 

"The Family Code has been ratified by the people," she said. 

The updated code represents a major shift in a country where machismo is strong and where the authorities sent LGBTQ people to militarized labor camps in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Official attitudes have since evolved, and the government conducted an intense media campaign in favor of the overhaul, which will replace the country's 1975 Family Code. 

The new code permits surrogate pregnancies, as long as no money changes hands, while boosting the rights of children, the elderly and the disabled. 

It defines marriage as the union between two people, rather than that of a man and a woman. 

According to the National Electoral Council, about 68 percent of Cuba's 8.4 million eligible voters had cast a ballot by 5:00 pm (2100 GMT) Sunday night. 

The law required 50 percent voter approval to be adopted. 

The referendum came amid the country's worst economic crisis in 30 years and some predicted the vote could provide an opportunity to voice opposition to the government, with dissidents calling on citizens to reject the code or to abstain.

Cuba gets new leader as last Castro retires

Yahoo – AFP, Leticia PINEDA, April 19, 2021 

Raul Castro, 89, is stepping down, ending a six-decade family hold on
power that started in 1959

Cuba marked the end of an era Monday with the transfer of power from the Castro clan, in charge for six decades, to the communist country's first-ever civilian leader, Miguel Diaz-Canel. 

As Raul Castro, 89, enters retirement, he handed the all-powerful position of first secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba to Diaz-Canel, 60, already Cuba's president since 2018. 

"April 19, an historic day," tweeted the new leader, lauding the all-powerful PCC's "founding and guiding" generation for handing over the reins. 

Diaz-Canel's election at a party congress, though pre-determined, marks a watershed for the country of 11.2 million people, many of whom have known no leader other than a Castro. 

Fidel Castro, still revered as the country's father and savior, led the country from 1959 to 2006, when he fell ill and his brother Raul took over. Fidel Castro died in 2016. 

Diaz-Canel and some other members of the new PCC executive were born after the revolution led by the Castro siblings in the 1950s, leading in 1959 to the overthrow of dictator Fulgencio Batista. 

Cuba is Battling its worst economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting
food shortages, long lines for basic necessities and growing

The PCC congress was held 60 years after Fidel Castro declared Cuba a socialist state, setting up decades of conflict with the United States, which has had sanctions against the country since 1962. 

It also marked six decades since the failed Bay of Pigs invasion by anti-revolutionary Cuban exiles, backed by the CIA. 

'Irrevocable' socialism 

The change at the top is not expected to yield any major policy shifts. 

Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles fan, remains a staunch party disciple.

And a new constitution passed in May 2019 made it clear that the country's commitment to socialism was "irrevocable." 

In his final address to the party last Friday, Castro affirmed a "willingness to conduct a respectful dialogue and build a new kind of relationship with the United States." 

Miguel Diaz-Canel, a suit-and-tie wearing, tech-savvy Beatles fan, is a
staunch party disciple

But he stressed the country would not renounced "the principles of the revolution and socialism" as he urged the new generation to "zealously protect" the one-party dogma. 

"There are limits that cannot be crossed," warned Castro, who wore a military uniform. 

The leadership change comes as Cuba battles its worst economic crisis in 30 years, sky-high inflation, biting food shortages, long lines for basic necessities and growing disgruntlement over limited freedoms. 

Cuba, one of just five communist countries along with China, Vietnam, Laos and North Korea, faces constant shortages and imports 80 percent of what it consumes for lack of sufficient local production. 

"Since I was born, I have only known one party," said Miguel Gainza, a 58-year-old in Havana. 

"And no one dies of hunger, it's true," he adds. But today, "we are a little stuck, and it's a shame that Fidel is dead because he solved all our problems". 

Ten key dates Cuba's Castros

Internet drives change

The Internet, which arrived on mobile phones the island in 2018, has been an engine of social change, even used to organize protest, previously unheard of in the country. 

Young Cubans, many of whom go overseas each year for lack of opportunities at home, are increasingly venting their frustrations on social media. 

