Monday, October 29, 2007

Alza del crudo impacta a Cuba

Alza del crudo impacta a Cuba

La Habana.- El alza de los precios internacionales del petróleo afecta a
Cuba, pues además del amplio contrato favorable con Venezuela y su
producción nacional, la isla debe adquirir algunas cantidades en otros
mercados, afirmó el vicepresidente Carlos Lage, citado por Juventud
Rebelde, dijo AFP.

"Aunque mantenemos el contrato con Venezuela que nos reporta condiciones
comerciales favorables, el país tiene que comprar cierta cantidad de
combustibles en el mercado internacional, por eso el ahorro es una de
las tareas primordiales en este momento", dijo Lage.

Venezuela suministra a Cuba unos 92.000 barriles diarios de crudo, a lo
que se suma la extracción nacional, de cerca de cuatro millones de
toneladas anuales de petróleo y gas equivalente, así como algunas
importaciones adicionales.

Lage afirmó que Cuba está en condiciones de cumplir su programa de
producción petrolera este año, así como la perforación de nuevos pozos.

"El país está en condiciones de cumplir su plan de casi cuatro millones
de toneladas entre petróleo y gas para el presente año. Hasta el momento
estamos alcanzando indicadores de acuerdo con lo previsto, por lo que
debemos lograrlo con normalidad".

Añadió que se avanza en la perforación de pozos, tarea que permitirá
paliar la declinación de algunos de los existentes, y elevar los niveles
de obtención del crudo.

http://deportes.eluniversal.com/2007/10/29/eco_art_alza-del-crudo-impac_564433.shtml

Cuba espera más de USD 400 millones en Feria de La Habana

Cuba espera más de USD 400 millones en Feria de La Habana
13:24 | Cuba espera concretar negocios por más de 400 millones de
dólares en la XXV Feria Internacional de La Habana FIHAV-2007, prevista
del 4 al 10 de noviembre con la asistencia de 1.200 empresarios de 52
países, incluido Estados Unidos, informaron este lunes sus organizadores.
La Habana. AFP

Cuba espera concretar negocios por más de 400 millones de dólares en la
XXV Feria Internacional de La Habana FIHAV-2007, prevista del 4 al 10
de noviembre con la asistencia de 1.200 empresarios de 52 países,
incluido Estados Unidos, informaron este lunes sus organizadores.

"El año pasado firmamos más de 400 millones de dólares en la Feria, y
este año pensamos que estemos hablando de cifras similares e incluso
superiores", declaró a la prensa el presidente del Comité Organizador
de FIHAV-2007, Abraham Maciques.

"Pensamos que este año hay grandes posibilidades para que se incremente
esa cifra " a raíz de la participación en la Feria " de los
principales socios comerciales de Cuba (Venezuela, China, España y
Canadá) " , pero también de países como Estados Unidos, de empresarios
norteamericanos que vienen a cerrar negocios " , apuntó.

En la edición anterior de la Feria, Cuba firmó contratos y cartas de
intención por más de 400 millones de dólares, de ellos 270 millones con
compañías de Estados Unidos, según cifras oficiales de la isla.

En FIHAV, la principal bolsa comercial de Cuba, la mayor del Caribe y la
tercera de América Latina, participarán este año 1.200 empresarios de
52 países, incluidos 428 cubanos.

España, que ya contrató 1.628 metros cuadrados en el recinto ferial de
EXPOCUBA, que concurre habitualmente a la feria, será el país más
representado, seguido de Canadá (1.174m2), Panamá (974), Italia (855),
Brasil (386), Rusia (383), México (378), Alemania (375) y Estados
Unidos (360).

Maciques precisó que la delegación de Estados Unidos " estará presidida
por el gobernador del Estado de Nebraska e incluirá como mínimo cuatro
secretarios de Agricultura " de otros tantos Estados, aunque -añadió-
" existe una presión muy fuerte por parte del gobierno (federal) de
Estados Unidos para tratar de limitar estas operaciones " .

"Pero el empresariado (norteamericano) quiere negociar con Cuba",
apuntó el funcionario, tras subrayar que previo a la Feria se celebrará
-del 2 al 3 de noviembre- el II Foro de Negocios del Movimiento de
Países No Alineados (NOAL) , con la asistencia de 180 empresarios -96
empresas- de 35 países.

http://www.elcomercio.com/noticiaEC.asp?id_noticia=147030&id_seccion=6

Cuba aún debe importar combustible del mercado internacional: Lage

Bush, un "falso" independentista, dice Fidel Castro
Cuba aún debe importar combustible del mercado internacional: Lage

Gerardo Arreola (Corresponsal)

La Habana, 28 de octubre. Cuba todavía tiene que importar combustible
del mercado internacional, a pesar de un ligero aumento en su producción
de petróleo y gas y del suministro de Venezuela con facilidades
financieras, informó el vicepresidente Carlos Lage.

"Aunque mantenemos el contrato con Venezuela, que nos reporta
condiciones comerciales favorables, el país tiene que comprar cierta
cantidad de combustibles en el mercado internacional", y por tanto
también resiente el aumento de precios, dijo Lage a la prensa local, sin
añadir precisiones.

La producción de petróleo y gas equivalente será este año de casi 80 mil
barriles diarios, un ligero aumento sobre los 78 mil barriles diarios de
2006, según las estimaciones oficiales.

A esa disponibilidad se le agregan unos 98 mil barriles diarios que
Venezuela entrega a precios de mercado, pero con facilidades de pago,
tanto en el tramo de factura de corto plazo como en una porción financiada.

Hasta el año pasado se estimaba el consumo cubano en unos 156 mil
barriles diarios, que se cubrían entre la producción local y el embarque
venezolano, con un ligero excedente, que según fuentes comerciales se
colocaba en el mercado abierto.

Pero, según las declaraciones de Lage, el problema parece no estar ya en
el petróleo crudo o equivalente, sino en los derivados.

El crudo local, de alta densidad, se destina a las termoeléctricas y las
cementeras. El embarque venezolano se compone de varios rubros, que
incluye derivados con destino definido, como las gasolinas y el
combustible para avión.

La nueva demanda puede haberse originado en parte en el despliegue
masivo de grupos electrógenos, que funcionan con diesel y fuel oil y que
están desplazando paulatinamente a la generación de las termoeléctricas,
como parte de una reconversión industrial.

Una empresa mixta cubano-venezolana empezará a refinar a finales de este
año 65 mil barriles diarios de crudo, en una planta modernizada en la
provincia surcentral de Cienfuegos.

Lage supervisó las obras de automatización de la refinería Ñico López,
de la capital, una de las dos plantas activas en el país.

El líder cubano Fidel Castro consideró hoy un "falso" independentista al
presidente de Estados Unidos, George W. Bush, quien exclamó "¡Viva Cuba
libre!", en su discurso sobre la isla, el pasado miércoles.

Castro, fuera de sus funciones oficiales por enfermedad hace 15 meses,
ironizó con la frase de Bush, a quien comparó con un rey o un regente
del siglo XIX, la época colonial cubana.

El presidente de Cuba difundió el domingo un artículo, que concluyó
lanzando vivas a sus compañeros de guerrilla, Camilo Cienfuegos y
Ernesto Che Guevara y al héroe estadunidense Abraham Lincoln, como
respuesta al "falso mambí" (como se llamaban los campesinos cubanos
insurgentes).

http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/10/29/index.php?section=mundo&article=033n2mun

El vicepresidente Lage afirma que Cuba cumplirá el plan de producción de petróleo

El vicepresidente Lage afirma que Cuba cumplirá el plan de producción de
petróleo

Yahoo! News.

La Habana, 28 oct (EFE).- El vicepresidente cubano Carlos Lage afirmó
que Cuba está en condiciones cumplir el plan de producción de casi
cuatro millones de toneladas de petróleo y gas acompañante este año, y
llamó a ahorrar energía ante el incremento de los precios el petróleo en
el mercado internacional, destacan hoy medios locales.

La Habana, 28 oct (EFE).- El vicepresidente cubano Carlos Lage afirmó
que Cuba está en condiciones cumplir el plan de producción de casi
cuatro millones de toneladas de petróleo y gas acompañante este año, y
llamó a ahorrar energía ante el incremento de los precios el petróleo en
el mercado internacional, destacan hoy medios locales.

"Hasta el momento estamos alcanzando indicadores de acuerdo a lo
previsto, por lo que debemos lograrlo (el plan de producción) con
normalidad", declaró durante un recorrido realizado el sábado último por
la refinería Ñico López, reportó hoy el diario oficial Juventud Rebelde.

El alto cargo de la isla considera además que "se avanza bien en la
perforación de pozos petroleros, tarea que permitirá paliar la
declinación de algunos de los existentes y elevar los niveles de
obtención del crudo".

Además se refirió a la progresiva alza de los precios del petróleo por
encima de los 90 dólares el barril y en ese sentido consideró que aunque
Cuba mantiene un contrato con Venezuela que "reporta condiciones
comerciales favorables, el país tiene que comprar cierta cantidad de
combustibles en el mercado internacional".

"Por eso el ahorro es una de las tareas primordiales en este momento",
apuntó.

También indicó que los sistemas de automatización acometidos en las
instalaciones de la refinería, una de las más importantes de la isla,
han permitido el ahorro de casi un millón de litros de combustible en
solo dos meses.

Explicó que el proyecto de automatización integral de la planta ha
requerido de una inversión de más de cuatro millones de pesos cubanos
convertibles o CUC (un CUC equivale a 1,08 dólares al cambio oficial).

Lage señaló que "todo lo que es producción de petróleo y gas,
refinación, distribución, control y uso eficiente de los combustibles se
convierte en algo de la mayor prioridad para el país", de acuerdo con un
reportaje de la televisión local.

El vicepresidente de la isla señaló que Cuba "está en posibilidades y
tiene las condiciones para hacer las inversiones que se van requiriendo
con el máximo de velocidad posible".

Lage y la ministra de Industria Básica, Yadira García, recibieron una
explicación de directivos de la planta sobre las transformaciones a que
ha sido sometida la misma y respecto a la tecnología aplicada en el
Muelle 1 de la refinería, done se han recuperado unos 17.000 mil
barriles de hidrocarburos de la bahía de La Habana, valorados en más de
900.000 pesos cubanos convertibles.

