CUBA: "In A Foul Mood," A Stern Raul Castro Opens 1st Congress Since 1997.

M.HERALD/ J.TAMAYO

   Reporting from Miami, Tamayo describes President Raul Castro as appearing "stern, often angry-sounding" in a harsh 2.5 hour attack on the isla's failings...during his opening speech for Cuba's first Communist Party Congress since 1997.
    Castro told more than 1,000 delegates that: “I hang my head in shame when I have to accept in public” that previous approved reforms were never enacted.
     Raul, 79, also proposed a maximum of two five-year terms for leadership posts - including his own.
    Fidel Castro did not appear at the Congress...but in a newspaper  column wrote that his brother's words...made him proud.
    Fidel also apologized for not attending the Bay of Pigs parade in person, writing that he couldn't last three hours in the relentless sun and heat.

TO VIEW: 2:32 CNN Video report in English...with :30 ad.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/04/17/cuba.castro/

CUBA: Changing Slowly... 50 Years After Bay Of Pigs; Rare Congress To Discuss Plans.

GUARDIAN/ R. CARROLL/ Longish Web Read

    Fifty years after the Bay of Pigs, Cuba is trying to change the economy because its Fidelismo socialist model apparently no longer works.
    This week for 4 days, the Communist party holds its first congress in 14 years to enact changes to the economy...and society.
    A western diplomat observed about the changes: "It's all about cutting rights and welfare and putting greater emphasis on personal responsibility and hard work."
    "This congress is huge. It will put the seal on a series of reforms and decide strategy for the next five to 10 years," said pro-Castro analyst Stephen Wilkinson.

CUBA: 31 Mar UPDATE: Jimmy Carter Meets With Dissidents, Raul Castro; Calls Contractor Gross Innocent.

LINK CHANGE/ M.HERALD/ J.TAMAYO

   Former president Jimmy Carter, 86, met with 20-30 dissidents including those recently released from prison...as well as bloggers like Yoani Sanchez...on the third day of his visit to Cuba.
  Carter also met with imprisoned contractor Alan Gross.
  And, of course, Carter met with President Raul Castro and even former president Fidel Castro.
  At a news conference, Carter again repeated his opposition to the embargo, his desire to see all travel restrictions lifted and that the US release the 5 Cuban spies held in custody.
   This is Carter's second trip to Cuba. He is the only serving or former president to visit Cuba...since the 1959 revolution.

CUBA: Final 2 Dissidents Of Infamous 75...Finally Released.

BBC/
   Jose Ferrer, 40, and Felix Navarro, 57, the last two dissidents still jailed after a 2003 crackdown with 75 arrests...are free.
   They say they will remain in Cuba.
   Last July, the Catholic Church brokered the release of 52 dissidents still imprisoned from the 2003 crackdown...with President Raul Castro.
    Most were released into exile in Spain, but several, including Navarro and Ferrer refused to leave Cuba and remained in jail.
      Amnesty expert Gerardo Ducos said :"What we want to see now is for the Cuban authorities to not force activists into exile as a condition for their release and to ensure all human rights activists are able to carry out their legitimate work without fear of threat, harassment, further arrests or unfair trials in their own country."

CUBA: Announced Massive Layoffs Lag... Leaving Workers In Limbo.

AP /Atlanta JC/ P. Haven/ Long Feature/

   Raul Castro's plans to lay off half a million unneeded workers has stalled after union resistance leaving many anxiously waiting for the ax to fall.
    Five months after the announcement to lay-off 10% of the work force by 31 March, finding an unemployed person is rare or even somebody who knows a person who has lost a job.
     Some observers say Castro is wise to go slow.
     "It makes a lot of sense that they haven't done anything," said D.C. economist Rafael Romeu. "Laying off half a million people — that's a difficult adjustment to carry out in such a short time. They are changing the social compact in a way they haven't done in the last 52 years."

CUBA: For 1st Time Since 2006, A Cruise Ship Visits La Habana.

AP/ M.HERALD/ JENNY BARCHFIELD /

   After nearly 5 years, a cruise ship has stopped-in Cuba.

   Some1,500 tourists disembarked from the huge British cruise liner Thomson Dream in La Habana's harbor.
   Officials called it one the biggest ships to visit Cuba.
   In 2006, former President Fidel Castro complained that cruise ships only deposited trash on the isla and prohibited any more visits.
    But under Raul Castro, Cuba admits to a desperate need for the hard currencies that tourists provide.

CUBA:1ST UPDATE: Castro Calls 1st Party Congress In 14 Years; Dissidents Say Castro Failing Prisoner Release Promise.