Slamming social networks for "subversion" and what he called fake news, Castro said the platforms spread "a virtual image of Cuba as a dying society with no future, on the point of collapse, giving out under a social explosion."

 The PCC had pledged to tackle the issue of online "political and ideological subversion" at its congress. 

Ties with the United States, after a historic but temporary easing of tensions under president Barack Obama between 2014 and 2016, worsened under Donald Trump, who reinforced sanctions. 

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday the United States was not planning any immediate change in its policy toward Cuba. 

"Support for democracy and human rights will be at the core of our efforts," she said.

Cuba gets first prime minister in over 40 years

Yahoo – AFP, December 21, 2019

Manuel Marrero (C) is Cuba's first prime minister since 1976 (AFP Photo/
YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - Cuba's first prime minister in more than four decades -- long-serving tourism minister Manuel Marrero -- took office Saturday as the country resurrected a post last held by Fidel Castro.

The appointment of Marrero, 56, as head of government is part of a process of decentralization and generational change from the revolutionary old guard that is aimed at extending and protecting the rule of the Communist Party on the island.

"This proposal was duly approved by the political bureau of the Communist Party of Cuba," President Miguel Diaz-Canel said, presenting it to the country's National Assembly, which unanimously signed off.

Immediately after his presentation, Marrero received a handshake from former president Raul Castro, the leader of the Communist Party.

Marrero served as tourism minister from 2004, late in revolutionary hero Castro's administration, continuing in the post under Fidel's brother Raul and the current president, Diaz-Canel.

He began his career in government in 1999 as vice president of the powerful Gaviota Hotel Group belonging to the armed forces, becoming its president a year later -- a post he held until 2004.

"Throughout his career... (Marrero) has been characterized by his modesty, honesty, work capacity, political sensitivity and loyalty to the party and the revolution," Diaz-Canel said.

The new premier "has led the tourism industry in a commendable fashion, which constitutes one of the main lines of development of the national economy," he added.

The position of prime minister was last held by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro in 1976.

But the post was abolished when Castro transitioned to the presidency, taking over from Osvaldo Dorticos after the country's constitution was restructured.

Bolivia's Morales seeks new election but army calls on him to resign

Yahoo – AFP, Francisco JARA, Raul BURGOA and Francisco JARA, 10 November 2019

Bolivian President Evo Morales, seen here at a news conference
November 10, 2019, calls new elections

President Evo Morales called new elections Sunday but the commander of the armed forces asked him to resign "for the good of our Bolivia" after an OAS audit found serious irregularities in elections last month that gave the leftist leader a fourth term.

Morales, Bolivia's first president of indigenous descent, promised new elections under the direction of a revamped Supreme Electoral Tribunal in a televised address but did not say whether he would run again.

With no sign of violent protests abating, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Williams Kaliman, told reporters he was asking Morales "to resign his presidential mandate to allow for pacification and the maintaining of stability, for the good of our Bolivia."

Kaliman said the armed forces had ordered "military operations in the air and on land to neutralize armed groups that are acting outside the law" by attacking opposition demonstrators.

The commander of the police, General Vladimir Yuri Calderon, also called on Morales to step down.

There were signs of disarray among Morales supporters, with the head of the lower house of parliament and the ministers of mines and of hydrocarbons announcing their resignations.

Two of those resigning cited risks to their families after mobs attacked their respective houses in the city of Potosi.

The opposition runner-up in Bolivia's recent polls, Carlos 

Mesa, has called for President Evo Morales to resign

Protests have flared across Bolivia since Morales was declared the winner of the October 20 election, beating his nearest rival, centrist Carlos Mesa, by just enough to avoid a second round.

An audit of the election by the Organization of American States, however, found "irregularities that range from serious to indicative," in virtually every area reviewed -- in the technology used, the chain of custody of ballots, the integrity of the count, and statistical projections.