Cuba produce unos 85.000 barriles diarios de crudo muy pesado con alto
contenido de azufre que se utiliza fundamentalmente en la generación de
electricidad, según datos de Cuba Petróleo.

En 2006 la isla produjo 3,9 millones de toneladas de crudo y gas, y
aspira a alcanzar cuatro millones de toneladas este año, según
previsiones oficiales.

Gran parte de su demanda la cubre con los más de 90.000 barriles de
petróleo que diariamente recibe de Venezuela a precios preferenciales,
que son retribuidos por la isla con servicios médicos y educativos en
virtud de un acuerdo suscrito entre ambos países en 2002.

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y07/oct07/29o2.htm

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Opposition defers response to Mullings' Cuban bulb statement

Opposition defers response to Mullings' Cuban bulb statement
Parliament
BY BALFORD HENRY Sunday Observer writer balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, October 28, 2007
 
The issue of the $276 million distribution price tag on the four million
light bulbs donated to Jamaicans by the Cuban Government was the highlight
of Tuesday's sitting of Parliament. But just as interesting was how the
Opposition fumbled a response to the statement on the issue from minister of
energy, mining and telecommunications, Clive Mullings.
 
As soon as Mullings sat down, former minister of energy, Phillip Paulwell,
rose and said that in addition to some questions he wished to ask of
Mullings, his former minister of state, Kern Spencer, who was in charge of
the distribution of the bulbs, also wished to make a statement.
Paulwell suggested that this would be in keeping with the prime minister's
indication of "openness and clarification being provided upfront".
 
However, the speaker, Delroy Chuck, said that while the promise to allow
Opposition members to make statements was not yet approved in the Standing
Orders, he was willing to grant permission for a response if Spencer would
be "as brief as possible".
But leader of the House, Derrick Smith, said that although he was not
opposing the privilege, he felt that "as brief as possible" was too
open-ended. He suggested that any response should be limited to three
minutes.
 
Acting Leader of Opposition Business Fitz Jackson, said that he fully
acknowledged that the parameters for Opposition members to respond to
ministers' statements were not yet approved, but he suggested some
preliminary guidelines, including that the length of
the response should depend
on the depth of the
minister's statement.
He said that Mullings' statement was of great significance and Spencer would
defer his response until he is able to fully digest the content.
 
"Bearing in mind, Mr Speaker, that we have a convention in this House that
whenever statements are made by ministers, the opposite side is given the
benefit of seeing a copy of the statement to be presented. This was not done
on this occasion," he added.
Smith: Mr Speaker, the member needs to make up his mind. He can't be wanting
to digest the (minister's) statement to make a statement and, at the same
time, be allowed to ask questions in response to the statement. It must be
either or either. He is entitled to ask questions. But that's it.
 
The speaker told the Opposition that they were entitled to ask questions.
However, he said that if a statement is to be made in response, it had to be
made then.
Jackson said Spencer wanted to defer making his statement until he has
received a copy of the statement. However, Paulwell wanted to ask questions.
Paulwell asked if any calculation had been done to verify that the
commitment of four million bulbs would value J$1.5 billion to J$2 billion.
 
Mullings said that the bulbs were provided free of cost so the figure must
be in relation to the installation costs.
Paulwell: Is the minister aware of the total saving that would accrue from
the programme?
Mullings sought the guidance of the speaker. He said that the questions were
not based on the statement he had made, which was about the sums paid for
the installation of the bulbs and not what could result from their
installation.
He suggested that Paulwell table the questions for him to answer at a later
date.
 
Paulwell said that it was important to answer in order to put the matter in
context.
Mullings: Mr Speaker, that statement suggests that the end justifies the
means.
Paulwell: No. It is clearly not that. But since the minister says he is
prepared to answer the questions at a later date, I will comply.
The speaker asked Spencer if he was making a statement, or asking questions?
Prime Minister Bruce Golding rose, immediately, on a Point of Order.
 
Golding: A member is not entitled to ask questions after a statement is
made. It is a privilege that is extended to him. We have also indicated our
support for the extension of another privilege in relation to members making
statements. But we can't have it both ways. The member cannot utilise the
privilege to ask questions on the statement today, and then come back, at
the next meeting of Parliament, to exercise a privilege to make a statement
on the same matter at that time.
 
There are choices in life that must be made, and, therefore, if he wants to
ask questions, he can do so today. If he wants to make a statement, then he
must reserve that for when he has had a chance to examine the statement and
make that statement subject to the speaker extending that privilege to him
at that time.
The matter ended there.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20071027T170000-0500_128762_OBS_OPP
OSITION_DEFERS_RESPONSE_TO_MULLINGS__CUBAN_BULB_STATEMENT.asp
 

Cuba receives rice gift from Vietnam

Cuba receives rice gift from Vietnam
16:24' 28/10/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - A ceremony was held in Havana on October 26 by the
Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples to receive 3,000 tonnes of
rice as gift from Viet Nam to the Cuban people.

The gift was announced by General Secretary of the Communist Party of
Viet Nam Nong Duc Manh during his visit to Cuba in June.

The gift showed sentiments and gratitude of the Vietnamese people to the
Cubans, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Vu Chi Cong stressed, adding that
as before, people in the land of Jose Marti and Ho Chi Minh will stand
side by side in national construction and defence.

Also at the ceremony, Fernando Remirez, Secretary of the Communist Party
of Cuba Central Committee and Director of its External Relations
Committee, expressed Cuban people's sincere thanks to fraternal
Vietnamese people who, he said, set an example of heroism in the past
struggle for national defence and the present national construction cause.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/social/2007/10/751765/

Unión Eléctrica cubana advierte crecerá consumo tras cambio horario

CUBA-ENERGIA
Unión Eléctrica cubana advierte crecerá consumo tras cambio horario

Fecha: 27/10/2007 Fuente : EFE

La Habana, 27 oct (EFECOM).- La Unión Eléctrica cubana advirtió hoy de
que crecerá la demanda de electricidad en el horario de máximo consumo
tras el cambio de horario previsto para el próximo domingo en la isla y
llamó a redoblar las medidas de ahorro de energía.

Los relojes cubanos se retrasarán una hora a las 01.00 horas de este
domingo para recuperar poner fin al horario de verano, que ha regido los
relojes en Cuba desde el pasado 11 de marzo, recuerda hoy el diario
oficial "Granma".

"El sector estatal y las familias deberán echar mano a cuantas
alternativas puedan en aras de la racionalidad. El solo hecho del precio
del petróleo, lo justifica", señala un comentario del periódico.

El especialista de la Unión Eléctrica (UNE) Ramsés Montes Calzadilla
dijo al periódico que tras el cambio de horario la demanda máxima diaria
podría incrementarse en 150 megavatios, durante las horas pico, entre
las 17:00 y las 21:00 horas.

De acuerdo con el pronóstico de la UNE, el consumo diario en esas cuatro
horas "pico" aumentará en 500 megavatios, lo que implicará gastar no
menos de 110 toneladas de combustible diesel adicionales cada día
equivalentes a aproximadamente 66.000 dólares.

El periódico cubano señala que el cambio resulta "imprescindible" porque
en esta época del año pierde su efectividad el horario de verano
dirigido a aprovechar el máximo de luz solar vespertina, pero recalca
que el oscurecimiento más temprano incrementa de manera sostenida tanto
la demanda como el consumo de electricidad.

Asimismo recalca que las autoridades del sector han exhortado a la
población y también a las industrias, unidades de servicios,
administraciones de esas entidades estatales y sus trabajadores, a
aplicar "medidas concretas y eficaces" para reducir la demanda y el
consumo en el horario de "pico eléctrico".

La fuente indica que el horario normal se mantendrá hasta marzo del 2008.

En 2006 Cuba restableció el horario de invierno después de permanecer
dos años en el de verano con el fin de aprovechar al máximo la luz solar
y ahorrar energía.EFECOM

rmo/jla

http://www.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.asp?subclasid=&clasid=&idNoticia=1841492

Gobierno de Morales crea aerolínea estatal y espera ayuda de Cuba y Venezuela

BOLIVIA-AVIACION
Gobierno de Morales crea aerolínea estatal y espera ayuda de Cuba y
Venezuela
Fecha: 26/10/2007 Fuente : EFE

La Paz, 26 oct (EFECOM).- El presiente de Bolivia, Evo Morales, creó por
decreto una nueva aerolínea estatal, Boliviana de Aviación (BoA), y
espera la ayuda de Cuba y Venezuela para ponerla en marcha, informó hoy
la prensa local.

Morales aprobó este miércoles el decreto de la nueva aerolínea, proyecto
que comenzó a considerar en marzo pasado por la suspensión de Lloyd
Aéreo Boliviano (LAB) por problemas económicos y de seguridad de esa
empresa privatizada.

El director general de Aeronáutica Civil, Javier García, dijo al
rotativo La Prensa que Bolivia espera la ayuda de Cuba y Venezuela, los
mayores aliados del izquierdista Morales, en su proyecto de creación de
una aerolínea estatal.

García recordó que los acuerdos de la Alternativa Bolivariana de las
Américas-Tratado Comercial de los Pueblos (ALBA-TCP) incluyen el fomento
de líneas aéreas estatales.

El anterior ministro de Transportes, Jerjes Mercado, que dimitió en
septiembre por escándalos de corrupción, dijo en agosto que la nueva
aerolínea tendría una inversión inicial de 15 millones de dólares y
cinco aviones Boeing 737.

Mercado explicó entonces que Morales le pidió que la nueva aerolínea
estuviera operando antes del 18 de diciembre próximo.

Según La Prensa, el gerente general de BoA será nombrado directamente
por Morales, pero fuentes del viceministerio de Transportes dijeron a
Efe que no es cierto.

La Superintendencia de Transportes suspendió a fines de marzo los vuelos
de LAB hasta que acreditara su capacidad operativa y financiera, tras
cancelar sus viajes a España porque no podía pagar el combustible ni el
seguro de los aviones.

El secretario general de LAB, Gustavo Viscarra, dijo hoy a una emisora
de radio local que la creación de BoA "apunta a la liquidación del Lloyd".

