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Fidel is out of TP

Johnny-O!

Johnny-O!

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2007
Messages
1,151
Hello all, hope this evening is treating everyone well. There are quite a few interesting articles in miamiherald.com (click on the Cuba section) regarding the recent economic woes. I have been hearing for quite some time that foreign partnerships in Cuba haven't been paid in 1 1/2 years time and are about to pull out of there. We're not talking about sophisticated technologies companies, but companies that manufacture/process everyday necesities like soap, laundry detergent, cooking oil, toilet paper, food items and beer. Seems that the brothers are having a hard time coming up with hard currency and the creative embelishment strategies (otherwise known as lying) that they learned at the Old Havana School of Marketing are not fooling anyone. I have seen the abscence of a lot of these items recently, but didn't give it a lot of thought until I realized a lot of places did not have any beer. This shouldn't have much effect on Altadis as their exports produces cash outside the island. But it's an interesting read. John
 
Thanks for the info John. I wonder if these economic conditions could lead to a better relationship. Unfortunately, I don't think that the Castros will give up their power. I hope I'm wrong.
 
Sorry to hear that times are tough John, hopefully this situation will bring around things for the better when it's over. :(
 
j-o


we are hearing the same message here.

there are three perspectives to follow:

the folks travelling to cuba as tourists and expect the worse on the amenities front,
the travelers who have been to cuba before and are surprised by the recent shortages of domestic goods,
the cubans who arrive in mexico and are relieved, and impressed by the abundance.

there doesnt appear to be any reason to believe that the situation will improve in 2009.

cheers
drew p
 
Gary....the only ones who support the brothers are the ones in power or the few that are so brainwashed that they can't light the light at the end of the tunnel. The population is stressed big time because the circulation of $$$ is not as it used to be. Electricity has been almost cut off at all places of business, so people are very uncomfortable at work. There have been layoffs, mostly at the lower levels. Most don't envision what is coming. Like armedak said bring your own if you are going down there. John
 
Tobacco leaves are good for more than just smoking...just make sure they are the leaves reserved for the Guantanamaras.
 
LOL on Colbert today they brought this up.. He said something along the lines of, "soon they'll come crawling to us for democracy.. or scooting on their butts".. Then he went on about the ticker that the US had going there and how there were no accent marks so instead of "año" which means year, it was "ano" which means anus
 
Johnny-O! said:
Gary....the only ones who support the brothers are the ones in power or the few that are so brainwashed that they can't light the light at the end of the tunnel. The population is stressed big time because the circulation of $$$ is not as it used to be. Electricity has been almost cut off at all places of business, so people are very uncomfortable at work. There have been layoffs, mostly at the lower levels. Most don't envision what is coming. Like armedak said bring your own if you are going down there. John
Click to expand...
John...has the military presence increased or decreased with all this going on? Are the people so scared that no one will dare speak up against the Castros? When the people are out of work and destitute, does the Government help them out with food and other necessary items?

What do you think will happen down there if this keeps up?
 
Gary...Military precence/police is up. Remember... Raul was the head of the armed forces before he took power. Many have spoken up and get tossed in jail, some dissapear off the map. The government does not help in these times of need. If I remember corectly they just removed a pound of rice off everyones ration card for the month. They just tell the public that they need to consume less to help the cause of the revolution. "Tighten the straps on your cojones and get ready for a rough ride" might be the translation. Followed by: "Do it for the revolution". There is a relationship between the refridgerator and crime. Fridge gets empty...crime goes up. I'm talking about stabbings and shootings. You will not hear about this though as they like to keep it hush-hush. In a perfect society there is no crime. John
 
So John, it's status quo for the last 50 years with absolutely no progress. They have plenty of money to spend on the Military, Police, and to hurricane proof their biggest cash crop (tobacco)...but no money to help the people.

And they wonder why most countries won't lend them money. This archaic Cold War mentality has got to go.
 
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