"This leads the technical auditing team to question the integrity of the election results," the report on their preliminary findings said.

OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said the results giving the leftist leader a fourth term in office "must be annulled and the electoral process must begin again."

Calls for resignation

Opposition leaders were not appeased, however.

Mesa said Morales should resign "if he has a speck of patriotism left."

The leader of a protest movement, Luis Fernando Camacho, said Morales "has fractured the constitutional order and must resign."

In Washington, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged the OAS to send a full mission to Bolivia to ensure free and fair new elections.

"In order to restore credibility to the electoral process, all government officials and officials of any political organizations implicated in the flawed October 20 elections should step aside from the electoral process," Pompeo added.

Police officers march with protesters against Bolivian President 

Evo Morales in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, on November 9, 2019

The October 20 results showed Morales, in office since 2006, defeating Mesa by slightly over 10 points, just enough to ensure an outright first-round victory.

It is possible that Morales came in first place in the first round but "statistically improbable" that he obtained the 10 percent margin of victory needed to avoid a second round, the OAS report said.

It said "the manipulations of the informatic system are of such magnitude that they should be thoroughly investigated by the Bolivian state to get to the bottom of them and determine responsibilities in this serious case."

Police rebellion

The dramatic turnabout came two days after police in three cities joined anti-government protests and a day after the opposition rejected Morales' appeal for urgent, open-ended dialogue.

Three people have died and more than 350 were injured in three weeks of often violent protests calling for new elections and Morales' resignation.

On Sunday, three people were injured, one with a gunshot wound, after a bus carrying miners to La Paz to join opposition protesters outside the presidential palace came under attack.

On Saturday, demonstrators overran two state-run media outlets and forced them off the air, while some police stopped guarding the square where Morales' presidential palace is located.

Profile of Evo Morales, who called Sunday for 

new elections after violent protests and claims 

of electoral fraud in the first-round presidential 

vote, which he claimed to have won

In announcing the new elections, Morales said, "I want to lower the tension. Everyone has an obligation to bring peace to Bolivia."

Morales said that in the new elections "the Bolivian people will be able to democratically elect new authorities, incorporating new political actors."

That begged the question whether Morales would stand again for re-election, a source of controversy because Bolivia's constitution, which he promulgated himself a decade ago, limits presidents to two terms.

Morales said Bolivia's bicameral legislature, which his party controls, would meet in the coming hours for the parties to work out procedures for changing out the electoral tribunal.

At the Vatican, Pope Francis on Sunday exhorted Bolivians to await the full results of the OAS audit with "peace and serenity."

Cuba called on the international community to condemn the protests against its close ally Morales as an attempted coup by "imperialism and the oligarchy."

Related Article:

Bolivia President Evo Morales announces resignation - New

Electric motorcycles ride to rescue in fuel-short Cuba

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos BATISTA, November 8, 2019

Electric motorcycle riders have come to the rescue of Cuban passengers
delayed by fuel shortages (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - It is rush hour in Havana and the queue at the bus stop is longer than ever. Then a fleet of electric motorcycles appears, beeping their horns.

Surprised and relieved, passengers jump on the backs of the 50 or so electric mopeds.

It is a new solution for Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports.

Cuba has long been known for the classic American cars that people here lovingly maintain decades after they stopped being built.

But urban transport on the communist island is evolving.

The bikes' horns beep and some of the riders play reggaeton music -- but, being electric, their motors make hardly any noise.

A Chinese-made electric motorcycle costs between $1,800 and $2,300 in Cuba. A basic petrol-powered bike on the island can cost up to six times that.

Authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcyles in use in Cuba 

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Volunteer riders

The electric bikes -- with a maximum speed of about 50 kilometers (30 miles) per hour -- were first licensed for import in 2013.

They have multiplied in the streets since then -- and have come into their own with the recent fuel shortages.

"I really like this initiative, it helps a lot with the economy," says passenger Yanet Figueroa, 42, sitting on the back of one of the bikes.