Según Viscarra, el mercado boliviano está "saturado" con cuatro
aerolíneas: Aerosur, la única que opera actualmente; Aerolíneas
Sudamericanas, todavía en gestación; LAB, que tiene hasta el 20 de
noviembre para volver a volar o perderá su licencia, y la nueva empresa
estatal.

"La demanda que tenemos en el país es muy restringida y no creo que dé
para que las cuatro puedan subsistir", dijo Viscarra, y agregó que
subsistirá "la que tenga los mayores recursos humanos y de
infraestructuras, y LAB tiene mucho por delante en ese sentido".

Viscarra aseguró que las dificultades de su empresa, que pretendía
volver a volar en septiembre, son culpa "del embate" que sufre el LAB
"de parte de algunas instituciones dependientes del Estado". EFECOM

az/am/prb

http://www.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.asp?subclasid=&clasid=&idNoticia=1841239

Lage dice que la generación eléctrica supera la demanda en 1.000 megavatios

Energía
Lage dice que la generación eléctrica supera la demanda en 1.000 megavatios

Agencias

viernes 26 de octubre de 2007 17:25:00

AFP/ La Habana. Cuba dispone de una generación eléctrica que supera en
1.000 megavatios (MW) la máxima demanda, como resultado de su
"revolución energética", un programa de ahorro y producción iniciado
hace tres años y que prevé concluir en 2009, informó este viernes el
vicepresidente Carlos Lage.

"El país consume hoy alrededor de 2.600 MW en la demanda máxima y tiene
una capacidad instalada de 3.500 MW", señaló Lage, al inaugurar en La
Habana una batería de grupos electrógenos con capacidad de 28 MW, que
funciona con fuel oil.

Lage, citado por la prensa oficialista local, subrayó que la instalación
de la planta "es parte del esfuerzo que se viene haciendo y que
continuará ininterrumpidamente en lo que queda de año, el que viene e
incluso en 2009", con el "propósito fundamental" de buscar "una
generación con el máximo de eficiencia".

A raíz de una rotura en la principal termoeléctrica del país, en
Matanzas, que provocó grandes apagones y daños a la economía, las
autoridades cubanas iniciaron en 2004 un programa que el ahora
convaleciente Fidel Castro bautizó como "revolución energética".

Además de la instalación de grupos electrógenos, el programa prevé la
sustitución de millones de electrodomésticos por otros de más bajo
consumo y la reparación de las líneas eléctricas, entre otros aspectos.

"En estos años hemos tenido un crecimiento intenso y se han instalado
capacidades suficientes para la generación. Ahora el esfuerzo principal
se dirige a lograrla con el máximo de eficiencia", dijo Lage.

Respecto a la generación eléctrica a partir de gas acompañante del
petróleo, que "es la electricidad más barata", Lage afirmó que el país
"tiene instalados ya 500 MW" y "se están instalando incluso nuevas
unidades para llegar a 620 MW".

"La idea es tener siempre mayor capacidad de generación de electricidad
con gas que el propio gas disponible, para que este no tenga que ir a la
atmósfera, sino que se pueda enviar a la generación, sin contaminar",
concluyó.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/es/encuentro-en-la-red/cuba/noticias/lage-dice-que-la-generacion-electrica-supera-la-demanda-en-1-000-megavatios/(gnews)/1193412300

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Cuba admits teacher drain due to low pay

Cuba admits teacher drain due to low pay
Published on Thursday, October 25, 2007

HAVANA, Cuba (Reuters): Cuba said on Wednesday its public education
system, one of the pillars of its socialist system, is suffering from an
"exodus" of teachers due to low wages, poor housing and even lack of
clothing.

Education Minister Luis Ignacio Gomez detailed the loss of teachers at a
hearing of a committee of the National Assembly, Cuba's legislature.

"He recognized that the causes of the exodus include insufficient pay,
not in accordance with the intensity and responsibility of the work
teachers do," the ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma reported.

Among the various "material problems" faced by Cuban teachers, the
minister cited "lack of housing, transport and clothing," Granma said.
He also said teacher were dissatisfied with the "low recognition" they
received for their work.

Cuba takes pride in its free education system, which along with
universal health care, is one of the main achievement of the socialist
society built after the revolution led by Fidel Castro in 1959.

But the economic crisis that hit Cuba after the Soviet Union collapsed
in 1991 has taken its toll. Many teachers left to work in better-paid
jobs in tourism and the state has had to resort to young teachers to
improve teacher/student ratios.

Cuba has the highest rate of teachers per population, one for every 36.8
inhabitants, Granma said. But the newspaper acknowledged that 50 percent
of the teachers are young Cubans who have not finished their teacher
training degrees.

Some parents complain that the teaching resorts excessively to
audiovisual courses and includes too much politics.

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-4146--5-5--.html

Hotusa desembarca en Cuba con dos hoteles y extiende su presencia a 44 países

Cuba/España.

Hotusa desembarca en Cuba con dos hoteles y extiende su presencia a 44
países
Hora: 15:17 Fuente : Europa Press

BARCELONA, 25 (EUROPA PRESS)

La cadena Hotusa Hotels ha debutado en Cuba con la incorporación de sus
dos primeros hoteles asociados en el país caribeño. Se trata del Hotel
Saratoga y el Hotel Telégrafo, dos lujosos establecimientos de carácter
urbano y corte clásico, situados en La Habana Vieja, según informó hoy
la compañía.

Con estas incorporaciones, la cadena de hoteles independientes del grupo
Hotusa está presente en 44 países y refuerza su objetivo por ampliar su
presencia internacional y diversificar su portafolio, tanto en los
destinos tradicionales como en los mercados emergentes del turismo a
escala mundial.

En este sentido, a principios de año, Hotusa Hotels desembarcaba en
Venezuela con la incorporación de su primer hotel asociado. Además,
durante 2007 ha sumado tres establecimientos en China.

Hotusa Hotels tiene previsto continuar, durante los próximos meses, con
su expansión por el continente asiático, tanto con nuevas
incorporaciones en China, dado el gran interés turístico que despierta
este destino que albergará los Juegos Olímpicos de 2008, como en la
India u otros estados del sudeste asiático.

Además de Asia y América Latina, Hotusa Hotels ha entrado en lo que va
de año en otra de las zonas turísticas con más expectativas de
crecimiento: los Balcanes. En mayo, la cadena de hoteles independientes
incorporó su primer establecimiento asociado en Montenegro, mientras que
en junio se estrenó en Croacia, incorporando cinco hoteles.

http://www.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.asp?subclasid=&clasid=&idNoticia=1840131

Exiliados consideran positiva la creación de un fondo 'para la libertad'

Exiliados consideran positiva la creación de un fondo 'para la libertad'

La Fundación Nacional Cubano-Americana dijo, no obstante, que la idea
debe ser apoyada con acciones concretas para que se convierta en realidad.

Agencias

jueves 25 de octubre de 2007 16:34:00

AFP/ Miami. El llamado del presidente estadounidense, George W. Bush, a
la comunidad internacional a crear un fondo para la libertad en Cuba fue
bien recibido por organizaciones del exilio cubano en Miami, aunque
también surgieron interrogantes sobre su implementación.

"Este fondo internacional puede ser el primer paso para una coalición de
países que apoyen el cambio democrático en Cuba. Es una medida que tiene
que servir para potenciar los cambios y la libertad en la Isla", dijo
Orlando Gutiérrez, del Directorio Democrático Cubano.

Bush anunció este miércoles ante representantes de la comunidad
cubanoestadounidense y numerosos embajadores de Latinoamérica "una nueva
iniciativa para desarrollar un fondo multimillonario para la libertad en
Cuba".

Tras prometer que no levantará el embargo mientras el régimen castrista
siga gobernando la Isla, el mandatario consideró que ese fondo "ayudará
a los cubanos a reconstruir su economía y hacer la transición hacia la
democracia".

Eduardo Pérez Bengochea, de la Unidad Liberal de la República de Cuba,
consideró que "la ayuda económica internacional será muy importante para
una apertura democrática".

"Es una decisión que aplaudimos", dijo, aunque aclaró que su agrupación
sostiene que "cualquier cambio en Cuba debe producirse desde adentro,
debe realizarlo el pueblo cubano".

"Damos la bienvenida a las intenciones e ideas del presidente (Bush),
como a todas las buenas ideas que deben ser apoyadas con acciones
concretas para que se conviertan en realidad", dijo la Fundación
Nacional Cubano-Americana en un comunicado.

Sin embargo, la entidad, una de las mas antiguas e influyentes del
exilio cubano, pidió que no se restrinjan los medios para el envío de
ayuda y asistencia a la sociedad independiente en Cuba, especialmente a
ONG, organizaciones religiosas y emprendedores privados.

"Cualquier medida para ayudar a la democracia en Cuba está bien, pero no
sé de que manera se va a lograr consenso si Estados Unidos se mantiene
en una postura rígida respecto al embargo, algo con lo que muchos países
europeos y latinoamericanos no están de acuerdo", dijo a la AFP la
analista Marifeli Pérez-Stable, de Diálogo Interamericano.

Congresistas republicanos cubanoestadounidenses también se refirieron a
la iniciativa anunciada por Bush.

Lincoln Diaz-Balart, representante por Florida, consideró como
"histórico y decisivo" el discurso de Bush y destacó que reconoció "la
importancia del movimiento pro-democracia cubano" y el avance
"inevitable" hacia una transición democrática.

"Bush entiende que las vidas de los cubanos no mejorarán bajo el
gobierno comunista y que nada cambiará en Cuba si buscamos acomodo con
el régimen en búsqueda de estabilidad", opinó por su parte Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, también representante por Florida.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/es/encuentro-en-la-red/cuba/noticias/exiliados-consideran-positiva-la-creacion-de-un-fondo-para-la-libertad/(gnews)/1193322840

ON-THE-RECORD BRIEFING WITH SECRETARY OF COMMERCE CARLOS M. GUTIERREZ AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS THOMAS A. SHANNON ON CUBA POLICY

ON-THE-RECORD BRIEFING WITH SECRETARY OF COMMERCE CARLOS M. GUTIERREZ
AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS THOMAS
A. SHANNON ON CUBA POLICY
2007-10-25.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: Good afternoon. Thank you all very much for
coming today. As you know, the President just gave a speech in the Ben
Franklin Room regarding Cuba and Cuba's march to democracy. We are very
lucky to have with us today Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of
Commerce.

