What鈥檚 the fate of Cuba in the age of Trump? It is not an easy question to unravel, but Canadian author and journalist Arnold August provides some answers in his latest book, Cuba-US Relations: Obama and Beyond.
Raul Castro
Although the media spends a lot of time portraying Cuba as a 鈥渄ictatorship鈥, it has barely covered the fact that Cubans have once again begun a process of electing officials, starting from the local and going all the way up to the national parliament.
As thousands joined Cuban President Raul Castro to say goodbye to his brother, Fidel, the younger brother imparted one of Fidel's dying wishes: that his image and name never adorn public places, from streets and parks to government institutions.
"Fidel was always against the cult of personality until his dying days," said Raul Castro. "He was consistent with that attitude, insisting that after his death his name and figure never be used to name plazas, avenues, streets and other public places, as well as the building of statues."
In the wake of Obama's historic visit, the Cuban Communist Party held its 7th Congress on April 16-19 in the Havana Convention Centre. Beneath a backdrop featuring a huge likeness of Fidel Castro, PCC secretary Raul Castro delivered the main report on behalf of the Central Committee.
Fidel being Fidel, many Cubans would have been reassured by his surprise appearance at the closing session on the eve of his 90th birthday. Traditionally, PCC congresses are the culmination of a months-long process of consultation with the Party's activist base and the wider Cuban society.
Cuban President Raul Castro has insisted on the need for the United States to end its more than 50-year-long economic blockade on the Caribbean island after US president Barack Obama鈥檚 historic visit to the island on March 21.
Castro also took the opportunity of the first visit to Cuba by a US president in more than 80 years to say his government rejected 鈥渄ouble standards鈥 on human rights.
Supports of the 'no' vote celebrate in Athens on the night of July 5.
Leaders of Latin American left-wing governments have congratulated the Greek government and its people after Greece's historic July 5 referendum. Voters rejected debt austerity proposals by Greece's European lenders.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said: 鈥淭he 鈥榥o鈥 vote in Greece is a victory against the financial terrorism carried out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).鈥
Photo: Ladyrene P茅rez/Cubadebate.
An estimated 1 million people marched on May 1 in Havana, Cuba, to celebrate International Workers麓 Day, said.
A second round of talks between US and Cuban diplomats began in Washington on February 27, with the aim of restoring diplomatic relations.
US President Barack Obama announced, in what he termed the most significant Cuba policy shift in more than 50 years, that he will pursue diplomatic relations and urge Congress to dismantle the US blockade of Cuba.
The Sixth Congress of the Cuban Communist Party (PCC), held in April, 鈥渆ndorsed for the first time a fundamental change in the political and economic model鈥, said Cuban political scientist and Temas editor Rafael Hernandez.
This does not mean abandoning Cuba鈥檚 socialist project, but renewing this project after two decades of the post-Soviet 鈥淪pecial Period鈥. This is a deep structural crisis in Cuba鈥檚 post-capitalist, centrally-planned economy and an ideological and ethical crisis of the nation鈥檚 socialist vocation.