"It really helps people who have great need of it."

Cuba plunged into a fuel crisis in September after Washington imposed restrictions on fuel shipments from Cuba's top ally Venezuela.

Cuba had to make do in September with just 30 percent of its usual fuel supply and the level has still not recovered -- it is forecast to reach no more than 80 percent this month.

With the public transport network badly hit, President Miguel Diaz-Canel has called on drivers to pick up passengers voluntarily.

The owners of electric bikes known as "motorinas" answered the call.

"We have volunteered to do this as a service to society," says one of the drivers, Javier Capote, 33.

"It is going very well. We are very happy about it."

The president himself during a televised address mentioned "those famous... what do you call them, the bikes? The 'motorinas', that have come out to help."

Mechanics have work to do servicing Cuba's fleet of electric motorcycles

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Electric bike era

Cuban authorities estimate there are 210,000 electric motorcycles currently in use on the island.

That figure is expected to rise as the government in late October began to sell them with the price capped at $1,700.

Those who make a living servicing the bikes are pleased by that move as it will bring down costs.

"It seems like a very good idea to us mechanics," says one, Enrique Alfonso, 47, in his workshop.

He recalls the economic crisis of the 1990s that followed the end of cheap imports from the Soviet Union.

"That was the era of (affordable) Chinese bicycles. Now we are in the era of electric motorcycles," he says.

"With everything that is going on the country, they have become obtainable for a lot of people."

Members of the Electric Motorcycles of Cuba club ride passengers home

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Accidents

The electric bikes had a mixed reception at first. Silent and often inexpertly ridden, they are often involved in accidents in a country that already suffers from thousands of crashes a year.

Officials say that of the 7,000 road accidents recorded so far this year, a third have involved electric motorcycles.

Authorities have responded by insisting riders have a license and register their vehicles.

The flourishing of electric bikes follows several years of gradual opening-up of Cuba's state-run economy. It has also coincided with a digital mini-revolution.

Thanks to the availability of 3G-standard internet connections since last year, riders can network more easily.

The 3G connections helped spawn the Electric Motorbikes of Cuba online group, a club with more than 80 members.

It started out as a club for enthusiasts seeking to have "healthy fun and share the passion we all have for electric motorcycles and road safety," says its president Osdany Fleites, a 37-year-old taxi driver.

"The motorcycles do not pollute the environment, they do not make a noise," he says.

Now the club has evolved to have an environmental and "social purpose."

Along with another club, Eracing, its members take part in rescuing bus passengers stuck due to the fuel shortages.

They have also taken part in environmental clean-up jobs, helping eradicate an infestation of troublesome giant snails in Havana, donated blood and visited children in a cancer ward.

VIDEO: 🇨🇺 Electric motorcycles are providing a new solution for #Cubans struggling with fuel shortages driven by US sanctions that have curbed oil imports https://t.co/VhwAuWCCIS pic.twitter.com/9fAmyc0W57

— AFP news agency (@AFP) 8 november 2019

Cuban police break up unauthorized LGBT rights march in Havana

Yahoo – AFP, Carlos BATISTA, May 12, 2019

Police swept in quickly to break up an unauthorized LGBT rights march in Havana
(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - Cuban police on Saturday broke up an unauthorized pro-LGBT rights march in Havana, held as an alternative to the government-sanctioned Gay Rights parade that authorities canceled earlier in the week.

To the cries of "Yes we can!" the demonstrators, several waving rainbow flags and carrying signs with slogans like "Diverse Cuba," managed to march a mere 400 meters along Havana's downtown Paseo del Prado before being dispersed by police.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists, numbering around 100, were protesting the cancellation of the parade against homophobia organized by the government's National Center for Sexual Education (Cenesex), an office under the Ministry of Health, and held for the past ten years.

The colorful parade, or "conga," used to kick off activities educating people about homophobia and transphobia that are nevertheless taking place.