As you know, Secretary Gutierrez is co-chair of the Commission for
Assistance to a Free Cuba. And aside from being a prominent member of
the Cuban American community and a prominent member of the U.S. business
community and private sector, along with being a member of the
President's cabinet, he has also been identified by the President along
with Secretary Rice as being one of those who will work to explore and
develop a multi-billion dollar freedom fund for Cuba. And I would like
to give the podium to Secretary Gutierrez now to make a short statement
and then we will both be happy to take any questions you all might have
regarding the President's speech today.

Thank you very much. Secretary Gutierrez.

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Thank you. Thank you, Secretary Shannon, and a
pleasure to be here. As Secretary Shannon just mentioned, the President
just spoke about Cuba, and I think he had some very eloquent words about
the plight of the people of Cuba and our commitment to help them achieve
those fundamental freedoms that all people have: the freedom to speak
openly, to worship, freedom to join a political party, to travel, to
read, to work, to have labor rights -- all those things that we take for
granted.

As Tom Shannon mentioned, the President mentioned that when Cuba adopts
fundamental freedoms of speech, freedom of association, freedom of the
press, freedom to form political parties, freedom to change the
government through periodic multiparty elections, and when importantly
they release all political prisoners, that we will explore with our
international partners the opportunity to create a freedom fund to
support the Cuban people's transition to democracy. And that was a very
clear message for the international community and for the people of Cuba
that we want to help them in their moment of transition. There's a lot
of rebuilding that will have to take place at some point in the future
in Cuba, and we plan to be part of that.

MODERATOR: Questions? Elise.

QUESTION: It seems as if -- I wasn't sure if he was really talking to
the Cuban regime in terms of what he was really trying to, you know, get
them to rise up and do the right thing by the Cuban people and trying to
offer a new relationship with them, or he was trying to say directly to
the Cuban people, you know, saying things that you've never believed
that the Cuban regime is going to do anyway and it's time to rise up and
talking to the military and the police and something about getting rid
of the regime. I mean, is this Administration genuinely committed to a
relationship with a Raul Castro regime that fundamentally does institute
freedoms in the country? I mean, are you willing to take yes for an answer?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: The answer is no, that we are not committed to a
relationship with Raul Castro. The President was very clear that we
don't support the transition from one dictator to the other.

QUESTION: Right. But if he institutes new freedoms that -- this State
Department had said that it would be a fundamentally different regime.

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: The President was very clear on the types of
freedoms: freedom of speech, association, press; freedom to form
political parties; freedom to change the government through periodic
multiparty elections; freedom for all political prisoners. We want to
see that first.

QUESTION: Do you have any idea what kinds of concerns this is going --
this idea is going to have in -- among the Latin American countries?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: The President had two -- and also to the question
here about to whom was he speaking -- he was speaking to the people of
Cuba and to the international community. And to the international
community, I think there is a very simple message: Where is the outrage?
You know, there is such outrage today about the atrocities going on in
Burma. Well, where is the outrage about the atrocities going on in Cuba?
And the international community was challenged to speak out in favor of
democracy in Cuba.

QUESTION: I would like to know why this speech now? Why today? Why not
one month before? Why now? Is there a timing or --

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Well, you know, the President of the United States'
calendar is very full and today happened to be a good day to get it on
his calendar and to make the speech. And it seemed like as good of a day
-- better than tomorrow and better than yesterday. So you know it's just
one of these things.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Yes, it just came together today and we were able
to do it today.

QUESTION: Can I have a follow-up on that? Sorry. There is nothing to do
with next week's decision at the UN on Cuba?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: No, it is just not related to the United
Nations. As Secretary Gutierrez noted, this is a speech about the Cuban
people. It is a speech about their future, about their ability to be the
protagonists of their future, agents of their own destiny, and the
importance of the international community working to help build their
capacity to be those agents. And so in that regard, it is important to
understand that this was a speech that was not delivered in a diplomatic
context. It was delivered in the context of the Cuban people.

QUESTION: Yes. I'm a little confused. Now, the President spoke about
this freedom fund and that you and Secretary Rice would be in charge.
But then you included that also because -- and you talked about the
other new programs that would sort of ensue if the freedoms were
adopted. But he spoke about the freedom fund that you and Secretary Rice
would be assigned to creating; and then when you introduced it, you
spoke of exploring the opportunity to create a fund. So I'm a little
confused. Is this something that you are setting out to do or is it
something that may happen if there is some response in Cuba?

And then secondly, the President did indeed -- spoke about the shame of
the international community that has not -- that has remained silent, I
think he said. And I'm wondering why you think they would -- whether
Europeans or South American countries, but why they would adopt a new
policy now, instead of engagement, but isolation like the U.S., and come
on board at this point, especially when they've just been told shame on
you?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Well, first of all, we want to work with the
international community, so the whole idea is to work with allies and
partners around the world to develop this freedom fund. You know, the
President challenged the international community to speak up. And again,
the question is: Where is the outrage? We've heard of the outrage about
Burma. And you know the things happening in Cuba have been going on for
a lot longer and more intensely than Burma. Where is the outrage?

And the President is asking countries to speak up, regardless of what
their policy may be today toward Cuba, would speak up in favor of
democracy, in favor of freedom of speech, in favor of freedom to work,
in favor of freedom to read what you'd like to read, in favor of freedom
to travel -- all of the things that people have in their own country and
that we all take for granted to speak out in favor of those freedoms for
the people of Cuba.

QUESTION: If I could, Secretary Gutierrez, I'd like to ask about one of
the possible uses of the freedom fund. And would that play a role in
settling property claims, given that that is always going to be a point
of tension in any transition between people outside the country and
people inside the country in expropriated properties?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: You know, there is so much to rebuild in Cuba. The
whole country needs to be rebuilt, whether it be the physical
structures, whether it be helping people get off the ground and start a
business. So there's so much to do and so much to rebuild. What we said
is it is a freedom fund to support the Cuban people's transition to
democracy. But anyone who has seen pictures, who has heard the story,
who has seen what's going on in Cuba, there is so much work that needs
to be done. It is going to take a long, long time. But the Cuban people
deserve to know that we and other members in the international community
want to help them in that transition.

QUESTION: Could I then just ask -- just following up from a different
angle, what -- if the U.S. is focusing on transition or a possible
transition, as it is at the moment, given this speech, what is the U.S.
thinking in terms of dealing between that tension between people who
have valid property claims and people sometimes of quite humble origins
who are living in expropriated properties?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: The United States has always recognized
that all property claims issues would have to be resolved by a
democratic government of Cuba. In other words, the United States would
not have a direct or immediate role in that. What the United States has
done is compiled lists of people, U.S. citizens who have property claims
that they would like to be able to present once a transition has taken
place. But ultimately, those property claims will be determined by a
democratic government in Cuba.

QUESTION: You just mentioned that you want to see changes first
(inaudible) before, but a year has passed already since the transition
between Fidel and Raul and there is no talking, discussions with the
Cubans. What if the Raul government keeps on going by their own hand for
the next five years? The U.S. will still keep --

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Yes. I mean, that's the policy -- the President was
very clear if that's the future of the Cuban regime, then that's very,
very unfortunate for the people of Cuba because then it means that
people will be living under oppression, they'll be living without
freedom of speech, without freedom to read, without freedom to travel,
without freedom to open up a business, without freedom to worship.

So what if? I would say that's a big, big shame for the people in Cuba
who deserve freedom.

QUESTION: Can I follow up? Can I just have a quick follow-up? What about
the idea of trying to change the nature of the regime? I mean, you deal
with -- this Administration and the U.S. deals with countries all the
time that are considered dictatorial regimes. I mean, what about trying
to influence, having a hand on the ground, as some of your allies have
recommended, trying to impose democracy by actually having dialogue?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Well, you know, we're not talking about a new
regime here. It's been 48 years -- 48 years, nine presidents. And I
would just say all those countries who have had relations with Cuba and
who have -- I think you used the word dialogue -- with Cuba, they
haven't changed Cuba. So I think we have to be realistic about, you
know, who's going to change Cuba. Cuba's going to change when the
dictatorship goes away, but this notion of working with them to change
them, it's been 48 years.

QUESTION: But that policy hasn't worked in 48 years, so what about
trying something new?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: No, but as we've said before and the President's
said, the policy is designed to not give oxygen to a dictator, to not
put resources in their hands. Again, we have the benefit of 48 years.
When they had resources, they -- at one time, they wanted to keep those

-- you know, going back to 1962, the missile crisis, going back to their
adventure in Africa, going back to their adventure in Central America.
When they have had resources, those resources have never been used to
improve the lives of Cubans. They've been used to harass governments
overseas. They've been used for foreign adventures. Again, we've had 48
years to observe and I don't think we should be naïve about that.

QUESTION: But there's been 48 years in Cuba, but in China's there's been
more years yet and America has engaged with the Chinese. Why the
difference between the Chinese and the Cubans?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: Well, before we get to differences between
China and Cuba, which for some of us are quite obvious, our -- it's
important to understand that this isn't an issue only of timing.
Obviously, it took 75 years in the Soviet Union, but we didn't lose our
focus. And we were determined to do what we could to help drive change
in that country.

But it is important to understand that the President's message was about
empowering the Cuban people to control their own destiny because the
recognition is that change in Cuba will be driven by Cubans and that
what the international community can do is create an environment that
helps the Cuban people drive that change, and that is by insisting that
the regime open itself to the possibility of democratic change and
helping the Cuban people develop the capacity to make that change take
place.

And that, I think, is the important thing to recognize and understand.
Totalitarian regimes do not change only because of outside pressures or
only because of outside relationships. Fundamental change happens when
the people themselves determine to take control of their own destiny.

MODERATOR: The gentleman in the back.