LINK CHANGE/ M.HERALD / 09 NOV/          Juan Tamayo/
     Future economic changes will mean adios to food rationing cards, hola to foreign investors and opening up the real estate market, according to a 32-page document published as a guide on proposed reforms.
     But the phamplet sold in the streets for one peso (about three U.S. cents) states clearly that the party will not abandon the Marxist-Leninist ideology.

     A new party congress will meet next April to address Cuba's economic problems.

    Party congresses are supposed to be held every four years but have been postponed since 1997.
   The island's state-run economy has been in crisis for the past two years that has forced it to cut imports.
    Meanwhile, activists accuse Castro of failing to keep his promise to free 13 jailed dissidents. In July, he agreed to liberate 52 political prisoners within four months,
but 13 are still in prison because they refuse to leave Cuba.

CUBA: Castro's Ration Cuts Fuel Soaring Cost Of Living.

M.HERALD/Juan Tamayo :
"As Cuban ruler Raúl Castro slashes state subsidies to overcome an abysmal economic crisis, he's making daily life more expensive -- and implicitly accepting that the country's cradle-to-grave social safety net is no longer assured."

AND: "Hit especially hard have been retirees, the disabled, widows and others who live on fixed incomes, and the 40 percent of Cubans who don't receive remittances from relatives abroad and must rely on salaries that officially average a mere $20 per month."

CUBA: Raul Castro- Reformer Or Placeholder?

WASHPOST/ OPINION/ JACKSON DIEHL/

DIEHL:    "What is possible? That has become an important question as Raúl Castro's not-reform creeps forward and as Congress considers legislation that would shred what remains of the U.S. trade "embargo" by lifting all restrictions on travel to Cuba and further liberalizing food exports. So far, two dozen imprisoned dissidents have been released into exile in Spain, the United States and Chile; the regime has publicly committed to free 28 others of the more than 100 who remain. On Aug. 1 Raúl Castro announced that the government would allow more private businesses and self-employment activity, in part as a way to occupy the 1 million workers -- 20 percent of the state labor force -- whom the government plans to lay off. One view is that this is a replay of the standard Castro strategy for extracting the regime from a bind."

CUBA/VENEZUELA: Magazine Ranks Dictators: Hugo Chavez #17; Raul Castro #21.

MIAMI HERALD/      FOREIGN POLICY MAGAZINE lists Hugo Chavez at #17 and Raul Castro #21 on its new list of the world's 23 worst tyrants. Fidel Castro ranked 15th in a 2007 list in PARADE MAGAZINE. The magazine described Raul Castro as "afflicted with intellectual astigmatism'' and ``pitifully unaware that the revolution he leads is obsolete, an abysmal failure, and totally irrelevant to the aspirations of the Cuban people."

 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/06 /21/the_worst_of_the_worst

CUBA: 1ST UPDATE: After Castro Meet With Catholics, Changes Promised.

NEW LINK:GUARDIAN.U.K./ 23 May/               President Raul Castro met with Catholic Cardinal Jaime Ortega and Archbishop Dionisio Garcia of Santiago for 4 hours to discuss political dissidents and other issues. Later, according to a leading imprisoned dissident, Cuba agreed to move political prisoners held in jails to facilities closer to their hometowns and transfer sick prisoners to hospitals. Guillermo Farinas, still on a hunger strike after 88 days, told Reuters that a visiting bishop gave him the news.

CUBA: Fidel & Raul Castro's Sister Claims CIA Involvement.

REUTERS/
In a newly published book, Juanita Castro, sister of Cuban dictators Fidel and Raul Castro, claims that she worked with the CIA in the 1960s, when the agency was plotting to kill Fidel and overthrow his revolution.
Juanita swore off the revolution in 1964 and reportedly hid government opponents in her home before leaving for Miami.

Spain's Minister Shuns Dissidents During Cuba Visit.

AP/
Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos met with Raul Castro for nearly three hours discussing human rights and repayment of nearly $300 million Cuba owed to Spanish companies that do business in the country.
But he declined to visit dissidents, political activists, independent Cuban journalists or members of Havana-based human rights organizations, a change for Spanish leaders. Madrid and Havana relations were frosty before the trip.

Raul Castro Slowly Picking Apart Cuba's Socialism.

MIAMI HERALD/
As Cuba struggles through a deep recession, Raul Castro has begun picking apart its socialistic fabric to save it.
Havana's leading economist said Cuba's economy needed to be turned upside down -- "feet up."
"I think what they are trying to do is prepare the people for a hard landing," said Cuba expert Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado. "The government is really saying in so many words: We've got limited resources and can only do so much. I think they are stuck."

Raul Castro: Cuba Must Make Better Use Of Land.

From Associated Press.

Raul Castro Speaks... But About What?

From dissident Cuban blogger Yoani Sanchez.

Raul Castro meets With Western Sahara Leader.