Onlookers were stunned to see an unauthorized march in Cuba, where government 

control is near absolute (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

At least three protesters who refused to obey orders to leave were arrested, according to AFP journalists.

Laydel Alfonso, a 31 year-old restaurant waiter who marched with his face concealed by a silver mask and waving a rainbow flag, was upset that police had broken up the march.

"I don't believe this is right because we're doing nothing wrong," he told AFP.

In a first for Cuba, where there is tight government control, the march was organized on social media.

Cenesex is led by lawmaker Mariela Castro, the daughter of former president Raul Castro, who at the age of 87 is still first secretary of the island's ruling Communist Party.

Earlier in the week Cenesex announced that the official march was cancelled due to unspecified "new tensions in the international and regional context." The office urged people to respect the official calls for unity.

Cubans use new found social media heft to challenge leaders

Yahoo – AFP, Moises AVILA, March 19, 2019

Cubans like this woman pictured in Havana on March 17, 2019, have seen an
explosion of mobile internet usage (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Havana (AFP) - Cubans are using new found social media muscle to challenge their leaders in ways hitherto unseen on the communist-run island.

Using Twitter to snipe at once-untouchable ministers over government failures is catching on in a country whose leadership once demanded, and got, total unity.

"This confluence of people entering the social networks -- with the leaders within reach of their keyboards and being able to tell them what they think -- has changed the dynamics of Cuban society," says Cuban Twitter influencer Camilo Condis.

It's all down to an explosion of mobile internet users since Cuba became one of the last countries in the world to roll out a 3G mobile internet service in December.

It suddenly put the internet within reach of anyone with a mobile phone.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel said on his election in April that dragging Cuba into the modern online age was a top priority.

Cubans are increasingly using Twitter to snipe at once-untouchable ministers 

over government failures (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

Analysts say he is now experiencing the other side of the coin -- rolling criticism of his government.

Social media muscle

Cuban citizens first saw the power of social media in January as they picked up the pieces after a powerful tornado devastated large parts of Havana.

Residents mobilized on WhatsApp to help thousands of disaster victims, for once without waiting for the state to react.

"Nobody knew each other before but we contacted each other through the social networks," says 29-year-old Aida Duarte, who coordinated donations of food and material.

"We started to get out there and we created a WhatsApp group to get organized."

The strength and efficiency of the public reaction took the authorities by surprise in a country where the state has sole authority to coordinate labor.

Cuban citizens first saw the power of social media after a powerful tornado devastated 

large parts of Havana in January 2019 (AFP Photo/ADALBERTO ROQUE)

"The social networks put a bit of pressure" on the state, Duarte says.

"I think that this civil society was already there, but it did not have the means to organize and communicate. Now it gets the message out there thanks to mobile internet," says Condis.

Diaz-Canel, 58, became the first Cuban leader to use Twitter when he opened an account in August. He made his embattled Socialist counterpart in Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, and Bolivian ally Evo Morales, his first follows.

The president instructed his government ministers to make themselves more visible on the social networks. They did, but increasingly, Cuba's 11 million people can tweet back, often with a bit of bite to boot.

Cubans' embrace of the internet has led to sharper criticism of the socialist government as many social media users challenge ministers over day to day problems.

Cubans' embrace of the internet has led to sharper criticism of the socialist government 

as many social media users challenge government ministers over day to day problems 

(AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

One user slammed Canel-Diaz for still riding the wave of Fidel Castro's revolution -- talk of 1959 simply won't do in modern Cuba, was his message. Another thanked him for steering the country towards a "prosperous socialism".

Before the roll-out of 3G technology in December -- opening up the online world to the country's 5.3 million smartphone users -- the internet was available to the general public only via wifi hotspots, payable by the hour.

Small-business owner Condis has built a following in Cuba by constantly questioning ministers and authorities on everyday problems facing Cubans.

"I'm pretty critical but I do it with respect and a modicum of common sense," says Condis, who claims several ministers -- including Communications Minister Jorge Luis Perdomo -- have blocked him on Twitter.