QUESTION: This is a question for Secretary Gutierrez. Last year in this
same room, you estimated that for the U.S. it would take some 18 months
to rebuild Cuba after the -- after a new government, a democratic new
government, takes position. And then for doing that, probably you have
an estimate of how much will be needed for that reconstruction. And my
question is if you have an estimate for starting this international
fund, how much would be the U.S. down payment?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: Again, we are going to work with our international
partners. We are just starting the process to work with them. If you
look at other countries who have gone through this change, whether it be
Poland, countries in the Soviet Union, it's taking them time. It's hard
to estimate how much time. It's also hard to underestimate how much
rebuilding needs to take place in Cuba. So I can't give you an estimate
of time and dollars. I just -- I would like the Cuban people to be in a
position whereby we can get on with it and get to work on all the work
that needs to be done to rebuild that once-wonderful country, that
beautiful country.

MODERATOR: And Joel, final question?

QUESTION: Over the last, I guess, 40 years since the John F. Kennedy
administration, we've had this tit-for-tat with both the Cubans and the
Soviet Union. And I believe in history we have the Monroe Doctrine. The
Monroe Doctrine basically says there should not be any foreign
interference from another hemisphere into Central and South America.
Now, is the responsibility to the -- from the Organization of American
States and other governments in Central and South America, and why
haven't they stepped up to the plate? I recognize we've had -- the
United States and the Cuban Government were at odds, but could they have
broken up this particular regime that still exists, as you say, 48 years
down the line?

SECRETARY GUTIERREZ: That sounds to me like a question for our foreign
policy expert

-- Monroe Doctrine and all the things you spoke about. So, please.
(Laughter.)

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: In many ways, this hemisphere has already
spoken in a dramatic fashion through the Inter-American Democratic
Charter, when it declared that democracy is a right for all the peoples
of the Americas. There is only one country in the hemisphere that is not
a democracy and that's Cuba. This is a region which has in its founding
documents, especially in the OAS, enshrined also principles of a respect
for sovereignty and non-intervention and self-determination. And this
affects how this region addresses issues like Cuba.

But I think there is a clear expectation and a clear understanding that
Cuba's future is democratic. And it is our hope and one of the things
the President was talking about today is looking for countries who have
this commitment in their own nations, to their own people, to make that
commitment more explicit.

QUESTION: Ambassador Shannon, just on another subject. Do you have any
comment on the apparent resignation of the Diplomatic Security person in
charge in the light of the Blackwater report findings yesterday?

ASSISTANT SECRETARY SHANNON: No, I'm afraid I have no comment at this
time. Thank you.

MODERATOR: Thank you very much.

2007/925

http://www.miscelaneasdecuba.net/web/article.asp?artID=12338

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Bush pledges to keep Cuba embargo

Bush pledges to keep Cuba embargo
US President George W Bush has vowed to maintain the trade embargo on
Cuba for as long as the government in Havana keeps its "monopoly" on power.

Mr Bush said he looked forward to a world without Cuban leader Fidel
Castro and urged greater global action to promote democracy in Cuba.

He denounced present-day Cuba as "a tropical gulag".

Mr Bush was speaking in Washington in front of expatriate dissidents and
relatives of dissidents still in Cuba.

"As long as the regime maintains its monopoly over the political and
economic life of the Cuban people, the United States will keep the
embargo in place," he said in a speech at the US State Department.

Dissidents praised

In his first major address on Cuban policy in four years, Mr Bush spoke
of citizens there who, he said, had no freedom of employment or
expression, who lived in dire circumstances and who feared beatings for
pursuing the lives they wanted.

"The dissidents of today will be the nation's leaders"
President George Bush

"Now is the time to support the democratic movement growing on the
island," he said.

"Now is the time to stand with the Cuban people as they stand up for
their liberty. And now is the time for the world to put aside its
differences and prepare for Cubans' transitions to a future of freedom
and progress and promise."

Mr Bush mentioned the names of dissidents who had been imprisoned for
long terms, harassed or persecuted for speaking out against the Cuban
communist regime.

He presented dissidents and relatives of dissidents who had escaped Cuba
and were present in the audience.

"The dissidents of today will be the nation's leaders," Mr Bush said.

"And when freedom finally comes, they will surely remember who stood
with them."

He praised countries like the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary for the
support they were giving to Cuban dissidents and called on other
countries to follow suit.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/7060788.stm

Published: 2007/10/24 18:55:53 GMT

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Iowa farmers think Cuba has plenty of market potential

Iowa farmers think Cuba has plenty of market potential
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
By Jean Caspers-Simmet

Agri News staff writer

JOHNSTON, Iowa -- In Cuba children under 8 and adults over 65 are
allotted one liter of milk per week. For the rest of the Cuban
population, milk is scarce.

Growing the dairy industry is a priority for Cuba where "food is very
precious," says Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture, after his
first visit there.

He sees a growing market for Iowa corn, distillers grains and other ag
products as Cuban dairy and livestock production increase.

Northey traveled to Cuba in early October with representatives of the
Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.

"For the last decade, Iowa Corn and the Iowa Department of Agriculture
have led a sustained effort to increase food and feed sales to Cuba,"
said Craig Floss, Iowa Corn chief executive officer. "Last market year,
95 percent of Cuba's corn imports came from the U.S. That is real
progress, given the legal restrictions on U.S.-Cuba trade."

Cuba's corn purchases this year could be nearly 40 million bushels, but
Floss is even more enthusiastic about Cuba's development as a market for
distillers dried grains from Iowa's ethanol industry.

"DDG was unknown in Cuba before 2004," Floss said. "Our work to
introduce its use is paying off. Last year, the Cubans bought about
100,000 metric tons, and this year that is expected to double."

Delegation members said Cuba could also become a growing market for milk
and meat if trade restrictions were eased.

Anything Cuba imports from the United States must be purchased in cash
upfront, which limits what the country can buy, Floss said.

Cubans urged the Iowa group to encourage the U.S. government to allow
tourism between the two countries. Restrictions don't allow U.S.
citizens to vacation in Cuba.

Clarion farmer and Iowa Corn Promotion board member Deb Keller said
allowing U.S. tourists to visit would give Cubans more dollars to buy ag
products.

Iowa Corn's Cuba effort began with a humanitarian food donation in 1998,
followed by exchanges that brought key Cuban food officials to Iowa and
took Iowa farmers to Cuba. The October mission focused on educating
Cuban livestock feeders about the use of corn and DDG.

"Both the producers and government officials in Cuba that we met with
were interested in growing the dairy industry and see distillers grains
as a piece that could help them do that," Northey said.

Northey said Cuba has imported Holstein genetics to improve milk
productivity. Holsteins are crossed with native Cebu cattle.

Cuban agriculture is controlled by the government. The ministry of
agriculture makes decisions on inputs and outputs. Farming operations
are required to produce for the government. Decisions about imports are
made by the ministry of trade.

Floss said the group visited Cuba ahead of its annual international
trade fair to have better access to high-level officials who make
agricultural decisions.

Keller said the most meaningful part of the trip for her was realizing
that what Cubans consider luxuries is completely different from her idea
of luxuries.

"I don't have to depend on a tourist coming through and giving me an
extra few dollars so that I can have the luxury of milk," she said.
"Children there don't know what candy is. They're just happy to get food."

Appliances, cars and farm equipment look like something from the 1950s.

http://webstar.postbulletin.com/agrinews/339956019212612.bsp

Monday, October 22, 2007

En la cuerda floja plan de viviendas

SOCIEDAD
En la cuerda floja plan de viviendas

LA HABANA, Cuba, 22 de octubre (José Antonio Fornaris, Cuba-Verdad /

www.cubanet.org) - El plan del gobierno de construir 70 mil viviendas
este año será muy difícil de cumplir. La posibilidad es prácticamente
inexistente.

Lo anterior fue confirmado por Víctor Ramírez, presidente del Instituto
Nacional de la Vivienda en una reunión efectuada recientemente con los
presidentes provinciales del Poder Popular, y presidida por los miembros
del Buró Político del Partido Comunista, Carlos Lage, José Ramón Machado
Ventura y Ricardo Alarcón, según dio a conocer el periódico Granma el
pasado jueves.

En la reunión Ramírez puntualizó que el plan de construcción de
viviendas de 2007 apenas rebasa el 50 por ciento. Y agregó que era muy
improbable que el programa anual de 213 mil 300 acciones de conservación
y reparación de viviendas se pudiera alcanzar, pues se encontraba
solamente en el 56 por ciento.

La justificación principal de tales incumplimientos, aceptada por todos,
es la falta de mano de obra.

En el año 2006 el plan de construcción fue de 100 mil. El vicepresidente
del Consejo de Estado, Carlos Lage, dijo que se llegaron a terminar 110
mil, pero pocos meses después tuvo que reconocer públicamente que las
informaciones recibidas sobre las casas terminadas fueron fraudulentas.
Nunca se informó oficialmente el verdadero número de viviendas
terminadas ese año.

fornarisjo@yahoo.com

http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y07/oct07/22a1.htm

Saturday, October 20, 2007

Dubai Ports studies building Cuba container terminal

Dubai Ports studies building Cuba container terminal
Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:40 PM BST147

HAVANA (Reuters) - State-owned Dubai Ports World, which relinquished
control over six U.S. ports in a political firestorm last year, is
studying plans to build a container terminal in the Cuban port of
Mariel, business sources said.

DP World agreed in early October to do a feasibility study to build a
$250 million container terminal in Mariel that would start operating in
2012, a Havana port source told Reuters.

"A deal is in the works. It is moving forward and they have signed
various agreements," another person familiar with the plan told Reuters.

In Dubai, DP World spokeswoman Sarah Lockie said on Friday she could not
immediately comment.

DP World became the world's third-largest container port business last
year when it bought Britain's Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co.
But it was forced to sell P&O's U.S. assets when the Bush administration
came under fire for allowing an Arab-owned company to control U.S. ports.

Critics said the deal involving the ports of New York City, Newark,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans posed a threat to U.S.
national security.

P&O had planned for several years to rebuild Mariel port, 30 miles west
of Havana on the north coast of the Caribbean island, and turn it into a
modern container port.

The port of Mariel was the site of a massive boat lift in 1980, when a
flotilla of vessels from Florida picked up 125,000 Cubans wanting to
leave the Communist-run island.

Its strategic proximity to the United States makes Mariel an attractive
investment looking ahead to a time when Cuba is no longer under a U.S.
trade embargo, given limited port capacity in the United States, one
source said.

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=tnBusinessNews&storyID=2007-10-19T204022Z_01_N18320791_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESS-CUBA-DUBAI-PORT-DC.XML

Agriculture: Sugar imports up slightly in 1st 7 months

Agriculture: Sugar imports up slightly in 1st 7 months
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-20 16:49

China imported 691,000 tons of sugar in the first seven months of this
year, a growth of 5.3 percent year-on-year, according to General
Administration of Customs.

The arrivals were valued at US$220 million, down 23.1 percent from a
year earlier.

The average import price fell 27 percent to US$313.2 per ton for the
seven-month period, customs sources said.

The price drop owed to oversupply on international markets, the sources
added.

Of the total imports, 660,000 tons, or 95.5 percent, came from Cuba,
Thailand, Guatemala, the Republic of Korea, Brazil and Australia.
Imports from Cuba, Brazil and Australia went down, while those from
Thailand and Guatemala went up.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-10/20/content_6193275.htm

Cuba y Venezuela crean empresa Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe

Cuba y Venezuela crean empresa Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe

Se encargará de instalar el cable submarino de La Guaira a Siboney

El proyectado cable submarino de fibra óptica que conformará el Sistema
Internacional de Comunicaciones entre Venezuela y Cuba -y que partirá
desde La Guaira hasta Siboney- será construido por la empresa mixta
Telecomunicaciones Gran Caribe, creada a través de un decreto
presidencial publicado en la Gaceta Oficial N° 38.791.

El capital de la empresa estará suscrito en 60% por CVG
Telecomunicaciones por Venezuela, y el restante 40% por la industria
cubana Transbit. La Gaceta no informa sobre la cantidad de acciones o el
valor de cada una, especificando que en el acta constitutiva estatutaria
se determinará ese punto.

Los considerandos del decreto indican que "se quiere lograr la
independencia y soberanía tecnológica y comunicacional entre los dos
países".

El cable submarino, de 1.555 kilómetros de longitud, permitirá enrutar
toda la información de voz y datos que circule por Internet entre ambos
países, sin necesidad de que fluya a través del NAP (Network Access
Point, o punto de convergencia de la red) ubicado en Miami. La intención
del Gobierno es que en Venezuela haya un NAP propio.

De acuerdo a lo informado por Julio Durán, presidente de CVG Telecom, el
cable submarino tendrá capacidad para más de 20 millones de llamadas
simultáneas, podrá transmitir hasta 26.000 canales de televisión y
brindar acceso a Internet.

El Gobierno aspira a que este Sistema Internacional permitirá a los dos
países obtener servicios de telecomunicaciones más baratos que los que
ofrecen los operadores privados. EJT

http://deportes.eluniversal.com/2007/10/19/eco_art_cuba-y-venezuela-cre_547279.shtml

Dubai Ports planea construir terminal de contenedores en Cuba

Dubai Ports planea construir terminal de contenedores en Cuba
Viernes 19 de Octubre, 2007 4:30 GMT139

LA HABANA (Reuters) - La empresa estatal Dubai Ports World, que cedió el
año pasado el control de seis puertos en Estados Unidos en medio de una
tormenta política, estudia planes para construir una terminal de
contenedores en el puerto cubano de Mariel, dijeron fuentes empresariales.

DP World acordó a comienzos de octubre hacer un estudio de factibilidad
para construir una terminal de contenedores de unos 250 millones de
dólares en Mariel, 50 kilómetros al oeste de La Habana, que comenzaría a
operar en el 2012, dijo a Reuters una fuente portuaria en la capital cubana.

"Se está trabajando en un acuerdo. Está avanzando y firmaron ya varios
acuerdos," dijo a Reuters otra persona familiarizada con los planes.

En Dubai, la portavoz de DP World, Sarah Lockie, dijo el viernes que no
podía comentar inmediatamente sobre los planes.

DP World se convirtió el año pasado en el tercer mayor operador de
puertos de contenedores del mundo tras adquirir a la británica
Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co (P&O).

Sin embargo, fue forzada a vender los activos de P&O en Estados Unidos
cuando la administración del presidente George W. Bush fue criticada por
permitir a una compañía árabe el control de puertos estadounidenses.

Los críticos dicen que el acuerdo que incluía los puertos de Nueva York,
Newark, Filadelfia, Baltimore, Miami y Nueva Orleans representaba una
amenaza para la seguridad nacional.

P&O había planeado durante varios años reconstruir el puerto de Mariel y
transformarlo en una moderna terminal de contenedores.

El puerto de Mariel fue en 1980 escenario de un masivo éxodo, cuando
embarcaciones procedentes de Florida vinieron a recoger a unos 125.000
cubanos que querían abandonar la isla de gobierno comunista.

Su proximidad con Estados Unidos convierte al puerto cubano de Mariel en
una inversión atractiva en el escenario de un futuro levantamiento de
las sanciones que hoy limitan al mínimo el comercio entre ambos países,
dijo otra fuente.

http://lta.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=businessNews&storyID=2007-10-19T203040Z_01_N19338604_RTRIDST_0_NEGOCIOS-CUBA-DUBAI-PUERTO-SOL.XML

Cuba estima en 12 millones y 230 empleos las pérdidas desde que una empresa de EEUU compró la española Pullmantur

cuba 19-10-2007

Cuba estima en 12 millones y 230 empleos las pérdidas desde que una
empresa de EEUU compró la española Pullmantur

Cerca de 17 millones de dólares (11,9 millones de euros) y más de 230
puestos de trabajo se perdieron en Cuba y 12.300 turistas dejaron de
visitar la isla caribeña después de que la empresa estadounidense Royal
Caribbean Cruises comprara en octubre de 2006 la compañía española de
cruceros Pullmantur, según informa hoy la prensa cubana.

Las autoridades cubanas aseguraron también que todo el personal cubano,
camareros, cocineros, etcétera que trabajaban en la compañía de cruceros
fueron despedidos, después de que la Royal Caribbean Cruises adquiriera
la citada empresa y así se ajustara a las leyes del país norteamericano
que impiden establecer relaciones comerciales con Cuba.

Los 230 puestos de trabajo que ocupaban se perdieron y hubo quien tuvo
que abandonar su nave en algún lejano puerto, según informa hoy el
diario cubano 'Granma', que añadió que en la actualidad 1.641 cubanos
trabajan en 75 navieras extranjeras, sobre todo de España, Grecia y
Portugal.

La interrupción de las operaciones de esta compañía en aplicación del
bloqueo económico, comercial y financiero que Estados Unidos mantiene
contra la isla desde hace 45 años provocó además que un total de 12.375
personas dejaran de visitar la isla.

Según el informe presentado por el gobierno de La Habana sobre la
resolución 61/11 de la Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas (ONU)
asegura que la pérdida de esos empleos representó un perjuicio de
1.923.000 dólares (1.345.000 euros) así como la suspensión de las
operaciones del crucero Holidays Dreams. Además supuso 'la interrupción
de los diferentes servicios que prestaban las empresas del turismo
vinculadas a la actividad y por concepto de servicio de catering
cancelados por las líneas aéreas Pullmantur e Iberworld provocaron una
afectación de 16.890.000 dólares (11.815.368 euros)'.

Según la subdirectora de Recursos Humanos de Selecmar, Maria Eugenia
Viera, --dedicada a servicios para barcos, plataformas petroleras y
servicios afines en tierra-- las expectativas de futuro son grandes ya
que algunos jóvenes contratados 'han llegado a ocupar altas posiciones a
bordo de los cruceros' gracias a 'su buen desempeño y como resultado de
la formación de valores éticos' de Cuba.

Ahora, la terminal de cruceros de La Habana está vacía puesto que
numerosas compañías de cruceros bordean la isla pero no hacen escala en
sus puertos. 'Hay navieros que desearían muchísimo poner a Cuba como
itinerario, pero si tocan puerto cubano, no pueden tocar puerto
americano, y el de Miami es uno de los principales puertos de crucero
del mundo', concluyó Viera.

Terra Actualidad - Europa Press

http://actualidad.terra.es/internacional/articulo/cuba_eeuu_pullmantur_1943944.htm

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Minnesota's agriculture commissioner going to Cuba

Minnesota's agriculture commissioner going to Cuba
Posted on Thu, Oct. 18, 2007
The Associated Press

ST. PAUL --
Ralph Kaehler and farmers like him have done millions of dollars in
business with Cuba over the past five years, riding out the ups and
downs of the Communist-ruled island's turbulent relations with its
capitalist neighbor to the north.

Kaehler has been to Cuba a dozen times since his sons, Cliff and Seth,
became special guests at Fidel Castro's 2002 trade show. He says the
Cubans are still buying, just not as much.

Next month, Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson will visit
to Havana to check on the state's declining business prospects there and
to see what a post-Castro business environment might look like.

"A lot of it is just showing interest," Hugoson said. "I believe there
will be more openness down the road."

Hugoson, who was part of then-Gov. Jesse Ventura's trade mission in
2002, is likely to see a very different Cuba this time.

"The communications back from Havana have been quiet lately," said
Kaehler, a St. Charles farmer and a pioneer in cattle sales to Cuba.

Kaehler and other frequent business visitors to Cuba say the country is
still hungry for food buys, but has grown weary about depending on U.S.
suppliers who have to battle bureaucratic obstacles at home.

"We're seeing a post-Castro era unfold before our very eyes," said Kirby
Jones, president of the U.S. Cuba Trade Association, a Washington group
that promotes open trade with Cuba.

Minnesota's agricultural exports to Cuba grew to $22 million in 2005 but
dropped to $18 million last year. Total U.S. farm exports to Cuba
dropped to $321 million last year, down from $346 million in 2005.

The reason, said Kaehler and others who do business with Cuba, is part
price-squeeze and part politics.

While soybeans and corn are Minnesota's leading farm exports to Cuba,
soaring prices have limited what the cash-strapped regime can buy.
Spiking oil prices have pushed shipping costs up, too. And the Bush
administration requires sales to be paid for in cash up front.