A source close to the government acknowledged that ministers still have a lot to learn about communicating on the social networks.

President Miguel Diaz Canel has made dragging Cuba into the modern online 

age a top priority (AFP Photo/YAMIL LAGE)

'The new Cuba'

Cuba has been long accustomed to political unanimity -- more than 97 percent voted for the current constitution in 1976, 99 percent in a later referendum.

However, Cuba's embrace of social media is now shaping a different kind of civil society, one more inclined to express itself.

Last year, new restrictions on the emerging small business sector sparked an outcry on social media, and were later modified.

"Now people have the opportunity to send a tweet to a minister or the president," said political scientist Carlos Alzugaray, "and they've managed to force the government to rectify its policies."

"That's the new Cuba. But it's not counter-revolutionary. The majority of the Cuban population want things to improve," he added.

Internet usage by region, 1990-2016, according to World Bank. (AFP Photo/

Simon MALFATTO)

Cubans are not considering overthrowing the government, Alzugaray says, but are enthusiastically taking the opportunity to speak out if they think the government isn't doing its job.

"There's a civil society there that the government does not recognize as such, but it's there regardless," he told AFP.

"It's a challenge for the Cuban state apparatus which has never been confronted by that."

UN rejects US bid to criticize Cuba and calls for end to embargo

Yahoo – AFP, Laura BONILLA CAL, Carole LANDRY, November 1, 2018

United States ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, pictured at a Security Council
meeting in New York on August 28, 2018, dismissed the vote calling for an end
 to the US embargo on Cuba as a "waste of everyone's time" (AFP Photo/
DOMINICK REUTER)

United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN General Assembly on Thursday called for an end to the decades-old US embargo on Cuba, adopting a resolution by an overwhelming majority and rejecting US moves to criticize Havana's human rights record.

It was the 27th time that the 193-nation assembly has issued the call to lift the embargo imposed in 1962.

The resolution presented by Cuba was adopted by a vote of 189 to 2 with no abstentions. The US and its ally Israel voted against while Ukraine and Moldova did not vote.

The United States failed to win support for eight amendments criticizing Cuba's human rights record. Only the US, Israel and Ukraine voted in favor of those amendments. The Marshall Islands joined them in one vote.

At least 65 countries including many European nations abstained and at least 113 voted against the proposed US call to Cuba to fully uphold its citizens' rights.

President Donald Trump's administration points to Cuba's repression of political opponents and curbs on freedom of expression as a reason for maintaining the economic embargo.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley dismissed the vote on the US embargo, which has been an annual exercise since 1992, as a "waste of everyone's time" because it did not address Cuba's human rights situation.

"It's one more time that countries feel they can poke the United States in the eye," Haley told the assembly.

Cruel policies

Applause broke out in the chamber after the adoption that highlighted Washington's isolation on its Cuba policy. The resolution is non-binding but carries political weight.

Haley declared that the United Nations had "rejected the opportunity to speak on behalf of human rights" and described the outcome of the vote as a reminder of "why so many people believe that faith in the United Nations is often misplaced."

In a 35-minute address ahead of the vote, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez slammed the Trump administration as a "government of millionaires that imposes cruel policies," citing US treatment of migrant children separated at the border with Mexico and "locked in cages."

"The US government does not have the least moral authority for criticizing Cuba or anyone else with regards to human rights," said the foreign minister, urging countries to back his measure.

Rodriguez argued that the embargo was a "flagrant, massive and systematic violation" of human rights in Cuba, notably by denying access to US-produced medicines and medical technology.

Last year, the resolution was adopted by a vote of 191 to 2. The United States and Israel were the only two countries that voted "no."

That vote took place after Washington for the first time abstained in the vote in 2016 as former president Barack Obama pursued a thaw in relations with Havana.

Ties between Cuba and the US have been in decline under Trump, who has rejected the previous administration's moves to improve ties with Havana.