"It's not easy," said Tim Courneya, vice president of the Frazee-based
Northarvest Bean Growers Association, which has seen U.S. sales of dried
beans to Cuba level off to around 10 percent of the 80,000- to
100,000-ton market they once hoped it could be.

Ventura's trip came at something of a high-water mark in trade relations
between Cuba and the U.S.

As Ventura announced his trip, Congress was considering easing travel
restrictions, and Minnesota food companies such as Hormel Foods Corp.
and Cargill Inc. were filling cash orders that had been legalized in
2000. The 2002 trade expo was sanctioned by the U.S. government, even
though top Bush administration officials remained critical of U.S.
business ties to Cuba.

Things started to backslide the next year. The regime imprisoned dozens
of dissidents and journalists and executed three men accused of trying
to hijack a ferry to leave Cuba. Support for loosening the trade embargo
that was imposed after the 1959 revolution seemed to evaporate in Congress.

John Kavulich, a trade analyst involved in the 2002 expo with Ventura,
said the White House nixed efforts to revive the show in 2003.

The U.S. House voted 245-182 this year to reject easing restrictions on
farm sales to Cuba, including a proposal to allow Cuba to pay for goods
after they are shipped from a U.S. port instead of ahead of time as the
law now requires.

While Cuba once preferred to buy U.S. food products in hopes of
normalizing relations with the United States, it has been diversifying
its base of suppliers in hopes of pressuring the Bush administration to
ease trade restrictions, Kavulich said.

Nearly 2,000 companies from around the world are expected to attend the
Nov. 5-10 trade show that Hugoson plans to attend.

Pedro Alvarez Borrego, chairman of Alimport, Cuba's food-purchasing arm,
has called it "a great opportunity to take the pulse of the Cuban market."

For Minnesota exporters like Kaehler, that means more competition for
Cuba's limited food dollars.

"All those other countries are sucking the money out," he said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/948/story/275848.html

Migrants sent $301 billion back home in 2006, study finds

WASHINGTON
Migrants sent $301 billion back home in 2006, study finds
Migrants leave a huge worldwide money trail, with India and Mexico
benefiting the most, a study showed.
Posted on Thu, Oct. 18, 2007
BY PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com

WASHINGTON --
Migrants around the world sent $301 billion to family members back home
last year, with India edging out Mexico as the world's top recipient, a
U.N. agency said Wednesday.

An estimated 150 million migrants, most of them living in rich Western
Europe and North America, regularly send money to their mostly poor
relatives in developing economies, according to the first study of its
kind. About 10 percent of the world's population depends in some way on
such remittances.

Remittances have been growing at a 10 percent annual rate, according to
the report by the International Fund for Agricultural Development
(IFAD), a Rome-based U.N. agency. The total triples what rich nations
donate to developing countries.

The money flow has become ''the world's most effective poverty
alleviation program,'' said Donald Terry, a top official of the Inter
American Development Bank (IDB). And while rich countries also benefit
from the arrival of young workers, ``if you're No. 1 in remittances,
you're not developing jobs in your local economy.''

In effect, remittances have become a huge money trail that follows
people moving in search of jobs and opportunities, the report said.

''Walls are not stopping them [migrants], patrol boats are not stopping
them,'' said Kevin Cleaver, IFAD's assistant president. ``I was
surprised at the magnitude of these numbers.''

IFAD commissioned the IDB, a multilateral lender for Latin America, and
the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank, to help gather the
numbers. The IDB has been estimating remittances to Latin American and
Caribbean economies since 2000.

Indians received $24.5 billion and Mexicans $24.3 billion, the study
showed. China was third with $21.1 billion, according to the report. The
global total was $301 billion The study also took a stab at estimating
remittances to places where the numbers are difficult to tabulate, like
Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Somalia.

FAD and the IDB combined official numbers from countries' central banks
with information from banks, money transfer companies and surveys of
migrants, plus estimates of informal remittances like cash carried by
travelers.

The report estimated that Cubans received $983 million in 2006 -- in
line with Cuban government data over the past several years. Terry said
he was ''fairly confident'' of the number's accuracy. Some Cuba-watchers
have disputed Havana's figures and put remittances at $400 million to
$500 million per year.

Afghanistan received $3.4 billion; Iraq, $3.7 billion.

India, China and Mexico received the most money, but the impact on their
economies was more modest relative to their size, going from 0.8 percent
of GDP for China to 2.9 percent for Mexico.

In contrast, El Salvador got $3.3 billion, accounting for more than 18
percent of its GDP. The $2.3 billion received by Honduras represented
almost a quarter of its GDP. In Latin America, the effect of remittances
was less than 1 percent of GDP for Brazil, Venezuela, Chile and Argentina.

Other countries got smaller sums that represented an even bigger boost
for their economies. Eritrea's $411 million worked out to 38 percent of
its GDP. Guinea Bissau's $148 million contributed 49 percent of its
economic output.

Overall, Asia received $114 billion, followed by Latin America and the
Caribbean with $68 billion. Europe -- excluding the wealthier nations in
Western Europe -- obtained $51 billion, Africa $39 billion and the Near
East $29 billion.

The cost of sending money was lowest in Latin America, at 6 percent to 8
percent per transaction, thanks to competition among banks and money
transfer companies.

In the past several years, the IDB and other development institutions
focused on lowering transfer costs and thus putting more money into the
pockets of recipients.

But as remittances have continued to grow and transfer costs have
dropped somewhat, development specialists have begun looking for ways to
harness this wealth for investment purposes, by allowing banks to use
remittances as collateral for small business loans or for mortgages.

''Generating information about the scale of remittances is the first
step toward lowering their costs and improving our ability to leverage
these flows to achieve a greater development impact,'' Terry said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/275392.html

Plan de vivienda encabeza incumplimientos de programas económicos cubanos

CUBA-ECONOMIA
Plan de vivienda encabeza incumplimientos de programas económicos cubanos
Hora: 18:13 Fuente : EFE

La Habana, 18 oct (EFECOM).- El incumplimiento del programa de
construcción de viviendas encabeza la lista de objetivos económicos
trazados por el Gobierno cubano para 2007 que no se alcanzarán por
problemas en la ejecución de inversiones, falta de fuerza de trabajo y
desorganización.

El diario oficial "Granma" informa hoy del sombrío balance económico
anual, presentado en una "reciente" reunión entre autoridades
provinciales y responsables del Gobierno y del Partido Comunista de Cuba
encabezada por el vicepresidente Carlos Lage, con el fin de planificar
los objetivos para el año próximo.

En la reunión se evidenciaron "fallas e insuficiencias en distintos
ámbitos de gestión", "ineficiencias" e incapacidad para la ejecución del
plan de inversiones y problemas ligados a la organización.

Incluso se informó de "irregularidades" en la distribución de
electrodomésticos a la población por parte de los trabajadores sociales,
fuerza juvenil en la que el Gobierno ha depositado parte de la
responsabilidad en la lucha contra la corrupción.

Lage instó a que los planes para 2008 incluyan los "recursos requeridos"
y la "capacidad" para ejecutarlo, sobre todo en lo relativo a la fuerza
de trabajo, cuyo déficit, según "Granma", "está presente en todo tipo de
programas", que "cerrarán el año con incumplimientos".

Uno de los programas más afectados es el de la vivienda cuyo déficit
oficial de más de 600.000 inmuebles constituye uno de los principales
lastres que arrastra el país.

El presidente del Instituto Nacional de la Vivienda, Víctor Ramírez,
indicó, a falta de dos y medio para acabar el ejercicio, que no se
terminará las 70.300 casas planificadas para el año, ya que, hasta la
fecha las construidas "apenas rebasan el 50% de lo previsto".

Tampoco se cumplirá el programa anual de acciones de conservación y
rehabilitación, actualmente al 56% de ejecución.

El principal motivo para no alcanzar los objetivos radica en la falta de
constructores, según especificó el funcionario, y no en la
disponibilidad de materiales.

Lage, que a lo largo del año ha reiterado sus críticas a la marcha de
este plan y a los resultados del año anterior, cuando se produjeron
fraudes en la declaración de construcciones, llamó a "planificar sólo
las viviendas que se puedan construir a partir de evaluar rigurosamente
las condiciones".

En el programa de la "Batalla de Ideas", lanzada para recuperar los
ideales revolucionarios tras el periodo especial -declarado por la caída
de la Unión Soviética- y que promueve programas sociales como la
construcción de escuelas y hospitales, el vicepresidente Otto Rivero,
principal responsable, reconoció problemas de organización y planificación.

Además, señaló que hay falta de "integralidad y cohesión" entre
inversionistas, retraso en la solicitud de suministros, insuficiente
preparación de inversiones y de "definición certera de alcances físicos
y financieros", que generan "sobredimensionamientos constructivos y
presupuestarios".

En el apartado positivo, se informó del "sobrecumplimiento" de los
objetivos en el sector lácteo, en el que el año pasado se registraron
irregularidades debido al "descontrol" y que el Gobierno ha incentivado
con importantes aumentos en los precios de compra del Estado a los
productores.

También se abordaron estrategias para racionalizar el uso de
combustibles y la utilización del parque móvil público. EFECOM

jlp/jma

http://www.invertia.com/noticias/noticia.asp?subclasid=&clasid=&idNoticia=1835780

La Aduana publica nuevas normas para la importación de motores y carrocerías de autos

La Aduana publica nuevas normas para la importación de motores y
carrocerías de autos

Las medidas están dirigidas a cubanos que viajan al exterior en misión
oficial.

Agencias

jueves 18 de octubre de 2007 13:00:00

La Aduana cubana publicó este miércoles nuevas normas para la entrada a
la Isla de motores y carrocerías de automóviles y motocicletas, que sólo
podrán ser importadas por cubanos que viajen al exterior en misión
oficial, informó Reuters.

El trámite deberá ser autorizado por el jefe de la Aduana General de la
República, de acuerdo con una resolución de septiembre publicada el
miércoles en el sitio en internet de la Gaceta Oficial. La medida había
sido anticipada en abril.

"Se hace necesario establecer requisitos adicionales (...) que coadyuven
a evitar las causas y condiciones que puedan favorecer el abuso de las
facilidades que se otorgan en dicha resolución", dijo el nuevo documento.

Varias decenas de miles de médicos, maestros y otros profesionales
cubanos trabajan en el extranjero, fundamentalmente en Venezuela,
enviados por La Habana.

Un decreto similar liberó en abril la importación mediante pago de
impuestos de piezas para automóviles, electrodomésticos, lectores de DVD
y computadoras. La medida fue bien recibida por la población, según Reuters.

Además de la firma del jefe de la Aduana, la nueva resolución sobre los
motores y carrocerías exige al importador contar con la aprobación de
sus superiores. La medida entró en vigor el 1 de octubre.

Para evitar que las piezas importadas acaben en el mercado negro, la
resolución estipula que sólo se podrá ingresar partes que coincidan con
el modelo de automóvil del solicitante.

En Cuba la compra de un automóvil debe ser autorizada por el gobierno.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/es/encuentro-en-la-red/cuba/noticias/la-aduana-publica-nuevas-normas-para-la-importacion-de-motores-y-carrocerias-de-autos/(gnews)/1192705200

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Iowans Go to Cuba to Sell Corn and Distillers Grains

Iowans Go to Cuba to Sell Corn and Distillers Grains
Rod Swoboda rswoboda@farmprogress.com
October 17, 2007

Cuba can become a more important market for Iowa's agricultural
commodities, say representatives of the Iowa Corn Growers Association
and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board who traveled to Cuba with Iowa
Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. They were in Cuba from October 1
to October 5.

"For the last decade, Iowa Corn and the Iowa Department of Agriculture
have led a sustained effort to increase food and feed sales to Cuba,"
says Craig Floss, chief executive officer for ICGA and ICPB. "In the
last marketing year, 95% of Cuba's corn imports came from the U.S. That
is real progress, given the legal restrictions on U.S.-Cuba trade."

Cuba's corn purchases this year could be nearly 40 million bushels, but
Floss is even more enthusiastic about Cuba's development as a market for
distillers dried grains, or DDGs from Iowa's ethanol industry.
"Distillers dried grains was unknown in Cuba before 2004. Our work to
introduce its use is paying off. Last year, the Cubans bought about
100,000 metric tons, and this year that is expected to double."

Potential for higher value ag products, too

Delegation members said Cuba could also become a growing market for
higher value agricultural exports like milk and meat if trade
restrictions were eased.

The Iowa Corn Growers efforts to open and improve trade with Cuba began
with a humanitarian food donation in 1998, followed by exchanges that
brought key Cuban food officials to Iowa and took Iowa farmers and feed
experts to Cuba. The most recent mission focused specifically on
educating Cuban livestock feeders in the use of corn and DDG in dairy,
swine and poultry production.

"The farmers in Cuba and the government officials in Cuba that we met
with were interested in growing the Cuban dairy industry. They see
distillers grains as a product that could help them do that," Northey
says. "Distillers grains make a lot of sense for Cuba and could become a
good market for Iowa ethanol plants."
IDALS and Iowa Corn look forward to building relationships made through
this latest trade mission trip to Cuba, he says.

Cuban livestock producers need feed

U.S. trade restrictions on Cuba, which have been in place since Fidel
Castro overthrew a pro-U.S. government and installed a Communist regime
there 50 years ago, require Cubans to pay cash for all their purchases
of U.S. food and ag products.

"Right now the U.S. will only allow agriculture commodities, medicine
and health products to be sold to Cuba," says Bob Bowman, past president
of the Iowa Corn Growers, who farms at DeWitt, Iowa. "The U.S.
government won't allow any imports of Cuban products. Americans can't go
to Cuba for travel or tourism. They can only go for trade missions or
educational exchanges. These restrictions hurt Cuba's ability to earn
dollars that could be spent on buying agricultural products such as U.S.
corn and distillers grains."

Cuban livestock producers want to buy U.S. corn, distillers grain and
protein feed, says Bowman. They can't grow much grain in Cuba. "The
Cubans are trying to increase their dairy herd and milk production. But
they need grain and protein to do that and they need dollars to be able
to pay for the imported grain, DDGs and protein for feed," says Bowman.

http://wallacesfarmer.com/index.aspx?ascxid=fpStory&fpsid=30457&fpstid=2

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Cuba, Venezuela Increase Economic Ties

Cuba, Venezuela Increase Economic Ties
Tuesday October 16, 9:33 am ET
By Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer
Cuba, Venezuela Sign New Economic Partnership Agreements

HAVANA (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuba's interim
leader Raul Castro oversaw the signing Monday of economic partnerships
in areas ranging from oil production to tourism as the nations moved to
further integrate their economies.

Cuba and Venezuela, Washington's two strongest critics in Latin America,
are strengthening their ties under the Boliviarian Alternative for the
Americas regional trade pact, said the 76-year-old Castro, who has led
Cuba during his 81-year-old brother Fidel's extended illness.

Venezuela and Cuba "can form a confederation of republics, two republics
in one, two countries in one," said Chavez, whose visit included a
meeting with his friend and ally Fidel Castro and an hourlong chat
Sunday while hosting his weekly live television and radio show.

Chavez has championed his Bolivarian trade agreement, which counts Cuba,
Bolivia and Nicaragua as signatories, as an alternative to U.S. free
trade pacts.

Castro appeared somewhat frail, but alert and in good spirits in a
videotape released of the Saturday meeting. Castro sounded animated
during his telephone chat with Chavez on his "Alo, Presidente!" program,
marking the first time the ailing Cuban leader had spoken live in a
broadcast on the island since falling ill.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey on Monday commented
sarcastically that he was "delighted that Fidel Castro has had an
opportunity to discuss things with his good friend President Chavez.
It's too bad that in almost half a century of misrule in Cuba, he's
never had the same conversation with his own people."

Among other agreements, Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to explore
creating joint cement and mortar production plants, mining and other
energy projects and even a five-star hotel.

Trade between the two nations has burgeoned in recent years under the
close alliance formed by Chavez and the elder Castro.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071016/cuba_venezuela.html?.v=1

Venezuela, Cuba initial 14 integration agreements

Venezuela, Cuba initial 14 integration agreements

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Cuban First Vice-President of the
State and Ministers' Council Raúl Castro entered into 14 new agreements
on economic integration, including a memo of understanding to build on
the Cuban coast a petrochemical compound for about USD 1.3 billion.

"Upon signing of these agreements we make a significant contribution to
closer union and integration between Cuba and Venezuela," said Raúl
Castro during the ceremony.

Under the memo of understanding, a petrochemical compound will be built
in the city of Cienfuegos, 250 kilometers to the southeast of Havana,
Reuters reported.

During his visit last Sunday to the old refinery built during the Soviet
era and refitted with Venezuelan help, Chávez commented that the
investment in the facilities amounts to approximately USD 1.3 billion.

http://english.eluniversal.com/2007/10/15/en_eco_art_venezuela,-cuba-init_15A1131565.shtml

Miles de viviendas y hectáreas de cultivos dañadas por las lluvias en Oriente

Clima
Miles de viviendas y hectáreas de cultivos dañadas por las lluvias en
Oriente

Varias localidades permanecen incomunicadas por afectaciones en vías y
puentes. La cosecha de café ha sufrido importantes daños en Granma y
Santiago de Cuba.

Agencias

martes 16 de octubre de 2007 12:22:00

El temporal de lluvias que ha azotado a la región oriental de Cuba en
los últimos quince días ha dejado daños en miles de viviendas y en
hectáreas de cultivos, poblados incomunicados e interrupciones
eléctricas y telefónicas, informaron este lunes medios locales, reportó EFE.

Según datos preliminares dados a conocer hoy por el diario local La
Demajagua, de Granma, en esa provincia fueron evacuadas 6.504 personas y
resultaron dañados 3.171 inmuebles, con catorce derrumbes totales.

En el territorio se produjo además una rotura en el canal magistral
derecho de la presa Cauto del Paso, la tercera del país en capacidad, y
un puente ferroviario en el municipio de Río Cauto ha sufrido
afectaciones, por lo que varias comunidades permanecen incomunicadas.

La provincia de Granma reportó además pérdidas en la cosecha de café, un
cultivo particularmente afectado por las lluvias en toda la zona
montañosa del oriente cubano.

Una situación similar se presenta en Santiago de Cuba, donde la cosecha
de café no podrá ser salvada ya que el deterioro de los caminos impide
la recogida del grano maduro caído.

Santiago de Cuba, cuya situación fue calificada de "crítica" hace unos
días por el jefe del Ejército Oriental de la Isla, el general Ramón
Espinosa Martín, tuvo afectaciones en al menos 800 viviendas, y registra
alrededor de 2.000 interrupciones telefónicas, precisó la agencia
oficialista Prensa Latina.

La región tiene diez de sus once embalses vertiendo, con la capacidad de
acumulación en el 99 por ciento. El Parada, ubicado en la zona
industrial de la capital santiaguera, vierte sus aguas por primera vez
desde que fue construido en 1985, según el diario local Sierra Maestra.

En Holguín, la crecida del río Sagua de Tánamo obligó a evacuar a 2.200
personas y en Camaguey, donde los embalses se sitúan en el 93 por ciento
de su capacidad total, se han registrado daños en 2.000 inmuebles, con
57 derrumbes totales, informó el periódico local Adelante.

La agricultura de Guantánamo aún contabiliza las pérdidas en cultivos
varios, tubérculos, café y plantas de plátano.

Las Tunas, el territorio menos lluvioso de Cuba, perdió más de tres
millones de posturas de tabaco, lo que retrasará en 40 días el inicio de
las plantaciones, informó la estatal Agencia de Información Nacional.

Los datos definitivos de los estragos aún no han sido divulgados.
Autoridades de la Isla informaron en los últimos días de que unas 21.000
personas fueron evacuadas en las provincias de Granma, Santiago de Cuba,
Holguín, Camaguey, Guantánamo y Las Tunas.

http://www.cubaencuentro.com/es/encuentro-en-la-red/cuba/noticias/miles-de-viviendas-y-hectareas-de-cultivos-danadas-por-las-lluvias-en-oriente/(gnews)/1192530120